Paul Nolde says he has a passion for interacting with startup founders.
It’s that enthusiasm that drew the longtime Richmond investor and adviser to Lighthouse Labs this spring as its new managing director. He replaces Erin Powell, who stepped down earlier this year to join Blue Ocean Brain — a provider of online professional development training that came through the Richmond accelerator program.
Nolde brings a background in banking and wealth management to the role. A job at a family investment office exposed him to early-stage investing and, in 2014, he started New Richmond Ventures, which matured into a fund. He then started Riverflow Growth Fund in 2020 with a focus on seed-stage tech startups.
In a recent interview, Nolde said he’s long been around Lighthouse Labs, given the accelerator is a key part of the investing ecosystem in Richmond. He shared his plan and vision for the program, which provides qualifying companies with $20,000 in equity-free funding, programing and mentorship. Its latest cohort will participate in a demo day Tuesday at The Byrd Theatre.
What appealed to you about joining Lighthouse Labs? This is Lighthouse Lab’s 10-year anniversary. The brand has been cultivated around the state and around the region by its founder, Todd Nuckols, current and previous staff including my predecessor. The chance to lead a well-respected asset and natural ecosystem was appealing.
I'm proud of the diversity of founders and the breadth of industries that Lighthouse Labs serves. We're at an exciting time in its history. We recently launched an alumni network. We are launching a capital campaign. We have a lot of things going for us in terms of growing the brand nationally, but also balancing that with growing the startup density in Richmond and Virginia. All of these things are coming together now, and I have the opportunity to make my own mark on it.
I joined Lighthouse Labs because it gives me the ability to continue to interact with startups, which is a passion of mine, but also to make an impact on the ecosystem and serve as a stakeholder in this innovation economy. That’s something that I have tried to build my career on and enjoy.
What’s your vision for Lighthouse Labs? I aspire to have Lighthouse Labs be one of the most reputable accelerators in the Mid-Atlantic and having a brand that resonates nationwide. That doesn't mean that we ignore our backyard. There will always be a bias for Richmond and Virginia. From a geographic perspective, that's my aspiration, at scale, through bespoke programing. We have an invaluable set of sponsors and strategic partners. Our secret sauce is our subject matter experts and mentors. If companies can go through our accelerator and confidently raise their seed rounds after graduating, that to me is a measure of success.
You studied international relations and foreign affairs. How does that play into your world vision and your vision for Lighthouse Labs? When I studied international relations and foreign affairs, one of the concepts that I enjoyed stuck with me and I try to carry it through any job that I've had and throughout my career. And that is posing the question: “How can Lighthouse Labs be a good partner in this broader effort of leveling up this region's entrepreneurial ecosystem?” Just being a good partner.
Anything else you’d like to share about your role? I see my role really is setting the strategic vision for the organization in concert with the board, of course, ensuring we don't run out of money and fostering really a desirable culture in which to work. And, you know, if I can focus on those three things on a macro level, my team is more than capable operating this organization like a well-oiled machine. And they do that now. So, I'm just proud of what I'm stepping into, largely in gratitude to my predecessors, what they've built.
The founders that have come through Lighthouse Labs, while they face big challenges, seem to get support from the program that sparks optimism. Can you speak to that? We're at our core a pure and simple accelerator. We're an accelerant to their growth. And, you know, we do strive to accelerate companies that are really at the point of commercialization of their product or service where they're ready to truly launch into the market and start to stress test their pricing model and establish pilot service channel partners and customers. And so, if we can help them get there sooner than later and they can come out and on the merits of their traction, raise a round of capital that can propel them after they come through our cohort — that's a success all around. So that's just one way we can maybe help these founders. But it is a tough road for any founder. The odds are not in your favor of taking a startup from a concept to an emerging business. So, we're keenly aware of that and want to do whatever it takes, whatever we can to help them.