3 Things We Learned About Impact This Year
In 2018 we met and worked with many impact businesses in Europe and elsewhere in the world, helping them become ready for investment. Preparing the right documentation, understanding what financials to report and forecast, and approaching the right investors are all critical to a business’ success.
Starting last January, each month we have hosted an investor for a live 30-minute Q&A with entrepreneurs and other peer investors. If you haven’t listened to it yet, be sure to visit SoundCloud, iTunes, or Stitcher and look for The Investment Clinic LIVE podcast.
And just last month we hosted the biggest global Impact Virtual Summit focused on making zero-waste businesses profitable. In partnership with the Swiss Economic Forum, Transformational Business Network, Eqlosion and the Asia Venture Philanthropy Network the IVS provided insights to zero-waste entrepreneurs and opportunities for investors. 7 of the 8 entrepreneurs who pitched in both the under $1M and the under $10M sessions were selected by the investor jury to continue their discussions.
3 THINGS WE LEARNED THIS YEAR
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1. Invest to be invested in. Getting an impact venture in front of an investor is not as simple as writing a beautiful and comprehensive pitch deck. It takes time to build a relationship, background knowledge to approach investors in a way that responds to their expectations and a strong mastery of the impact, economic and financial value added of your business. There is no doubt that those businesses who invest in getting the right expertise and preparation for their fundraising are more successful at attracting the investment they need.
2. Entrepreneurs are in control. There is enough money in the impact space and there are still lots of opportunities to come up with better deals and more of them. This context works in favor of those entrepreneurs who are building strong business models with a clear vision for the future and a deep understanding of their markets. Not everything is decided by the investor. There is just as much an entrepreneur can request from an investor as there is competence that an investor can bring to the table.
3. Scale is coming. We partner and work with many of the world’s largest networks dedicated to scaling entrepreneurship for impact and investing in impact globally. There is a clear momentum among investors looking for circular economy opportunities and entrepreneurs designing better products and services, including in industries such as sustainable building, material design, food & retail waste, waste recovery and transformation, just to name a few. 2019 will be an exciting year for all of us at the interface between investment and impact creation through entrepreneurship.
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We’d like to take this opportunity to thank you once again for walking this path with us. We are successful when you are successful. Here’s to a great year for us all.
With gratitude,
The Ground Up Project team
