My Next Chapter

“Do you want to help figure out how to ship bags of cat food faster or do you want to help write the story of a team and product that caused world-wide impact on the most pressing issues of our time?” Seems like an easy choice.

I’m incredibly excited to announce that I’m teaming up with co-founders Jake Wood, Adam Miller, and Joe Marchese to revolutionize the way individuals and corporations approach social impact. Our new company, Groundswell (www.groundswell.io), sits at the intersection of Fintech and Philanthropy, bringing much needed digital renovation to how we invest to create impact.

It has long been my dream to leverage the professional skills attained in the corporate world to apply in furthering impact at a tech-forward foundation or company addressing the world’s biggest problems.

The events of the last 18 months have shown the world that the issues we face affect everyone; there are no innocent bystanders. COVID-19, George Floyd’s murder, #StopAsianHate, the takeover of Afghanistan, the alarming effects of climate change. To be silent now is to be complacent. If we stand for nothing, we will fall for anything.

To dismiss an opportunity to build with this amazing team, to work on this visionary yet fragile idea, seemed downright irresponsible.

Groundswell is founded on the principle that everyone should be able to give like Gates, get taxed like Buffet, and get recognized like Rockefeller. Our aim is to decentralize philanthropy for the masses, and we’ll do that by building a solution that gives everyone the power of a personal foundation in the palm of their hand.

We also recognize that the current models for corporate philanthropy and social responsibility no longer serve us well. Corporate philanthropy has long been a centralized function discussed around senior executive and boardroom tables. This landscape has been increasingly difficult to navigate given the volume of issues, the urgency in nature, and the demands of employees and consumers despite often differing point-of-views. What if companies acknowledged that diverse problems require diverse solutions and enabled their employees to invest in solutions they believe are best for the problems they believe are most critical? Like the 401K did for retirement, Groundswell will usher in a new era of employee empowerment.

Americans give nearly $500B/year to charity*, the most out of any nation in the world. We believe there is a smarter, more intentional way to give and be more impactful.

Others believe it, too. With a seed round of $5M in funding, our investors include leading venture capital firms Human Ventures, Lowercase Capital, Core Capital, and Quiet Capital, and individual investors that span multiple Fortune 500 CEOs, former military generals, media executives, and entrepreneurs who align with our values and support this imperative journey.

Thank you, Jake Wood, for asking me this very important question. No, I don’t want to ship cat food faster; I want to create impact. I want to be a part of Groundswell’s vision to see every solution funded, and every problem solved.

What about you? Are you ready to change the world? Click here to get involved. I’m hiring Product Managers and Designers!

*Source: The Giving USA Report 2020