Jeff Lawson, CEO of Twilio, is a widely respected serial founder and investor. He is an active philanthropist who is fiercely committed to the San Francisco Bay Area. His personal belief system is woven into Twilio’s modus operandi. This deep infusion of collaborative, long-term thinking is evident across the company…

Company Ventures is an early-stage venture firm with a focus on supporting values-driven founders. We met with Lindsay Siegel, the Head of Impact at Company Ventures to discuss their approach to creating diverse talent pipelines for their portfolio companies. Since the founding of Grand Central Tech, their flagship residency program…

Flatiron School is a Manhattan-based global institution that teaches students in-demand tech skills such as software engineering, data science, cybersecurity, and product design. Since their founding in 2012, the leadership at the Flatiron School has been committed to fostering an internal and external culture focused on equity, access, and inclusion¹…

“Our values are around increasing participation in democratic process —this is our big mission.” Damola Ogundipe is intent on proving that you can build a big venture-scale business and still be committed to your values. Damola started Civic Eagle in 2016 and has raised $2.3M …

“There has arguably never been a time more important for business to be a force for good.” Claudine Emeott, Director of the $150M Salesforce Impact Venture Fund The Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund launched in 2017 and addressed four initial sectors: Climate + Sustainability, Education + Workforce Development, DEI + Inclusion…

A micro-case study for Founders from the Startups & Society Initiative. Aclima measures and analyzes air pollution and greenhouse gases on a hyperlocal-level which helps regulators, policymakers, and environmental advocates better understand and manage emissions and their impacts. When Davida Herzl incorporated Aclima, there were two choices for how she…

A micro-case study for Founders from the Startups & Society Initiative. 500 Startups was founded in 2010, and has invested in 2,500+ startups in 77+ countries. The global accelerator and early-stage investment fund has prided itself on being different from Sand Hill Road VCs. On the threshold of raising its…

From fundraising to operations, here’s how Topknot stayed true to their values while raising a $650k pre-seed A micro-case study for Founders from the Startups & Society Initiative. Too many founders think of equity and social responsibility as a set of issues to address later in their company’s life cycle…

A micro-case study for Founders from the Startups & Society Initiative. Ope Bukola, a former Product Lead at Google and founder of Enle, wanted to tap into the technical talent of the African continent, and her home country of Nigeria. Ope on why she started Enle: “There is an explosion…