Meet Marion Siboni

We were lucky to catch up with Marion Siboni recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Marion, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

My journey into entrepreneurship has been shaped by over a decade of experience in sales and partnerships across companies of various sizes, including Cisco, an AI startup called Shift, MongoDB, and Techstars. During this time, I mastered the art to forge strategic relationships, a skill that earned me two Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards and the Tech & Startup Award from the French-American Chamber of Commerce.

When I moved from Paris to New York in September 2022, I built a thriving community of over 6,000 women in tech from scratch. My authenticity and knack for creating strong, meaningful connections quickly allowed me to develop a network where I’m just a text away from finding the answers I need.

Recognizing the immense power of networking, I decided to channel this passion into my own venture, La Creme de la STEM™, which I launched in June 2024. My mission is to establish a robust support system for early-stage female founders in science and technology. By fostering a network where these women can access invaluable resources and support each other, I aim to empower them to reach their full potential and drive innovation in their fields, ultimately contributing to a more inclusive and dynamic world.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

La Creme de la STEM™ is the only global, private network for early-stage female founders in tech and science. We work with the best – la creme de la creme, to provide women entrepreneurs access to their knowledge:
– Investors: we gathered a network of 140+ vetted VCs, committed to empowering female founders by providing thoughtful feedback and demystifying the investing process.
– Guests Speakers who Get It: we showcase triumphs and trials of entrepreneurs, highlighting key milestones on the path to their exits, and visionary voices who are the best in their fields.
– Corporate Partners: we partner with the best service providers on the market to provide exclusive perks and discounts. Our network is here to simplify and accelerate your journey.
https://www.lacremedelastem.com/

We are currently selecting Founding Members who understand the power of community. Applications to join are open: https://tally.so/r/w4PoKd

Finally, as a founder and CEO, I write a newsletter about entrepreneurship, community building and inspiring women stories with 4,200+ subscribers: https://lacremedelastem.substack.com/

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I attribute my success to three key character traits: resilience, authenticity, and strategic thinking.

Resilient:

Resilience has been a cornerstone of my career. My capacity to recover quickly from difficulties and adapt to new circumstances allowed me to thrive in a completely new environment. When I moved from France to the US, I had to reinvent my career across the tech industry. My persistence and flexibility kept me moving forward, ultimately leading me to a breakthrough in the venture capital field, one of the most desirable and competitive industries for professionals. Through determination, hard work and highly-effective networking, I secured a Director position at Techstars, the world’s largest pre-seed investor. This experience laid the groundwork for understanding the challenges faced by early-stage founders, which I now address through La Creme de la STEM™.

Authenticity:

Authenticity has been a key factor in building strong, lasting relationships that have significantly impacted my career. By being genuine and true to myself, I have been able to create meaningful connections with others. This approach has not only opened doors to prestigious public speaking opportunities, but also fostered trust and credibility. For instance, I was honored to be a speaker and startup judge at the Investment Summit organized by the U.S. Department of Commerce a few weeks after founding La Creme de la STEM™. This initial collaboration has evolved into a regular partnership, demonstrating how authenticity can lead to sustained and impactful relationships. I am regularly featured as a speaker at prominent startup events, working with SXSW and Techstars for example, where I share my expertise on entrepreneurship and innovation in the tech ecosystem.

Strategic Thinking:

Strategic thinking has been a driving force behind my ability to achieve significant growth and reach remarkable milestones. One of my proudest accomplishments is winning two Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards within just 1.5 years of partnership. This success was the recognition of my effort to expand the partnership between Shift, an AI startup, and Microsoft to 24 countries. I implemented a strategic framework based on four key pillars: sales alignment, partner enablement, channel marketing, and product integration. These growth plans not only expanded the geographic reach, but deepened relationships with 80+ senior executives and positioned the startup into a new level of partnerships for Microsoft, within top 30 partners globally. Building on this strategic expertise, I have applied similar principles to La Creme de la STEM™, which led the company to be recognized as a preferred partner for Hubspot, Carta, and many more large corporations providing perks and discounts to the Members.

Tell us what your ideal client would be like?

La Creme de la STEM™ is designed to support early-stage female founders building in the fields of STEM, meaning science, technology, engineering or mathematics. Those companies can be bootstrapped, pre-seed, seed or at the series A stage. We are looking for Founding Members fitting those criteria, who also understand the power of the network.

I am a community leader at heart — my primary objective is to create and maintain an environment where members feel safe, engaged and supported. I built the communities I wished for when I started my career in the tech industry and when I decided to build a company. My main goal is to promote collaboration and connect like-minded individuals.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Portraits by Alice Prenat

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