Zap's Wrap October 20th

hi friends,

Last week was a blur- a trip to Atlanta, hosting three events, and judging the SEC Pitch Competition all in the same week. It was a lot (in the best way).

This week, I’m slowing down a bit and getting back to what I love most: working with my founders and actually getting some work done haha.

One project I’ve been chipping away at is a new website for The Lighthouse. I’ve been sitting on it for weeks because I kept telling myself it needed to be perfect before I shared it. But… it’s never going to be perfect. And that’s kind of the whole point. So I’m finally putting it out there and asking for feedback instead.

The new Lighthouse site is officially under construction, but I’d love for you to take a look and tell me what you think of the messaging, layout, and overall vibe!!

👉 lt.house

Building in public feels a little vulnerable, but it’s also how we get better. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts (:

Venture Atlanta Recap

It was awesome to hit my second Venture Atlanta.

Every time I go, I leave buzzing with ideas about what Nashville can learn from the Atlanta startup ecosystem. And trust me, I’ve got a lot of thoughts brewing. I’m working on pulling them together into something thoughtful to share soon…

But for now, here are a few trip highlights:

• Seeing Jack with InRev absolutely crush it. Jack was one of my first few investments and might be the first in my portfolio to raise a Series A next year. Watching him work the room was one of those full-circle moments that reminded me why I love what I do!

• Driving down with Channing and getting to introduce her to everyone I know. Channing’s been building Eva for almost a decade, and it’s been amazing to watch her growth and resilience. Having four hours in the car together meant plenty of founder talk and a lot of laughs.

• Hanging out with Sean and Michael. These two have taught me so much over the past year. It means a lot to be able to just hang out with people who have been both mentors and friends!

• Bopping around with Alex. If I could recruit her from NYC to Nashville, I would in a heartbeat (: Her energy is unmatched.

Every trip like this reminds me how valuable it is to step out of my own market, meet other builders, and bring that energy back home.

Lighthouse

We hosted a ‘school picture day!’

Drew came and took photos of as many founders we could drum up at the same time. We will use these shots to make a fraternity composite to hang at the house! Here’s a sneak peak.

We also hosted a legal workshop with our killer lawyer, Derrick.

And then we hosted 80+ engineers to hear from local startups like, Watt Data, AdCritter, Unity AI, Listening Post, and One Tap. Thanks to David from Vaco and Hunter from Integrity Power Search for sponsoring.

Personal

I cocooned all weekend. I needed to recover from an extra-social week. But Drew did get this really nice photo of me!

Come visit me at in-person office hours weekly on Thursdays.

to the moon,

zap