Laurence Hayward

Laurence K. Hayward is a Chicago-area hardtech investor and investment banker. He is listed by ATOMS VC as its Founder & General Partner, overseeing fund formation and management. ATOMS is an early- and growth-stage hardtech fund focused on engineering innovation across life, physical, and chemical sciences.

Hayward is also a co-founder and part-time venture partner of Independence Equity, an early-stage venture fund focused on resource efficiency, and an advisor to Dipalo Ventures. Earlier Independence Equity materials identify him as an Investment Partner and Investment Committee member. He also founded VentureLab, which provides consulting and investment banking services to early-stage growth companies, and co-founded Cornerstone Angels, an accredited-investor network that has invested in more than 50-60 companies since 2006.

Before his investing career, Hayward was President of Vcapital.com, an early internet-based equity crowdfunding platform acquired in January 2002 as part of an investment-bank roll-up. Before Vcapital, he served as global marketing director of Arthur Andersen’s Enterprise Group, a $500 million practice serving middle-market and venture-backed companies, and was appointed to represent Arthur Andersen at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 1996.

Hayward earned a BS in Psychology and an MBA through the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s accelerated joint BS/MBA program. He holds Series 7 and 63 securities licenses through Rainmaker Securities and has served or volunteered with the University of Illinois Chicago College of Engineering Advisory Board, Founder Institute, 1871 / Chicagoland Entrepreneur Center, Techstars, Impact Engine, Elmhurst University, and University of Illinois finance mentoring programs.

• Invests in hardtech and deep-science companies rather than digital-only software businesses.
• ATOMS’ stated focus is on “engineering- and science-driven innovations that improve the human condition.”
• Looks for companies with defensible intellectual property in life sciences, physical sciences, and chemical sciences.
• Independence Equity’s historical thesis centers on companies commercializing technologies that improve resource utilization: lower input costs, better production yields, and reduced waste or scrap.
• Sector interests include medical devices, diagnostics, batteries, semiconductors, advanced materials, solar, energy-efficient heating and cooling, water technologies, agriculture, robotics, manufacturing, and wireless power.
• ATOMS investor databases list a $250K-$2M range, while Independence Equity has been described as making $500K-$1M initial investments and reserving capital for follow-ons.
• Hayward’s capital-formation work includes more than 30 private placements, primarily around engineering- and science-driven innovation.