Leila Janah
Born 1982 · Age 43
American social entrepreneur; founder and CEO of Samasource (Sama), Samaschool, Samahope and co‑founder of LXMI. Advocated ‘give work’ approach to poverty alleviation; author of Give Work.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Lewiston, New York
Leila Janah was born in Lewiston, New York, near Niagara Falls, to Indian immigrant parents.
Left for six‑month scholarship trip to Ghana
Won a scholarship through American Field Service and, three months after her 17th birthday, traveled to Apirede, Ghana to teach English for about six months during her senior year of high school.
High school experience in Ghana shaped career interests
Taught English to students (many blind) in the village of Akuapem/Apirede; cited as formative for her interest in working in Africa and poverty alleviation.
Matriculated at Harvard University (approx.)
Entered Harvard to study African Development Studies (custom major); exact matriculation year inferred from 2005 graduation.
Consulted for World Bank Development Research Group and Ashoka (while at Harvard)
While at Harvard, she did fieldwork and acted as a consultant/author on papers for the World Bank Development Research Group and Ashoka on social and economic rights.
Joined Katzenbach Partners as management consultant
Started working as a management consultant with Katzenbach Partners, focusing on healthcare, mobile and outsourcing companies; early assignments included managing a call center in Mumbai.
Graduated Harvard University
Graduated from Harvard University in 2005 with a degree in African Development Studies; conducted fieldwork in Mozambique, Senegal and Rwanda while at Harvard.
Managed call center in Mumbai (in assignment at Katzenbach)
Managed a Mumbai call center where she observed commuting slum workers and was inspired to create opportunities that bring work to marginalized communities.
Left Katzenbach to become visiting scholar at Stanford
Left consulting to be a visiting scholar at Stanford University's Program on Global Justice (founded by Joshua Cohen).
Co‑founded Incentives for Global Health
Co‑founded Incentives for Global Health with Thomas Pogge and Aidan Hollis to propose market incentives for development of drugs for neglected diseases.
Founded Samasource (Market for Change)
Launched Samasource (initially called Market for Change), a nonprofit/social enterprise to connect low-income people to dignified digital work (impact sourcing).
Samasource gained major enterprise clients
Over early years, Samasource secured large enterprise clients (Google, Microsoft, Walmart, General Motors among others) as customers for training/annotation work.
Served on boards and advisory roles
Served on the board of CARE USA and the San Francisco board of TechSoup Global and the Social Enterprise Institute (years vary; listed among honors/roles).
Featured in TechCrunch; Samaschool pilot origins (controversy)
TechCrunch published an article (2011) discussing Samaschool model/pilot in Bayview-Hunters Point and ignited controversy about US workers competing with lower‑paid overseas workers.
Named Forbes 30 Under 30 (Rising Star)
Included as a 'Rising Star' on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list.
Appeared in media and podcasts (Triangulation/TWiT and others)
Guest appearances and interviews (e.g., Triangulation episode, tech shows) describing 'Give Work' mission and Samasource progress (public speaking/media engagements around 2011–2018).
Named Young Global Leader (World Economic Forum)
Named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum (date listed among honors; exact year broadly reported within this era).
Named a 2012 TechFellow and Fast Company recognition
Recognized as a TechFellow in 2012 and listed among Fast Company's 'Most Creative People in Business' (2012).
Received Secretary’s Innovation Award for Empowerment of Women and Girls
Received the Secretary’s Innovation Award presented by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for Empowerment of Women and Girls (2012).
Founded Samahope
Founded Samahope, a crowdfunding platform to directly fund doctors providing medical treatments to women and children in poor communities.
Received Club de Madrid Young Leadership Award (inaugural)
Recipient of the inaugural Club de Madrid Young Leadership Award (date reported among honors; exact month/day not specified).
Profiled by Fortune as 'Most Promising Entrepreneurs'
Featured in Fortune’s 'Most Promising Entrepreneurs' (profiled in 2013).
Founded Samaschool
Launched Samaschool (originally SamaUSA), providing digital skills training and pathways to internet‑based jobs in-person and online.
