Joining us in the Sky Lounge today is Lisa Calhoun, founding managing partner of Valor Ventures! Lisa shares her journey as a fourth-generation entrepreneur, the importance of relationships in venture capital, and her investment philosophy. She and Todd discuss the current state of the venture landscape, the impact of AI on startups, and advice for young entrepreneurs. Lisa shares her insights on navigating challenges in the industry and the transformative power of travel and personal growth.
Growing up, working for her family's commercial print shop, cold-calling clients as a teenager, and witnessing the rise of the microcomputer revolution firsthand, Lisa's got a lot of experience with making things happen in the tech industry. She explains how those experiences shaped her investing philosophy at Valor, where she leads seed-stage AI and SaaS deals across the South.
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Lisa Calhoun is an experienced leader in venture capital. Lisa was recently named Atlanta Investor of the Year by Startup Atlanta and highlighted among Business Insider’s Top 30 Women Early-stage Investors in the U.S. She is the founder and managing partner of Valor Ventures, the South’s first woman-led, institutional venture capital firm, now investing its third fund. Valor’s portfolio employs just over 1,000 people and has a footprint across 25 countries.
Under her leadership, Valor leverages a high performance portfolio of AI and SaaS software companies based in the South. Valor’s first checks into AI startups change the real world. Valor portfolio firms are helping guide major law firms (Visalaw); major city industrial cores around vehicle automation (Autonoma); US hospitals (AI genomics and mental health monitors); as well is on the front in Ukraine (AI drone intelligence).
Valor is also known for developing Vic, a visionary AI-powered investment management platform integrated with industry leaders like Salesforce, Carta, and PitchBook. Valor funds are backed by notable institutional investors as well as thoughtful private capital.
CONTACT:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisacalhoun/
https://valor.vc/
What is THE SKY LOUNGE?
Tales from the Sky Lounge takes you on a journey through business, consulting, and venture investing, hearing stories from the entrepreneurs, consultants, and investors shaping these industries.
ABOUT OUR HOST:
Todd Merrill is an experienced software executive who typically assists clients as a fractional or interim CTO and CiSO as a partner at TechCXO.
He has served in a series of companies as a C-Level executive focused on leveraging the Cloud to bring SaaS offerings to market. As an entrepreneur, turn-around expert, technology and product leader, and mentor, Todd has held full corporate P&L and product development responsibilities and directed diverse international teams of Engineering Managers, Mobile Architects, Developers, Dev Ops, QA, and Customer Success professionals.
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Production/Design: James Liebman
Music: Soundstripe/Cody Martin-Sunrise