Hi there!

I am Kelly Ifill, a social entrepreneur and speaker committed to equitable access to entrepreneurship and economic mobility for all.

I’m the founder and CEO of Guava, a platform created to level the playing field for under-resourced entrepreneurs and help build a more equitable small business landscape. My journey began as an educator and administrator in schools in NYC, Brazil, and Dubai. After nearly a decade in education, I transitioned to business school at Columbia University and then into consulting and strategy roles at Fortune 100 companies. My subsequent work in venture capital illuminated the persistent barriers Black entrepreneurs face across industries, and, combined with my upbringing in a family of small business owners, inspired me to launch Guava.

My work is rooted in the belief that entrepreneurship should be a driver of opportunity and economic mobility for all. This commitment has been recognized by Crain’s New York 40 Under 40, Insider’s list of “52 Black women who raised $1 million or more in VC funding since 2021,” and Inc.’s list of “5 Black founders working to make the entrepreneurial landscape more equitable.”

In addition to leading Guava, I am a lecturer at Columbia Business School, where I teach an MBA course on social entrepreneurship and impact investing.

I’m a proud Brooklynite and hold a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Baruch College, an MA in Mathematics Education from St. John’s University, and an MBA from Columbia Business School.