Lizzy Hazeltine

K4Connect Closes $8 Million Series A to Serve the Underserved

Posted by Lizzy Hazeltine | Oct 24, 2016

It’s no secret that Scott Moody and Jonathan Gould are on a mission with their team at K4Connect. This afternoon, the duo made good on their plans to secure institutional capital and strategic partnerships to rapidly scale their connected home venture. Intel Capital announced an $8 million Series A investment in the Raleigh-based company during Intel‘s annual summit. The resources and partnerships aim to accelerate development of K4Connect’s technology that helps adults live independently. Moody says their integration of hardware and software enables more efficient and effective home automation, in-home healthcare and connectivity while offering senior community staff a dashboard to monitor their residents’...

Talking Impact Investing with Christine Primmer of SJF Ventures

Posted by Lizzy Hazeltine | Oct 20, 2016

We’ve covered diversity in the startup community from many angles. From last week’s Google for Entrepreneurs Exchange and Black Wall Street Homecoming to the ongoing conversation about the funding gap and SOAR Triangle’s, we’re covering the evolving identity of North Carolina’s entrepreneurs. Now, we’re turning our focus to the other side of the table and women investors, from angels to institutional investors to corporate funds. First, we’ll chat with Christine Primmer, Principal at SJF Ventures, about her work and her path into investing with the bicoastal impact investment firm. Since 1999, SJF has invested in more than 50 companies with a...

Durham Startup Founder Dissects Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti

Posted by Lizzy Hazeltine | Oct 13, 2016

Hurricane Matthew packed a punch last weekend. At home in North Carolina, rivers continue to rise prompting ongoing school closures, isolating cities like Greenville and causing disruptions in power in the Triangle and further east to Fayetteville and Lumberton. Electricity and water remain compromised in many of these communities. For Carlo Diy, founder of Haiti Hub, the damage at home reminds him of the storm’s impact on Haiti. His Durham-based startup uses digital tools to teach Haitian Creole, which he says is a key skill for aid workers to engage communities in decision-making in the aftermath of a crisis like...

Second Black Wall Street Homecoming & First Google for Entrepreneurs Exchange Black Founders Converge in Durham

Posted by Lizzy Hazeltine | Oct 13, 2016

It’s a packed week in Durham by design, with an accent on founders of color and attracting investors. Twelve early-stage tech led by black founders arrived last weekend for the first week-long Google for Entrepreneurs Exchange Black Founders hosted by longtime partners Google for Entrepreneurs and American Underground. The intense dose of mentoring aims to prepare founders to seek and close capital, taking aim at the documented funding gap says American Underground’s Chief Strategist Adam Klein. The event attracted companies from as nearby as Raleigh and as distant as Los Angeles. “American Underground is deeply committed to supporting the growth and success of underrepresented...

Cooper and McCrory Spar in 2nd Gubernatorial Debate

Posted by Lizzy Hazeltine | Oct 12, 2016

Attorney General Roy Cooper and Governor Pat McCrory met Tuesday night in Research Triangle Park for their first formal debate, the second of three planned, as the North Carolina governor’s race continues. This year’s contest unfolds under the national spotlight in part due to the controversy stirred by legislation limiting anti-discrimination protections and bathroom access for LGBTQ citizens. The candidates tussled about the economy, taxes, and each others’ professional histories during the 60-minute televised debate. We pulled video from our conversations with the candidates earlier this year to contrast their views on some of these issues at play in this historically...

#TheNext North Carolina Innovators are Democratizing and Decentralizing

Posted by Lizzy Hazeltine | Sep 15, 2016

The second day of the 2016 edition of CED’s Tech Venture Conference highlighted industry wide trends of sharpening consumer focus and opening access to innovation, all with an eye to promoting the region’s increasing economic momentum. MedFusion CEO Kim Lebow kicked off the morning with a dissection of the power of “informed decision makers” in the world of healthcare IT. Lebow unpacked the shift from practice-first mentality that previously guided product development in the healthcare vertical to the rise of the patient-as-consumer, whom her digital, personal medical records product serve. The new normal in healthcare IT, she notes, places consumers in the...

Hazeltine: Investing in an Open Door Policy

Posted by Lizzy Hazeltine | May 16, 2016

Life is full. Mostly, we get to choose what big blocks we put into it, even if the details shift and change moment to moment. At a recent young investor dinner, the conversation reminded me how the elements that we pack into our days jostle for our brain-space—whether boot camps or strategic prospecting for corporate M&A or kids’ birthday parties. That group of exceptionally bright and driven and understated people talked about how they consistently make time for the things and people they value, despite the ever-present trade-offs. They show up, show up, show up, and in a...

Hazeltine: The One Email You Should Send Every Month

Posted by Lizzy Hazeltine | Feb 24, 2016

If a founder sends one email this month, it should be the easily-digestible, transparent, data-rich retrospective a founder circulates to each of his or her individual investors. The almighty monthly update communicates what happened and has the potential to predict a startup’s ultimate fate. Part of my job at The Startup Factory is to keep tabs on the health of our portfolio companies. It’s part and parcel of knowing when I can help plug them into our network of angels & VCs when they want funding. More importantly for the early stage when we invest, it lets me know when to...

Hazeltine: Chasing a Worthy Why

Posted by Lizzy Hazeltine | Feb 2, 2016

Between playing in the snow like a kid and dressing a pit bull in a startup tee, I saw this Sam Altman tweet: The words clicked with my ongoing process of assessing Why I do what I do. The few days of physical and mental space from the startup community gave me room to chew on that question in a deeper way than I had during the hectic beginning of 2016. When I say assessing, I’m talking about the underlying purpose that drives my investment of energy and self, not the New Year’s resolutions that focus on...

Posts by Lizzy Hazeltine