Clerkie accelerates its mission to democratize financial wellness for everyday Americans through automation

SAN FRANCISCO, April 18, 2023 — Clerkie, the leading AI-powered financial automation platform, today announced its $33M Series A round led by Left Lane Capital with participation from other notable investors including Wellington Management Company, Flourish Ventures, Citi Ventures, CMFG Ventures and Vestigo Ventures. Fintech visionaries David Velez, founder of Nubank, and Tom Proulx, founder of Intuit, also participated in the round. The company previously raised a $6M seed round during the pandemic and has now raised $41M to date. This time around, their impressive financial performance coupled with product differentiation led to an expedited and oversubscribed Series A financing. The funds will be used to grow the engineering team and rapidly scale the company’s debt workout solutions to support more partners and help more borrowers.

“The consumer debt market is fundamentally broken for consumers and the creditors that serve them, as evidenced by the predatory collections practices and the crushing amount of debt burdening American families” said Guy Assad, CEO and co-founder of Clerkie. “Today, tens of millions of Americans are struggling with their debts and are falling into delinquency. It’s a lose-lose situation for the borrowers and for the banks who are racking up billions in losses. Our goal is to support struggling American families by giving them better tools to responsibly fulfill their debt obligations and ease their debt burden.”

“We could not be more excited to partner with Clerkie. As consumer debt delinquency rises, we believe technology that makes the lending system more efficient and effective for all parties will be critical. The Clerkie team’s deep subject matter expertise and commitment to making this process as constructive and beneficial as possible to the consumer stood out. We believe in that mission and look forward to being part of the journey,” said Dan Ahrens, Managing Partner at Left Lane Capital.

The problem the company is solving is one that is deeply personal for Mr. Assad. Sourcing from his personal experiences as a person of color, Guy has seen firsthand, both in his family and in his community, the severe anxiety and financial hardship that can result from untenable debt burdens. After his own father was diagnosed and ultimately lost his battle with cancer, the medical bills and the credit card debts racked up. “It was just a lot. On one hand you’re dealing with this unthinkable grief and on the other hand you’re trying to manage this crippling financial stress. But, you just have to keep it moving and forge ahead because a lot of people are relying on you”, recounts Guy. It took him several months to haggle with the collections companies and the medical companies to find suitable repayment plans that would allow them to repay back these bills responsibly. “That was an incredibly painful process; and I was blessed enough to be one of the lucky few that understood how the system works”

For context, Guy went straight to McKinsey out of Stanford Business School to work with large banks on advising their digital transformation efforts. Over the course of many engagements, Guy and his co-founders, Sebastian Wigstrom and Gray Hoffman, saw an opportunity to modernize legacy banking systems and processes with modern digital solutions that can automate and address a significant problem for financial institutions: delinquencies. “These systems are incredibly arcane and rigid; we quickly saw an opportunity to help millions of at-risk borrowers pay back their debts responsibly and avoid delinquency if we could just modernize this infrastructure” said Sebastian, CTO and co-founder at Clerkie. From a borrower perspective, they learned that financial wellness was not all about money but more about access – access to simple financial solutions and sound financial guidance. “More specifically, borrowers needed guidance tailored to their specific financial needs and that guidance has to be easily executable and automated”, said Guy. Clerkie’s debt automation software seeks to deliver against that vision.

Today, Clerkie’s proprietary platform has become the go-to tool for creditors looking to manage their loan losses while simultaneously helping millions of borrowers get out of debt and improve their credit. The platform uses a number of data points to identify and help potentially delinquent borrowers avoid default. From there, the system proactively surfaces viable workout options for a given borrower, thereby helping them avoid the predatory collections process and ultimately helping them ease their debt burden and improve their financial health.

“We are honored to have partnered with Clerkie from the very beginning of their journey,” said Emmalyn Shaw, Managing Partner at Flourish Ventures, who understood the company’s vision very early on and co-led its Seed round. “With interest rates going up to a level not seen in approximately 20 years, significantly more Americans are at risk and the level of delinquent consumer debt is likely to exceed $130B. Clerkie’s debt automation platform is needed more now than ever and enables a true win-win outcome for lenders and borrowers alike.”

About Clerkie
Clerkie is an AI-powered financial automation platform that is purpose-built to help over 100 million Americans ease their debt burden. Clerkie’s systems help borrowers by providing personalized debt guidance and workout options to avoid delinquency and build their credit scores.

About Left Lane Capital: Founded in 2019, Left Lane Capital is a New York-based global venture capital and growth equity firm investing in internet and technology companies with a consumer orientation. Left Lane’s mission is to partner with extraordinary entrepreneurs who create category-defining companies across growth sectors of the economy, including software, healthcare, e-commerce, consumer, fintech, edtech, and other industries. Select investments include GoStudent, M1 Finance, Wayflyer, Bilt, Masterworks, Blank Street, Talkiatry, Tovala, and more. For more information, please visit www.leftlanecap.com.

