Laura Buhler
Partner & Head of Community at Felicis
Community-driven. Former leader of the C100, past growth & performance marketer and growth-stage BizDev & partnerships leader. Ex-McKinsey, Ex-Gilt, Ex-C100.
đź“Ť Current location: San Francisco Bay Area
work
Felicis invests in early-stage technology companies across sectors and geographies.I build the programs, experiences, strategic partnerships, and internal tools to engage and expand the Felicis network, for both our firm, and for our founders.
Felicis, Partner & Head of Community (2023- current)
The C100, CEO, 2016-2022
Gilt Groupe, Growth, Performance Marketing, BD, Strategy, Strategic Partnerships, 2012-2016
McKinsey & Co., Business Analyst, then Project Manager @ WEF (Secondee), 2008, 2009-2012
board & nonprofit
University of Calgary Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurial Leadership (CIEL), 2019-present
Venture for Canada, Board Director, 2018-2022
Kiva.org, Kiva Fellow, Rwanda, 2009
What I really like to do
Inspiring people around a mission, vision, and goals
Hiring, leading, and working on teams of positive, hard-working, growth-mindset people
Connecting founders with well-aligned investors, customers, and other startup people
Hosting differentiated events that deepen relationships
Doing analyses and making charts to tell stories with data
Stitching together no-code apps for automation & productivity
Interviews I've done
Canada in the Valley: Owning the Podium on Confluence with Rana Sarkar
Global Canadians: The Tech Sector’s Secret Weapon on Disruptors with John Stackhouse
Tips to Scale Your Membership: A Case Study with C100 on Grype with Farhad Khan
Interviews I've led or hosted
Choose Possibility: A Conversation on Risk-Taking with Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, CEO of Xero
The Inflection Point for Ecommerce with Boris Wertz (Version One) Noura Sakkijha (Mejuri), Ethan Song (Frank & Oak), and Adrienne Down Coulson (Rakuten)
Startup Playbook in a Sudden Downturn with Geoff Lewis (Bedrock), Janet Bannister (Staircase Ventures), and Michael Scissons (CareerList)
The COVID-19 Pandemic: a cyber-criminal’s “Nirvana” with Arif Janmohamed (Lightspeed), Galina Antova (Claroty), and Sanjay Beri (Netskope)
Planet Canada: How Canadian Expats are Shaping the Future with John Stackhouse (RBC)
Operating principles at work
Lead with magnetism, positivity, and transparency
Learn constantly. Never ossify.
Autonomy is earned through accountability (to people, to commitments, to deadlines)
Directness is kindness (but only after the emotions have passed)
Dissolve the ego (working constantly at this one)
Investing & Advisory
While it has never been my main jam, pre-VC I did some advising and angel investing through my LLC, Loud Pika.The pika is my favourite animal for several reasons, not least of which is that you’ll never meet one below 8000 ft. They are industrious, vocal, stealthy, and future-aware.Some examples of fund/angel investments I've done:
Boardy - the best board member you've ever had
Maple VC - pre-seed venture fund backing global Canadians
Pivot Subscriptions - circular economy, manufacturing, resilience
Accrue Savings - solving for the American household debt crisis
Outside of work
I love eating and cooking.
History buff - theater, opera, art, books, and podcasts.
Always outside nordic skiing, downhill skiing, or hiking.
Nature lover and bird watcher.
need to reach me?
I'm on Slack, Twitter, LinkedIn, or at laurabuhler [at] gmail [dot] com
Slack communities: OnDeck, McKinsey Alumni in Startups, C100, EhList, and Work in Climate