Laura is the Founding Partner of Madre Ventures which supports enterprises that are solving significant social, environmental and technological challenges - profitably. MADRE’s central thesis is, “What would it look like to help one billion people?” and seeks to support that thesis through the verticals of clean energy, mindful technology and social wellness.
Since its launch in 2021, the Madre team has raised over $100M for founders who are taking big swings at interesting problems. Madre works closely with scientists reaching scientific-breakeven on fusion energy, engineers inventing machines to suppress hurricanes, founders tackling the Alzheimer's and dementia epidemics, record labels transforming the music industry through web3/NFT, and Hollywood creators who are crafting impactful content.
Laura is a member of Fast Company’s Impact Council, WEF's GEDI Forum (Gender Equity Diversity Investments), an LP in Robert Downey Jr’s FootPrint Coalition and a Founding Member of NVAK Collective and Allbright Collective. In a past career, she was a Film Finance agent at CAA, where she put together the financing for Academy Award winning films like DALLAS BUYERS CLUB, AMERICAN HUSTLE, STILL ALICE and others. Laura studied Narrative Economics at Yale University, Corporate and Board Governance at Wharton Business School, and is a proud aunt to seven nieces & nephews. Laura resides in Austin and Los Angeles with her husband, Jordan Wayne Lee.