SOURCE Clerkie

Funding Will Support Growth of Platform to Make Clean Energy Tax Credit Transactions Simple and Secure and Accelerate Fight Against Climate Change

SAN FRANCISCO, April 18, 2023 — Evergrow, the all-in-one platform for clean energy tax credits, today announced the raise of a $7M second round of financing. The round was led by existing investors, including First Round Capital, XYZ Venture Capital, Congruent Ventures, and Garuda Ventures. This brings Evergrow’s total funding to $14M after a $7M seed round that closed in late 2021. Evergrow will use this additional funding to expand the platform’s diligence, risk management, and transactional capabilities, in order to accelerate the market for clean energy projects and tax credits. The company also announced that it now has over $150M worth of clean energy projects on its platform that are expected to come online over the next year.

Evergrow’s recent momentum is enabled by the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”), the largest investment in clean energy and climate protection in American history. The new law allocates hundreds of billions of dollars toward investment in clean energy. Nearly all of this funding comes in the form of tax credits. Developers of clean energy projects, including solar, wind, renewable natural gas, and storage, generate tax credits whenever they build a new project, and these are then sold to fund costs. By purchasing these clean energy tax credits, Evergrow and its partners provide critical funding for these projects, unlocking the full potential of the IRA.

“I started Evergrow to accelerate the development of clean energy projects in the United States,” said James Richards, CEO and founder of Evergrow. “Clean energy tax credits achieve this goal while also providing a compelling financial return for our partners. We look forward to broadening access to this unique, growing, and impactful segment of the capital markets while also enabling the development of more climate-positive infrastructure.”

In 2022, the tax equity market was estimated at $20 billion, and is expected to double by 2024. Therefore, demand for clean energy tax credits must also grow significantly, otherwise clean energy development could become slower, more expensive, or both. By providing a platform for market participants to transact, Evergrow is helping to increase liquidity for clean energy tax credits and democratizing access to an entire asset class that has historically only been available to a handful of Wall Street banks and the very largest corporations.

“We have full confidence in the Evergrow team and we’re excited to deepen our partnership with them.” said Bill Trenchard, Partner, First Round Capital. “The IRA is America’s largest ever investment in clean energy and carbon capture. We believe Evergrow will play a leading role in unlocking its full potential.”

About Evergrow
Evergrow provides funding for clean energy projects in the United States by financing clean energy tax credits. By partnering with Evergrow, developers, corporations, brokers, syndicators, and other market participants can easily transact in green tax credits, which provides funding for new clean energy infrastructure projects. For more information, visit https://evergrow.com.

Media Contact
Alexandra Pony
[email protected]
250.858.0656

SOURCE Evergrow

Led by GenHenn Venture Fund I, Xenocor will leverage the capital to facilitate launch and rapid adoption of the 5mm articulating Saberscope

SALT LAKE CITY, April 18, 2023 — Xenocor, creator of the FDA cleared Saberscope, the world’s first true HD, fog-free, articulating, single-use laparoscope, announced a $10 million Series A funding led by GenHenn Venture Fund I with participation from Baranco Investments, Inc., Barvest Ventures, Inc. and Patel Family Investments. Xenocor will use the capital for the 2023 launch of the Saberscope and to continue executing on its robust innovation roadmap. To help accelerate the company’s growth, Michael J. Hennessy Jr., GenHenn Capital will join the Xenocor board of directors.

“Xenocor is laser focused on facilitating the evolution of the 35-year-old laparoscopic visualization model to something that clearly better serves care givers and patients during minimally invasive surgery,” shared Charles DeCoster IV, CEO of Xenocor. “Our FDA cleared Saberscope improves visualization, dramatically diminishes workflow complexity, increases safety and reduces waste.”

With an addressable market of $4.5 billion in the U.S. alone, Xenocor has created the best technology on a scalable platform, hired the right veteran medical device leadership and is following the right strategic course to capture meaningful share of this dynamic market.

“We are beyond thrilled to be leading the Xenocor Series A. Based on the deep insights I have gathered during my long career in healthcare leadership, I believe Xenocor will have a transformational impact on minimally invasive surgery,” shared Michael J. Hennessy Jr., GenHenn managing partner. “Their unique technology coupled with their veteran leadership will change the future of laparoscopy forever.”

The Time for Single-Use is Now

The current reusable laparoscope model has been in place for 35 years and is the only option for minimally invasive surgeons. On a typical day in a hospital, before the surgeon enters the room, the staff has already brought in the equipment, warmed the scopes in a saline bath and put on a special light cord setting to avoid starting an OR fire. When the surgeon enters, they have to white balance the scope and 62.5% of the time the equipment is still not ready, and the surgeon needs to spend time troubleshooting⁽¹⁾. During the surgery the scope frequently fogs, it is difficult to see through smoke and steam and almost impossible to see around critical anatomy. Once the procedure is complete, the devices are wiped down and transported to sterile processing (usually not just around the corner from the OR). At sterile processing, staff are in incredibly short supply nationwide, have to thoroughly clean the scopes and properly route broken equipment through a complex repair and loaner process. The scopes that are deemed to be in working order must then be transported to the right place at the right time, which is no easy feat.

