
Superpower: Acceleration
- Serial operator who’s worked alongside dozens of software founders on their sales, growth, and exit strategies
- Kauffman Fellow
- 1st woman to lead an institutional VC in the region
- $100M+ in follow-on in <5 yrs.
Lisa is responsible for the overall success of the firm’s strategy and operations and serves on the investment committee.
Her pioneering perspective on venture capital is quoted in Fortune, Forbes and Inc. Calhoun is an active Kauffman Fellow.
Prior to founding Valor in 2015, Calhoun founded a “Top 10” professional services firm that helped startups scale and grows, Write2Market, where she contributed to over $1B of exit value for her clients. She began her career in technology consulting for major organizations including ADP, UPS, and Hartsfield Jackson Airport where she focused on how software transforms large organizations.
Calhoun earned an MBA from the University of Texas in 2003 and her BA in Professional Writing and Russian from Baylor University in 1994, where she attended on a full-tuition National Merit Scholarship. Calhoun was raised in rural Georgia, where her parents ran a small business in the backyard. She learned the basics of business operations from childhood.

She and her husband are co-founders of the celebrated Weekend for Love a luxury marriage retreat for African American couples. She was a recipient of the Power 30 Under 30 Award for her achievement in sales and women’s wellness. She is a former NPC fitness competitor.
Startup Runway, which supports founders of color and female founders in finding their first investors, is a natural extension of her life’s work. Mecca is a frequent speaker for major companies, podcasts and events including Stryker, Home Partners of America, Self-Care Women's Summit, Wives 7 Day Prayer Challenge, The Girlfriends Getaway and etc.
Mecca is a proud graduate of Clark Atlanta University, a leading HBCU. She is the mother of two beautiful girls and married to the love of her life Dr. Alduan Tartt. She and her family reside in Decatur.




(NASDAQ:CDLX), an Atlanta business recognized as one of the country’s fastest-growing
technology companies by Deloitte Fast 500 and Inc. 5000.
In February 2018, Lynne took Cardlytics public on the Nasdaq, making Cardlytics the
first tech IPO of the year. Lynne is one of only a handful of women who have led their firm to public markets.
Lynne raised over a billion dollars in public and private markets to scale Cardlytics into the
dominant global leader in purchase history-based analytics. It's also been frequently at the top of Atlanta's Best Places to Work lists.
In 2016, Lynne was named one of the top 10 venture-backed female founders by Inc. Magazine and Entrepreneur
360. In 2012 and 2013 Lynne was a finalist for the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Before founding Cardlytics, Lynne held multiple executive positions with Capital One from 1994 until 2008.
Lynne began her career at Bank One. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for NerdWallet and
Endeavor, a global organization of, by, and for entrepreneurs.
Lynne holds a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and marketing from the University of Cincinnati’s College
of Business and is a graduate of Darden’s Executive Leadership program from the University of Virginia. Lynne
is a mother of two and enjoys working out and cooking in her limited spare time.


Simon is a Sr Clinical Advisor to a West Coast Healthcare Angel VC as well as an active mentor to several incubators based in the eastern US. An experienced leader in Healthcare with an entrepreneurial focus on emerging solutions and technology to create greater quality and value for patients, healthcare providers, and hospitals. As a serial entrepreneur, I utilize my clinical and business insights, bridging the innovator and user experience to create solutions that work.




Only the top 2% of athletes make it into professional sports--and of those, even fewer go on to set records. Montgomery's leadership as a captain in the WNBA led her team to win multiple national championships in her 11-year basketball career. In 2020, Montgomery chose to opt-out of the WNBA to focus her efforts on social reform. In 2021, she joined Valor. Renee's investing experience prior to Valor included managing her own active angel portfolio and investments in tech and startup companies such as BUZZER, Round 21, The Fan Controlled Football League, Market Pryce, and SMRT Mouth.
Montgomery's championship of diversity and inclusion, combined with her competitive record setting, have earned her features in Forbes, FORTUNE, and called out among the TIME 100 Next. Montgomery is currently an ESPN/NBA TV contributor and hosts 2 national podcasts. Montgomery serves as Vice President and member of the WNBA Atlanta Dream ownership group. Montgomery is the first player to buy her team, a story that played out on a national stage and speaks to Montgomery's unique problem-solving abilities, commitment to investing in women's leadership and championship of inclusion in action.

Wiliam got his first taste of the startup ecosystem working for his friend's startup at the Mercer Innovation Center (MIC). The MIC provides aspiring entrepreneurs the programs, networking opportunities, physical space, tools, experts, student interns, and access to potential funders that can help take an idea from conception to market. Going forward, William is hopeful to pay it forward as a mentor at the MIC and is excited to help cultivate future entrepreneurs emerging from the southeast US.
In his free time, William enjoys community service, options trading, golfing, cooking, and reading autobiographies; along with his best friends, he mentors underserved youth in Metro Atlanta. His [current] favorite shows on Netflix are Ozark & Lupin.


