A Conversation with Pratibha Vuppuluri on Diversity in Venture Capital and Social Impact Unicorns

In episode 18 of the Investing in Impact podcast, I speak with Pratibha Vuppuluri, Head of Investments at Unreasonable Group on diversity in venture capital, social impact unicorns, and the mission of the Unreasonable Collective.

Pratibha Vuppuluri is the Managing Director on the Unreasonable Team overseeing the global portfolio of 200+ high growth impact companies and leads on facilitating capital introductions for the venture base.

She brings ~20 years of Banking experience with expertise across a variety of industries including, Renewable Energy, Industrial Technology and Sustainable Agriculture. Pratibha graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelors in Applied Economics and Management with an academic publication and completed her Masters in International Affairs (International Finance and Economic Policy) at Columbia University.

Unreasonable Group recently announced the launch of Unreasonable Collective, a unique invitation only member club for sophisticated and accredited investors interested in investing in high growth ventures operating at the intersection of impact and technology. Membership to the club will provide opportunities to co-invest alongside top institutional groups, via managed syndicates, generating societal and environmental impact as well as exceptional returns.

The Collective’s innovative growth financing structure builds on the emergence of two crucially important trends in impact investing: redesigning an investor base to build inclusivity in the capital ecosystem and encouraging collaboration between funders to amplify impact and accelerate venture growth.

As such, the Collective membership recruitment strategy will ensure that at least 50% of its members are women, people of color and from the LGBTQ+ community; and leveraging pioneering co-investment models through its syndicated approach, it will co-invest with many of the world’s leading venture capital and growth equity firms, in Unreasonable ventures.

The Collective’s highly curated global venture portfolio spans a wide range of sectors including Mobility & Transportation, Agriculture, Clean Energy, Alternative Protein, Digital Health, Education Technology and Industrial Automation. Members will also benefit from pooled capital designed to deliver competitive terms.

“Our belief is that the next unicorns will be high growth, high impact companies that will utilize breakthrough technologies to solve environmental and societal problems in a profitable and scalable way. However, the capital markets model, especially in the later stage financing landscape, tends to be in the hands of non-diverse money managers. This needs to change not only  to equalize the playing field for an inclusive financing landscape, but also for ventures who are actively looking for a diverse investor base that can bring smart capital, fresh perspectives, ground-up insights, expertise, and network access in domestic and international markets,” said Pratibha Vuppuluri, Head of Investments, Unreasonable Group.

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