312 | How to Launch and Grow an Impact Fund with Tanya Beja
Our guest this week on the pod is Tanya Beja. Tanya is a serial entrepreneur passionate about for profits with a social conscience and non-profits with a sustainable business model. She is a General Partner at AlleyCorp where she leads the Social Impact Fund.
Resources mentioned in this episode include:
How to Launch and Grow an Impact Fund with Tanya Beja
NOTE: While it’s not perfect, we offer a transcript and the below summaries by Castmagic for those who are hearing impaired or who don’t find listening to a podcast enjoyable or possible.
Full transcript of the interview is available here.
Key Topics & Bullet Points
I. Introduction to Tanya Beja and Alicorp
Tanya Beja's background and passion for poverty alleviation
AlleyCorp's focus on transformative companies and social impact as an impact fund
II. The Purpose and Benefits of Impact Funds
Definition of impact funds and their goal of creating positive social change
Reasons to start or be part of an impact fund
Increasing interest from traditional VCs in underserved communities
III. Alicorp's Approach to Impact Investing
Overview of the social impact fund at AlieyCorp
Examples of investments in companies addressing low-income challenges
Launching Impact Engine to support tech-enabled nonprofits
IV. The Role of Capital and Value-Added Support
Importance of capital deployment and value-added support after investment
Areas where AlieyCorp Social Impact Fund adds value, including fundraising, networking, and strategic expertise
V. Tracking and Measuring Success in an Impact Fund
Monitoring growth, revenue, burn rate, and social impact KPIs
Tailoring metrics based on specific investment opportunities
Measuring success in an impact fund by financial returns and social impact
VI. Collaborative Opportunities and Future Plans
Invitation to early-stage founders working on low-income issues to collaborate with AlleyCorp
Exploring food distribution and incubation opportunities
Growing Impact Engine and expanding incubation programs
VII. Impact Funds and Financial Returns
The potential for impact and financial returns to align and reinforce each other
Balancing return-seeking investments and philanthropic funding for strong impact
The importance of flexible capital in addressing specific problems
VIII. Nonprofits and Business Management
The strength of nonprofits that are run like businesses
The positive returns Alicorp's impact Fund has seen from investments
IX. Conclusion and Summary
Recap of AlleyCorp Impact Fund’s approach and impact vertical investments
Emphasis on the measurement of both financial returns and social impact
Encouragement for listeners to suggest future podcast topics on the Awarepreneurs website