FINANCE SHOULD EMPOWER,
NOT INTIMIDATE.
To say I’m passionate about teaching founder finance and fundraising would be an understatement. I went and did a PhD to better understand the factors that influence fundraising success.
Today, I help founders develop the financial skills they need to build strong businesses and navigate the capital journey: from understanding their numbers and what drives their business to preparing for and accessing capital.
My approach combines 25+ years of finance experience, more than a decade working with startups, and my own research into founders’ fundraising experiences. I turn that experience and research into practical education, tools, and coaching grounded in how founders actually build businesses and raise capital.
Hi, I'm Dr. Ira Philip
Meet Dr. Ira Philip
For over 25 years, I’ve worked in finance: across wealth management, corporate controlling, strategic leadership, CFO roles, and, for more than a decade, the startup ecosystem.
Today, my work focuses on startup finance and the Founder Capital Journey: helping founders understand their numbers, build stronger businesses, and prepare for, navigate, and access capital.
I bring together practical finance experience, founder coaching, teaching, and academic research to translate complex financial and fundraising topics into approaches founders can actually use.
I teach at universities and founder programs, deliver workshops and masterclasses, conduct research into how founders access capital, and work selectively with founders through coaching and advisory engagements.
At the center of all of this is one goal: to help founders build stronger businesses and move entrepreneurship forward through better finance, education, and research.
WORK WITH ME
Teaching
Practical finance and fundraising education for founders and future founders.
I teach through universities, accelerators, and founder programs, combining 25+ years of finance experience, more than a decade in the startup ecosystem, and current research into how founders prepare for and access capital.
1:1 Coaching
Strategic coaching for founders who want greater clarity and confidence as they navigate the Founder Capital Journey.
Coaching begins with a focused six-session program tailored to your business, funding goals, and current stage. Together, we strengthen your financial understanding, assess your investor readiness, and develop practical actions to prepare for and access capital.
Teen Venture Lab
Teen Venture Lab introduces young people to entrepreneurship through hands-on learning — from identifying a problem and developing an idea to understanding business models, finance, and pitching.
The goal is to give young people the opportunity to experience entrepreneurship, not just learn about it.
“My work with Ira has focused on my new retail business idea here in Berlin. While my business is not in the conventional ‘start up’ space, I have found Ira very supportive and knowledegable on how to ensure the business is set up for financial success as well as helping me to grow into my own as a Founder and new business owner. Her feedback and recommendations are always clear, forward facing and actionable. I’ve enjoyed the work we’ve done together very much.”
Jacqueline Routier, Entrepreneur in the making
BUILDING STRENGTH. BUILDING LEADERS.
For more than 25 years, finance has shaped how I think about businesses and decision-making. More than a decade working with founders has shaped how I teach. And now, my research into how founders prepare for and access capital is adding a new dimension: bringing evidence and new insights into the way I teach startup finance and fundraising.
Competitive Olympic weightlifting brings another perspective. It has taught me the value of discipline, practice, resilience, and consistent progress: principles that carry directly into entrepreneurship and leadership.
Across my teaching, research, coaching, and sport, the philosophy is the same: build the foundations, practice the process, and develop the strength to perform when it matters.
Hi, I'm Dr. Ira Philip
BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL
For over 25 years, I've built my career in finance while serving in leadership, strategy, and board roles across a variety of organizations. Alongside my professional work, I have taught at universities, accelerators, and executive programs, drawing on academic foundations in both finance and work psychology.