John J. Higginson

Technology operating executive for PE/VC-backed software | Ex-CTO: Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN), Chief ($1.1B), Enova (NYSE:ENVA) | Tech diligence · value creation · AI governance

📍 United States🔄 Updated October 2026💼 5 investments📅 9 years investing🗓 Last invested Jan 2023
VC🌍 United States
5
Total investments
2
Early stage
1
Mid stage
1
Late stage
9y
Years active

Portfolio

5 investments · sorted by recency
All investments
Early stage
Mid stage
Late stage
Board Observer
Jan 2023
Zengines has created an entirely new way of converting data. When organizations change enterprise applications, platforms, or services, Zengines automates the entire data conversion process end-to-end. To learn more, follow us on LinkedIN or send an email to info@zengines.ai and well keep you posted.
Board Member
Sep 2021
Havoc Shield helps insurance brokers and agencies write more cyber policies through a proactive Risk Assessment Scorecard, aligned to insurance carrier app questions. An all-in-one information cybersecurity platform that includes everything a growing team needs to secure their remote workforce, train how to spot phishing emails, manage passwords and stop hackers accessing your data. Our collection of tools can be managed in one pane of glass, for one invoice and set up in under a week. Your cyber perimeter is growing. You have more employees working from home, in an environment that blurs the boundary between corporate and personal. As your exposure increases to consumer-grade routers, mixed-use home networks, and the growing probability that some personal tasks occur on company-issued hardware, you need a way to understand and address the associated risks. With Havoc Shield, you’ll answer a few questions, get started setting up the most critical modules like turning multifactor authentication (MFA) on across company devices and conducting email phishing training, while setting the stage for a sustained and ongoing cybersecurity program through monthly vulnerability scans and more. Havoc Shield guards your company from evolving threats, even if your company lacks the internal cybersecurity bandwidth or expertise to craft and implement policies on your own. This threat landscape is too urgent to bear the risk of waiting for a day when adequate internal cybersecurity resources become available to fully manage your own cybersecurity program. We’ll engage your employees positively in simple practices that dramatically improve your cybersecurity posture, allowing you to focus on your core strategies without the distraction of figuring out cybersecurity on your own. Your cyber perimeter will become a strength that you’ll be proud to use to your advantage in distributed workforce hiring, cybersecurity vetting from prospective customers, and compliance efforts.
Board Member
Apr 2018
Loneliness is now at 45%. Loneliness isnt isolation. Its the feeling that no one in the last days, weeks, or years has spoken to you in a way that made you feel like they genuinely cared. No wonder our biggest regret in life ends up being that we didnt say more to those we love. We believe in a world where we all live lives that feel meaningful because they are. Were on a mission to help each of us achieve this feeling by making intimate meaningful communication a thing we all feel on a day-to-day basis. When we do, our bodies warm. We live in joy. Loneliness has no place in our lives. Loneliness leads to many mental and physical health problems that require medical treatment. But loneliness itself is social. And its healed in the moments between each of us, and in the ways that we interpret and feel those moments in our lives. The most profound way to create these moments is by sharing meaningful words written down. Thats what were here to make possible.
Angel Investor & Advisor
Jan 2017
HPA is a leading early-stage investor. Our People First model leverages world-class operating expertise, a powerful business network, and venture capital to fuel startup success. As a result, our founders transform their businesses into industry leaders, our investors generate best-in-class returns, and our community experiences job creation and economic growth.
Experience · 7 entries
All (7)
Investments (5)
Board (3)
2023
Board Observer
Jan 2023
Zengines has created an entirely new way of converting data. When organizations change enterprise applications, platforms, or services, Zengines automates the entire data conversion process end-to-end. To learn more, follow us on LinkedIN or send an email to info@zengines.ai and well keep you posted.
2021
Board Member
Sep 2021
Havoc Shield helps insurance brokers and agencies write more cyber policies through a proactive Risk Assessment Scorecard, aligned to insurance carrier app questions. An all-in-one information cybersecurity platform that includes everything a growing team needs to secure their remote workforce, train how to spot phishing emails, manage passwords and stop hackers accessing your data. Our collection of tools can be managed in one pane of glass, for one invoice and set up in under a week. Your cyber perimeter is growing. You have more employees working from home, in an environment that blurs the boundary between corporate and personal. As your exposure increases to consumer-grade routers, mixed-use home networks, and the growing probability that some personal tasks occur on company-issued hardware, you need a way to understand and address the associated risks. With Havoc Shield, you’ll answer a few questions, get started setting up the most critical modules like turning multifactor authentication (MFA) on across company devices and conducting email phishing training, while setting the stage for a sustained and ongoing cybersecurity program through monthly vulnerability scans and more. Havoc Shield guards your company from evolving threats, even if your company lacks the internal cybersecurity bandwidth or expertise to craft and implement policies on your own. This threat landscape is too urgent to bear the risk of waiting for a day when adequate internal cybersecurity resources become available to fully manage your own cybersecurity program. We’ll engage your employees positively in simple practices that dramatically improve your cybersecurity posture, allowing you to focus on your core strategies without the distraction of figuring out cybersecurity on your own. Your cyber perimeter will become a strength that you’ll be proud to use to your advantage in distributed workforce hiring, cybersecurity vetting from prospective customers, and compliance efforts.
2018
Technology Advisor & Diligence Partner
Oct 2018
Board Member
Apr 2018
Loneliness is now at 45%. Loneliness isnt isolation. Its the feeling that no one in the last days, weeks, or years has spoken to you in a way that made you feel like they genuinely cared. No wonder our biggest regret in life ends up being that we didnt say more to those we love. We believe in a world where we all live lives that feel meaningful because they are. Were on a mission to help each of us achieve this feeling by making intimate meaningful communication a thing we all feel on a day-to-day basis. When we do, our bodies warm. We live in joy. Loneliness has no place in our lives. Loneliness leads to many mental and physical health problems that require medical treatment. But loneliness itself is social. And its healed in the moments between each of us, and in the ways that we interpret and feel those moments in our lives. The most profound way to create these moments is by sharing meaningful words written down. Thats what were here to make possible.
Show all 7 entries ↓
Investment activity
2017–2023 · 5 investments
20172201812021120231
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