A boutique venture capital firm in East Texas backing early-stage founders who build durable, people-first companies.
LightHeart Ventures was founded on a straightforward conviction: the best companies are built by founders who are deeply connected to the problems they solve — people who have lived the pain, seen the gap, and carry the resilience to build through uncertainty. As a boutique venture capital firm based in East Texas, we deliberately operate outside the traditional coastal venture corridors because we believe proximity to real-world industries — agriculture, manufacturing, logistics, healthcare — produces sharper insight into where technology can create lasting value.
Our investment philosophy centers on partnering early. We invest at the seed and pre-seed stages, when founder conviction matters more than metrics and when operator-level involvement from investors can meaningfully change a company's trajectory. Unlike larger funds that spread capital across dozens of bets, our boutique model means we maintain a concentrated portfolio and stay deeply involved with every team we back. We sit in on product reviews, help recruit key hires, pressure-test go-to-market plans, and remain present through the critical inflection points that determine whether an early-stage company becomes a category leader or stalls out.
East Texas is more than our mailing address — it shapes how we think about value creation. The Southern innovation corridor, stretching from the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex through East Texas and into Louisiana, sits at the intersection of abundant natural resources, growing technical talent pools, and industries ripe for technological transformation. Founders building in and for these markets often face less competition for customers and talent while addressing problems of enormous scale. We believe this combination — overlooked markets plus determined founders — is where outsized returns are generated.
LightHeart Ventures focuses on four sectors where technology intersects with fundamental human needs: AgTech, artificial intelligence and robotics, and healthtech. These are not arbitrary themes — they reflect the industries where we have the deepest networks, the clearest understanding of buyer behavior, and the strongest conviction that venture-scale outcomes are achievable.
In AgTech, we see a generational shift as row-crop farmers adopt autonomous systems, precision sensing, and data-driven inputs management to reduce costs, improve yields, and protect soil health. In AI and robotics, we invest where physical and digital intelligence converge — companies building robots that can operate in unstructured environments, from farm fields to restaurant kitchens. In healthtech, we back founders making clinical-grade technologies more accessible and affordable, particularly in prosthetics, diagnostics, and remote care delivery. Across every sector, we look for the same signal: a founder who knows the customer intimately and has built a product the market is already pulling toward.
Seed and pre-seed companies in software, logistics, advanced manufacturing, and applied AI serving under-supported regional markets. We prioritize founders building for industries where technology adoption is early and the addressable market is large but underserved by existing venture portfolios.
Initial checks from $250K to $1.5M, with reserves for follow-on support in high-conviction companies. Our check sizes are calibrated to be meaningful for seed-stage companies while leaving room for us to double down as milestones are met.
Headquartered in East Texas and active across Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and adjacent Southern ecosystems. We are particularly drawn to founders building in and for these markets, though we invest nationally when the founder and opportunity are compelling.
The people behind LightHeart Ventures.
Managing Partner
Gregory is the Managing Partner and founder of LightHeart Ventures, investing in early-stage startups across AgTech, FinTech, HealthTech, SaaS, and emerging technology sectors. With a portfolio spanning 40+ companies, he brings operational insight and strategic advisory to founders building the next generation of transformative businesses.
Whether you are a founder building in AgTech, AI, robotics, or healthtech — or an LP interested in our approach to early-stage venture investing — we would love to hear from you.