Visited/served as Visiting Scholar at Stanford (earlier in career)
Served as a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University's Program on Global Justice (noted in biography; this role occurred in 2007 and is listed among honors/affiliations later).
Featured in major press (Christian Science Monitor, NYT profiles)
Subject of profile pieces including Christian Science Monitor (2014) and later obituaries/profiles in major outlets.
Won Heinz Award (Youngest recipient)
Received the 19th Annual Heinz Award in Technology, the Economy and Employment (2014), noted as the youngest person to win it.
Featured in The New York Times T Magazine 'Five Visionary Tech Entrepreneurs'
Named as one of 'Five Visionary Tech Entrepreneurs Who Are Changing the World' by The New York Times T Magazine (2015 feature).
Sama (Samasource) incubated LXMI via LLC ownership structure
Set up an LLC for LXMI ownership structure that included Janah, employees, investors, and gave Sama oversight and potential benefit from dividends/acquisition (donation of ~1/3 shares back to Sama).
Co‑founded LXMI (luxury skincare brand)
Co‑founded LXMI, a for‑profit luxury skincare brand incubated at Sama, focused on ethical sourcing (Nilotica) and women’s economic opportunities in Nile Valley regions.
Samahope merged with Johnson & Johnson's CaringCrowd
Samahope combined with J&J's CaringCrowd platform at the close of December 2015; Janah later wrote about the decision citing efficiency and branding.
Sama named among Fast Company's 'Most Innovative Companies'
Sama (Samasource/Sama Group) was described in Fast Company pieces as redefining not‑for‑profit business models and among innovative companies (2016 coverage).
Included in Elle Magazine 'Women in Tech' and NYT T Magazine list
Named in Elle Magazine's 'Women in Tech' (2016) and earlier featured in NYT T Magazine's 'Five Visionary Tech Entrepreneurs' (2015 coverage).
Published book 'Give Work'
Authored and published 'Give Work: Reversing Poverty One Job at a Time' (Penguin/Random House), released September 2017.
Recognized by Cartier Women's Initiative blog
Authored a first‑person essay 'From New York to Mumbai: How I became a social entrepreneur' (published 13 March 2018) reflecting on formative experiences and Samasource impact (37,000+ cited).
Samasource impact milestone reported (37,000+ people)
Reported impact milestone: Samasource had impacted 37,000+ people (figure cited in Leila's 2018 Cartier essay).
Transitioned Samasource from nonprofit to for‑profit
Led a strategic conversion of Samasource to a for‑profit model to scale investment in AI capabilities while keeping social impact focus (announced/undertaken around 2018).
Salesforce Ventures and others invested in Series A
Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund participated in Samasource Series A; public tribute from Salesforce Ventures details rationale for investment and impact.
Rebranded/started operating as Sama (approx.)
Samasource's commercial for‑profit operations increasingly described simply as 'Sama' around the time of the for‑profit transition and Series A (date inferred 2018–2019).
Diagnosed with epithelioid sarcoma (spring 2019)
First diagnosed with a rare soft‑tissue cancer, epithelioid sarcoma, in spring 2019 but continued to work publicly thereafter.
Samasource Series A funding — nearly $15M
Samasource raised a Series A financing of nearly $15 million (investors included Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund, Ridge Ventures, Social Impact Ventures, Bestseller Foundation and Bluecrest Limited Capital).
Married Tassilo Festetics de Tolna
Married Tassilo Festetics de Tolna (reported marriage year 2019).
Samaschool closed; curriculum acquired by US foundation
Samaschool ceased operations in 2020; its core training curriculum was acquired by a U.S. foundation.
Posthumous impact reported: Samasource served 25% of Fortune 50 and impacted 50,000+
Tributes and investor notes (Salesforce, Medium) reported Samasource had served ~25% of the Fortune 50 and impacted 50,000+ people by the time of/after her death.
Died of epithelioid sarcoma
Leila Janah died in New York City on January 24, 2020 from complications of epithelioid sarcoma.
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