We sat down with Kate Doerksen, serial entrepreneur, investor, and Co-founder of Sage Haven, to reflect on the journey of building companies at the intersection of innovation, technology, and impact.
Kate Doerksen’s entrepreneurial instincts emerged early. While earning her Entrepreneurship degree at Ball State University, she launched her first venture, Hoopla, while also standing out as a Division I basketball player, earning honors including MAC Player of the Year, NCAA Academic All-American, and All-American Honorable Mention. She later briefly played in the WNBA with the Connecticut Sun before being inducted into her high school, Ball State, and Indiana Basketball Halls of Fame.
After retiring from basketball, Kate built a foundation in finance as an M&A analyst at Citi and later as a private equity investor at Wind Point Partners before earning her MBA from Stanford in 2011. During business school, she co-founded Ditto, a company focused on augmented reality virtual try-on and AI recommendation technology for the vision industry. Over the next decade, Ditto grew into a global leader in the space, serving 70 million annual users, building a portfolio of 35 patents, and ultimately being acquired by 1-800-Contacts in 2021.
In 2023, Kate co-founded Sage Haven with her sister, Anne Pizzuti, inspired by a family member’s experience with online bullying and a shared desire to help children build healthier relationships with technology. Sage Haven’s AI-moderated messaging app was designed to create a safer digital environment for children while equipping parents with stronger safety tools. Alongside building companies, Kate also serves on several boards, including the Ball State Foundation, LUUM, and Donaldson Capital Management, while advising IU Kelley School’s Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Eyebot.
To bring a more personal perspective to her journey, we invited Kate to share a few reflections on entrepreneurship, leadership, and building with purpose.
Reflections From the Journey
The messy part of building a startup is… the tasks-to-people ratio is unhinged.
One early mistake I’m glad I made was… fundraising too early. I learned a lot, but burned some great leads before we were ready.
What people assume is easy, but isn’t, is… building deep conviction in your idea. It takes extensive market research to trust it.
A belief about startups I’ve changed my mind on is… I used to think that grinding was the fastest way to win. When you have kids, it forces you to build it in a smarter, wiser, more efficient way.
What keeps me going on harder days is… thinking of all of the families we are going to help!
If I started again, I would… stay true to myself every step of the way. I’ve gotten so much better at this on every startup.
The question I’m asking myself most right now is… what solutions make parents' lives easier and kids healthier?
The reality of fundraising in the age of AI is… if you aren’t in B2B AI, most investors aren’t interested, regardless of how much deep tech and AI your product contains. Spend more time finding the ones who might be a fit.
Continue the Conversation: Fundraising in Times of AI
If conversations around fundraising, early-stage building, and navigating growth in times of AI resonate with you, join us at our upcoming Female Founder Roundtable: Fundraising in Times of AI on May 21 at Moon Creative Lab in Palo Alto.
The evening will bring together founders, investors, and operators for an honest discussion around building companies, raising capital, and navigating uncertainty in today’s market.
🔐 Limited capacity — secure your spot early here.