I’m excited to announce the launch of Z2Sixty Ventures. We are investing in a better future. We look to deploy capital from our financial partners into founders and teams that are at the early stage of creating technology-enabled businesses in high growth sectors that support a smarter and more impactful society.
Disruption is the easiest way to describe the last two years. From covid to social unrest, we have seen large displacements as well as both temporary and permanent structural changes to how we do business. However, we see this as the next great investment opportunity driven by an increased and accelerated demand for change.
At Z2Sixty Ventures, we hope to use our resources and experience to help play a part in building a better future. Recent technology trends in cloud computing, big data, mobile infrastructure, and artificial intelligence have laid the foundation for a digital transformation of society. We plan to support the next generation of mission-driven founders that will make a large impact in their respective industries and communities. Our particular investment focus is on the following ideas: a) building climate-smart infrastructures, (b) empowering an aging society, (c) improving access to financial resources and education, and (d) improving health, well-being, and social connection.
As part of our investment strategy, we consider relevant environmental, social and governance factors (ESG) in our decision process. We believe firms committed to building strong ESG policies and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives can be more competitive than their peers and fundamentally drive change.
Founders, in general, have more access to financing today than ever before, both in dilutive and non-dilutive solutions. Venture capital, as one of those capital providers, continues to grow and evolve in leaps and bounds, particularly as we’ve seen with incumbents increasing their fund sizes or expanding their strategy into public markets. Meanwhile, non-traditional players (i.e. hedge funds and private equity) are getting more active in growth-stage financing and increasingly entering early stage deals. This is great news for founders. But there’s still more to be done at the early stage, particularly for founders and teams from under-represented backgrounds. And founders and teams with fundamentally good ideas addressing large market opportunities still need help, not just financially, in executing those ideas.
For our financial partners who trust their capital with us, we take an analytical approach in targeting and evaluating which founders to invest and support. We are leveraging our deep, accomplished, and exceptional network to help in our sourcing, diligence, and ultimately our portfolio companies’ growth in order to generate attractive returns while mitigating risks involved with creating new businesses.
Overall, we look to build trust in the founders we back. Our model allows us to act swiftly and be helpful and flexible to founders as they raise capital. Our intention is to be an active and collaborative partner over the long-term.
As a new firm, we are also planning our own path for long-term success. We are building a firm that will be a thoughtful partner to founders and companies and play our part in building a smarter and more sustainable society that is inclusive and empowers everyone to succeed.