The Saberscope addresses every unmet need described above. When the staff get into the room, they open the Saberscope, plug it in and go. The Saberscope eliminates fog, sees better through smoke and steam and can articulate 90 degrees in any direction with a simple wrist movement, allowing the surgeon full visibility to the anatomy they need at any point during the procedure. Lastly, the scope is placed in a Xenocor recycle bin and a new one can be easily pulled off the shelf. It just makes sense.

The below images are at the same time in the same anatomy and they show the stark difference between the Saberscope and the current reusable technology.

Xenocor is Ramping Capabilities

Due to the significant positive feedback received from across the laparoscopic community, Xenocor is investing in industry leading sales talent to support the long list of facilities where surgeon champions are ushering the Saberscope through the procurement process. A number of large academic systems have already issued purchase orders.

Xenocor has brought in additional manufacturing leadership to drive meaningful scale. Given the significant demand, new healthcare systems will be brought on in sync with the manufacturing plan, so no customer will have to experience disruptions in service.

Xenocor is building the operational capabilities to provide top of the line support to its incredible surgical champions and administrative allies. Xenocor’s culture puts the customer at the center, so investment into customer experience is critical at this stage.

About Xenocor

Xenocor is a privately held company that designs, develops, and commercializes medical devices including the Saberscope system. 

The Saberscope system is FDA cleared and is intended to be used in diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for endoscopy and endoscopic surgery within the thoracic and peritoneal cavities including the female reproductive organs.

www.XENOCOR.com

Live procedure footage: https://vimeo.com/816722218

Xenocor contact: (844) 936-6267; [email protected].

About GenHenn Capital

GenHenn Capital is a family office venture fund established to invest in technology focused life sciences companies at all stages of their life cycle.

SOURCE Xenocor, Inc.

• S&P Global leads Series A round, alongside other new investors including Temasek Trust Capital, Blue Haven Initiative, Gunung Capital, and Tsao Family Office
• Ford Foundation and Radicle Impact, which co-invested in BlueMark’s seed round in January 2022, increase their capital commitments in the Series A round

NEW YORK, April 18, 2023 — BlueMark, a leading provider of independent impact verification and intelligence for the impact and sustainable investing market, today announced that it had closed its Series A funding round with $10 million in capital commitments from a diverse group of seven investors. The lead investor is S&P Global, with other new investors including Temasek Trust Capital and three family offices with significant experience in impact investing — Blue Haven Initiative, Gunung Capital, and Tsao Family Office.

Ford Foundation and Radicle Impact are also participating in the Series A round, having previously funded BlueMark’s seed round with $2.25 million in equity financing, with Ford Foundation as lead investor and Radicle Impact as co-investor.

The increase in funding will be used to accelerate BlueMark’s leadership position as a premier provider of impact verification, benchmarks, and analytics to institutional investors of all types. Founded in January 2020, BlueMark has completed 125 verifications to date for investors with a combined $206 billion in impact AUM. The firm’s experience with such a large swath of the impact investing industry allows BlueMark to generate a unique set of market information and data. By providing insightful and comparable interpretations of investor impact performance, BlueMark helps optimize capital allocations towards impact. BlueMark also plans to expand its presence across different industries and geographies, with a particular focus on Asia where three of its investors are based.

Christina Leijonhufvud, CEO of BlueMark: “This latest funding round shows how strong the appetite is for greater transparency, accountability, and integrity in the impact and sustainable investing market. BlueMark’s distinctive approach to impact verification, benchmarking, and analytics continually raises the bar on best practice impact management and reporting among investment managers and also helps asset allocators identify and engage with managers driving impact.”

Dr. Richard Mattison, President of S&P Global Sustainable1: “S&P Global is proud to be investing in BlueMark to support much-needed innovation in transparency for impact metrics. More than ever, companies and investors are seeking access to high quality data and advanced analytics relating to sustainability. This investment represents a step forward in enhancing market participants’ access to impact-focused insights.”

Roy Swan, Head of Mission Investments at Ford Foundation: “BlueMark’s work to help impact investors reach for a higher standard in tracking their performance has rightfully earned them a reputation as a leading authority on best practices in impact management and reporting. This next phase for BlueMark signals the growing awareness around the importance of impact investing as a whole, and Ford Foundation is excited to take our partnership a step further.”

Dawn Chan, Managing Director, Investments at Temasek Trust Capital: “Impact and sustainable investing is a focus at Temasek Trust Capital. We see significant growth opportunities for impact investing in Asia and around the world. Independent experts are vital in assessing and assuring that investors are delivering on their impact claims and commitments. BlueMark is a leader in this space, and we look forward to working with the BlueMark team to expand their verification and market intelligence services to new geographies and sectors.”

Kelvin Fu, Managing Partner of Singapore-based Gunung Capital: “We are excited to partner with BlueMark in expanding their impact verification and intelligence capabilities in Asia, a market where we see growing demand for sustainable investments and impact verification services. Having gone through our own journey of establishing impact and sustainable frameworks for investment, we view BlueMark’s methodologies, capabilities, and team as world-class.”

Bryan Goh, CEO at Tsao Family Office: “Tsao Family Office is delighted to support BlueMark in their vital work of bringing transparency, authenticity, and accountability to impact investing.  We believe that BlueMark’s work will enable capital allocators to make more informed decisions and at the same time drive best practice amongst impact asset managers.”

