Lisa Calhoun

At Valor, she leads a distinctive strategy focused on first-round investments in Southern U.S. software companies. Under her leadership, Valor’s AI and SaaS portfolio includes award‑winning companies such as Saile.AI, Visalaw.AI, FinQuery, Allelica, Arpio, Aetos Imaging, and STEMuli. Valor is also known for developing Vic, an AI‑powered investment management platform integrated with Salesforce, Carta, and PitchBook. Valor funds are supported by institutional and private investors, and many A‑list firms invest alongside or after Valor.

Lisa is a Kauffman Fellow (Class 23) and Leadership Award recipient. She frequently speaks at events including NASDAQ, SuperReturn, KPMG, the Kauffman Leadership Summit, WPO, and Venture Atlanta, and hosts the Atlanta Startup Podcast. Her board work centers on long-term trends in enterprise AI, adoption, risks, and use cases across the global Fortune 1000. She emphasizes AI as a tool to humanize and enhance life experiences.

Committed to equity in early-stage investing, Lisa founded the Startup Runway Foundation (501c3) in 2016, connecting underrepresented founders with first investors. The program’s alumni have raised nearly $100M. She also serves on the board of Heart of South Downtown, supporting economic empowerment in her community.

Before founding Valor, Lisa built a digital marketing agency recognized by HubSpot as a top 10 firm for startups and previously worked in enterprise IT software for clients including GDOT and UPS.

She holds an MBA in management science (statistics) from the University of Texas and a BA with honors from Baylor University. Her hobbies include vibe coding, yoga, dressage, and gardening; she is a USDF Bronze Medalist and FEI competitor.