Join the Impact Cherub Club Meeting October 18 at 3:00 Eastern

We're Having Fun, Doing Good and Hoping to Do Well

Because I so thoroughly enjoy the Impact Cherub Club meetings and all that goes with it, I’m taking a break from my break to conduct it as usual on October 18 at 3:00 Eastern. Join us!

September Meeting Report

Due Diligence Reports and Investment Decisions

At last month’s meeting, we heard diligence reports from club members on three companies, 7 Generation Games, Wicked Bold and Aqua Equity. The club members discussed the pros and cons of investing and voted to reach a consensus investment recommendation for the members.

We don’t announce our investment recommendations. If you’d like to know what we’re seeing, selecting and recommending, please join us on October 18, 2022, at 3:00 PM Eastern. There is no cost to participate; you don’t have to invest anything ever. When members choose to invest, I don’t touch the money and don’t earn any fees, commissions or favors.

Education Moment

At the Impact Cherub Club meeting last month, held just a few days following SuperCrowd22, we reviewed briefly the lessons members of the Club learned while attending the conference. Everyone gained new perspective from it.

New Company Screening

Last month, we took a first look at the following three companies. Club members volunteered to conduct some due diligence and report on all of them.

Kado

Headed by Black immigrants Gladymir Philippe (Canada) and Siyakudumisa Mali (South Africa), Kado is creating a platform to help match students to internships, consulting projects and permanent jobs. The company has engaged several universities, has a student waitlist of over 90,000 and hopes to achieve $5 million in 2023 revenue. Kado is raising capital on Wefunder and pitched at SuperCrowd22.

Bison Venture Partners

Bison Venture Partners is a Black-owned startup building a marketplace to sell consumer products created by students and alums of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. CEO Garry Johnson III has already launched the @WeBlackUnicorsn clothing brand as part of the company’s early execution. Bison Venture Partners is raising capital on Wefunder and pitched at SuperCrowd22.

Design to Build

Black-owned Design to Build creates design-rich applications for shipping containers to be used as affordable homes and offices. Founder and CEO Kémo A’akhutera is passionate about using real estate and the opportunity to invest in it to lift communities out of poverty. Design to Build is raising money on Wunderfund and pitched at SuperCrowd22.

Next Meeting—October 18, 2022, at 3:00 PM Eastern

At our next meeting on 18, 2022, at 3:00 PM Eastern/Noon Pacific, consistent with our plans for future sessions, the agenda will have three items:

• Diligence Reports

• Education

• Preliminary Consideration of New Candidates

Diligence Reports

We’ll begin with the due diligence reports from the Impact Cherub Club members who volunteered to do the research on the companies listed above. After hearing the members’ reports, we’ll vote to determine whether or not to recommend investment in the companies. The decision will be made available to everyone who registers to attend, including those who don’t make it. Register here.

Education Moment

This month, we’ll look at how startups are measuring impact and how investors can hold them accountable. There is a tension with impact measurement. On the one hand, too much effort devoted to measurement could overwhelm the business, making it unprofitable and ultimately impactless. Too little effort could mean that important data around the original status quo isn’t recorded and is therefore unavailable for determining the impact of the enterprise, reducing such measures to a collection of anecdotes.

Preliminary Consideration of New Candidates

At our October meeting, we’ll conduct a preliminary review of three companies raising money via Regulation Crowdfunding on FINRA-registered portals. If you have identified a social enterprise or community-building company raising money via investment crowdfunding, feel free to recommend it to me for consideration next month.

Here is a bit of information about each of the three we’ll consider this month.

Vulcan Augmetics

The company makes affordable prosthetics for the developing world. Led by a team that includes a number of Vietnamese amputees, the company has a passion for deploying high-tech, working prosthetics for people in countries often ignored for economic reasons. The company is raising on Wefunder.

Coco Noir Wine Shop & Bar

Founded by a Black female entrepreneur, Coco Noir Wine Shop & Bar will be the first BIPOC-woman owned bar in the Bay Area. Founder Alicia Kidd has been running an online wine business for the past six years and wants to expand to have a physical location in the community. She is raising money on Wefunder.

BluShift Aerospace

BluShift Aerospace is building a literally small competitor to SpaceX for launching the smallest satellites into space using a carbon neutral process centered on biofuels for launch. Started nearly a decade ago, the company has already had a first test launch. BluShift is raising on Wefunder.

Please join us for the monthly Impact Cherub Club meeting on October 18 at 3:00 PM Eastern. There is no cost or obligation. We’re genuinely having fun! Register here for free.