Liesel Pritzker Simmons, Co-Founder and Principal of Blue Haven Initiative: “BlueMark’s industry-leading approach to impact verification brings greater clarity and accountability to the process of selecting and engaging with managers, and ultimately makes life easier for allocators like Blue Haven Initiative. We look forward to working with the BlueMark team to extend BlueMark’s verification services and unique data to the rest of the market.”

The latest funding for BlueMark comes at a pivotal time in the maturation of the impact investing industry. According to the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), there is now more than $1 trillion in impact assets under management globally. Now more than ever, the market needs an accountability mechanism to ensure that investors’ claims about their sustainability and impact goals, practices, and results are reliable, accurate, and decision-useful for allocators and other stakeholders.

BlueMark’s impact verification service encompasses an analysis of an investor’s (a) impact management practice (the policies, tools, and processes necessary to execute on their impact strategy) and (b) impact reporting (the completeness and reliability of their reported impact performance).

By aggregating data from these verifications, BlueMark is also able to generate a wealth of insights into industry trends, market challenges, and emerging best practices. BlueMark regularly shares these insights with the impact investing field via a research series on impact management practices (“Making the Mark”) and a series on impact reporting (“Raising the Bar“). These research reports, which have been supported by catalytic funding from organizations like The Rockefeller Foundation and the Tipping Point Fund on Impact Investing, are widely shared across the impact investing industry and can be used as a guideline to best practices for both new and established impact investors.

BlueMark became a certified B Corp in November 2022, joining thousands of businesses around the world that are committed to using business as a force for good.

About BlueMark
BlueMark is a leading provider of independent impact verification and intelligence for the impact and sustainable investing market. Founded in January 2020 as a spinoff from Tideline, an expert consultant to the impact investing industry, BlueMark’s mission is to “strengthen trust in impact investing” by providing investors with market-leading impact verification services, benchmarks, and analytics. BlueMark’s verification methodologies draw on a range of industry standards, frameworks, and regulations, including the Impact Management Project (IMP), the Operating Principles for Impact Management (Impact Principles), the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), SDG Impact, and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). Learn more about BlueMark and impact verification at www.bluemarktideline.com.

Media Contact: Dmitriy Ioselevich | 17 Communications | [email protected]

SOURCE BlueMark

Midwest emerging growth companies set to present in-person in Ann Arbor

ANN ARBOR, Mich., April 18, 2023 — Organizers of the Midwest Growth Capital Symposium (MGCS) announced today that Louis Cannon, MD, Founder and Senior Managing Director of Biostar Capital, and Dug Song, Co-Founder and President of the Song Foundation, will keynote the 2023 program. More than 300 entrepreneurs, researchers, investment professionals, and business executives are expected to attend the two-day venture investment conference.

For 2023, MGCS will include panel discussions on venture capital, technology, healthcare, acquisition, and more led by industry experts, as well as presentations from high-growth Midwest ventures. Featured panelists for MGCS include:

• Pete Wilkins, Managing Director for Hyde Park Angels
• Jeff Sloan, Angel Investor, CEO of Startup Nation, CEO of Aria Ventures
• Alan Davis, Managing Director of Biostar Capital
• Jake Cohen, Partner with Detroit Venture Partners and Co-founder of Signal Advisors
• Chin Weerapuli, NIL Advocate for University of Michigan Athletes
• Michael Spath, Client Executive for Kapnick Insurance, Executive Director for A2 New Tech
• Ashley Williams, Founder & CEO of RIZZARR
• Bill Baumel, Managing Director of the Ohio Innovation Fund
• Dr. Tom Shehab, Managing Partner of Arboretum Ventures
• Jing Liu, Executive Director of the Michigan Institute for Data Science

The growing ventures featured in the MGCS showcase span the life sciences, medical devices, agriculture/food, and tech industries. All featured companies will be seeking seed, Series A, or Series B funding. In addition to their on-demand virtual pitches, presenting companies will be in attendance to connect with potential investors.

“The goal from the onset of the Midwest Growth Capital Symposium is to bring together private growth companies and venture capital and private equity investment firms from all parts of the country,” said David Brophy, founder of the Midwest Growth Capital Symposium and University of Michigan professor emeritus. “Since the beginning of the pandemic, VCs and other investors have been searching to make good deals with cutting-edge companies. The Symposium connects these investors with growing ventures that have an early track record of success – many that lack visibility as they are based in the Midwest.”

The 2023 Symposium will return in person to Ann Arbor May 23 & 24. The Symposium will be held at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.        

For more information on applying, attending, or sponsoring the symposium, please visit www.midwestgcs.com or email Hannah Burke [email protected].

About the Midwest Growth Capital Symposium

The Midwest Growth Capital Symposium (MGCS) is the original university-based venture investment fair. First held in 1980, this decades-old event is the largest Midwest venture fair of its kind that brings together venture capital investors, angel investors, high-growth companies, university tech transfer officers and research faculty. The Symposium is presented by the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.            

