Bold Visionaries: Cat Perez and Marianna Di Regolo of Famm On Organizations Driving Transformative, Impact-Centered Initiatives
An Interview With Russ McLeod
Focus and Patience: Bold ideas don’t happen overnight. A relentless focus on our long-term goal of helping queer entrepreneurs and professionals succeed, combined with patience, has sustained us through the ups and downs of Famm in the past year. Persistence is key to turning an audacious idea from concept to reality, including celebrating small wins and continuing to keep pushing forward.
In an era where social and environmental challenges are increasingly pressing, certain organizations stand out for their bold and innovative approaches to creating meaningful impact. These trailblazing organizations are not just meeting the status quo but are setting new standards for what can be achieved through dedicated, impact-focused programs. What does it take to pioneer such transformative initiatives, and what can others learn from their successes? I had the pleasure of interviewing Cat Perez and Marianna Di Regolo.
Cat Perez (she/they) and Marianna Di Regolo (she/her) are the founders of Famm, a marketplace making it easy to find inclusive, LGBTQ-owned brands and businesses. Cat and Marianna bring their combined decades of expertise in technology, product development, and marketing to create meaningful change through Famm. Outside of their work at Famm, Marianna loves spending time time gardening, dancing, and painting, and Cat enjoys shooting photography, baking as a pandemic baker, and road trips along the California coast. Cat and Marianna are a married couple from northern California, and they cherish family time together with their three-year-old.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you share a bit about your background and what has led you to your current role?
Cat: I began my journey in graphic design nearly 20 years ago, and my experience as a dual-sport college athlete helped shape my approach to leadership and teamwork. My career started in illustration and brand design for print media, but during the rise of Facebook and the tech boom, I pivoted to user experience design and product management for software companies and startups. Working closely with founders and wearing multiple hats in the startup environment gave me invaluable entrepreneurial experience, which has been instrumental in my current role leading Famm.
Marianna: I was born and raised in California and received my bachelor’s degree in business marketing. Early in my career, I worked a couple of 9–5 jobs, but I was always drawn to entrepreneurship. In my 20s, I launched my own business, focused on helping women and LGBTQ+ individuals scale their businesses through marketing strategies — blogging, lead magnets, email marketing, etc. I also contracted and consulted with mission-driven companies and tech organizations, working alongside them to develop impactful marketing strategies.
When Cat and I got married and decided to start a family, it really brought our community into focus for us. We wanted to do something that could support and uplift the LGBTQ+ community in a meaningful way. With both of us going through career transitions, we felt it was the right time to create something new — and that’s when we started Famm!
Can you share your professional journey and what led you to focus on impact-centered initiatives?
Cat: My career has centered on leveraging product and design to drive social impact through technology. Before Famm, I was the co-founder and Chief Product Officer at a startup, building the largest private marketplace that helped millions of Americans access subsidized health insurance under the ACA. After eight years of growing that company, I recognized something was missing in the market, given my personal experiences: LGBTQ+-owned businesses were hard to find, and I had no easy way to discover, support and get to know them. This led to the creation of Famm, which evolved as we connected with more queer entrepreneurs. Seeing the need for stronger professional networking in our community, we launched Famm Connect — the first mobile app dedicated to LGBTQ+ professional connections.
Marianna: My professional journey began with a 9–5 job where, despite working with fun, talented people, I never felt comfortable coming out as part of the LGBTQ+ community. The environment was predominantly white, cis, and straight, without company policies or a culture that supported diversity or created a truly safe space. That experience opened my eyes to how crucial inclusive spaces are and inspired me to build environments where our community can feel safe, accepted, and celebrated.
Being adopted, half Middle Eastern (while growing up in a white family), queer, introverted, and someone with anxiety, I’ve always felt different. These experiences have given me empathy for the variety of life experiences people carry and a deep understanding of the importance of inclusivity. They’ve drawn me toward impact-centered initiatives that uplift those who are often marginalized. This, along with Cat and I really wanting to create something that supports our community, is what ultimately led us to build Famm.
What pivotal moments or experiences shaped your vision for transformative change within your organization?
Two key experiences drove our vision for change. The first was our personal journeys as queer people navigating not only being out in professional spaces, but to what degree particularly around expression and identity. We have never felt completely safe in professional spaces as queer people even when they are virtual. This is particularly true given how emboldened people have become with little regard for professional consequences — ie. the -isms are real even on LinkedIn.
The second was recognizing the need for meaningful professional connections within the LGBTQ+ community that transcend traditional industry boundaries. We envisioned creating an accessible, intentional platform where our community could come together, regardless of whether you’re a content creator, coach, makeup artist, nanny, or tech executive. It’s about building a space where everyone in our community can show up authentically and create opportunities for one another by sharing knowledge, stories, and more.
What does “audacious impact” mean to you, and how is your organization embodying this vision?
Audacious impact for us is all about taking bold bets on yourself when you deeply believe in something, even if most people don’t get it, or believe in you. At Famm, we’re embodying this by deliberately choosing to invest in ourselves, our vision, and our community. Rather than trying to convince others who don’t understand our lived experience to invest in this idea, we’ve taken the path of bootstrapping our first year. This independence allows us to stay true to our mission and build something authentic for our community and ourselves!
