5 Tips For Changing The World With Technology Investments
This post was originally produced for Forbes.
Cecile Blilious is a social venture capitalist in Israel who is out to change the world. She offers five tips to help other investors do the same with investments in technology that offers a social benefit or social technology.
As Co-Founder and Managing Parter, Blilious leads Impact First Investments, which she describes as the “first Israeli investment firm specifically designed to leverage local technology and innovation to create global social impact.” The firm focuses exclusively in investments in Israel that have technology solutions to global social problems.
The fund earns its fees in the traditional manner with a management fee of 2.5 percent annually and a carried interest of 20 percent that entitles management to one-fifth of the profits on the investments. The team today includes five people with a six-member advisory board. The firm is now in the fundraising stage.
Blilious believes that she is herself a social entrepreneur. She says, “By working with Israel’s world class tech developers and social entrepreneurs, Impact First seeks to address the pains of millions of people, in a sustainable, measurable, profitable way.”
Nechemia Peres, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Pitango Venture Capital, which has committed to invest in Impact First Investments and is hosting the younger firm in its office space, says, “I think they are doing a professional job full with enthusiasm and persistence. In addition to that they combine social investing, Israeli innovation, and a moral code and values–all of which are emerging trends on a global basis. They make a real contribution to humanity.”
Cecile Blilious, courtesy of Impact First Investments
Blilious offers the following five tips for changing the world through investments in social technology:
Do not sacrifice on talent.
The team you create to build your company is going to determine your success. Building the right team means finding skilled individuals with the training and experience necessary to address all of the issues your business is going to face. Running a startup requires you to think about the bigger picture, not only in terms of your company growth and market place, but the people you need to execute your plan.
Be profitable with a defined theory of change.
Create a profitable business, but one with a defined theory of change. A startup that seeks to address a pressing social issue must have the same growth potential and profitability as any other startup company. To succeed as a business that improves people’s lives, you need to operate with a clear, defined theory of change.
Incorporate an intrinsic mission.
Make sure that achieving your mission is an intrinsic component of your business plan. This means building social change into the DNA of your company, so that with each dollar earned a social improvement is created. A company who does this will not be able to good without making money, and will not be able to make money without doing good. They should come hand-in-hand, not as separate operations.
Build the best board you can.
Investors are not simply people who provide your company with financial capital. The people who you choose to go into business with can, and should, bring more to the equation than their checkbooks. Your investors and board members should be aligned with your mission and can provide business support. Look for people who have experience in the field and a sincere mission to create good in the world.
Cooperate with international partners.
If you’re seeking to create change on a global scale, finding the right international partners is a significant piece of the impact puzzle–these are the people that will help your company access new markets and create global impact. Before launching, this requires extensive research and networking. A strong board that is aligned with your mission, and a skilled staff, will go a long way in executing this strategy.
On Thursday, July 21, 2016 at noon Eastern, Blilious will join me here for a live discussion about her five tips for changing the world with impact investments in social technology. Tune in here then to watch the interview live. Post questions in the comments below or tweet questions before the interview to @devindthorpe.
Prior to founding Impact First, Blilious managed a portfolio of Israeli investments for the Noaber Foundation, where she served as a board member and/or as chairperson for several companies. Previously, she served as CEO of several companies, she says.
Remarkably, she is proud of having served as an initiator of the Al-Bawader private equity fund that invested in businesses in the Arab community in Israel.
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