May 15 2016 29 mins 1
Aviary is a new venture capital seed fund, focused on mission-driven, for-profit conscious companies. It is run by Luni Libes. Luni was first a guest on Social Entrepreneur in episode 3. He is our first returning guest.
The last time Luni was with us, it was to describe how Fledge, the conscious company accelerator, works. Fledge has graduated 52 companies from their accelerator. They have 7 more in the program right now.
As part of our #MoneyMonday in May series, we talked to Luni about several topics:
- The challenge of finding early seed capital for impact entrepreneurs.
- Why he started a venture capital seed fund.
- Luni’s plans to expand Fledge to new cities around the world.
- And his latest book, The Pinchot Impact Index.
If you are an accredited impact investor and you are interested in learning more, Aviary is building a community of co-investors. You can contact Aviary through the contact form on their web site at http://aviary.vc.
Quotes from Luni Libes, Aviary Venture Capital Seed Fund
“What you do when you have a company that is succeeding, is you figure out how to make it grow and make it bigger and make it have a bigger impact.”
“There are definitely more entrepreneurs than capital.”
“I’m focusing on the impact investing corner of entrepreneurship.”
“It’s a seed venture capital fund for impact companies doing anything impactful anywhere in the world.”
“We’re agnostic on sector. We’re agnostic on geography.”
“When you look at it from the perspective of the investor, they have a problem when it comes to deal flow and seed investment and writing small checks.”
“Accelerators are really good at finding early stage companies, they’re good at training those companies and most important, they’re good at supporting those companies.”
“We’re looking for companies before they’re ready for growth capital.”
“The way we run Fledge is based on TechStars.”
“The current plan is one new city per year for the ongoing future.”
“Like most things in business, it’s going to end up being more network than top-down plan.”
“The most important skill is storytelling.”
“We need to be able to tell stories that are as good as TED talks.”
“Nobody sits down and writes a hit.”
“Get out of your box and go seek creative advice in other venues.”
Social Entrepreneurship Resources:
- Aviary: http://aviary.vc
- Fledge: http://fledge.co
- Book: The Pinchot Impact Index: Measuring, Comparing, and Aggregating Impact: http://amzn.to/1qlVMnn
- Culture Shift Learning Academy waiting list: http://tonyloyd.com/assessment
Culture Shift Learning Academy
We’re moving closer to the launch of Culture Shift Learning Academy, a comprehensive system to help you flesh out your social impact idea and start achieving it.
Enrollment isn’t open yet, but you can join the waiting list with other changemakers. Just go to http://tonyloyd.com/assessment and enter your email address. As a thank you, I’ll send you the Social Entrepreneur Startup Readiness Assessment. This useful tool is designed to help you to determine where you are on your startup journey and to successfully focus your development efforts.
