Halogen Ventures

There’s something about starting the morning with great founders, good coffee, and real conversation. ☕ During Venture Atlanta Conference, Halogen Ventures partnered with Pilot.com to host an intimate Founder + Investor breakfast at Hartley Kitchen — a small gathering designed for honest dialogue among Southeast founders and investors. We were joined by Cori Fain-Forrest (Moxi) and Stewart Price (Croux), both Halogen portfolio founders creating companies that make life better for real people. Huge thanks to Pilot and Evan Prislovsky for helping bring it all together and to everyone who made the morning feel like something more than just another networking event. Tagging the incredible founders and investors who joined us: Erika Boeing Accelerate Wind Toby Egbuna Chezie Akshita Iyer Ome Alex Smereczniak Franzy Mark Bugas Flowlie Technologies Matt Shapiro York IE Justin Dawkins Kwamena Aidoo Corridor Ventures Jordan Raffray Benson Capital Nick Graziano, CFA Blue Heron Capital Virginia Szepietowski Nyad

Big things are happening in #Alabama! This latest Axios feature spotlights the momentum we’re building with Innovate Alabama. Congrats to 🏆 Ruth YOung-LOaeza™ Ergonomic Biomedical Patented Linens and NEET SHEETS for their incredible $750,000 pitch victory at the Halogen Ventures Alabama Pitch competition. This is what investing in overlooked regions and supporting female founders looks like in action. Proud to work alongside partners like Innovate Alabama, Rodney Sampson, Charlie Pond, Tim Draper, Draper Associates, Meet the Drapers, Alabama Entrepreneurship Institute, Theresa M. Welbourne, PhD, and so many others who are helping shape the future here. Check out the full story below—and join us as we keep moving Alabama forward! Jesse Draper Ashley Balla Jennifer Kwan Mandelbaum Adriana Gadala-Maria Ochi Jolie Goldberg Julia Richter Todd Greer Innovation Portal Shegun Otulana Harmony Venture Labs Kyle South The Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama Ritchie Kruunenberg Innovation Depot Croux Jennifer Ryan Moxi Cori Fain-Forrest Auditocity Gia Wiggins PhD, SPHR https://lnkd.in/g3ushy-H

It’s been a whirlwind week for Halogen Ventures and we’re doing something new that is worth talking about. We’ve been spending a lot of time in Alabama thanks to Innovate Alabama and we’re making some new bets. To all the investors out there, if you want the world to look different, don’t keep investing in the same places. Hypepotamus Halogen Ventures Ashley Balla Jennifer Kwan Mandelbaum Adriana Gadala-Maria Ochi Jolie Goldberg Maija Ehlinger

We had the best time in #Alabama this past week — and we’re still thinking about Monday’s Halogen Ventures x Draper Associates Startup Fun Pitch event at UAH I2C in Huntsville. ⚡ The energy in the room was unmatched, with founders from I²C, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, and gener8tor sharing bold visions for the future. Every pitch was a reminder of why Huntsville is becoming a launchpad for innovation. Congratulations to the winners — Doctours, SymbyAI, SetaTech, Skyfire | AI, and CheckMySpot — and shoutout to all the incredible founders who took the stage: Van Heron Labs, iXpressGenes, See Produce, ETHAR, Inc. 🙏 Thank you to our partners and judges for making it possible: I²C, gener8tor, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Pilot, Ramp, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Draper Associates, Meet the Drapers, Jesse Draper, Tim Draper, Ashley Balla, Jennifer Kwan Mandelbaum, Rigved Joshi, Rochelle Silveira Demeneghi, Tyler W. Clark, and Sierra Peña. We left Huntsville inspired, proud, and energized for what’s ahead. Alabama’s startup community is just getting started. 🚀 #HalogenVC #Halobama #Innovation #InvestInWomen #StartupEcosystem

