Palo Alto Young Businesswoman Continues To Impress, Raises $2 Mil For Startup

But when she walks into a room with her peers, she already stands out, at 18 years old.

Ghafourifar and her older brother Alston, three years her senior, co-founded their business Entefy last year.

They have since skyrocketed with venture funding, recently passing the $2 million mark, mostly “angel-funded.”

Though the duo has met with success, she said her lack of a business background can prove divisive with people.

“There are two types of people,” she said. “The people who support our youth, and the people who shy away from it … we just try and find the people who support us.”

Ghafourifar added that she doesn’t feel as young as she is, especially in the environment by which she’s surrounded.

“Sometimes I forget that people view me that way,” she said, laughing. “Some people really resonate with youth … and then there are others that don’t.”

The goal of Entefy is to streamline peoples’ digital experience, so that all of one’s text, email, voice, video and social conversations can be managed from a central place. An application will be available across all devices.

Alston and Brienne Ghafourifar grew up in a household that encouraged pushing the boundaries through entrepreneurship. Both of her parents are Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, she said.

“I remember (when I was 8 or 9) my dad would call me the ‘best little businesswoman’ – I would come to him with a PowerPoint presentation on why I should get a dog,” Ghafourifar said.

She took an “unusual college path,” starting at age 14 and graduating from Santa Clara University at 17 with a degree in economics.

She said her parents have served as mentors for she and her brother, as well as helping with contacts in the industry, though Ghafourifar pointed out that it is pitching their idea to potential investors that can be the hard part.

The $2 million and counting that Entefy has raised has been mostly from angel investors, starting with friends and family, then passing the word through contacts of contacts – what she called “the network effect.”

The startup will be preliminarily releasing its product through private invitation in December or January.

Entefy is currently zoning in focus on building a good team and developing the product, with fundraising an ongoing but not as prominent effort, she said.

“It’s quite surreal to come into the office every day and see everyone working toward this common goal,” she said. “I still have ‘pinch me’ moments every time I walk in.”