This week on the Everybody Leads podcast, Tim Lupinacci interviews Lisa Calhoun, Founding Managing Partner of Valor Ventures, the South’s first woman-led institutional venture capital firm, now investing in its third fund. Under Lisa’s leadership, Valor leverages a portfolio of AI and SaaS software companies based in the South and features best-in-class infrastructure, including “Vic,” a visionary AI-powered investment management platform. In 2016, she established the Startup Runway Foundation, the nation’s largest nonprofit, introducing underrepresented founders to their first investors. Lisa is a Kauffman Fellow and recipient of the Kauffman Fellows Leadership Award for the Class of 2023. She was recently ranked among the nation’s top 30 women early-stage investors by Business Insider and named Atlanta Investor of the Year 2024 by Startup Atlanta.

Lisa discusses her inspiring leadership journey to becoming an experienced leader in venture capital. She shares the importance of setting a clear direction that others can choose to follow, building a community of courage, living a life of no regrets by taking risks, and letting endless curiosity offset fear. Lisa imparts valuable wisdom that is useful for anyone aiming to develop as a leader.

Other Topics Include:

• Lisa’s Leadership Journey
• Having Courage and Taking Risks
• Early Inspirations
• The Startup Runway Foundation
• Moving Forward with Resilience After Setbacks
• Daily Disciplines to Manage Stress
• Embracing the Power of AI
• Individuals Who Had an Influence on Lisa

Additional Resources:

Charity

• This episode is in support of Lisa Calhoun's designated charity, Startup Runway. We have made a donation to Startup Runway as a thank you to Lisa for joining Everybody Leads. To learn more about the Startup Runway, please visit https://startuprunway.org/.

Valor Ventures:

• Website: https://valor.vc/

Thank you for listening, and please join us again to hear from more exceptional leaders.

Click for more:

• https://everybodyleads.org
• https://www.bakerdonelson.com

Producer: Jason Plank
Intern: Claudia Bonney Amamoo