Borrowing from Charles Dickens, the 2020s are already proving to be the best of times, the worst of times, the age of wisdom, the age of foolishness, the epoch of belief, the epoch of incredulity, the season of Light, the season of Darkness, the spring of hope, the winter of despair, we have everything before us, we have nothing before us, we are all going direct to Heaven, we are all going direct the other way.
We also see far too many 21st century incarnations of Dickens’ reprehensible 19th century caricature: “These are mere business relations, miss; there is no friendship in them, no particular interest, nothing like sentiment. … I have no feelings; I am a mere machine.”
This blinkered, false and destructive posturing has held sway for far too long, and it is time for prudent investors to reject it.
Here at Reinventure Capital we share with our LPs and other stakeholders a personal and very immediate interest in both our business relations and their outcomes. Therefore we are proud to pursue a fact-based, people-centered investment strategy that recognizes the reality around us and steers the era we inhabit in the direction of a saner, more equitable, healthier, and more inclusive Earth.
Acting on widely available and growing evidence that our conventional venture capital colleagues systematically overlook founders who are people of color and women — in spite of the fact that so-called “minority” founders and managers routinely outperform their white male peers — we choose to invest where the overwhelming majority of our peers do not.
Our evidence-based strategy affords us advantageous deal flow as well as social, environmental, and other positive impacts, AND compelling financial returns.
Specifically, Reinventure Capital is building a fund focused exclusively on US-based expansion stage (breakeven or so) companies, led and substantially controlled by people of color and women, poised to become the economic engines that will positively reshape sectors, societies, markets, and lives. We know from the data, including Ed’s track record, that disciplined adherence to this evidence-based practice generates both intentional, measurable impact and non-concessionary returns to investors.*
We share this infographic with you in hope it will encourage you to also choose to reject centuries-old false premises, misconceptions, and willful disregard of facts.
You can choose to invest based on the available evidence. You can channel capital to lower risk, higher potential founders and managers who are persistently passed over not on the basis of merit, but because they are invisible to those mired in thinking that was already patently unsound in Dickens’ day. Why would you not act on the data? And with evidence in hand, why would you wait?
Don’t you hesitate
If you’re ready to commit capital based on the evidence, please contact us without delay. And if you are already actively investing in overlooked, undervalued managers or founders, or otherwise employing “non-conventional” investment strategies to achieve superior outcomes, please share so others can join you!
Infographic: Reinventure v. conventional vcs
*While there’s no such thing as a guarantee in investing and no one can reliably predict the future, Ed’s prior track record delivering 32%IRR to investors provides direct evidence that it is indeed possible to consistently invest for both financial returns and social value creation. If you are an accredited investor and would like to learn more about investments that can advance social, racial, and gender equity by supporting high-value companies led by women and/or people of color, please contact us to start that conversation.
Legal Notice
The information contained in this blog does not constitute, and should not be used or construed as, an offer to sell, or a solicitation of any offer to buy, securities of any issuer, fund or other investment product in any jurisdiction. No such offer or solicitation may be made prior to the delivery of definitive offering documentation. The information in this blog is not intended and should not be construed as investment, tax, legal, financial or other advice.