Laurence Hayward

Founder & General Partner

Laurence Hayward is co-founder and general partner of ATOMS where he oversees all aspects of Fund formation and management.

Hayward is a co-founder and part-time venture partner to Independence Equity and advisor to Dipalo Ventures, both sustainability funds.  On behalf of these funds, he has served on the Board of Directors of several portfolio companies.  Hayward co-founded Cornerstone Angels, a private membership of accredited investors that mentor and invest in early-stage companies.  Cornerstone has invested in more than 50 companies across multiple sectors. 

Hayward is founder of VentureLab, which provides management consulting and investment banking services to early-stage growth companies. Hayward is a registered representative with Rainmaker Securities, a FINRA broker-dealer, and holds Series 7 and 63 licenses.  He has led and completed more than thirty private placements for client companies with a primary focus is engineering- and science-driven innovation.  He also has represented entrepreneurs in mergers & acquisitions and strategic alliance agreements, and has secured project debt financing, leasing arrangements, and commercial bank financing.

Previously, Hayward was President of Vcapital.com, an early version of crowdfunding matching entrepreneurs with investors on an internet-based exchange.  The company was acquired in the roll-up of four investment banks in January 2002.  Following the acquisition, Hayward led the Vcapital subsidiary and the Chicago office of the roll-up.

Prior to Vcapital, Hayward served as global marketing director of Arthur Andersen’s Enterprise Group, a $500 million practice targeting middle-market and venture-backed companies. Hayward was responsible for developing and managing companywide marketing and sales initiatives with hundreds of professionals in 80 offices worldwide.  He was part of a team appointed to represent the Firm at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in 1996.

Hayward voluntarily serves on the University of Illinois Chicago College of Engineering Advisory Board. He is a volunteer speaker, judge and mentor for Founder’s Institute, which provides educational programs for entrepreneurs.  Hayward voluntarily serves on the Advisory Board of the Center for Professional Excellence at Elmhurst University and on the Women in Finance Academy Mentor Program at the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana.  He has volunteered for Founder’s Institute, the Chicagoland Entrepreneur Center at 1871, Techstars, and Impact Engine.

Hayward is a graduate of the Accelerated BS/MBA program at the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana, earning a BS in Psychology and an MBA.  He led entrepreneurial ventures before, during and after college, including a student-run advertising agency at Illinois.