Tiffany Dufu

Post-pitch story

Tiffany Dufu launched The Cru in 2018 as a peer-coaching platform: small circles of women supporting each other toward their personal and professional goals. She was already a well-known voice on women's leadership and the author of "Drop the Ball." After the pitch, The Cru grew into a business serving companies. It raised about $5 million over its life, according to Dufu, and signed corporate clients including Comcast, BNY Mellon, Asana and Justworks to offer peer coaching to their employees. In September 2023, The Cru was acquired by Luminary, Cate Luzio's professional network and coworking company for women. Inc. covered the deal, and the platform continued as "The Cru empowered by Luminary." Dufu stayed on as an advisor and joined Luminary's board. Her next role was a big one: Dufu became President of the Tory Burch Foundation, which supports women entrepreneurs across the country. In a way, it's an even bigger version of what The Cru set out to do. From an idea about women lifting each other up to an acquisition and a top job in women's entrepreneurship, The Cru's story ends where it started: with women supporting women.