“We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.” –Marcel Proust
Throughout the last several years – which honestly feels like several decades – my former college roommate, best friend, and business partner Mark Hubbard and I have foibled and fumbled our way into something that feels inevitable to who we are and what we value.
Our desire has always been to use our empathy, our abilities and our experiences to do something meaningful. With the remaining years of our journey, we wished to do something that has real impact, purpose and attempts to renew that which is broken. And ultimately we wanted to provide it for historically excluded founders and companies focused on impact, at the formative stages of their journey when they need the most help.
What started as an attempt to build a full service design agency (Pixel Recess), has morphed into a Venture Studio. We launched as a means to utilize funds for good (Renew VC), has become a compass for how venture capital needs to change direction. And now we can bridge the gap between the two, with more ways for historically excluded founders to expand their reach with the launch of Purpose Rounds™,
Our goal is to provide a more equitable and inclusive approach to fundraising for underrepresented and impact-focused founders. We believe that the traditional venture capital model is broken and leaves many founders behind or unable to achieve the full potential of their ideas due to systemic limitations in perspective.
Purpose Rounds™ offers a new way to raise capital that expands the reach of businesses focused on impact or diverse communities. Our hope is that Purpose Rounds™ will help to create a more just and equitable startup ecosystem for all.