Pat East

Active Investor

Co-Owner at Darn Good Soup

Bloomington, Indiana

Pat East, Co-Owner at Darn Good Soup is an active investor based in Bloomington, Indiana. This profile covers what Pat East backs, at which stage, and how founders can reach out in 2026.

Mr. Pat East is the Founder and serves as Chief Executive Officer at Hanapin Marketing. He serves as Strategic Advisor, Marketing at M25 Group. He served as an Executive in Residence at Flywheel Fund. He served as an Advisor at The Bee Corp. He has 20 years of experience in online marketing, sales management, and executive leadership. His professional background spans B2C and B2B and includes management positions during the hyper-growth years of Author Solutions . In various positions for Author Solutions, he was responsible for author promotions, product development, and corporate marketing, including lead generation via pay-per-click advertising. As head of Hanapin Marketing, he has overseen 13 consecutive years of profitability and double-digit revenue growth in 12 of those years. The company is a five-time Indiana Best Places to Work winner and a three-time Inc 5000 honoree. He taught one of the nation's first search marketing courses at a nationally ranked SLIS program (School of Library and Information Science) at Indiana University, and he's been awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Small Business Development Center. He is an avid angel investor, advising startups with high-growth potential primarily in the web/tech industries. He graduated with a B.A. in English from Wabash College.

Investor type: Angel
Stages: Early Stage VentureSeed
Invests in: SaaS & EnterpriseMedia & Content
Location: Bloomington, Indiana
Typical check: $375K
Past investments: 7

Notable investments

Author Solutions, IncCurastorySpringbukApp PressThe Millgener8torThe Bee Corp

How to reach Pat East

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does Pat East invest in?

Pat East invests in SaaS & Enterprise and Media & Content, typically at Early Stage Venture and Seed. Match your sector and stage, then reach out with a personalized pitch.