A record-breaking year for impact VC
Small Steps Vol. 38: Impact VC tracking to top the impact charts ๐ D&I tools to address the persistent tech gender gap ๐คธโโ๏ธ and distraction material for lockdowns ๐
"My heroes had the heart to lose their lives out on a limb, And all I remember is thinking, I want to be like them"
- Gnarls Barkley
What weโre thinking about
๐ป For the first time on record, impact VC is on track to blitz other impact investment types in attracting funding. Halfway through the year, it makes up more than 60% of the $7b in funds raised for impact. With strong focus on energy and health, impact investors are clearly seeing what we see: impact founders are our biggest lever for change because the solutions we need for our biggest problems simply donโt yet exist.
๐คฆโโ๏ธ While the tech gender gap is improving in Australia, equal representation has a long road ahead. Approximately 27% of Australian VC dollars went to female founders in H1 FY21 and women in tech were 2x more likely to lose their jobs due to COVID. We agree with Liza Chongโs view, that the gap starts at the source of capital - just 14% of global funds have a female partner, and thatโs gotta change.
๐คธโโ๏ธ In the meantime, weโre loving seeing the emergence of new diversity and inclusion (D&I) tools to address the issue, such as Fair HQ, which offers affordable D&I recommendations and impact tracking for startups, and Circle In, which just raised $2.7m to provide support for parents in the workplace.ย These join scaleup leaders in the space like WORK180 (theyโre hiring!), solving for fairer workplace policies, and Applied, which removes unconscious bias in the hiring process.
Career paths
๐ง Mindset is looking for a Public Relations Specialist and a Copywriter
๐ฆ Sendle is seeking a Technical Writer
๐ Amber is chasing a Digital Marketing Specialist
โป๏ธ Full Cycle Bioplastics is on the lookout for a VP of Sales
๐งฌ Eugene is hiring a Head of Growth and a Head of Care
๐ฅ Thereโs now 80+ more jobs on the Giant Leap Fund jobs board and more jobs at ethical companies on the global B-Work job board.ย
Connect with us
๐ฏ Our Associate, Charlie, is lifting the curtain on Giant Leapโs impact methodology at 1pm tomorrow for the Startup Vic Success Series. Register here.ย
๐ก James Chin Moody, CEO and Co-Founder of Sendle, shared his views on innovation. In short, new business ideas are most likely to come from using existing technology in new ways, as each previous advancement in technology has opened a world of possibilities we havenโt even considered yet.
For the roadย
๐ Weโre back in lockdown season. For those of you at home, here are some of our favourite distraction and coping tools from last year:
Jackbox has some great multiplayer games, but we got a lot of joy out of Drawful last year. We wonโt punish you with some of our creations from this gameโฆย
The Body Coach Youtube channel has workouts for everyone and every situation. And we mean every situation. Mid-workday office-chair workouts? Covered. No equipment workouts? Yep. Low intensity? There too. Take a look.ย
Airtree also recently put out this excellent mental health resource last year aimed at founders. But the information on there is really relevant to everyone.ย
๐ Spare a thought for the seaweed of the world. Itโs yet another casualty of the climate crisis, but potentially also a saviour: an ocean-bed full of kelp can store more carbon than a tropical rainforest the same size.ย
๐งฑ LEGO committed a 150 person team and tested 250+ formulations to finally reach a prototype recycled brick and make good on its commitment to be more sustainable.ย ย
๐คฒ The Kenneth Myer Social Innovation Fellowship has opened applications impact startups offering up to $150,000 in grant funds. Skalata Ventures is also looking for its next intake of companies for their accelerator program.ย
๐ฆ Pokemon Go, but for nature. The Great Aussie BioQuest is about to kick off. Itโs a state-by-state competition to compile the natural world in your area. You can download the app here.
๐ฒ Our favourite take on AfterPayโs acquisition:ย