Alexa Hirschfeld
Alexa Hirschfeld is the co-founder and president of Paperless Post, a digital invitation and stationery platform she launched with her brother James in 2009. Based in New York, she leads the company's mission to make event planning beautiful and accessible, with over 650 million invitations sent.
Alexa Hirschfeld's Bio
Alexa Hirschfeld is an American entrepreneur and the Co-Founder and President of Paperless Post, the online invitation platform she built with her brother James Hirschfeld. She studied English and American Literature at Harvard University, where she began sketching out the idea for a digital invitation company while still a student.
When James Hirschfeld first mentioned the concept in 2007, Alexa became his first collaborator. Together, they turned the notion that formal invitations could exist entirely online into a working product and launched Paperless Post in 2009.
The platform has since sent more than 400 million invitations and built a reputation for design-forward digital stationery that adapts to everything from birthday parties to corporate events. Under Alexa's leadership as President, Paperless Post has expanded beyond invitations into a broader creative platform for personal expression.
Career Timeline
2002 — Enrolled at Harvard University
Studied English and American Literature
2006 — Graduated Harvard University
BA in English and American Literature
2007 — Began collaborating on Paperless Post concept
James Hirschfeld conceived the idea for an online invitation company; Alexa became his first collaborator
2008 — Worked in New York City while developing Paperless Post
Developed the business while working in NYC alongside her Harvard studies
2009 — Co-founded Paperless Post
Co-founded with brother James Hirschfeld at ages 25 and 23
2011 — Featured in The Harvard Crimson
Profiled as co-founder alongside James Hirschfeld
2024 — Featured in The New York Times
Featured in article on Paperless Post evolution
2025 — Featured in Forbes
Covered Paperless Post evolution from digital invites to cultural connector
Episodes
Advice Line: What’s Your Value?
Guy Raz brings together four legendary founders—Miguel McKelvey (WeWork), Alexa Hirschfeld (Paperless Post), and Chomps co-founders Pete Maldonado and Rashid Ali—for a special mashup tackling one of the hardest challenges in entrepreneurship: communicating your value proposition. Three founders call in with distinct dilemmas: Megan Downey struggles to prove the ROI of time-intensive pop-up demos for her reusable gift wrap, Amanda Ballweg can't make her dog enrichment cards make sense to online shoppers, and Mark Goldfarb needs to hire help without sacrificing the artisanal quality that defines his premium pesto. Each conversation reveals how to translate intangible benefits into clear, compelling messages that customers instantly understand. You'll learn why leading with the problem you solve beats listing product features, how to turn live experiences into scalable content, and why hiring for belief matters more than résumé prestige at the early stage.
Advice Line with Alexa Hirschfeld of Paperless Post
Guy Raz teams up with Alexa Hirschfeld, co-founder of Paperless Post, to tackle real challenges from early-stage founders. This Advice Line features three callers: Jess Walker of 5.Post on navigating brand identity in a collaboration, Carolyn Horesky of The Creative Garland Company on scaling handmade production, and Sayuri Tsuchitani of Sumo Yoga on educating consumers about an unfamiliar concept. Alexa offers insights on brand architecture, incremental scaling, and product positioning.
