Why this self-made software engineer left Silicon Valley to focus on investing in women

Technical.ly is a free news resource thanks to financial supporters like Truist, which underwrote this story. It was not reviewed before publication. Learn more about Truist, a top 10 US commercial bank.

It took 12 years for Grace Francisco to work her way through college. 

A software developer by training who pioneered advances before becoming an angel investor and advisor, Francisco is the picture of an established tech leader. But her journey was far from straightforward — and she wants others to know that’s totally ok. 

“Don’t expect your career to follow a linear path,” Francisco said. “It’s often more like spaghetti.” 

There were plenty of twists in the strands that brought the 2024 RealLIST Engineer to the Main Line Philly suburbs, from where she runs her agency m2i and generally works to strengthen the local ecosystem, with a focus on women-led ventures.

The youngest of four daughters of a Filipino family that immigrated to the US in the 1970s when she was a toddler, Francisco had what she called a difficult upbringing. She accelerated her education to graduate San Francisco’s prestigious Lowell High School in just three and a half years, and left home at age 17.

How old is she now? “I’ll decline any age questions,” Francisco told Technical.ly. “Women are frequently talked about in terms of age, but men’s ages rarely come up.”

While picking up jobs to support her college education, Francsico rediscovered her early interest in computer programming. Through mentorship, determination and luck, she was able to build a robust career in Silicon Valley. 

When she decided to leave California for the East Coast, she met another twist: a global pandemic. It wasn’t easy landing in Philadelphia amid the shutdowns, but she persevered. Read this edition of How I Got Here to see how Francisco’s passion drives everything, “whether it’s learning, connecting with people or building community.”

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How did you get into tech?

While in college, I got a job at Lotus, an IBM subsidiary. I started with tech support but quickly transitioned to software engineering by teaching myself programming languages like LotusScript, Java, JavaScript and HTML. 

At Lotus, I created one of the first dynamic data-driven web tools, a wizard to webify database forms and reports. This kind of tool was cutting-edge at the time because most websites were still static. That project accelerated my career.

From there, I moved into various software engineering roles, then ventured into startup land. Eventually, I transitioned to technical marketing and then to sales engineering at Borland, which led me to Microsoft as a developer evangelist. At Microsoft, I helped launch Visual Studio Team System, a lifecycle management tool. Over the years, I built on my skills, leading developer relations teams at companies like Atlassian, MongoDB, Cisco and Roblox. It’s been a fascinating 20-year journey.

What do you do now?

I do advisory work, so I’m independent these days. I’m also an angel investor and an LP at Emmeline Ventures, a VC firm that focuses on investing in women-led startups that address financial health, wealth and health in general for women.

How did you go from tech worker to investor?

That happened organically. After working at three back-to-back unicorn companies, I had a nice nest egg. I started getting requests from startups to fund them as a strategic angel investor. Initially, all six startups I funded were male-led.

I decided to focus on women-led startups and found Emmeline Ventures, which is dedicated to this mission. Sadly, only 2% of VC funding goes to women-led companies, a statistic that hasn’t changed in 20 years. Supporting these amazing entrepreneurs is incredibly fulfilling.

What drives you to keep doing it?

What I love about software development is the constant learning. Being in developer relations keeps you on the cutting edge of technology, which forces you to stay sharp and never get bored. That suits me because I tend to get bored easily!

Right now, it’s particularly exciting with advances in generative AI and cybersecurity. Staying engaged with these innovations keeps my passion alive.

What brought you to Philly, and what’s your goal here?

I left California because of high taxes, fires, and other challenges. After exploring other cities, we landed on Philly due to its quality of life and proximity to family. I moved here just as everything shut down in March 2020. (By sheer coincidence, everything had shut down in California too. Movers were on the essential services list, so thankfully they still arrived.)

Integrating into the tech community was challenging during the pandemic shutdowns. Once events resumed, I started connecting through the Pennsylvania Women’s Forum and local meetups. I’ve been fortunate to meet great people like Rick Nucci and Josh Kopelman, who’ve helped me plug into the community.

My big focus is helping the local tech ecosystem thrive. This area has so much potential, from top universities to successful companies like Boomi and Venmo. But Philly’s tech ecosystem is under-marketed, and I want to help change that by connecting talent, founders, and resources.

Advice for someone on a nontraditional career path?

Keep learning, be brave and step out of your comfort zone. Public speaking used to terrify me. I overcame it by repeatedly putting myself out there, even when it was scary. Doing so opened up countless doors in my career.

Don’t expect your career to follow a linear path — it’s often more like spaghetti! Focus on your strengths, address any skill gaps and find your own unique way forward.

This story, and all of Technical.ly's immigration reporting, is made possible by the WES Mariam Assefa Fund.

The WES Mariam Assefa Fund supports catalytic efforts to create more inclusive economies for immigrants and refugees in the US and Canada. It works closely with organizations and leaders focused on ensuring more equitable access to opportunity and wealth.