Playfully transparent by default. She follows the work wherever it leads, from nail art to the justice gap, and brings the next generation along for the journey.
Pree Walia is the founder and CEO of Preemadonna, creator of Nailbot, a smart nail art machine and creative platform that blends hardware, software, and consumables to power self-expression. Seed-strapped with early funding from Amazon and prominent funds and angels, Preemadonna holds over 10 utility patents across its beauty-tech ecosystem. Pree also serves as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at JumpStart and co-founded Soorma Ventures, where she supports bold founders building across deep tech, life sciences, AI, and consumer innovation.
She holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a B.A. from Northwestern. She began her career working on political campaigns and in community organizing, then spent formative years in energy efficiency, building management, and clean tech (including LED lighting) at Silicon Valley startups before building a different kind of infrastructure herself. A longtime advocate for creativity through STEM and STEAM, Pree incorporates youth-focused design and educational programming into her ventures, with an emphasis on community and intergenerational impact.
Pree has spent notable time overseas in China through the HAX hardware accelerator program, in the United Kingdom through the Founders Factory program, and in India through her study abroad initiatives.
there has to be a better wayCreative tech meets beauty tech meets STEM - where atoms meet bits. Its flagship, Nailbot, fuses multiple hard things into one: a connected device, computer vision that finds and maps the nail, the software and app behind it, and custom consumables, printing any photo, emoji, or original design onto a fingernail in five seconds. Around the product sits a marketplace where Gen Z and Gen A creators make and trade the art, and a STEAM thread where she teaches the next generation how the bot itself was built, now expanding into body art and custom nail-polish making, with new products launching soon. Lead inventor on the patents underneath, across hardware, computer vision, and software.
A nationally recognized nonprofit that backs diverse, ambitious entrepreneurs to transform whole communities. As an Entrepreneur-in-Residence, she champions founders through the Trailblazer accelerator: product-market fit, go-to-market, fundraising, positioning, and, more than once, a founder's very first patent.
Bonne Foi (good faith) is a project building consumer-side legal infrastructure for the Gulf South and beyond: it triages a person's situation honestly, maps the parties, finds an attorney matched on real public case history, drafts the outreach in their own words, and carries a portable summary from one door to the next. The bridge between the people who need a lawyer and the lawyers who could actually help them.
good faith. always.Soorma is Punjabi for warrior. A firm she co-founded to back exactly that: pre-seed to Series A founders in AI, deep tech, biotech, and life sciences. It brings capital, patience, advice, empathy, and networks to builders out to move mountains.
soorma, warriorEight years serving a nonprofit that gets young women into STEM the hands-on way, through 3D printing and making. Same instinct as everything else: hand people the tools, and the confidence, to build.
Space cowgirl meets wildcat energy. Few engagements. Full claws.
Nail art, hardware, an angel investing platform, a legal nonprofit, STEM for young women, political organizing, and more in the works - they look unrelated until you notice who they're all for. Her work returns to underserved communities, and she brings you with her every time. She doesn't just see the problem; she obsesses over it and feels it personally. That's why she operates as more than a visionary: she builds the thing, ships it, and stays close enough to feel whether it actually helped. At least, that's the long game.
Her sweet spot: physical AI - robotics, hardware, software, and deep tech.
Polymath inventor and operator with hands-on reps in fundraising, marketing, sales, hardware, and software development and contract manufacturing, in the USA and overseas. A track record of inventing products, shipping launches, raising strategic capital, and building cross-functional teams around disruptive tech.
// more pending, in the U.S. and elsewhere.
systems, methods & apparatusPree is one of the most determined and skillful hardware founders I have come across in my years as an investor and entrepreneur. The Nailbot is a huge hit in my household and unlocks both tech and creativity within the beauty category in ways I've never experienced before.
Pree is one of the most determined entrepreneurs that we've ever met, on a mission to power creative expression in beauty… we see long-term defensibility through the community of Gen Z creators via the Nailbot mobile app art marketplace which accompanies the physical product experience.
We were thrilled to have Pree participate in our Women Founders Represent event, and we were impressed with Preemadonna's technology, team and potential for integrations with Alexa. We look forward to supporting Preemadonna's team as it drives new innovation for at-home nail art through creativity and automation.
Pree brings a rare blend of directness, clarity, and strategic insight to every conversation. She has an incredible ability to quickly get to the heart of complex situations while still balancing multiple perspectives, which makes her guidance not only sharp but also highly actionable.
Pree was my EIR during the JumpStart accelerator period and she quickly showed that she masters both the technical and business sides of a company… As a technical founder I tend to be skeptical of mentors who only know one lane but Pree has real range and her guidance comes from empathy and experience not theory.
Pree is one of the most mission-driven founders I've met. She leads with a rare blend of creativity, technical understanding, and a deep commitment to empowering young women to build and invent… She listens, trusts you to take ownership, and fosters an environment where experimentation is encouraged.
From our very first conversation, I knew she was someone I wanted to learn from. One of the most meaningful experiences was being trusted to represent Preemadonna at the annual Space Gala at NASA's Kennedy Space Center… She has a unique ability to recognize people's strengths and turn their passions into opportunities for growth.
Pree was my EIR during Jumpstart's Trailblazer Academy, and she made such an impact for Obai. Thanks to her experience and guidance, we filed our first patent with confidence. She is someone who is ALL about results.
Such a phenomenal mentor that has helped me in ways I could have only dreamed of. The care and attention she has across a variety of areas is simply unparalleled… from fundraising tips all the way to how I improved my EQ.
Pree possesses a unique ability to not only recognize potential in others but also to nurture and cultivate it… Her guidance, along with her inspiring accomplishments as the Founder and CEO of Preemadonna, motivated me to pursue my MBA, and also sparked the confidence I needed to launch my own business, Conello.
Pree is a seasoned and dynamic entrepreneur, consistently offering both strategic and tactical advice that is insightful and actionable to technology founders across a diverse range of industries and verticals, including B2B SaaS, AI, healthcare, education, consumer packaged goods (CPG), and more.
Pree is a tough-loving board member. Tough because she's honest, unflinching, and committed to understanding the ground reality each situation. Loving because she really does love entrepreneurs and growth - growth of both individual leaders and also their organizations.
I've had the privilege of knowing Pree since I was in college, and she has been a steady source of mentorship and inspiration throughout many different stages of my career. I know I can pick up the phone and call her anytime… She is a great role model for women and girls in entrepreneurship, tech, and beyond.
1Born in La Nouvelle-Orléans. Raised predominantly across Louisiana and Mississippi, with a short cameo in New Jersey.
2A voyager at heart, happiest on the OpenSea.
3Novice Texas Hold'em player.
4College and NFL football fanatic.
5Slight, ongoing obsession with (Captain) Jack Sparrow.
6Has been known to read obscure statutes and footnotes she has no obligation to read.