SOURCE Midwest Growth Capital Symposium

The strategic investment was led by General Catalyst and a cohort of leading health system partners and will enable care teams to give more patients a high-touch care experience 

SAN FRANCISCO, April 18, 2023 — Memora Health, the leading intelligent care enablement platform, today announced a strategic investment of $30 million led by General Catalyst with participation from Northwell Holdings, the venture investment arm of Northwell Health, NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health, PagsGroup, and other strategic investors. The funding also included follow-on investments from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Transformation Capital, and Frist Cressey Ventures.

Healthcare is at an inflection point. Care delivery is increasingly shifting out of the four walls of the hospital, and the lack of necessary infrastructure to support this transition is breaking how providers operate. Health systems nationwide are struggling under a rapidly growing barrage of patient messages and calls fueled by poorly conceived, first generation patient experience and clinical workflow tools. According to a 2022 study^[1], inbound patient messages have increased 157 percent over the last three years. At the same time, providers are facing an unprecedented shortage in staff; a recent study by the AMA cited a burnout rate of 63 percent among clinicians^[2] while Bain & Company reported that 25 percent of U.S. clinicians^[3] are considering leaving the profession altogether. As a result, today’s healthcare system all but prohibits the high-touch, data-driven care that clinicians truly want for their patients — and their patients need.

“Memora Health is fundamentally transforming care delivery in our view,” said Chris Bischoff, managing director of General Catalyst. “Their intelligent care enablement platform has found what we see as a unique balance of empowering care teams to give every patient a high-touch care experience while also keeping patients with complex care journeys engaged and proactive in their care. All of these are critical components of our Health Assurance thesis and we look forward to our collaboration with Memora as they reimagine the care journey for patients alongside a growing number of leading health systems.”

Memora Health is building the necessary infrastructure to unlock how healthcare organizations scale and deliver next-generation care. By digitizing and automating high-touch clinical workflows, Memora provides patients with conversational, SMS-based care journeys that adapt to how they communicate. The company’s intelligent care enablement platform streamlines clinical workflows for care teams while also improving patient experience. This significantly reduces the burden on clinicians, and makes complex care delivery more proactive and high-touch for patients.

“Health systems have reached a critical juncture in an increasingly competitive and dynamic market,” said Michael Dowling, CEO of Northwell Health. “If we want to maintain our position as leaders in care delivery, we need innovative partners that can extend our clinical capacity, keep our patients engaged in their care, and deliver high-quality services to more people. We look forward to collaborating with the Memora team as we leverage novel technology to support our efforts.”

Navigating a care plan can be difficult for patients, especially once they’ve returned home. Whether it’s a new mom looking for guidance on latching, a cancer patient trying to understand the side effects of their chemotherapy, or an older adult recovering from a knee replacement surgery at home, Memora’s always-on platform helps patients get answers to their most pressing clinical questions, while empowering clinicians to focus on data that is actually clinically relevant — automating day-to-day tasks in the EMR that do not require top-of-license clinical expertise. In one example from a health system utilizing Memora’s postpartum care program, over 32,000 messages were exchanged with Memora’s platform and less than 150 required a manual response from clinical staff.

“Every clinician wants to hold the hand of their patient as they progress along their care journey and be there to answer questions and address concerns, but care teams are stretched across large patient populations, inundated with messages, and burnt out,” said Manav Sevak, co-founder and CEO of Memora Health. “Memora Health is tipping the scales, enabling clinicians to deliver the level of care they were trained to provide and helping them rediscover their passion for caregiving — while also unlocking the modern care delivery experience that consumers expect.”

With partners spanning the healthcare industry — including leading health systems, health plans, life science companies, and digital health companies — Memora continues to grow rapidly. In the first quarter of 2023 alone, the company named Drs. Toby Cosgrove and David Lubarsky as strategic advisors, and announced partnerships to automate clinical workflows with Virtua Health, the largest health system in South Jersey, and Moffitt Cancer Center, one of the nation’s leading cancer care and research institutions.

About Memora Health

Memora Health, the leading intelligent care enablement platform, helps clinicians focus on top-of-license practice while proactively engaging patients along complex care journeys. Memora partners with leading health systems, health plans, and digital health companies to transform the care delivery process for care teams and patients. The company’s platform digitizes and automates high-touch clinical workflows, supercharging care teams by intelligently triaging patient-reported concerns and data to appropriate care team members and providing patients with proactive, two-way communication and support. To learn more about Memora’s vision to make care more actionable, accessible and always-on, visit memorahealth.com.

Press Contact: Lara Key, [email protected]

^[1] Holmgren, A Jay, et al. “Corrigendum to: Assessing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Clinician Ambulatory Electronic Health Record Use.” Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, vol. 29, no. 4, 2022, pp. 749–749., https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocab288.

^[2] Berg, Sara. “Pandemic Pushes U.S. Doctor Burnout to All-Time High of 63%.” American Medical Association, 15 Sept. 2022, https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/physician-health/pandemic-pushes-us-doctor-burnout-all-time-high-63.

^[3] Ney, Erin, et al. “Bain & Company: 25% of US Clinicians Want to Leave Healthcare and 33% Want to Switch Employers.” Bain, 11 Oct. 2022, https://www.bain.com/about/media-center/press-releases/2022/bain-company-25-of-us-clinicians-want-to-leave-healthcare-and-33-want-to-switch-employers/.

