NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Lerer Hippeau, a leading early-stage venture capital firm founded and operated in New York City, announced today that it has closed on $230M in new capital across two funds: LH Seed VIII, which focuses on pre-seed and seed-stage companies, and LH Select IV, which invests in companies from Series A to C. With these new funds, Lerer Hippeau has also expanded the team with a series of promotions and new hires.
Additionally, Managing Partner Ben Lerer has joined Lerer Hippeau in a full-time capacity. He co-founded the fund in 2010 with Kenneth Lerer, and until recently he was also founder and CEO of Group Nine Media. He sold Group Nine to Vox Media earlier this year and now serves as a board director for Vox.
“New York is a center for entrepreneurship and innovation,” said Eric Hippeau, Managing Partner, “And that will always be true. The last several years have been turbulent but exciting in the startup ecosystem, and that has only strengthened our position in the market as we support founders as they turn big ideas into industry-transforming businesses. We look forward to expanding our team and continuing to invest in visionary entrepreneurs, and we’re very happy to finally have Ben’s undivided attention.”
“Over the past dozen years, we’ve built an unparalleled community of funders and founders,” said Ben Lerer, Managing Partner. “I’m thrilled to give Lerer Hippeau and our founders my complete focus for the rest of my career while we help them navigate the big moments as they build iconic companies.”
Since 2010, Lerer Hippeau has been a leader in New York’s tech scene, investing in over 350 leading enterprise and consumer companies across all sectors. The fund will deploy LH Seed VIII into pre-seed and seed-stage companies, in and out of New York. LH Select IV will allow the team to meet new founders at later stages and support the LH Seed fund’s breakout investments as they scale. With both funds, the team will back good people with great ideas who aren’t afraid to do hard things.
In addition, Lerer Hippeau announced today that it has promoted Graham Brown to Managing Partner. Mr. Brown joined Lerer Hippeau in 2015 as a Senior Associate and has been promoted through the ranks, demonstrating the firm’s commitment to developing talent internally. Mr. Brown has been an integral part of Lerer Hippeau’s success, having led investments in companies including ZenBusiness, WorkJam, Palmetto, K Health, and Delphia, among many others. Going forward, he will be principally responsible for the strategy and growth of LH Select. As part of Lerer Hippeau’s growing focus on Select, Mr. Brown will also be expanding the team to include additional investors.
“Graham’s excellence as an investor and operator has made him a great asset to our fund and our portfolio companies,” said Kenneth Lerer, Managing Partner. “We’re very pleased to welcome him as a Managing Partner and look forward to him taking on an even larger role in shaping the future of our fund for many, many years to come.”
Lerer Hippeau has also recently welcomed its first Head of People, Tanaz Mody, to join the Platform team and help the firm expand on its suite of post-investment support and services for portfolio companies. Ms. Mody previously served as the Chief People Officer at HQ, a Digital Currency Group subsidiary.
In addition, Lerer Hippeau is pleased to announce the promotion of Emily Libresco to Director, Marketing and Communications. Further, Sharlene Guiriba has just joined the team as an Associate. Ms. Guiriba was most recently a VC Fellow at Harlem Capital and earned her MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
About Lerer Hippeau
Lerer Hippeau is an early-stage venture capital firm founded and operated in New York City. Since 2010, we have invested in entrepreneurs with great ideas who aren’t afraid to do hard things. Our portfolio includes more than 350 leading enterprise and consumer businesses including Guideline, MIRROR, Blockdaemon, K Health, Allbirds, ZenBusiness, Zipline, and Warby Parker. We’re experienced operators who invest early and stay in our founders’ corners as they build iconic companies. Learn more at lererhippeau.com.
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Early-stage VC Lerer Hippeau has raised $230M in new funds to continue investing in founders in and out of New York City.