Suggestions
Sally Hatcher
Managing Partner at Buff Gold Ventures
Professional Background
Sally Hatcher, J.D., is a dynamic and accomplished professional whose career trajectory showcases her expertise in venture capital, entrepreneurship, and legal consulting. As a seasoned investor and board member, Sally has made significant contributions to the startup ecosystem, especially in the realm of deep tech innovations aimed at addressing critical global challenges such as climate change, quantum technologies, and drug discovery. Her hands-on experience as a founder and her commitment to mentoring emerging entrepreneurs distinguishes her in this fast-paced industry.
She is well-known for her role as co-founder and President of Precision Photonics. This pioneering venture in laser and opto-electronics design began modestly from a garage, evolving into a highly profitable company that eventually boasted a workforce of over 50 employees. Under her leadership, Precision Photonics successfully shipped high-volume products to international markets, including China, and culminated in a successful acquisition that underscored both the company’s viability and Sally's adept leadership.
Her entrepreneurial journey did not stop there. Sally also co-founded MBio Diagnostics, which specializes in cutting-edge point-of-care diagnostics for both human and animal health. MBio Diagnostics uses innovative laser-based waveguide systems to enable the simultaneous detection of up to 80 biomarkers, representing a significant advancement in diagnostic technology. Sally's work in this venture has significantly impacted the healthcare sector, showcasing her ability to leverage technology for improved health outcomes.
Beyond her entrepreneurial endeavors, Sally has held several prestigious positions that highlight her versatile skill set. She served as President and COO at Kindara, where she was instrumental in shipping a connected device that generated revenue for a previously free app. Her leadership resulted in the company achieving critical certifications such as ISO 13485, CE mark, and FDA Class II approval, which validated the product's quality and safety standards.
In addition to her active consulting role for diverse teams of innovators, Sally has assumed key leadership positions that deepen her contributions to the industry. She has worked as Managing Partner at Buff Gold Ventures, where she continues to drive impactful investments and support the growth of emerging companies. Her expertise as a former Senior Director of Venture Development at the University of Colorado Boulder further showcases her commitment to fostering innovation.
Education and Achievements
Sally Hatcher holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Colorado School of Law, showcasing her strong foundation in legal principles that heavily inform her business decisions. Her academic achievements extend back to her undergraduate studies, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and History from Southern Methodist University. This philosophical grounding, combined with her historical perspective, allows her to approach problems with a critical and broad-minded viewpoint.
Before transitioning to higher education, Sally attended Girls Preparatory School, where she laid the groundwork for her future endeavors. Her education encapsulates a well-rounded approach to knowledge, combining legal, philosophical, and historical foundations that have contributed to her successful career.
Throughout her career, Sally has been recognized for her innovative and strategic thinking. Her involvement with various organizations, such as serving as a Managing Partner at Buff Gold Ventures and a board member at CaliberMRI, provides testimony to her leadership capabilities and network within the industry. Additionally, her commitment to community service is reflected in her active participation on boards such as CDR Associates, where she has served as Chair, and her advisory role at LightDeck Diagnostics, Inc.
Sally has also contributed to the academic world as a former National Instructor at the National Science Foundation, sharing her vast knowledge and experience with aspiring innovators. Her participation in shaping future generations of entrepreneurs underscores her dedication to education and innovation.
Achievements
Sally Hatcher's career milestones illustrate her multifaceted expertise and her dedication to advancing technology and entrepreneurship. One of her most significant accomplishments was leading Precision Photonics from a startup in a garage to a successful enterprise recognized for its contributions to laser and opto-electronics. The company's eventual acquisition is a testament to Sally's vision, leadership skills, and strategic planning.
Her successful tenure at MBio Diagnostics further highlights her innovative approach to healthcare diagnostics, particularly through the integration of advanced technology in detecting multiple biomarkers simultaneously. Solutions developed under her leadership at MBio not only improve diagnostic efficiency but also pave the way for more effective medical practices in real-world applications.
As President and COO at Kindara, Sally navigated the complexities of the medical device market, overseeing the launch of the company’s first connected IoT device. This achievement exemplifies her ability to bridge technology and healthcare, which is crucial for the growth and sustainability of medical entrepreneurs today.
Sally Hatcher's role as a mentor to budding technologists and entrepreneurs amplifies her legacy within the industry. Her commitment to advising and consulting reflects a holistic approach to entrepreneurship, emphasizing the importance of guiding the next generation of innovators as they tackle pressing global challenges.
In collaboration with various boards and organizations, Sally actively champions women’s issues and environmental causes, making her a leader who is not only focused on profit but also on creating a positive social impact. Her dedication to such initiatives enriches her professional narrative and provides inspiration to those around her.
In conclusion, Sally Hatcher, J.D., embodies the spirit of a serial entrepreneur and a dedicated venture capital expert. Her journey from a startup founder to a distinguished board member and mentor highlights her relentless pursuit of innovation and improvement in both technology and health sectors. With a rich academic background and a wealth of professional experience, she continues to pursue new opportunities that drive progress and empower others to make meaningful changes in the world.
Location
People also viewed
Related People
Clay is a relationship management platform that serves as a personal CRM, helping you organize and deepen both personal and professional relationships. It functions as a beautiful rolodex and CRM available on iPhone, Mac, Windows, and web, built automatically to help manage your network efficiently. Unlike traditional address books, Clay centralizes all your contacts in one place while enriching them with additional context and features to help you stay thoughtful and connected.
Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
- Network Strength: Visualizes the strength of your relationships relative to others in your network
- Timeline: Shows your relationship history with each contact
- Smart Search: Allows you to search using natural language like "People I know at the NYT" or "Designers I've met in London"
- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
- Home Feed: Displays updates about your network including job changes, news mentions, and birthdays
- Groups: Organizes contacts into meaningful categories
- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Clay is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Clay as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Clay offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Clay takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
Nexus is Clay's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
Clay makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Clay's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Clay isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Clay instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Clay is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Clay can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Clay is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.