Portrait No. 001
Ellen Choi
CEO & Founder
Edgefield Group
Raised — $0 / None
I started Edgefield after co-founding and building an accounting AI technology company that grew to 200+ people and raised $113 MM led by KKR and Bessemer Venture Partners. As we scaled, it became impossible to ignore how quickly AI was beginning to disrupt every fabric of society, nowhere felt more acutely than in accounting. Accountants are enveloped in fear and paralysis—uncertain whether AI would replace their people, commoditize their services, or fundamentally upend a profession built on trust and judgment. Why me: I’m a serial entrepreneur who has worked hand-in-hand with this vertical for years—selling to and building products for them. I am a unique bridge between Silicon Valley and Main Street accountants. Why now: we are at an inflection point with AI enablement, and I can’t be more excited about the future of AI-transformed productized services.
In her words
“I left a well-funded, fast-growing company where I had status, a team, and momentum to start something unproven—alone.”
Chapter I
The toughest challenges you've faced as a founder.
The hardest part of building Edgefield has been choosing conviction over comfort. I left a well-funded, fast-growing company where I had status, a team, and momentum to start something unproven—alone. I went from leading a fast-growing startup to selling myself one conversation at a time. Accounting is a deeply conservative profession, historically dominated by older white men. As a non-white woman, I am often the only non-male, non-traditional voice in rooms where influence and decisions are concentrated. Succeeding in that environment required more than expertise—it required learning how to connect at a human level, cut through bias, prove value quickly, and consistently deliver results. Trust wasn’t given; it was earned. What kept me going was the impact—helping firms at scale move from fear to confidence with AI. Along the way, I’ve been named one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting by Accounting Today, recognized on the list of Most Powerful Women in Accounting by CPA Practice Advisor, and now advise the profession as part of the AICPA ENGAGE TECH+ Planning Committee and CPA.com Digital CPA Advisory Committee, as a guest contributor for Accounting Today, and through regular speaking and moderating as a AI thought leader.
Chapter II
Your vision.
AI is advancing faster than our educational, organizational, and cultural systems can absorb, and that gap shows up as fear, paralysis, burnout, and missed opportunity. I’m obsessed with helping our society break through these barriers and progress with AI in a responsible, safe way that creates real impact; improving human lives and enabling people to be their best selves. My vision is a future where AI augments human potential rather than eroding it, where professionals spend less time on rote work and more time exercising judgment, creativity, and human connection. In accounting and beyond, that means AI that builds confidence instead of anxiety and progress. Edgefield exists to bring that future to life through productized services around AI enablement. I believe the next era will merge the best of both worlds: high‑touch human expertise from services combined with the scalable automation and workflow intelligence of software, powered by agentic AI. When we succeed, AI won’t replace people...it will elevate them. I plan to be at the forefront of that revolution with my company.
Chapter III
The impact you want to leave behind — for your industry, your community, and the women who come next.
I want to be proud that I made leadership possible for women who never saw themselves reflected at the top, especially in conservative industries like accounting. I want my visibility to have mattered: proof that you don’t have to fit the mold, assimilate, or become someone else to earn influence and lead with credibility. If I helped normalize women as trusted decision-makers in rooms long dominated by white men and to lead as themselves, that would be a legacy worth leaving. In addition, I want to have helped our society move forward with AI in a responsible, human-centered way—one that genuinely improves how people work and live.