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Laura Katzman

Laura Katzman

Partner @ Buoyant Ventures | Investing in the Intelligence Layer for the Physical World | MBA/MS/CPA

Los Angeles, California, United StatesVenture Capital & Private Equity
Company
Buoyant Ventures
Title
Partner
Seniority
Partner
Department
Master Finance
Location
Los Angeles, California, United States
Industry
Venture Capital & Private Equity

About

I’m a Partner at Buoyant Ventures, an early-stage VC firm investing in software and AI that drive efficiency, decarbonization, and resiliency across sectors like energy, efficient computing, industrials, and climate intelligence. I joined Buoyant out of graduate school and focus on backing founders building at the intersection of technology and the physical world. I previously helped launch Michigan Climate Venture, the first student-run fund focused on rapid decarbonization, where I oversaw early investments and built diligence frameworks. Earlier in my career, I was a CPA at Deloitte focused on investment valuation and later worked at Ares Management. I hold an MBA and MS in Sustainability from the University of Michigan and a BA in Economics and Accounting from UC Santa Barbara, and I’m based in Los Angeles.

Experience

Partner

Buoyant Ventures

Present

Buoyant invests in the Intelligence Layer for the Physical World, backing the software and AI infrastructure that drives efficiency, resiliency and decarbonization in massive industrial sectors. Joined as an MBA Associate in 2021. Promoted to partner in 2025.

Investor

Michigan Climate Venture · Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Leadership: Founding Team Member, Co-Director of Education ('21-'22), Co-Director of Operations ('21-'22), Co-Lead of Food & Agriculture Vertical ('21-'22) Michigan Climate Venture (MCV) is a collaborative, multidisciplinary program that provides a rigorous, transformative education experience in climate change mitigation the University of Michigan. The program includes an action-oriented learning experience through an early-stage, student-run investment fund seeking to accelerate the growth of climate technology startups in the Great Lakes region.

Graduate Student Consultant

CapShift

Authored impact investing primers based in behavioral science to shift some of the $140B in available philanthropic capital into patient risk capital for agrifood- and climate-related investments

Mba Consultant

Future Fit Foods

Created the financial model and performance metrics to track, guide and accelerate the startup's circular business model

Senior Associate, Corporate Accounting

Ares Management, L.P.

Calculated revenue from private equity, real estate and credit investments including management fees, carried interest, incentive fees, administrative & other fees; Analyzed revenue trends to determine main drivers of growth; Prepared remarks on financial performance for CEO & CFO to utilize during quarterly earnings calls

Audit Senior

Deloitte · Greater Los Angeles Area

Led audit engagements in financial services industry for a $100B AUM mutual fund, a $23B AUM hedge fund, related corporate advisers, and a private equity firm; Simultaneously managed 8 junior staff and client engagement budgets, providing continuous guidance and feedback to staff and delivering jobs to completion within budget

Audit Staff

Deloitte · Los Angeles

Designed audit procedures and tested valuation of investments utilizing Bloomberg, quotes from pricing vendors, and fair value specialists; Built financial models to verify valuations, including discounted cash flows and sensitivity analyses; Analyzed valuation disclosures of financial statements to determine compliance to newly issued reporting standards

Audit Intern

Deloitte

National Leadership Conference Participant

Deloitte · Westlake, Texas

Education

University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business

Master of Business Administration - MBA

University of Michigan- School for Environment and Sustainability

Master of Science - MS

UC Santa Barbara

Bachelor's degree, Economics and Accounting

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