Christine de Wendel on Starting a Business After Corporate and Raising $145 Million
Dear FoundHer...Real Founder Stories for Women Small Business OwnersShow Notes
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She spent over a decade scaling two of Europe's most successful tech companies, reaching the C-suite along the way. Then she moved back to her hometown and nobody knew her name. That tension is the heart of this episode of Dear FoundHer, and it sets up one of the clearest examples of starting a business after corporate you will hear this year.
Host Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Christine de Wendel, co-founder and U.S. CEO of sunday, the digital checkout platform used in over 3,500 restaurants across the U.S., U.K., and France. Christine spent over a decade scaling two of Europe's biggest e-commerce companies before leaving corporate at 40 to build a company of her own. Her story shows what transitioning from employee to founder really looks like once the safety net disappears.
Christine describes the three humbling months she spent building connections in Atlanta before the idea for sunday took shape, and how a phone call from an old friend turned into a co-founding partnership. She also opens up about startup funding and whether having a male co-founder changed how easily she raised capital.
Lindsay and Christine talk candidly about networking for women, credibility, and why making a career pivot later in life can be an advantage instead of a setback. If you have ever wondered whether starting a business after corporate means starting from zero, Christine’s story offers a clear answer: the experience, relationships, and skills you have already built still count. Press play to hear how she used them to help raise $145 million for sunday.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 From Tech Executive to Unknown in Atlanta 02:56 Christine's Path From Bain to Paris Tech 05:47 Why She Waited Until 40 to Start 08:25 Uprooting the Family and Moving to Atlanta 11:43 The Phone Call That Became sunday 14:47 How the sunday App Works 16:33 A Review Turns Into Real Restaurant Change 19:08 How sunday Makes Money 20:57 The 2021 Raise and What Came After 22:45 Doubling Transaction Volume 24:25 Why Restaurants Are Slow to Adopt 26:15 Building Brand Ambassadors and Referral Networks 29:47 Funding, Her Co-Founder, and Gender in Fundraising 32:55 Motherhood, Pacing, and Doing It All 36:46 Three Tips for Women Starting Out
Connect with Christine de Wendel: Follow sunday App on Instagram Connect with Christine on LinkedIn
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