Photo Credit: Austin Business Journal This month’s Austin Business Journal’s FACE 2 FACE speaker series brought in the co-founder and CEO of Pantheon Enterprises, Laura Roberts. Roberts formed Pantheon Enterprises to end the myth that green technologies are less effective and more expensive. The company’s mission continues to be to develop and commercialize products that help increase financial growth, while at the same time sustaining human health and safety. Prior to joining the company, Laura was a self-described “treehugger” and owned many “kill corporate America” t-shirts while working as an elementary school teacher in the ’90s. Her transition to Pantheon was circumstantial after her father passed away. Both parents owned a small chemical company, and in an effort to help her mother save her business, Roberts stepped in. She frequently stated during the interview that she recognized her own empathetic nature from a young age. Roberts aims to be an example for women entrepreneurs. She persevered after 300 investors said “no” to funding an elementary school teacher’s company. “Not having industry specific management” was the top reason for venture capitalists not to invest. She was pitching during the “dot-com era,” where there was much more of a focus for investors receiving liquidity in a 3-5 return. Since then, there has been a shift to the “impact” investor that is not so focused on the fast return, but the real change the company is trying to make. She advises young entrepreneurs to only take from shareholders who are purpose-aligned and mentioned […]
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