Anthony Faraino of mental health company Mindflow pitches his startup at the Demo Day event held by Lighthouse Labs in May. (Photos courtesy Lighthouse Labs)
As seven startups embark on the latest session of the Lighthouse Labs accelerator, the organization’s new leader is looking for additional ways to support the companies after the program ends.
After dozens of conversations with Lighthouse Labs alumni and investors in her first months at the helm, managing director Debbie Irwin said a common theme was a desire for alumni of the accelerator program to have stronger relationships within the organization long-term.
“It became very obvious that Lighthouse played a critical role in these founders’ lives, and one thing they’re looking for is continued connection and better connection,” said Irwin, who is the group’s fourth managing director in as many years.
In the organization’s 11-week accelerator program, participating startups receive $20,000 in no-strings-attached funding and access to educational programs and mentorship. Irwin said Lighthouse does a good job of setting companies up for success but lacks continuing support of alumni after they complete the program. She said addressing that gap is a priority for her.
“A big focus is really re-imagining the community-building aspect of founder support. Eleven weeks isn’t enough to support a founder,” she said. “One of my visions for the organization is a really robust alumni and investor network.”
Debbie Irwin
To that end, Irwin intends to implement a quarterly get-together under the organization’s banner for those who have gone through the Lighthouse program. The first of those will be held in September. The recurring initiative is expected to take place in Richmond and in other cities.
And in a bid to help alumni find investors, Irwin is reintroducing Lighthouse-organized trips where founders pitch their concepts to investors based in cities other than Richmond. She said the organization oversaw such trips prepandemic but the practice fell off.
A trip to Raleigh, North Carolina, is being planned for November. Irwin said investors will be more willing to meet with founders if the founders are brought to them in a group. She said an evening of face-to-face interaction is a more fruitful way to land investment and build relationships than a barrage of emails.
Irwin said another area of focus is working on relationships with large local companies that could provide contracted, real-life work experience for Lighthouse startups.
Efforts to build out the post-accelerator experience at Lighthouse comes as the organization kicks off the session for its 17th accelerator class, which was announced this week.
Among the latest crop of startups is one locally based company, Glen Allen-based Liquet. Founded by John Schindler, the company is developing treatment for blood clots in the lungs with personalized medicine delivery and therapy duration, according to a Lighthouse news release.
The other companies in the cohort are Falls Church-based Canopie, a mental health resource for mothers; EmpathixAI of Arlington, which is developing an AI interviewer to do market research; McLean-based Gateway, a professional training platform; Fairfax-based frozen food company Myles Comfort Foods; Great Falls-based news analysis firm VerbaAI; and Parrots, which is based in Arlington and uses AI to detect and monitor neurodegenerative diseases.
The latest accelerator session is the first to be wholly under the leadership of Irwin, who started in late February, just a few days before the start of the 16th accelerator session.
Irwin is the fourth director of Lighthouse since 2020. The organization, founded in 2012, has an annual budget of about $1.1 million and is based in Capital One’s Michael Wassmer Innovation Center in Shockoe Bottom (formerly known as the 1717 Innovation Center).
Before coming to Lighthouse, Irwin spent more than five years as executive director of the Shenandoah Community Capital Fund, a nonprofit in Staunton that supports entrepreneurs and business development. She co-founded the Harrisonburg-based Manufactory Collective, an incubator for manufacturing businesses.
Liz Doerr, the incoming Lighthouse Board of Directors chairwoman and co-founder of local consulting firm Sandbox, said in an interview this week that Irwin rose to the top of other applicants because of her varied experiences, not just in startups but also as a leader in the nonprofit sector.
“Debbie is a little bit of a unicorn. We were looking for someone with startup and entrepreneur experience, and had experience running a nonprofit organization,” said Doerr, who said she is assuming the chairmanship of the Lighthouse board in January and taking over from current chairman Joe Whitchurch.
Lighthouse is a nonprofit by way of its affiliation with Bridging Virginia, which financially sponsors the accelerator. Lighthouse was formerly under the umbrella of Activation Capital, a nonprofit and independent state authority, and is now working on securing its own nonprofit status.
Startup founders, mentors and other affiliates of Lighthouse Labs networking at the accelerator’s spring 2024 Demo Day.
Irwin took over the Lighthouse director role from Art Espey, a board member who took on the director job in spring 2023 on an interim basis, though the temporary nature of his service wasn’t described as such by Lighthouse in a public announcement about his appointment.
Espey was preceded by Paul Nolde, who was the Lighthouse director for about a year starting in April 2022 and then moved on to a similar position at 757 Angels, a Norfolk-based firm that connects investors with startups. Nolde took over from Erin Powell, who landed a job with Blue Ocean Brain, a Lighthouse alumni company, in early 2022 after serving as Lighthouse’s director for a two-year stint that started in April 2020.
Doerr said that while Lighthouse has seen churn at the top, she feels the organization still draws on the experience and support of former directors because they have stayed in Virginia’s entrepreneurship and startup scene.
“All have remained close to the Lighthouse Labs family in some way or another,” she said.
Looking forward, Doerr hopes Irwin can build stronger relationships with other local organizations involved in startups and entrepreneurship, such as Startup Virginia, the Metropolitan Business League and Activation Capital, which has seen its own leadership transition and also recently unveiled an accelerator program.
“There are a lot of organizations doing good work in Richmond and across the commonwealth helping accelerate startups,” Doerr said. “My hopes for Lighthouse Labs is that we continue to figure out what our competitive advantage is, and how we support and uplift all the other organizations.”
