Lara Hodgson has been named the inaugural executive director of the new startup accelerator at Georgia Tech. Under Hodgson’s leadership, the accelerator will begin delivering on its mission to support emerging startups with the resources and infrastructure to scale into businesses. 

Previously known as Velocity Startups, The Venture Arcade serves as a bridge between early-stage startup founders who have participated in Georgia Tech initiatives like CREATE-X, Quadrant-i, and Biolocity and are focused on scaling their businesses and preparing themselves for late-stage accelerators such as the Advanced Technology Development Center, Engage, Fusen, and Atlanta Tech Village. 

Hodgson brings more than two decades of entrepreneurial leadership, capital markets expertise, and global operating experience to the role. As CEO of RoxWrite, she led the development of an industry-leading, AI-powered underwriting, onboarding, and risk-monitoring platform. Hodgson co-founded and led Now Corp from 2010 to 2024, serving as president and CEO of the innovative business-to-business payments company that created NowAccount. Earlier in her career, she co-founded Nourish Inc., served as executive VP of Dunk.net and chief marketing officer and chief operating officer of Dewberry Capital Corporation, and was senior vice president and general manager at iXL, where she built and led the Retail and Consumer Products Practice across 26 global offices serving clients such as The Home Depot, Coca-Cola, and Nike. 

"As a Georgia Tech graduate, serial entrepreneur, and longtime mentor to founders at CREATE-X and Harvard Business School, I've seen what it takes to start and scale a business, and I've seen how much faster and more successful that journey can be with the right resources,” she said. “The Venture Arcade is built to deliver exactly that, with access to Georgia Tech’s unparalleled resources. Bringing capital, capacity, and customers, The Venture Arcade’s flywheel of growth will give Georgia Tech founders and local technology companies, including hard tech and deep tech, an unfair advantage. I'm proud to work with Georgia Tech to bring this program to Atlanta, a city ready to take its place as a top five technology and startup hub in the U.S."

Hodgson is also a nationally recognized thought leader on entrepreneurship and access to capital. She co-authored the award-winning book Level Up: Rise Above the Hidden Forces Holding Your Business Back (2022), published by Portfolio Penguin and now widely used in university entrepreneurship courses. She previously served as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Harvard Business School, where she continues to mentor founders and judge venture competitions. She has also served as a mentor in Georgia Tech’s CREATE-X 10x program, coaching high-potential founders as they scale and pursue significant market opportunities.

“Lara possesses the capital formation expertise and business acumen to put The Venture Arcade on the map,” said Raghupathy “Siva” Sivakumar, chief commercialization officer at Georgia Tech and president of Georgia Advanced Technology Ventures. “Her experience building, scaling, and financing companies makes her uniquely suited to shape The Venture Arcade into a meaningful pathway for high-potential startups. Lara truly embodies the entrepreneurial spirit of Georgia Tech, and we are thrilled to have her on the leadership team.” 

A proud Georgia Tech alumna, Hodgson earned her bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering with highest honors and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is a trustee of the Georgia Tech Foundation and serves on multiple corporate and nonprofit boards. Her honors include recognition as a 2019 EY Entrepreneurial Winning Woman, a Worthy 100 honoree by Worth magazine, and inclusion in Pathway of Progress, the campus installation celebrating women at Georgia Tech.

About The Venture Arcade

The Venture Arcade is a startup accelerator that propels deep-tech innovation, providing the resources and infrastructure for founders to take their innovations to market. Located in the heart of Tech Square in the historic Biltmore Innovation Center, The Venture Arcade offers mentorship, infrastructure, strategic programming, and funding opportunities. The accelerator is made possible through a partnership with Georgia Advanced Technology Ventures Inc. and the Georgia Tech Foundation.