Startup Investing: Heather Hartnett of Human Ventures, on Running a Business Creation Platform and Operationalizing Networks

Startup Investing: Heather Hartnett of Human Ventures, on Running a Business Creation Platform and Operationalizing Networks

Justin Gordon talks with Heather Hartnett, General Partner and CEO of Human Ventures, where she and her team have created one of New York’s premiere startup studios, incubators and early stage venture funds.

Justin Gordon (justingordon212) talks with Heather Hartnett (@HeatherHartnett), General Partner and CEO of Human Ventures, where she and her team have created one of New York’s premiere startup studios, incubators and early stage venture funds. Prior to founding Human, Heather’s venture capital career spanned across various roles at firms including Lightspeed Venture Partners, CityLight Capital, and Claremont Creek Ventures. Previously, Heather led the development and operations at the David Lynch Foundation, where she worked with some of the country's largest family offices and investment institutions. She's a graduate of the Kauffman Fellowship Program and serves on the board of Transact Global, Trilantic Capital Partners Founder’s Council, AARP’s Innovation Council, and Summit Impact.

Heather is active in the community, serving on the leadership board of tech: nyc and Transact Global. She has been listed as one of The 50 Most Influential Women in America by Hearst Digital Media Publications, is a frequent speaker at TechCrunch Disrupt, and is a regular contributor to Forbes, where she covers a range of venture capital topics.

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Website: Human Ventures

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/heatherhartnett/

Twitter: @HeatherHartnett

Heather’s Forbes Contributions

Heather with Transact Global

Show Notes

  • Human Ventures as a business creation platform
  • How Heather and her partner Joe Marchese started as a startup studio in NYC and how it was received
  • Where Human Ventures focuses their investments
  • How they operationalize their network to build companies
  • How Heather personally manages her network as an investor
  • Being relationship driven and focusing on creating value
  • How she evaluates founders’ EQ
  • Their Guide to Being Human
  • Some highlights of Human Venture’s portfolio companies
  • Evaluating product vs. distribution
  • Their Humans in the Wild entrepreneur in residence incubation program, born during the pandemic
  • Heather’s thoughts on building startup and VC ecosystems
  • Transitioning from an operator to an investor
  • Increasing diversity in VC

More About the Show

The VITALIZE Podcast, a show by VITALIZE Venture Capital (a seed-stage venture capital firm and pre-seed 400+ member angel community open to everyone), dives deep into the world of startup investing and the future of work.

Hosted by Justin Gordon, the Director of Marketing at VITALIZE Venture Capital, The VITALIZE Podcast features interviews with a variety of VCs, angel investors, and founders, with a particular focus on the future of work.

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Gale Wilkinson