SOURCE Memora Health

Venture Capital firms called on to be more transparent on DEI

NEW YORK, April 18, 2023 — Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) data from 315 venture capital (VC) firms, representing more than 5,700 U.S.-based, full-time employees and $594.5 billion in assets under management, is now available as part of the “VC Human Capital Survey,” powered by Venture Forward, the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), and Deloitte. This survey series takes a unique approach to assessing DEI in the VC industry. It gathers data confidentially from VC firms of all types and sizes, examines various demographic groups across all positions, and evaluates firm talent management strategies, including DEI practices and goals. The fourth edition of the survey provides a first glimpse into outcomes from initiatives that many VC firms made following the summer of 2020, when social justice and racial equity were a heightened focus for the country.

Key takeaways

• More VC firms are incorporating DEI strategies. Nearly one-half (46%) of surveyed firms have a diversity strategy (up from 44% in 2020, 35% in 2018, and 15% in 2016), and 44% have an inclusion strategy (up from 41% in 2020, 31% in 2018, and 17% in 2016). In 2022, 60% of firms said they either have a staff person or a team responsible for DEI (an increase from 55% in 2020, 34% in 2018, and 16% in 2016). Majority of firms have established or plan to establish specific DEI goals. This new question found that 40% of the firms surveyed in 2022 stated they now have specific DEI goals, while 23% plan to implement goals within the next six months.
• More VC firms are seeing DEI interest from limited partners (LPs) and focusing on DEI at portfolio companies. In 2022, 47% percent of firms said that LPs requested their DEI details within the last 12 months, an increase from 41% in 2020, and 36% in 2018. In 2022, 38% of firms said they requested DEI details from their portfolio companies, an increase from 30% in 2020, and 19% in 2018.
• Women are far from parity, although their representation is steadily trending upward. Female employees represent 26% of investment professionals in 2022, up from 23% in 2020, 21% in 2018, and 15% in 2016. The proportion of women in junior-level investment positions grew in 2022 to 35%, up from 33% in 2020, 28% in 2018, and 25% in 2016. Among investment partners, women represent 19%, up from 16% in 2020, 14% in 2018, and 11% in 2016. In 2022, 57% of firms reported they do not have any female investment partners (compared with 65% in 2020, and 68% in 2018). Only 15% of firms said they had more than one.
• Racially and ethnically diverse women saw slim gains among investment partners. Black women comprised 1% of investment partners in 2022 compared to 0.25% in 2020 and 1% in 2018. Among investment partners, 5% were Asian/Pacific Islander women in 2022, compared to 3% in 2020, and 5% in 2018. Hispanic women were 2% of investment partners in 2022, increasing from 1% in 2020 and 2018. White non-Hispanic women comprised 13% of investment partners in 2022, up from 12% in 2020, and 11% in 2018.
• Female representation among investment professionals with senior decision-making responsibilities realized little or no gains. Women constitute a distinct minority of investment professionals with senior decision-making responsibilities such as originating deals (25% versus 24% in 2020), representing the firm on the boards of portfolio companies (20% versus 21% in 2020), serving as a member of the firm’s investment committee (20% versus 21% in 2020), and serving as an owner of the management company (17% versus 18% in 2020).
• Representation for Black professionals remains limited. Black employees comprised 5% of investment professionals in 2022, an increase from 4% in 2020, and 3% in 2018. Black professionals also comprise 4% of senior-level positions (4% in 2020, 3% in 2018), and 7% of junior-level investment professional positions (7% in 2020, 5% in 2018). Eighty-nine percent of firms report they do not have any Black investment partners (93% in 2020 and 2018).
• Some improvement in Hispanic representation. Hispanic employees comprised 6% of investment positions in 2022 (4% in 2020, 5% in 2018), and 5% of investment partner positions (4% in 2020, 3% in 2018). Hispanic representation among junior-level investment professionals also increased from 4% in 2020 and 2018 to 5% in 2022.
• Younger and smaller firms have more diversity among investment partners. VC firms founded within the last 10 years reported that a larger percentage of their investment partners were Black (8%), Hispanic (8%), and female (22%) as compared to older firms where Black (1%), Hispanic (2%), and female (17%) investment partners were not as prevalent. A more significant percentage of investment partners at small firms were Black (11%), Hispanic (11%), and female (25%) than at mid-size firms (Black 3%, Hispanic 5%, female 18%), and large firms (Black 1%, Hispanic 1%, female 16%).

Why this matters
The VC industry plays a critical role in identifying and funding innovative startups that create jobs and economic value—and in the process, improve people’s personal and professional lives. A startup ecosystem with investors and innovators that better reflects the demographics of the country has the potential to unlock opportunities for even greater success, wealth distribution, and economic value.

In addition to benchmarking data on gender diversity, racial diversity, ethnic diversity, age diversity, talent management and DEI practices — this year’s report provides strategies and insights to help VC firms improve and promote DEI to continue moving the needle.

• Read the full report here.
• Access the interactive dashboard here.

