Lighthouse Labs exec jumps to 757 Angels, 757 Collab

Paul Nolde, executive managing director of Lighthouse Labs in Richmond, will be the new managing director of Norfolk-based 757 Angels and 757 Collab. He replaces Monique Adams, the current executive director of 757 Angels and managing director of 757 Collab, who will leave the organizations this summer.

Nolde starts his new role May 30.

In November 2022, 757 Angels, an angel investment group that matches venture capitalists with local entrepreneurs, announced it would partner with VentureSouth, one of the largest angel network groups in the United States. The partnership will provide more access to capital and investors to 757 Angels’ 140 members. The partnership with VentureSouth begins June 15. 

“Paul brings a commanding network of syndicate investors and deal flow to the partnership. We look forward to leveraging his experience in, and familiarity with, the commonwealth’s diverse entrepreneurial ecosystems,” VentureSouth co-founder and Managing Director Matt Dunbar said in a statement.

Nolde has been at Lighthouse Labs since April 2022. Before that, he served as the fund manager and managing director of Riverflow Growth Fund, a seed-stage, health care-focused venture capital fund based in Richmond. Prior to that, he was director of NRV, an early stage venture capital firm based in Richmond.

“The opportunity to inherit and steward such a reputable brand and organization was too compelling to overlook,” Nolde said in a news release announcing his hire. “Monique and her team have built and cultivated a unique model for aligning three of the most critical components of a startup ecosystem, one that is rare within the commonwealth, but one that has put the Hampton Roads region on the national map and positioned them favorably to impact founders across the broader RVA757 megaregion and beyond. Having partnered closely with 757 Accelerate and 757 Angels for the past several years, I am honored and excited to now call them — and 757 Startup Studios — my colleagues.”

757 Angels launched in 2015 and has invested more than $100 million in 49 companies. About 90% of 757 Angels’ member investors hail from Hampton Roads, and all the companies 757 Angels invests in are either Virginia-based or have significant operations in Virginia. 757 Collab includes 757 Angels, 757 Accelerate, a startup accelerator program, and 757 Startup Studios, a coworking space in Norfolk where selected entrepreneurs can set up offices for no cost and receive mentoring. 757 Collab oversees 757 Angels, as well as 757 Accelerate.