Investor Highlight: Lerer Hippeau

Today we're looking at Lerer Hippeau, a VC firm that has probably touched, figuratively speaking, some of the objects in your home. 

As an early-stage investor in many of the brands that sparked the D2C revolution (think Warby Parker, Casper, and Glossier), the firm has been an integral part of preparing us as consumers to find our products online, beyond behemoth retailers and brand stalwarts and from niche and seemingly more transparent companies. The 11-year-old VC firm has created winning companies out of small check investments and recently launched its late-stage investment arm and SPAC, Lerer Hippeau Acquisition Corp.

Priorities:

The firm remains focused on New York City, early-stage companies, even while its portfolio and funds have expanded to include many west coast start-ups (⅓ of the portfolio) and funds designed to participate in later rounds. Lerer Hippeau boasts a strong reputation for helping founders in all areas of business development -- from marketing to hiring.

The firm is also ahead of the curve on gender equity, recently promoting four women to partner. The firm has also committed to the Diversity Rider initiative, in which it agrees to promote diversity by financing Black and other underrepresented groups.

Here’s a look at the firm's recent investments:

• Blockdaemon is a blockchain infrastructure platform that supports 30+ blockchain networks. The company's remote team calls Los Angeles, CA and Galway, Ireland home. Lerer Hippeau just participated in the company's $28MM Round A led by Greenspring Associates.

• Recyclops is on a mission to bring easy, affordable recycling to underserved locales. Glad Products led alongside Lerer Hippeau in the startup's $3MM seed round out of Sandy, Utah.

• Kaiyo is a second-hand furniture marketplace with a sustainability ethos. Lerer Hippeau participated in the 2018 Seed round and again in May’s equity raise of $5MM led by Moderne Ventures.

• Heartbeat Health is a telehealth company for cardiology. Lerer Hippeau has been with Heartbeat since the $2.4MM seed round in 2018 and through May’s $20MM Round B led by Echo Health Ventures.

• Expressable is another telehealth company, this time for connecting patients with speech-language pathologists. The Austin, TX-based company raised a $4.5MM seed round, with Lerer Hippeau and NextView Ventures taking the lead. 

• Plus One Robotics has completed 3 rounds with Lerer Hippeau, from seed to Series B. The start-up is now valued at $150MM for its contribution to logistics robotics.

• Small Door is providing round-the-clock veterinary services to anxious pet owners. It were founded by former SoftBank Capital partner, Josh Guttmann, and raised a Round A in April of $20MM.