Elizabeth Akman
"As the Program Director at First Round, I deliver programs and events that help founders propel their companies to the next level — from community-building dinners to candidate sourcing parties to multi-day company-building retreats. Having spent nearly six years at Y Combinator as Batch Director, I've become well-versed on the challenges founders face in the nascent stages of company building and how to create magical, memorable moments that fundamentally impact how they build companies."
I have immense respect for all that founders undertake and feel so fortunate to be a trusted resource on their journey to success. My background in both analytical thinking and human connection allows me to blend technical expertise with deep empathy for the founder journey.
Before joining First Round, Elizabeth spent nearly six years at Y Combinator as the Batch Director, where she led all founder-facing initiatives. She built programming, communications, and content while becoming an expert on the challenges founders face in the earliest stages of company building.
Prior to YC, she spent five years at Make School, a Y Combinator-backed startup, building innovative Computer Science programs for young engineering students. Initially hired to build a partnership program where she signed companies like LinkedIn and Lyft, she quickly expanded her role to run Operations for both the company and the school.
Elizabeth began her career in Sales at early-stage SaaS startups, where she worked as an SDR and discovered her enthusiasm for the venture-backed startup ecosystem. With a BSc in Math and Statistics, she developed strong analytical and problem-solving skills, while her sales roles introduced her to the rewarding experience of blending those abilities with profound human connection.