ABOUT HAWKTOWER
HawkTower is an emerging, early-stage venture capital firm for underleveraged, rising and emerging regions of California.
Our firm invests in early-stage technology companies addressing real-world opportunities outside traditional entrepreneurial patterns and investment behaviors.
We are returns-focused, impact-driven, non-concessionary investors – pursuing competitive venture capital returns.
HAWKTOWER TEAM
LENNY MENDONCA
Former Chief ECONOMIC Advisor
State of California
AMY SPENCER FLEISCHER
Dean, College of Engineering at Cal POLY, San Luis Obispo
JENNIFER KUAN
Professor, CSUMB
Entrepreneurship & VC
JOSH METZ
Exec Director, Drone, Automation & Robotics Tech (DART) INITIATIVE
JACOB MARTINEZ
FOUNDER & CEO
DIGITAL NEST
RAKESH GOEL
Dean, School of Engineering
UC Merced
WALT DUFLOCK
HEAD of Innovation
Western Growers ASSOCIATION
ALEXANDER WOLF
Dean, baskin school of engineering, uc santa cruz
ERIC JACKSON
HaWKTOWER STRATEGIC ADVISOR
PARTNER, KLEIN FOODS INC
JACQUELINE CRUZ
HEAD of Advancement and Development, Hartnell College
ADVISORS
WHY HAWKTOWER
California poet Robinson Jeffers (1887 to 1962) built the Hawk Tower at Tor House to symbolize endurance, nature's reverence, and environmentalism. Hawk Tower still stands today.
When naming our firm, we strived to integrate with the region's essence, focusing on the area’s unity with nature and integration with natural resources. We sought symbols that evoked strength and loyalty and resonated across ethnicities and heritages.
our story
Our brand identity seeks to capture the emerging and rising strength and untapped potential of the underleveraged and underestimated regions of California.
Maria Schoettler, a Fresno native, connects deeply to the local community and is known for iconic hand-drawn illustrations found on calendars, prints, and other works.
Maria would infuse HawkTower with authenticity and differentiate the brand from the pack. Grace Wodecki, a Monterey native, is a graphic designer whose artwork is found on wine labels based in Paso Robles and various brands across Central California.
Together, Maria and Grace focused on five adjectives to encompass the brand: organic, creative, trustworthy, vintage, and approachable.
Maria and Grace drew inspiration from diverse California landscapes, the local landscape of the Central Coast and Central Valley, and sourced from vintage designs. The artists wanted to reference the bygone era of early California and Robinson Jeffers' lifetime while still feeling current.
“I wanted to create a hawk in HawkTower that felt like a benevolent creature since the company seeks to attract folks from various backgrounds and industries. The hand-lettering that is sort of signature to my style I think contributes to the overall friendliness/approachability of the brand.” - Maria Schoettler
This journey led to the current logo, which felt dynamic and distinctive from other venture capital firms. The logo is a love letter to California and has an organic essence, using colors derived from coastal and valley environments.
The brand demonstrates that HawkTower is ready to pursue strategies outside of traditional entrepreneurial patterns and investment behaviors.