Anthony Faraino of mental health company Mindflow pitches his startup at the Demo Day event held by Lighthouse Labs in May. (Photos courtesy Lighthouse Labs)
As seven startups embark on the latest session of the Lighthouse Labs accelerator, the organization’s new leader is looking for additional ways to support the companies after the program ends.
After dozens of conversations with Lighthouse Labs alumni and investors in her first months at the helm, managing director Debbie Irwin said a common theme was a desire for alumni of the accelerator program to have stronger relationships within the organization long-term.
“It became very obvious that Lighthouse played a critical role in these founders’ lives, and one thing they’re looking for is continued connection and better connection,” said Irwin, who is the group’s fourth managing director in as many years.
In the organization’s 11-week accelerator program, participating startups receive $20,000 in no-strings-attached funding and access to educational programs and mentorship. Irwin said Lighthouse does a good job of setting companies up for success but lacks continuing support of alumni after they complete the program. She said addressing that gap is a priority for her.
“A big focus is really re-imagining the community-building aspect of founder support. Eleven weeks isn’t enough to support a founder,” she said. “One of my visions for the organization is a really robust alumni and investor network.”
Debbie Irwin
To that end, Irwin intends to implement a quarterly get-together under the organization’s banner for those who have gone through the Lighthouse program. The first of those will be held in September. The recurring initiative is expected to take place in Richmond and in other cities.
And in a bid to help alumni find investors, Irwin is reintroducing Lighthouse-organized trips where founders pitch their concepts to investors based in cities other than Richmond. She said the organization oversaw such trips prepandemic but the practice fell off.
A trip to Raleigh, North Carolina, is being planned for November. Irwin said investors will be more willing to meet with founders if the founders are brought to them in a group. She said an evening of face-to-face interaction is a more fruitful way to land investment and build relationships than a barrage of emails.
Irwin said another area of focus is working on relationships with large local companies that could provide contracted, real-life work experience for Lighthouse startups.
Efforts to build out the post-accelerator experience at Lighthouse comes as the organization kicks off the session for its 17th accelerator class, which was announced this week.
Among the latest crop of startups is one locally based company, Glen Allen-based Liquet. Founded by John Schindler, the company is developing treatment for blood clots in the lungs with personalized medicine delivery and therapy duration, according to a Lighthouse news release.
The other companies in the cohort are Falls Church-based Canopie, a mental health resource for mothers; EmpathixAI of Arlington, which is developing an AI interviewer to do market research; McLean-based Gateway, a professional training platform; Fairfax-based frozen food company Myles Comfort Foods; Great Falls-based news analysis firm VerbaAI; and Parrots, which is based in Arlington and uses AI to detect and monitor neurodegenerative diseases.
The latest accelerator session is the first to be wholly under the leadership of Irwin, who started in late February, just a few days before the start of the 16th accelerator session.
Irwin is the fourth director of Lighthouse since 2020. The organization, founded in 2012, has an annual budget of about $1.1 million and is based in Capital One’s Michael Wassmer Innovation Center in Shockoe Bottom (formerly known as the 1717 Innovation Center).
Before coming to Lighthouse, Irwin spent more than five years as executive director of the Shenandoah Community Capital Fund, a nonprofit in Staunton that supports entrepreneurs and business development. She co-founded the Harrisonburg-based Manufactory Collective, an incubator for manufacturing businesses.
Liz Doerr, the incoming Lighthouse Board of Directors chairwoman and co-founder of local consulting firm Sandbox, said in an interview this week that Irwin rose to the top of other applicants because of her varied experiences, not just in startups but also as a leader in the nonprofit sector.
“Debbie is a little bit of a unicorn. We were looking for someone with startup and entrepreneur experience, and had experience running a nonprofit organization,” said Doerr, who said she is assuming the chairmanship of the Lighthouse board in January and taking over from current chairman Joe Whitchurch.
Lighthouse is a nonprofit by way of its affiliation with Bridging Virginia, which financially sponsors the accelerator. Lighthouse was formerly under the umbrella of Activation Capital, a nonprofit and independent state authority, and is now working on securing its own nonprofit status.
Startup founders, mentors and other affiliates of Lighthouse Labs networking at the accelerator’s spring 2024 Demo Day.
Irwin took over the Lighthouse director role from Art Espey, a board member who took on the director job in spring 2023 on an interim basis, though the temporary nature of his service wasn’t described as such by Lighthouse in a public announcement about his appointment.
Espey was preceded by Paul Nolde, who was the Lighthouse director for about a year starting in April 2022 and then moved on to a similar position at 757 Angels, a Norfolk-based firm that connects investors with startups. Nolde took over from Erin Powell, who landed a job with Blue Ocean Brain, a Lighthouse alumni company, in early 2022 after serving as Lighthouse’s director for a two-year stint that started in April 2020.
Doerr said that while Lighthouse has seen churn at the top, she feels the organization still draws on the experience and support of former directors because they have stayed in Virginia’s entrepreneurship and startup scene.
“All have remained close to the Lighthouse Labs family in some way or another,” she said.
Looking forward, Doerr hopes Irwin can build stronger relationships with other local organizations involved in startups and entrepreneurship, such as Startup Virginia, the Metropolitan Business League and Activation Capital, which has seen its own leadership transition and also recently unveiled an accelerator program.
“There are a lot of organizations doing good work in Richmond and across the commonwealth helping accelerate startups,” Doerr said. “My hopes for Lighthouse Labs is that we continue to figure out what our competitive advantage is, and how we support and uplift all the other organizations.”