# William Ballance

> William Matthew Ballance is the New York-based co-founder and CEO of Lavender, which builds AI email coaching software and the Ora sales agent. A former startup salesperson, he previously founded Alum and co-founded Sorter. His support for the campaign to save Sweet Briar College helped lead him into alumni software and communication technology.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Lavender
- **Organizations:** Lavender, Sorter, Alum, My Fun Filter, Springbot, HSC for SBC
- **Education:** Hampden-Sydney College, Virginia Tech
- **Known for:** Co-founded Lavender, which announced an $11 million Series A and $2.2 million seed round in February 2023., Co-founded the Sorter team that won Techstars Startup Weekend Atlanta in 2018., Organized campaigns supporting the effort to save Sweet Briar College.

## Career timeline

- **2011** — Graduated from Hampden-Sydney College; studied government and economics.
- **2015** — Working on Springbot’s early sales team, organized HSC for SBC support and fundraising for Sweet Briar College.
- **2016** — Left Springbot in August to pursue Alum, an alumni chat and donation app.
- **2018** — Met Will Allred at Techstars Startup Weekend Atlanta; their Sorter team won the competition. Sold his car to help sustain the business.
- **2020** — Co-founded Lavender as the team adapted Sorter’s technology to email coaching; offered the tool to job seekers.
- **2022** — Took Lavender’s team to SaaStr and promoted the brand through merchandise, music and a party.
- **2023** — Lavender announced $13.2 million in combined seed and Series A funding in February; Ballance shared its Times Square billboard in October.
- **2025** — Promoted Lavender’s free email course and Ora, and described using Ora to test new markets.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Lavender, which announced an $11 million Series A and $2.2 million seed round in February 2023.
- Co-founded the Sorter team that won Techstars Startup Weekend Atlanta in 2018.
- Organized campaigns supporting the effort to save Sweet Briar College.
- Founded Alum, an alumni communication and fundraising app.

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — On September 12, described using Ora internally to test markets and messaging without redirecting human sellers from successful segments.
- **2025-08** — Published a LinkedIn article titled “This Client Generated $2.7M in Pipeline in 8 Weeks using Lavender Ora”; the headline is a company case-study claim.
- **2025-01** — Promoted the free Email Wizard Course and described Ora as an AI sales agent.

## Links

- Website: https://lavender.ai/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wmb1/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/mballance
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wmb1/
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@willstartup

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/william-ballance
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-25