Getting Creative With Impact Investing With Laura Callanan of Upstart Co-Lab

“Creative people solve problems. I trust them to be braver, work harder, and be more intuitive about how to do that well more than I could ever be. I am using all the opportunities I have been given — and pulling together everything I’ve learned in my eclectic career — to make it as easy as possible for creative people to do their work at scale.”

I had the pleasure of interviewing Laura Callanan, founding partner of Upstart Co-Lab. Upstart is connecting impact investing to the creative economy. Laura has previously been senior deputy chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, a consultant with McKinsey & Company’s Social Sector Office, and deputy chief investment officer of the Rockefeller Foundation.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! What is your “backstory”?

I majored in theater in college — and then took a 25 year detour into investing, impact investing, philanthropy and social innovation. I married a playwright and novelist, and have gotten to know many of the greatest actors, painters, composers, and writers in America…