About Lighthouse Labs
Lighthouse Labs is the premier and nationally recognized Seed-Stage Accelerator in Virginia. We invest $20,000 per startup without taking equity or fees from founders and have invested nearly $2,500,000 in future-focused founders. Our 3-month experience for high-growth startups is designed to help founders develop quickly and expand their market with the help of mentors, industry experts, investors, support services, lean startup education, and office space.
Our Commitment to Our Community
Lighthouse Labs believes the best ideas deserve full support and that innovation thrives with diverse perspectives. As a founder-focused accelerator, we empower diverse founders—regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation, disability, income, or gender identity. From the start, we've committed to uplifting traditionally underserved and underinvested entrepreneurs. Learn more about our commitment to authentic and sustainable diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Our Team
Our team is made up of founders, mentors, project managers, and community advocates with extensive experience in everything from B2B to B2C, small businesses to Fortune 100, and seed stage to scale. Lighthouse Labs is proud to work alongside these amazing entrepreneurial ecosystem supporters.
Debbie Irwin
Managing Director
Glenna Croy
Program Director
Board of Directors
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Joe Whitchurch, Cofounder & CEO, Doodle Enterprises, Lighthouse Labs Board Chair
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James Barrett, Cofounder, Head of Business Development Tenant Turner
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Liz Doerr, Partner Sandbox
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Jason Ferrell, Managing VP, Head of Design for Bank & Card, Capital One
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Claire Herring, Cofounder & CEO, Blue Ocean Brain
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Arnold Kim, Founder & Editor, MacRumors
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Ajay Kori, Co-Founder, Urban Stems, Novilla Pharmaceuticals, & Allay Lamp
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Joe Kunkel, Independent Investor
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Dr. John McCurley, MD, Chief Medical Officer - Medical Innovation, VCU Health
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Todd Nuckols, Chief Technology Officer, DPL Financial Partners
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Brian Powers, Cofounder & CEOmarkups.ai
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Satya Rangarajan, Managing Partner, Enlightened Capital Management
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Ting Xu, Founder & Chairwoman, Evergreen Enterprises, Plow & Hearth, Vivaterra
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Debbie Irwin, Managing Director, Lighthouse Labs
Our Partners
It takes a village to build a startup support system and Lighthouse Labs could not be more thankful to have the best partners on our team as we invest in the founders of tomorrow.
Contact Christina Gunter, Director of Strategic Partnerships, to learn more about ways to partner with Lighthouse Labs → christina@lighthouselabsrva.com
