Join the Impact Cherub Club Meeting November 15 at 3:00 Eastern
Start Small, Invest for Impact, Have Fun
October Meeting Report
Due Diligence Reports and Investment Decisions
At last month’s meeting, we heard diligence reports from club members on three companies, Kado, Bison Venture Partners and Design to Build. 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 November 15, 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
The point of impact investing, even with $100, is to make a difference in the world. Optimally, that difference should be measurable. When making an investment where impact is a goal, look for evidence that the company you want to invest in can and does—or in the future will—measure an impact you care about creating.
Investors should be reasonable about what is measured. The cost of measuring impact can overwhelm a startup or small business. At the same time, if a startup isn’t measuring the baseline against which it can compare its future impact, it may be impossible to make that comparison when it’s time.
Don’t let measurement overwhelm your investment thesis, but don’t ignore it, either.
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.
Vulcan Augmetics
The company makes affordable prosthetics for the developing world. Led by a team that includes several 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. Launched nearly a decade ago, the company has already had its first test rocket launch. BluShift is raising on Wefunder.
Next Meeting—November 15, 2022, at 3:00 PM Eastern
At our next meeting on November 15, 2022, at 3:00 PM Eastern/Noon Pacific, consistent with our plans for future sessions, the agenda will have three items:
Diligence Reports
Education Moment
Preliminary Consideration of New Candidate Investments
Diligence Reports
We’ll begin with the due diligence reports from the Impact Cherub Club members who volunteered to research the companies listed above under “New Company Screening.” 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 take a few minutes to talk about reading and understanding financial statements. While many startups lack meaningful historical financial statements, small businesses may be raising money after years of operation. Going concerns include restaurants, breweries, food trucks and the like. Investors can quickly learn to understand basic financial statements to help make better investments.
Preliminary Consideration of New Candidates
At our November 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. Club members suggested two of the three we’ll consider in November.
Here is a bit of information about each of the three we’ll consider this month.
pocstock
Black-owned stock photography company pocstock reports historical revenue of $450,000 and has previously raised nearly $750,000 in a seed round. pocstock exists to provide inclusive, representational stock photography highlighting not only people of color but also diverse religious members and LGBTQ community members. Founder Steve Jones spoke at SuperCrowd22. The company is raising on Wefunder. Kathleen Minogue recommended pocstock for consideration.
Mana Pacific
Mana Pacific is working to replace expensive fossil-fuel-generated electricity in the Pacific Islands with more affordable renewable energy. Many people in the Pacific have no access to grid power. Using small gas or diesel generators is expensive, noisy and polluting. With an investment of just $100,000, the company’s founders hope to reach positive cash flow. The company is raising on Raise Green. Darcy James recommended Mana Pacific for consideration.
Amai
This woman-owned business makes edible single-use cups for coffee and other purposes. After importing similar cups from Europe, she identified ways to make hers even more environmentally friendly. This fast-moving crowdfunding raise enables her to scale the business to achieve market validation while she raises $6 million for a facility that enables genuine commercial scale production. Amai is raising on Wefunder.
Please join us for the monthly Impact Cherub Club meeting on November 15 at 3:00 PM Eastern. There is no cost or obligation. We’re genuinely having fun! Register here for free.