impact investing pilot project
TRANSCRIPT
Leveraging Philanthropic Capital To Disrupt Start-up Investing & Public Equity Acquisition
Mission
SoTech Ventures unlocks access to $865B dollars in assets held within philanthropic institutions by providing our portfolio companies with an innovative operating model that allows their business assets to be seamlessly transitioned between private and non-profit corporate structures
The result incentivizes companies to equally balance maximizing shareholder value with maximizing positive social/environmental impact
Problems Entrepreneurs Face
Crowd-funding, p2p platforms and funding portals all rely on “high quality deal flow” to attract investors, rejecting 93% of startup applicants
Venture capitalists and angel investors are focused on finding/funding the 1.28% of startups that will become billion dollar unicorns
More than 588,000 early-stage ventures will remain un-funded annually, yet continue to press on without alternative financing options
Problems Corporations Face
Fiduciary responsibility to focus on shareholder value in a world of increasing consumer & investor emphasis on CSR (corporate social responsibility)
Lack of efficient mechanisms for generating social/environmental impact without dampening profits
Why We Exist
To leverage the high risk appetite of
philanthropic capital, direct funds into social enterprise projects housed within for-profit entities and utilize this form of cheap capital to add value to our portfolio companies
Our Model
Our Process For Startup Ventures
Our Process For Public Corporations
How We Stack Up
Portfolio Support SoTech Ventures conducts grant writing activities for all
portfolio companies; portfolio companies are welcome to leverage their own resources to attract donations & grants as well (i.e. crowd-funding, etc)
SoTech Ventures oversees all social impact metrics tracking, evaluation and reporting activities that position portfolio companies to raise follow-up support from philanthropic funders
SoTech Ventures monitors all IRS non-profit compliance standards to ensure legal good-standing
SoTech Ventures leverages its’ network of relationships to connect portfolio companies with pro bono resources, sponsors and impact investors as appropriate
Strategic Benefits Grants & Donations can be used to accelerate growth
and achieve traction through several rounds of financing/development, from pre-seed through Series A
As more philanthropic capital is injected into a portfolio company, it will have a direct impact on increasing valuations, stock prices, etc
During your time as a SoTech portfolio company, you can leverage our tax-exempt status to allocate tax savings back into the development of your venture (for seed-stage acquisitions only)
Grants ≠ Traditional FinancingThough there are many clear benefits to securing
philanthropic capital, it is important for prospective portfolio companies to also know how grants differ from traditional financing
The typical grant writing process (led by SoTech Ventures) from grant submission to having the funds in the bank can take 6-9 months, which is much slower than other due diligence and funding processes which can be as short as 1-2 months
The grant writing cycle is perpetual in that multiple grants can be pursued and secured simultaneously. Also, it is possible to secure grant funding year after year so long as social impact metrics are met and/or exceeded