Laura Strong

Founder & CEO | Investor | Champion for Wisconsin Entrepreneurs

Madison, Wisconsin, United States

About

I am a strategic leader and investor with 25+ years of entrepreneurial and operational experience across biotech, health tech, and venture capital. As Founder and CEO of Valency Fund, I'm dedicated to filling in the funding landscape for growth-stage businesses in Wisconsin through innovative capital solutions that help companies scale sustainably. My background spans multiple leadership roles in venture-backed and entrepreneurial companies. I've served as a strategic advisor for radiopharmaceutical and health technology firms and previously led clinical evidence and validation strategies at Exact Sciences, advancing IVD product development. At Quintessence Biosciences, I played a pivotal role in early-stage drug discovery and clinical trials for novel oncology treatments. Beyond my executive work, I'm a committed advocate for Wisconsin's entrepreneurial ecosystem. I mentor founders through MERLIN (Madison Entrepreneurs Resource Learning and Innovation Network) and Creative Destruction Labs and have served as President of the Board for both BioForward Wisconsin and StartingBlock Madison. I currently serve on the board of Total Water, a high-purity industrial water systems provider operating across 11 states. As adjunct faculty in the Masters in Biotechnology program at UW-Madison, I guide students in integrating scientific and business principles into their thesis projects. A National Institutes of Health predoctoral fellow, I earned my Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and am co-author of 19 publications and co-inventor on 10 issued U.S. patents.

Experience

  • CEO, Founder at Valency Fund
    Nov 2024 - Present · 1 yr 8 mos

    Wisconsin’s entrepreneurs need funding options that match their ambitions. Valency Fund provides flexible, founder-friendly capital solutions—like revenue-based financing and redeemable equity—to help growth-stage companies in technology, manufacturing, and agribusiness scale sustainably. Learn more about our mission to fill the funding gap and how we’re building a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem.

  • Member Board of Directors at Total Water Treatment Systems Inc.
    Apr 2022 - Present · 4 yrs 3 mos

    Total Water Treatment Systems Inc. was founded in 1943 as an authorized dealer of Culligan water treatment equipment. Total Water Treatment Systems specializes in high-purity water applications. These applications are quite varied and can range from highly purified water for In Vitro Fertilization, biotech, dialysis and microchip applications to specialized water for boiler feed and parts rinsing.

  • Strategy Advisor at Archeus Technologies
    Oct 2022 - Present · 3 yrs 9 mos

    Archeus is developing targeted radionuclide therapies in oncology, which are based on technologies licensed from the University of Wisconsin Madison.

  • Co-founder, Chief Operating Officer at Jump Around Games
    Jan 2020 - Present · 6 yrs 6 mos

  • Adjunct Faculty at University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health
    Sep 2014 - Present · 11 yrs 10 mos

    Co-teach Applied Biotechnology class in which second year Masters in Biotechnology students develop, write up and present a technical and business case for an original idea