Salesforce Ventures Launches $100M Impact Fund ...
Claudine Emeott, director of Impact Investing, said in a Q&A on the company website that as with the first fund, the company is looking for cloud companies with some ties to Salesforce that address these core social components and can have a positive impact on the world. While there is a social aspect to each company, it still follows a particular investment thesis related to cloud computing. Her goal is to have a portfolio of cloud startups by next year that are addressing the set of social needs the firm has laid out.
Salesforce Ventures launches $100M Impact Fund ...
In 2017, Salesforce Ventures introduced its first $50 million Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund to support a new generation of startups that are focused on driving positive social change. To date, this fund has invested in more than 25 companies to help accelerate their impact around the world. Building on the success of its current impact investing efforts, Salesforce Ventures will continue to advance the growth of these important companies by making new investments, and providing portfolio companies with differentiated access to one of the fastest growing enterprise software companies in the world, offering credibility, expert advice and customer introductions.
Our regular impact finance bulletin brings you the latest funds, deals and programmes in the world of investing for good. Read on for some of the past month's headlines, and scroll down for more detail.
For its second impact fund, Salesforce is doubling the size of its pockets to support start-up companies working to solve problems in education, workforce training and climate science, and to create economic opportunities for minority and underrepresented populations.
AdmitHub is one of seven education and workforce-development startups that Salesforce supported from its first impact fund, which launched in 2017 with $50 million. Others include Andela, FutureFuel, Guild Education and Securly. Another, RaiseMe, was acquired by CampusLogic earlier this year. These companies altogether serve over three million students, according to Salesforce.
In 2017, Salesforce Ventures introduced its first $50 million Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund to support a new generation of startups that are focused on driving positive social change. To date, this fund has invested in more than 25 companies to help accelerate their impact around the world.
But now there is heightened interest in sustainability and diversity in the wake of the George Floyd killing and the growing climate emergency, and as pressure grows to make sure impact funds really have impact, companies are evolving their models.
Some are moving away from funds run by their VC subsidiaries to independent specialist vehicles while others prefer to invest directly or through dedicated foundations. Others have decided an impact investment vehicle works best if it is it completely outside corporate control.
As models of investing continue to diversify, some corporates are looking to back external venture funds outside the company in order to make an impact and enhance the overall ecosystem, harnessing the expertise of investors who are on the ground and talking to diverse founders.
Corporate venture capital, similarly to traditional VC, is now seen as an undifferentiated product. As more and more sources of capital are emerging, CVCs will need to start placing even more emphasis on portfolio support and look for ways to define their value proposition by leveraging even more enterprise resources. No corporate venture fund will make or break the success of the company - the startup will be successful if it has the right team, the ability to execute, the right product, and an ability to learn fast. However, the investors should have a meaningful impact on the company's future.
Some founders assume that getting funded by the CVC sets the stage for the potential acquisition. While it could happen, there are so many variables that impact the M&A decision-making that it would be very unreasonable to think that a CVC would invest in a startup to accelerate a potential future acquisition. More importantly, the market will look different a few years after funding, and the startup\u2019s competitors may be in a better position to get acquired. Another company may become a market leader, or the opposite - a competitor might be faltering so it makes sense to buy it at a low price point. 041b061a72