Cat Flanagan

Vice President, Knowledge. Menlo Park.

Cat joined Lightspeed in 2015 as an early member of the Founder Success team, where she is primarily focused on helping the firm’s 400+ portfolio executives learn best-in-class company-building practices.  She attributes her passion for knowledge-sharing back to a lecture on Kaizen and Lean Production during her time at Santa Clara University. Her devotion to continuous learning has helped drive the development of a vast set of original resources and playbooks that support Lightspeed’s founders and their teams.

Born and raised in a family of small business entrepreneurs, Cat learned early in life that constantly anticipating and adjusting to challenges is critical in building an enduring venture. “I am a passionate forever learner and believe asking questions and having a growth mindset is key to success,” she said. 

Early in her career, Cat frequently attended meet-ups and events to grow her network. It was there that she met a variety of budding entrepreneurs and founders who were just getting their companies off the ground. Their commitment to innovation and unending resilience was so inspiring she sought out ways she could help in their journeys; this eventually led her to Lightspeed where she works with hundreds of executives around the world. 

Prior to joining Lightspeed, Cat led technical hiring efforts at Google and developed global L&D programs for their growing teams. She graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from Santa Clara University and played on their Division 1 Softball team. Her passion for learning extends to every aspect of her life. “If I’m going to do something, I want to learn everything about it,” said Cat. This has led her to a wide range of hobbies including weight lifting, gardening, pizza making, carpentry, and hiking.