Aubrie Pagano
After graduating from Harvard College in 2008, Aubrie began her career in the internal strategy group at Fidelity Investments. There, she paid off her student debt and became the fastest promoted Analyst to a post-MBA role. She lived below her means and saved up to self-fund her first company, Bow & Drape.
In 2012, she launched B&D, the mass customization apparel and accessories brand, with a successful Kickstarter campaign. The company grew to cult status after launching its customizable, sequin sweatshirt, selling tens of thousands in its first year to celebrity customers such as Serena Williams, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Halle Berry, Selma Blair, and many more. Partnering early on with the likes of SoulCycle, Uber, The New York Post, and Maybelline, Bow & Drape set itself apart as a cheeky brand that understood the millennial zeitgeist.
Heralded by Glamour as “the little black sweatshirt” that just gets you, Bow & Drape grew to a eight figure profitable business, selling online and in over 350 Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, and Hudson’s Bay stores. In 2018, Harvard Business School highlighted Bow & Drape’s growth story before the company sold to WIN Brands Group in 2019.
Toward the end of her Bow & Drape journey, Aubrie spent time angel investing via XFactor Ventures, a fund run by female operators backing startups with female founding teams. There, Aubrie led investments in companies like maude, Ceremonia, August, For Days, Shiru, and Foodology.
Aubrie transitioned full-time to investing at Alpaca VC in 2020, backing early stage founders pushing commerce forward. She researches, writes, and invests in the entire commerce lifecycle, everything from front-end enablement to supply chain. She currently sits on the board of several companies, including Pack Digital, Mayple, Intramotev, Optiversal, and BinStar.
