Venture capital firm M13, with offices in Los Angeles and New York, has appointed Anna Barber, formerly managing director of Techstars LA, as its newest partner. She will also lead the firm’s internal venture studio, Launchpad.

Launchpad is designed as a collaborative startup incubator, working in conjunction with corporate partners to create new consumer technology businesses. These ventures will concentrate on M13’s core investment sectors: health, food, transportation, and housing.

This new role represents the latest advancement in Barber’s career, which has encompassed experience both within and outside of the technology sector.

Barber’s initial exposure to the startup environment came when she transitioned from McKinsey to an online pet supply retailer in 1999. As Vice President of Product at Petstore.com, she gained firsthand experience in the startup world before moving into talent management and co-founding the National Air Guitar Championships (it is currently unknown if she represented air guitar performers).

Before her involvement with Techstars LA, Barber established ScribblePress, a publishing application for both retail and digital platforms, which was later acquired by Fingerprint Digital.

In her position at M13, Barber will focus on attracting entrepreneurs to collaboratively build consumer startups that align with the strategic goals of M13’s corporate partners, such as Procter & Gamble.

“We will be inviting founders-in-residence who will join the program without a pre-defined concept,” Barber explained. “We will begin with a fresh approach, forming teams in collaboration with entrepreneurs and our corporate partners, who will contribute their insights and intellectual property.”

Barber stated that these founders-in-residence will receive a modest stipend and equity ownership in the resulting businesses.

M13’s Launchpad program began in 2019 and has successfully launched three startups to date: Rae, focused on accessible women’s health products; the beauty technology company OPTE; Kindra, specializing in menopause solutions; and Bodewell, providing skincare for sensitive skin – all developed in partnership with Procter & Gamble Ventures.

M13 is actively building a robust team of female partners involved in the firm’s investment activities. Barber will collaborate with Lizzie Francis and Christine Choi on the investment team, a prospect she expressed enthusiasm for.

“Los Angeles is the ideal location for M13’s Launchpad, and Anna is the perfect leader for it. M13 fosters a vibrant, diverse community of entrepreneurs and operators dedicated to improving the world through innovation across various fields, including media, biotechnology, property technology, and food,” commented M13 co-founder Carter Reum. “We are thrilled to have Anna continue to cultivate LA’s network of entrepreneurs, mentors, and investors through a well-structured Launchpad program and with the addition of more exceptional partners and cohorts.”