Key quotes
“Top management must recognize a moral and business imperative to act on broader social responsibilities. While gains have occurred, they have been uneven, and negligible in some cases, highlighting the need for strong leadership with intentionality towards making change. There is optimism for the future. The increasing diversity among junior-level positions indicates the potential for greater representation among senior positions as talent matures and rises through the ranks.”
– Heather Gates, Audit & Assurance national private growth leader, and managing director, Deloitte & Touche LLP

“In addition to creating the systems and processes that advance equitable outcomes, it’s imperative for organizations to create a culture of inclusion and belonging where all individuals are empowered to thrive.”
–Kavitha Prabhakar, chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, Deloitte LLP 

“This survey is a critical component to holding the industry accountable and measuring its DEI progress. While it’s too soon to see outcomes of 2020 commitments and strategies focused on racial and ethnic diversity fully reflected in the latest data, there continues to be important—albeit small—gains. Even during challenging times, VCs must continue to prioritize DEI to maintain momentum and ensure progress does not regress.”
– Maryam Haque, executive director of Venture Forward

“VC firms are recognizing that not prioritizing DEI is a barrier to funding innovation and achieving higher returns. At a high level, the data showed improvements across most categories, however, if the industry truly wants to make meaningful progress and reach its fullest potential, it needs to build upon this positive momentum and commitment around DEI efforts.”
– Bobby Franklin, president & CEO of NVCA

Report methodology
The “VC Human Capital Survey,” powered by Venture Forward, NVCA and Deloitte, assesses the state of DEI in the VC industry. The fourth edition of the ongoing series provides a source of information that allows firms to benchmark themselves against industry practices and helps them identify innovative approaches to promote DEI. The survey was conducted from August 29 to October 7, 2022, and was completed by 315 venture capital firms, representing an aggregate total of $594.5 billion in assets under management, on the demographics and talent management practices of approximately 5,700 employees.

Diversity can be described as the representation, in a group, of various facets of identity, including (but not limited to) race, ethnicity, nationality, gender identity, LGBTQ+ status, socioeconomic status, ability, religion, and age. Inclusion can be described as the actions taken to understand, embrace, and leverage the unique strengths and facets of identity for all individuals to feel welcomed, valued, and supported. “Investment partners” are defined as employees with the titles of managing general partner, managing partner, general partner, founding partner, or managing director, or were partners who were designated as senior-level employees and as investment professionals with senior decision-making responsibilities.

About Venture Forward
Venture Forward is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by NVCA to support both current and emerging venture capital investors by addressing imbalances of access, resources and opportunity. The organization’s vision is to see more women, people of color and underrepresented people in investment positions of power who will ultimately fund a more diverse set of innovative founders, helping the ecosystem reach its fullest potential. For more information, visit ventureforward.org.

“People of color” is defined as Asian American/Pacific Islanders, Black and African American, Native American, or American Indian and Hispanic or Latino including people of white decent who identify as Hispanic or Latino.

About NVCA
The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) empowers the next generation of American companies that will fuel the economy of tomorrow. As the voice of the U.S. venture capital and startup community, NVCA advocates for public policy that supports the American entrepreneurial ecosystem. Serving the venture community as the preeminent trade association, NVCA arms the venture community for success, serving as the leading resource for venture capital data, practical education, peer-led initiatives, and networking. For more information about the NVCA, please visit www.nvca.org 

About Deloitte
Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world’s most admired brands, including nearly 90% of the Fortune 500® and more than 7,000 private companies. Our people come together for the greater good and work across the industry sectors that drive and shape today’s marketplace — delivering measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to see challenges as opportunities to transform and thrive, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthier society. Deloitte is proud to be part of the largest global professional services network serving our clients in the markets that are most important to them. Building on more than 175 years of service, our network of member firms spans more than 150 countries and territories. Learn how Deloitte’s approximately 415,000 people worldwide connect for impact at www.deloitte.com.

Contact
Jon Lynch        
Public Relations        
Deloitte Services LP        
+1 201 407 6550        
[email protected] 

Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee (“DTTL”), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as “Deloitte Global”) does not provide services to clients. In the United States, Deloitte refers to one or more of the US member firms of DTTL, their related entities that operate using the “Deloitte” name in the United States and their respective affiliates. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more about our global network of member firms.

Copyright © 2023 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved

SOURCE Deloitte

• Round led by B Capital will further enhance offering for small businesses looking to optimize supply chain management and other operations
• New investors Amex Ventures, KSV Global and FJ Labs join GGV Capital and Tiger Global
• Investment brings Odeko’s total funding to $177M

NEW YORK, April 18, 2023 — Odeko, the all-in-one operations partner for independent coffee shops, cafés, and other shops, today announced that it has raised $53 million in Series D financing, bringing its total equity investment to $177 million. The round was led by existing investor B Capital and includes continued support from GGV Capital and Tiger Global Management. New investors, including Amex Ventures, KSV Global and FJ Labs, also participated in the round.

Odeko will further invest in the technology behind its platform, which helps its 10,000 small business customers nationwide more efficiently order equipment and supplies from hundreds of vendors, manage inventory, and analyze data insights to save time and money. The company will also continue to scale its operations and enter new markets.