That’s a wrap on the Halobama Pitch Competition — and wow, Tuscaloosa did not disappoint. 🎤✨ Yesterday the Halogen Ventures team spent the day at The Edge Incubator & Accelerator at The University of Alabama (Alabama Entrepreneurship Institute), surrounded by founders, judges, and community leaders who are proving that Alabama is a force in the innovation economy. Highlights we’ll be talking about for a while: ·     A powerhouse judging panel: Jesse Draper, Tim Draper, Shegun Otulana, Rodney Sampson ·     An authentic panel led by Charlie Pond (Innovate Alabama) with our portfolio founders — Jennifer Ryan (Croux), Cori Fain-Forrest (Moxi), Gia Wiggins PhD, SPHR (Auditocity) — on what it really means to build in Alabama ·     The pitches themselves: bold, brave, and brimming with possibility. Huge congrats to our winners, led by NEET SHEETS(🏆 Ruth YOung-LOaeza™ Ergonomic Biomedical Patented Linens) in 1st place! 🏆 👏 And a HUGE thank you to all the companies who pitched their vision on stage: Accelerate Wind • Books Built • CerFlux • Nyad • monthly • SmartHub Sensors • KrillPay Inc. • Moro Motion • NEET SHEETS • FigBrew • Generational Systems LLC.. ✨ We’re also grateful to the community leaders who joined us, including Mayor Walt Maddox and the The Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama, for championing entrepreneurship in Tuscaloosa. 🙏 Special thank you to the partners and supporters who made this event possible: Alabama Entrepreneurship Institute, Ramp, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Draper Associates, Meet the Drapers, Todd Greer (Innovation Portal), Ritchie Kruunenberg (Innovation Depot) — and especially Theresa M. Welbourne, PhD for her leadership and support in making this competition such a success. We left inspired, proud, and energized to keep building with this community. The future of innovation doesn’t just live on the coasts — it’s happening right here in Alabama. 🚀 #Halobama #HalogenVC #StartupEcosystem #InvestInWomen #Innovation #InnovateAlabama #InnovationDepot #TechInnovation #EconomicDevelopment #AlabamaTech

HopSkipDrive has made the 2025 Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America — and top 20 in the Education category! This marks our fourth year on the Inc. 5000 list, and this year’s ranking places us in the top 13% of honorees nationwide. I'm so proud of this amazing team and the work we do everyday to solve challenges in student transportation. The work itself is incredibly gratifying but it's great to see it recognized. #Inc5000

Alabama founders!! This is your last week to apply to Meet the Drapers, the world's largest startup pitch competition on television! Meet the Drapers is filming its first episode of the season in Tuscaloosa, AL, and we're looking for Alabama founders to take the stage and pitch to legendary VC Tim Draper and Jesse Draper of Halogen Ventures on national TV for a shot at up to $1,000,000 in investment! We're looking for Alabama-based, early-stage startup (Pre-Seed to Series A) from any sector - from AI to healthtech, sustainability to consumer -- led by inspiring founders with bold visions. The show is open to U.S.-based startups, and the selected companies will film their pitch live in Tuscaloosa on Sept. 24, 2025. ➡️ Apply now at https://lu.ma/d2q68aup The application deadline is August 31, 2025 - don't miss it!! Jesse Draper Ashley Balla Jennifer Kwan Mandelbaum Adriana Gadala-Maria Ochi Julia Richter #alabama #alabamafounders #alabamastartups #halogenvc #halogenventures #earlystage #vc #venturecapital #meetthedrapers

🚨 Big news!! 🚨 Lil Luv Dog, the first EWG verified pet care brand led by experienced entrepreneurs and brand building experts Cara Santana and Stephanie Suganami, will officially launch August 26th at LilLuvDog.com! "Cara Santana and Stephanie Suganami believe there is a gap in the market for a premium offer whose branding is more akin to that of millennial-favourite beauty and wellness labels such as Rhode, attracting a consumer who is just as likely to invest in their dog's health and well-being as their own." Lil Luv Dog will be going to market with a dry shampoo product and has 10 more SKUs in development, which the company plans to roll out over the next year. Congratulations to Cara Santana, Stephanie Suganami on the exciting announcement and Vogue Business feature! ➡️ Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/ectCu2BF Jesse Draper Ashley Balla Jennifer Kwan Mandelbaum Adriana Gadala-Maria Ochi Julia Richter #halogenvc #lilluvdog #vc #petcare #futureoffamilies #earlystage #investinwomen

📣 Halogen Ventures founding partner Jesse Draper and legendary Silicon Valley investor Tim Draper are coming to Huntsville, Alabama — Join us for a fun startup pitch at UAH I2C on Sept. 22! 📣 Come to UAH I2C for the first ever Huntsville Startup Fun Pitch with Jesse Draper and Tim Draper featuring startups from UAH I2C, gener8tor Huntsville and HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. Who knows...some founders may walk out of the event with some new funding! ➡️RSVP here to save your spot at the event- free to attend! https://lu.ma/f7esrs7f We are excited to see you there!! Jesse Draper Ashley Balla Jennifer Kwan Mandelbaum Adriana Gadala-Maria Ochi Julia Richter Meet the Drapers Draper Associates Innovate Alabama #halogenvc #vc #huntsville #alabama #venturecapital #earlystage #halobama

🚨 This is the last week to apply to Halogen Ventures' 2025-2026 In-Semester MBA Fellowship! 🚨 We’re looking for MBA students eager to learn and passionate about venture capital and the startup industry. If this is you, we’d love for you to apply and join our team! ➡️ Learn more & apply here: https://lnkd.in/eFJ44HPS Applications are open until EOD 8/22/25 (this Friday!) Jesse Draper Ashley Balla Jennifer Kwan Mandelbaum Adriana Gadala-Maria Ochi Julia Richter #halogenvc #halogenventures #halogenfellowship #venturecapital #vc #earlystage #DEI