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Devin: What is your superpower?
Priscilla: I think my superpower is leading with humility. When I applied to business school six years ago at Berkeley Haas, one of the essays asked me to tell my life in six words; my six words were, “Humility helped me find my power.”
Economic mobility is both a social imperative and a compelling market opportunity for JFFVentures, where Partner Priscilla Luu backs founders building technology for workers and learners too often overlooked by traditional venture capital.
As host of Superpowers for Good, I love meeting investors who refuse to accept the false choice between returns and impact. Priscilla brings personal conviction to the work. The first in her family to graduate from high school and college, she understands how access to education and opportunity can change a life.
“At JFFVentures, we are investing in solutions that are expanding access to education, skills and quality jobs,” Priscilla told me. “We deeply and truly care about the impact that our founders and their technologies are having on larger communities.”
The $30 million early-stage fund has already invested in nine companies across what Priscilla calls the education-to-workforce continuum. One example is Pace AI, a platform that provides personalized English language learning for adult learners, including frontline and immigrant workers. Priscilla shared that an independent study with a large public school system found learners using Pace achieved 23 percent higher learning gains.
Another portfolio company, Manifest, is building an AI-powered operating system for Main Street entrepreneurs. Rather than chasing only the biggest enterprises, Manifest is helping small business owners who often lack access to CFOs, HR teams or advisory boards. Priscilla sees AI as a tool that can help business owners grow revenue, upskill employees and create better jobs in their communities.
Her motivation is deeply personal. “My mission and personal ethos is to make sure that regardless of where you start, that doesn’t determine where you end up,” she said. She described her parents working multiple frontline jobs, including hotel housekeeping and early-morning bakery shifts, to support the family.
That lived experience shapes how she evaluates opportunity. “We see economic mobility as both a social imperative and a significant market opportunity,” Priscilla said. “We don’t believe that financial returns have to be siloed with the impact that our companies are having. I think they come hand in hand.”
JFFVentures typically invests at the pre-seed and seed stages, with average checks of about $500,000. The team focuses primarily on U.S. markets and works closely with founders on go-to-market strategy, networks and partnerships through its connection to Jobs for the Future, a national nonprofit focused on education and workforce development.
For founders serving adult learners, immigrant workers, frontline employees, small business owners or others seeking a path to better work, Priscilla’s message is clear: overlooked markets deserve serious capital.
tl;dr:
JFFVentures invests in early-stage technology expanding education, skills and quality jobs for overlooked workers.
Priscilla’s family story fuels her commitment to economic mobility for learners and frontline workers.
Portfolio companies like Pace AI and Manifest use technology to help immigrants and Main Street entrepreneurs.
Impact and returns can reinforce each other when companies scale access to real opportunity.
Leading with humility helps Priscilla see founders’ potential, lived expertise and deeper purpose.
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How to Develop Leading With Humility As a Superpower
Priscilla defines her superpower as “leading with humility.” For her, humility is not self-erasure. “I don’t think humility is thinking less of myself,” she said. “I think it’s knowing that I can learn from other people, I can empathize with people and that I can really understand their personal stories.” That mindset helps her invest differently. Rather than judging founders only by decks or credentials, she tries to understand their why, believing “the founders that are closest to the challenges that they are solving are the ones that are uniquely built to solve those problems.”
Priscilla’s humility deepened during a high school trip to Brazil, where she received a full scholarship to participate in a children’s rights program. On the way to a center for at-risk youth, she saw children bathing in muddy water, families living with almost nothing and kids digging through trash for food. Yet when she arrived, hundreds of children greeted her with joy and eagerness to learn. She returned home changed, realizing she “was never broken or disadvantaged” and had what she needed to pursue opportunity. That shift moved her from scarcity to abundance.
Put yourself in someone else’s shoes before judging their circumstances or potential.
Get curious about a person’s why, especially when evaluating a founder, teammate or partner.
Keep asking why until you understand the deeper connection between someone’s story and their work.
Look beyond paper credentials, pitch decks and background summaries to see human potential.
Recognize that you do not have all the answers and can learn from everyone you meet.
Lead with empathy, an open mind and an open heart.
By following Priscilla’s example and advice, you can make leading with humility a skill. With practice and effort, you could make it a superpower that enables you to do more good in the world.
Remember, however, that research into success suggests that building on your own superpowers is more important than creating new ones or overcoming weaknesses. You do you!
Guest Profile
Priscilla Luu (she/her):
Partner, JFFVentures
About JFFVentures: JFFVentures is an early-stage venture fund focused on companies building technology that expands economic mobility for workers and learners.
Website: jffventures.vc/about
Biographical Information: Priscilla grew up in a low-income family and was the first in her family to graduate from both high school and college. She knows firsthand how much access to education and opportunity matters — and has built her career around expanding both.
Before joining JFFVentures, she built a foundation across financial services and impact investing. At Callan’s Trust Advisory Group, she worked in investment operations managing multimanager portfolios for institutional investors. At Berkeley Haas, where she earned her MBA, she served on the Student Advisory Board of the Sustainable and Impact Finance Initiative, was a Venture Partner with the Haas Impact Fund, and worked with Community Investment Management and REDF, a venture philanthropy focused on employment for people facing barriers to work.
At JFFVentures, she supports strategy, operations, investments, and portfolio management, working closely with founders building solutions for economic mobility.
In addition to her MBA, Priscilla earned a B.A. in Economics from University of California Berkeley.
Outside of work, you’ll find Priscilla trying new cuisines and hiking trails around the Bay Area, and spending time with her adorable daughter, Kailey.
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/jffventures/posts/
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