Dane Atkinson, CEO and Founder, Odeko, said: “For the past four years, Odeko’s mission has been to empower independent businesses. Today, that mission is as critical as ever. Our customers face countless operational and environmental challenges every day, and our goal is to ease their burden so that they can focus their time and resources on building the parts of their business they love, while serving their neighborhoods and communities. This capital allows us to do just that, and we are grateful to our investors for their continued support.” 

“Odeko has very quickly established itself as the go-to operational partner for independent coffee shops and cafes across the U.S.,” said Sami Ahmad, General Partner, B Capital. “The company has proved to be a critical partner to the independent businesses it supports, streamlining operations and removing friction from day-to-day tasks. We look forward to supporting Odeko as they continue to scale their business.”

The Odeko platform helps approximately 10,000 independent businesses save up to 21% on the cost of goods and up to 10 hours a week of time spent on managing vendors. Odeko currently serves 16 major markets via local delivery and the rest of the United States through e-commerce and other solutions. In the last year alone, Odeko expanded into six new markets, including Miami, Portland and Dallas.

For more information, visit: odeko.com.

For more information about Odeko, to arrange an interview, or to obtain Odeko press assets, please contact:

Odeko press team
E: [email protected]

About Odeko:

Odeko is an all-in-one operations partner that helps independent businesses save what matters most: money, time and the planet. Its smart operations software optimizes supply chain management, empowering businesses to order exactly what they need from over 400 national and local brands, delivered direct-to-fridge and shop, five to seven days a week. Odeko offers an order ahead functionality through its app and online for consumers looking to pre-order from their favorite local coffee shops and cafes. Odeko’s mission is to help small businesses increase their revenue, lower their expenses, and reduce their environmental footprint.

Founded in 2019 by CEO and founder Dane Atkinson, Odeko is already in 16 markets and supplies 10,000 independent coffee shops and cafes.

To learn more about Odeko, please visit www.odeko.com.

SOURCE Odeko

Define’s latest fundraise is one of the largest solely focused on early-stage digital-health startups

SAN FRANCISCO, April 18, 2023 — Define Ventures, a leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm that focuses exclusively on early-stage digital-health startups, today announced the closing of Fund III and Opportunities Fund that together total $460 million to fuel innovation in healthcare. Investing in incubation, seed, series A and series B stage startups, Define Ventures’ newest fundraise pushes its total assets under management to approximately $800 million and makes it one of the largest early-stage venture firms focused on investing in digital health.

Define Ventures combines Silicon Valley principles with deep healthcare operating experience and is creating a bold vision for the healthcare system by partnering with category-defining companies with proven leaders. The Define team comprises seasoned investors and operators who have successfully partnered and scaled multiple enterprise and direct-to-consumer healthcare businesses, providing its partner companies with unique insights into bridging consumer and enterprise commercial models.

“The healthcare system is evolving rapidly as multiple healthcare, technology and consumer trends converge, and even with the progress over the last few years, it remains a $4 trillion market opportunity that desperately needs greater digital transformation. At Define Ventures, we are at the center of that convergence and combine the best of Silicon Valley thinking and deep healthcare operating experience to better understand how enterprise and consumer models will intersect to become the future of healthcare,” said Lynne Chou O’Keefe, founder and managing partner at Define Ventures. “We are honored to have the support of strategic and limited partners for Fund III and Opportunities Fund who helped us raise one of the largest early-stage, digital health funds. We look forward to continuing to build with entrepreneurs that are redefining the healthcare ecosystem.”

Define Ventures currently partners with 21 industry-shaping companies led by world-class entrepreneurs. The firm attracts the healthcare industry’s leading startups by forming deep partnerships to create commercial opportunities, foster world-class teams, and build a unique digital-health community. Additionally, Define Ventures has a strong network of leading payers, providers, employers, retailers, and life-science companies who can help entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses. The firm also has relationships with influential strategic advisors that span the healthcare, consumer and technology ecosystems that provide experience in creating and scaling industry-shaping companies.

“In the early stages of our company, Define Ventures stood out to us as a partner because its team has an established network from all corners of the healthcare ecosystem from providers to payers,” said Dan Brillman, co-founder and CEO of Unite Us, a Define Ventures partner company. “Having Define’s experience in helping companies scale across multiple categories from enterprise to consumer models was invaluable, and we look forward to continuing to partner with Define as we expand our impact on people’s health in the community.”

Define Ventures’ two new funds include Fund III, which will support new early-stage investments, and Opportunities Fund, which will support its existing partner companies in their growth trajectories. Define Ventures’ investment strategy centers on partnering with startups that are serving multiple ecosystem partners, such as consumers, payers, providers, employers and life-sciences companies.

About Define Ventures

Define Ventures is one of the largest early-stage venture firms focused on investing in the digital-health companies that are redefining healthcare. Define Ventures combines proven Silicon Valley principles with deep healthcare operating experience to create category-defining companies. Define has incubated or partnered with many of the leading digital-health companies, including Hims & Hers, Unite Us, Folx Health, and Cohere Health, and has experience building best-in-class industry leaders like Livongo. Define Ventures invests in digital-health startups at the incubation, seed, series A, and series B stages. For more information, visit www.definevc.com.

SOURCE Define Ventures