Eric Hippeau

Venture capitalist (@lererhippeau.com), entrepreneur, media executive (ex-CEO of The Huffington Post, ex-CEO of Ziff-Davis), passionate about the oceans

[NVCA @nvca]

NVCA and @VCForward need VC volunteers to serve as mentors to the amazing scholarship recipients in Cohort 22 of #VCUniversity:

⏰Time commitment: 1 virtual hour/month (August - October 2026)
🌍Criteria: Active, US-based VC investors (all sectors, but especially life sciences)
🚀Experience: Full-time VCs of all experience levels - OR - retired/part-time VCs w/15+ years experience

👉Sign up today: https://t.co/vHZRKrg6R2

[Lerer Hippeau @LererHippeau]

We loved breaking in our new rooftop on the nicest day of the season with our founders, LPs, coinvestors, operators, and ecosystem friends this week.

Thanks to Santo Taco for the best catering, hands down.

Thanks, also, to our partners at @Stifel, @WithumCPA, @Aduro_Advisors, @awscloud, and @goodwinlaw.

[Lerer Hippeau @LererHippeau]

Congratulations to LH portfolio company Scotch on raising their $20M Series A 🍻🥂

[Lerer Hippeau @LererHippeau]

LH Managing Partner @BenjLerer on @HarlemCapital's podcast discussing what constitutes actual risk taking in VC (and why so little of it happens when everyone's chasing consensus)

[Lerer Hippeau @LererHippeau]

Congratulations to LH portfolio company @boardisfun on raising their $20M Series A 🎉

[Lerer Hippeau @LererHippeau]

LH’s Head of Marketing & Communications @Emily_Libresco on what AI tools can and can’t do for brand.

[Eric Hippeau @erichippeau]

I am proud to share that I have joined the Board of @nvca. The US startup ecosystem powers our economy by driving relentless innovation, creating millions of jobs and by giving birth to world-changing companies that generate trillions in value and global leadership. The @nvca plays a key role in making sure our community continues to thrive.

[Lerer Hippeau @LererHippeau]

LH Managing Partner @erichippeau has joined @nvca's next board cohort.

Eric will work with his fellow board members to advocate for the American entrepreneurial ecosystem, in Washington and beyond, to ensure policies are in place that allow founders and investors to work together productively as they scale the next generation of companies.

[Lerer Hippeau @LererHippeau]

LH Managing Partner @erichippeau has joined @nvca's next board cohort.

Eric will work with his fellow board members to advocate for the American entrepreneurial ecosystem, in Washington and beyond, to ensure policies are in place that allow founders and investors to work together productively as they scale the next generation of companies.

[Eric Hippeau @erichippeau]

Thanks @ollieforsyth for inviting me on his podcast

[Lerer Hippeau @LererHippeau]

A great conversation between LH Managing Partner @erichippeau and @ollieforsyth

[Joe Medved @joevc]

I think we need to update the @LererHippeau website with new team photos from @mother__tech's Degen AI. https://t.co/uHsKjRZ0BU

[Eric Hippeau @erichippeau]

GV leads $15M seed in https://t.co/ZaBqLsWvp8 as it launches one-tap AI creative app Degen — TFN https://t.co/oDX6ghAVFu

[Keller Cliffton @Keller]

Sci-fi Western

[Lerer Hippeau @LererHippeau]

LH Principal @Will_McKelvey spoke with @Inc about a wide range of subjects and themes he’s been thinking about, including why founders are building in New York, having a generalist and founder-centric approach to investing, when founders should consider raising, and why he’s curious about education and religion.

Will’s take: “When I meet a founder, I want to build a relationship over a long period of time—which means maybe not being a fund that’s sending out 1,000 cold emails a week, but instead doubling down on the people who I think are special talents, even when there isn’t a “deal” to be done.”

Read Will’s conversation with Inc. at link in comments.

[Keller Cliffton @Keller]

Autonomous logistics is a game-changer for elderly communities that aren't as mobile and often can't access the same services as the rest of us. Grandma is living in the future!🧓🚀

[Lerer Hippeau @LererHippeau]

LH Managing Partner @erichippeau on @CNBC talking gamechanging IPOs for 2026

[Money Movers @moneymoverscnbc]

"SpaceX will be the biggest IPO ever, potentially raising $40B to $80B at a $1.5T valuation."

@LererHippeau Managing Partner @erichippeau discusses whether the company's massive debut would open or squash opportunities for others looking to go public:
https://t.co/MA3Nzvr4wK

[Keller Cliffton @Keller]

Two years ago I would’ve been shocked to think that Zipline needed to buy physical compute. But used compute deployed on-prem is so much cheaper today it's a no-brainer decision that's saving us millions of dollars per year. So much for the cloud economy🤷‍♂️

[This Week in Startups @twistartups]

Keller Cliffton from Zipline thought making the drones would be the hardest part. It was only 15% of the problem.

The company spent 9 months figuring out delivery for one hospital. Weeks of all-nighters. Building inventory software in a Rwanda shipping container.

Then the 2 AM call came: "We delivered the blood to the roof.” It was 100 feet off due to a bug in the code, and a nurse had to climb up on to a roof to get it, but the patient’s life was saved.

Keller: "We got a 3-star Yelp review. They risked their lives for our mistake. That's when we knew we had product-market fit.”

Hear the whole story in this TWiST exclusive, recorded live at LaunchFest in SF.

(cc: @Jason, @Keller, @Zipline)

[Ryan Oksenhorn @ryanzip]

things move fast @zipline

[Keller Cliffton @Keller]

The Bitter Lesson of Robotics: It's extremely easy to make a video of a robot doing something once under perfect conditions then post it to X. But it often takes a decade to harden systems and design for all the insane edge cases of the real world. Many companies raising $$$$ on cool demos, but all the hard work comes after