Can you give an example of a key initiative your organization has led that significantly impacted the communities you serve?
A key initiative that has truly defined Famm’s impact is the creation of Famm Connect, our first mobile app for queer professional and business connections. This app is the culmination of our vision to unite and strengthen the LGBTQ+ entrepreneurial community. With Famm Connect, we’re building a dedicated social network where LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs and professionals can support each other by connecting over shared experiences, shopping each other’s brands, referring services, and celebrating the journey of building businesses within a safe and affirming space.
Through this initiative, we’re amplifying the power of community to support and sustain queer-owned businesses and to strengthen the queer economy overall. We designed Famm Connect to be more than a network; it’s a place where every identity, success, challenge, and learning is valued and shared, ultimately fostering a resource-rich, invaluable community space that champions authentic connection and growth.
What are some of the challenges you’ve faced while driving these transformative programs, and how did you overcome them?
One of the biggest challenges we’ve faced at Famm is striking the right balance between promoting our platform and highlighting the entrepreneurs who make up our community. As founders, we’re deeply passionate about showcasing the incredible businesses on Famm, and we dedicate a lot of our efforts to sharing their stories to help drive more traffic, followers, and, ultimately, sales to keep these businesses thriving. However, one of the harsh realities is that many LGBTQ+ owned businesses still face immense financial challenges. The funding landscape, particularly for LGBTQ+ startups, is exceptionally tough — less than 1% secure investment, largely because many investors don’t see the ‘opportunity’ or consider the market too niche for the returns they’re after.
It’s incredibly frustrating to watch unique, mission-driven brands close their doors, despite our efforts to spotlight them and help them grow. To overcome these hurdles, we’ve focused on creating an even stronger community through initiatives like Famm Connect, where these business owners and professionals can come together to support each other directly. While funding can be scarce, community support can be a powerful alternative. Famm Connect allows us to foster direct connections, partnerships, and resources within our community, which, in turn, provides a network of resilience and growth for LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs facing these funding gaps.
How do you balance creating measurable impact with the business’s need to grow and remain sustainable?
At Famm, we view impact as a multifaceted commitment to visibility, growth, and meaningful connection within the LGBTQ+ business community. For us, impact means driving new customers and followers to queer-owned brands and service providers, while also cultivating relationships among founders and professionals who can connect over shared experiences and insights. This community has a strong desire to collaborate with those who understand their identities, expressions, and unique offerings, making authentic connections even more valuable.
To balance impact with growth, we focus on fostering intentional, community-centered interactions. This approach doesn’t just increase visibility; it strengthens the network, encouraging collaborations, referrals, and mutual support that build a self-sustaining ecosystem. By aligning our growth strategy with these genuine connections, we create measurable outcomes like greater customer engagement and loyalty, supporting sustainable growth rooted in our mission to empower the queer economy.
It’s a delicate balance, but we lead with a community-first perspective, trusting that this focus will drive both our business and the long-term growth of the entire Famm community. We believe that, as the community continues to grow, the value shared among members will fuel lasting sustainability.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Bring An Audacious Idea to Fruition”?
- Getting Clear on Your Purpose: Start with a deep understanding of why this matters and how it will impact our community in positive ways. Having a clear vision helps us stay focused and navigate tough decisions with a strong sense of purpose. This clarity also keeps us and supporters aligned with your vision. An example of this is deciding to offer Famm Connect, first mobile app for LGBTQ+ professional networking, as an invite-only app to create a safe and intentional community.
- Community and Support: Building a solid support network is so important. This means surrounding ourselves with people who share our passion and those who bring different skills and perspectives. Community is truly powerful for feedback, encouragement, affirmation, and resources that help you evolve your idea and provide true value. For example, we never turn down a request for a coffee chat from an LGBTQ+ entrepreneur or professional, regardless of whether or not they are part of our community or selling something even. You never know what these conversations will lead to; friendships, consulting, advice, etc. And we believe that there is so much value in meeting and knowing as many LGBTQ+ folks looking to grow their businesses or careers.
- Resourcefulness and Flexibility: Audacious ideas often face resource constraints, especially in the early stages. Marianna and I are so familiar with this having worked in startups for over a decade. Being adaptable and resourceful — finding creative ways to leverage existing resources or pivoting when necessary — can keep your vision moving forward despite setbacks. Building Famm Connect is an example of this. When we would interview these LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs to share their stories with the Famm community, we’d quickly learn that they had a desire to connect with other entrepreneurs for advice, partnerships, resources and more. It lead to our Virtual Service Provider Meetups which we do quarterly and have gotten so much positive feedback on. There are still gaps in keeping those connections going in terms of the tools that are easy / accessible, which is why we decided to build Famm Connect.
