Laura Deleot

COO & Co-Founder

Laura Deleot co-founded Circa in 2015 along with her partner, Tori Thomas. From humble beginnings (the first office was a closet – a walk-in closet, but a closet nonetheless), she has helped steer the Circa ship on a path to growth and development. As Executive Creative Director and the Chief Operations Officer, Laura’s expertise and leadership has been instrumental in growing the little graphic design and branding studio that could into a business with locations throughout the country. Her dedication to mentoring others cultivated Circa’s fellowship program, which has helped dozens of young designers launch their creative career. In a fast-paced, “me first” world, Laura is a calm and humble escape. Her accomplishments reveal her design prowess, as well as her passion for entrepreneurship. She is a member of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization and a Board member for Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee, an organization dedicated to supporting young entrepreneurs. In addition, her award-winning design work has been featured at the Museum of Design Atlanta. 

Before Circa, Laura served as a freelance designer for businesses throughout the community. She holds a design degree from the Portfolio Center in Atlanta and a BA in Art History from the University of the South, Sewanee. Her design sensibilities are informed by a love of minimalism, grids, consistency and symmetry, at her core she is a creative with a heart for structure. Her first business was a photography venture she launched during a summer break from college, which had Laura taking family portraits and developing them in a dark room (it was the pre-digital camera era, after all). She began her career in New York City at the Valentine Group, then worked for Chronicle Books in San Francisco as a senior designer in their gift division and was later an Art Director for American Songwriter magazine. 

On top of the demands of running a business, her personal life is similarly demanding. As a mom to two active boys, she is always shuttling them to sporting events and lacrosse tournaments. She also loves hiking with her dog, Lucy (who converted her to a dog person), fly fishing with her son, reading stacks of books, and traveling with her family (she hopes to have reached all seven continents before her next big birthday!).