Many of us consider trust a fragile expression that must be earned over time. Trust is the assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something. Reading the definition of trust, we can understand why we place considerable weight on our decision to extend it to others.
Once trust is extended to someone we enjoy acting freely knowing it is present, which makes broken trust such a painful experience. Broken trust comes in many forms, but all lead back to the betrayal of vulnerability. It’s difficult to learn how to trust because we know all too…
It’s common for early stage founders to desire investors that share their vision for all aspects of the company. Many call this “aligned capital” and it’s not as easy to find as you may hope. Sometimes you may not have access to the right type of investors. Other times your vision for the business doesn’t match the risk profile potential capital sources. Under all circumstances, the process of finding aligned capital requires a journey of self-discovery and a willingness to be vulnerable.
Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success — Henry Ford
Below are…
04.10.18
“I’m too broke to get sick” is a phrase I have heard muttered before. Typically this is a snarky commentary on the high price of receiving medical treatment. However, the statement takes a different meaning when you consider the non-healthcare costs of being sick, particularly lost wages.
Imagine you are one of the 20% of Americans that is affected by the flu yearly, but you’re a lucky one that doesn’t need to be hospitalized. You are fortunate enough to be miserable in a quarantined room in your house for the week instead of the hospital. Next, imagine you are…
When you have a bad experience at a local restaurant, what do you do? Speak to the manager? Complain to friends and neighbors? If you’re like me, you just try to ignore it and move on. But what if the experience was so egregious that you can’t move one? It’s logical that you no longer eat there and you will use your influence to stop others from eating there, especially if you live in a town with many other options.
Now, imagine you relied on the success of that restaurant for income? Say you own the building and they rent…
Imagine this scenario: you have a strong conviction to protect our planet for future generations and you devote a lot of time and resources to this effort. You spend your evenings and weekends organizing awareness campaigns, clean up efforts, and fundraisers. You sacrifice some bucket list items to send donations directly from your paycheck to organizations that share your conviction.
Now imagine finding out that the organizations you support actually invest into corporations responsible for depleting and destroying natural resources. …
It may seem obvious but people depend on you. The social sector, which sits at the intersection of the public and private sectors, serves the neediest populations in the United States. Unfortunately there are no reliable statistics on just how many people benefit from nonprofit services, but it’s safe to assume it’s over one hundred million given that nearly 65 million volunteer annually.
Beside the practical need for your service, why does volunteerism matter? Let’s start with the personal advantages.
It Adds Perspective
No matter which cause you choose to support, getting into the trenches of service provides a different perspective on the…
There is no single way to make a decision on investments. Some people perform a detailed analysis of projected cash flow to determine the right price and if it’s favorable compared to other options, they may invest. Others have a thesis on how an industry landscape may change and they look for opportunities that support their hypothesis. Even still, some people make investments because they believe in the leader of an organization and trust she will produce value.
Given no single investment approach, layering on the complexity of investing for impact increases the decision variables exponentially. For investors seeking a…
Originally posted on accessventures.org
Fair chance employment is a way to improve our communities by eliminating barriers for those with a criminal record and creating a pathway for a second chance. Practices like “Ban The Box” have been a national rallying cry for civil rights groups for some time, which represents the initiative to persuade employers to remove the section of its initial job application form where it asks prospects to “check the box” if they have a criminal record. The idea behind the movement is that this question adds discrimination to the process up front.
Originally posted at Access Ventures
The driving force behind our investment approach is simple: We believe that opportunities to create an inclusive economy come in all shapes and sizes; therefore a single investment vehicle is not sufficient. We invest across a spectrum of asset classes, ranging from program-related investments to market-rate investments.
Our investment approach leads to a blended portfolio that is maximized for impact and weighted for return. As simple as that may read, the execution of making aligned investments can be difficult. …
Originally published at Access Ventures
When Access Ventures began to make investments into early stage companies, we were faced with the reality of having to find “venture scale” ideas in order to make our fund economics work. We have a strong desire to invest in local, impact-minded enterprises; ones that work directly in the community. However those investments must be balanced with larger-scale ones that fit our mission of creating inclusive economies and continue to fund our program efforts.
A “venture scale” idea is certainly subjective, but generally it grows to be extremely large and returning many times over the…
TJ Abood
Investment Partner at Access Ventures and a pleasure to be around