- Commitment to Learning: Bringing a big idea to life requires ongoing learning. Seek out mentors, listen to others’ experiences, and embrace failure as an opportunity to grow. This openness to learning allows you to improve, iterate, and gain the insight we need to achieve our goals. As an example, we’ve been setting meetings with so many other entrepreneurs to learn, connect and share. It’s at the core of how we operate and why we built Famm. We’ve had executive coaches in the past and are constantly reading up areas we feel we need to improve on and invest in. Our values are centered around lifelong learning. No one every knows everything and if they say they do, run.
- Focus and Patience: Bold ideas don’t happen overnight. A relentless focus on our long-term goal of helping queer entrepreneurs and professionals succeed, combined with patience, has sustained us through the ups and downs of Famm in the past year. Persistence is key to turning an audacious idea from concept to reality, including celebrating small wins and continuing to keep pushing forward.
Example: Our focus has been on community. Building that up and lifting up their voices and experiences in business and professional journeys. This has guided us as we’ve had to make decisions around what to build next. It has taken time, and some grace honestly, as we of course would love to have explosive growth immediately. But a lot of this comes with investing in and nurturing relationships within the community. It’s not about us, it’s about the collective.
Can you share a story of someone who has inspired your commitment to creating positive change?
Cat: I’ve been deeply inspired by Leanne Pittsford, the founder of Lesbians Who Tech. Attending their first conference in San Francisco was a pivotal moment in my entrepreneurial journey. There was something transformative about being in a space where LGBTQ+ professionals could authentically connect and collaborate. The experience not only energized me personally but also demonstrated the power of community-driven innovation. Through this network, I met remarkable leaders like Haley, now CMO of FOLX Health, who’s revolutionizing healthcare access for the LGBTQ+ community. What resonates most about Leanne’s work is how it exemplifies a crucial principle: when people with lived experience build solutions for their communities, the impact is both authentic and profound. The ripple effects of her leadership continue to create pathways for positive change across the tech industry and beyond.
Marianna: Pidgeon Pagonis, author of Nobody Needs to Know, has an incredibly inspiring story — I highly recommend their book! Their journey is one of resilience and courage, and their advocacy for visibility and autonomy within marginalized communities, especially the intersex community, is both powerful and essential. Pidgeon’s story is a reminder of the transformative impact that visibility, education, and inclusive spaces can have on people’s lives.
How do you envision the future of impact-driven businesses, and what role will your organization play in that future?
We see the future of impact-driven businesses as one where purpose and inclusivity are at the heart of growth. More and more, people are looking for brands that reflect their values, and this creates an incredible chance for businesses to lead with purpose, intention, and authenticity. Famm’s role is to help make that future a reality. By connecting LGBTQ+ professionals and allies, we’re building a community where diverse voices aren’t just included — they’re truly celebrated.
We believe in the power of vertical social networks that empower marginalized and underserved communities. According to GLAAD, LGBTQ+ people are twice as likely to experience harassment online, which makes intentional online spaces even more essential. Companies like Facebook and X, driven primarily by ad revenue and mass reach, often overlook the unique needs of communities like ours. And we’ve all seen the challenges that arise when platforms don’t consider their impact on underrepresented voices — issues like censorship of LGBTQ+ content or the spread of misinformation. We believe that businesses founded by people with lived experience are better positioned to create positive change and a more inclusive future.
Ultimately, our vision is to contribute to a world where impact isn’t just a side note but a core part of doing business, guiding industries in ways that make a genuine difference.
How can our readers further follow your work or your company online?
Follow us on Instagram & TikTok, subscribe to our emails for updates, check out our website & reach out to us if you’re an LGBTQ+ professional and would like an invite code to Famm Connect!
This was great. Thanks for taking time for us to learn more about you and your business. We wish you continued success!
About the Interviewer: Russell McLeod is an experienced business leader, social entrepreneur, and mentor. A champion of profit with purpose, the circular economy and of collaboration for positive progress. Russell is the founder of Mightyhum a Toronto-based impact enterprise dedicated to supporting growing organizations. And, while it’s not a requirement, the Mightyhum team has a passion for collaborating with purpose-driven businesses. Mightyhum specializes in providing consulting services and turning hairy audacious concepts into achievable ventures & projects. The Mightyhum team work with C-suite executives and leaders, developing new product offerings, effective go-to-market strategies, building for profitability, and streamlining operations. Before Mightyhum, Russell was involved in the world of social enterprise as the Executive Director of ME to WE, one of Canada’s best known and most awarded social enterprises. While at ME to WE, the team demonstrated that being profitable and impactful was indeed possible. During his tenure, ME to WE delivered $20M in cash and in-kind to WE Charity, helping transform the lives of over 1 million people through access to clean water; the lives of 200,000 children with access to education; and 30,000 women-led businesses launched globally.
Russell’ personal mission is to inspire others that there is ‘a better way to do business,’ ‘that through business we can solve some of the world’s problems at the same time.’ You can follow Russell’s work at https://www.linkedin.com/in/russell-mcleod1/ or www.mightyhum.com.
Bold Visionaries: Cat Perez and Marianna Di Regolo of Famm On Organizations Driving Transformative… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.