Seed & Pre-Seed

Burnt Island Ventures is a specialized investment firm that finds, funds, and supports the best entrepreneurs and founders in the water sector. They focus on water technology innovations that help water and wastewater services reach people and businesses at the right quality, quantity, price, place, and time, positioning themselves as experts in one of the most undercapitalized areas of climate and infrastructure innovation. Their mission is grounded in the belief that climate change is fundamentally water change, and that water is the medium through which society will experience the effects of a warming earth. The firm operates with the philosophy that the strongest impact compounds alongside strong commercial outcomes, working to manage Earth's most precious resource through strategic investments and founder support. Burnt Island Ventures plays a critical role in the water innovation ecosystem by bringing deep sector expertise and an extensive network to support portfolio companies. Their impact extends beyond capital, as evidenced by portfolio companies already delivering measurable outcomes including billions of gallons of water processed, hundreds of millions of gallons saved, and major improvements in incident response, treatment, reuse, and energy systems.

Human Ventures is a next-generation venture capital firm and business creation platform that takes a human-first approach to investing. They partner with founders at the earliest stages of development and back them until their vision becomes reality, focusing on companies that meet essential human needs across health and wellness, workplace innovations, community connection, and transformational lifestyle changes. The firm operates through a collaborative three-component platform designed to support entrepreneurs in the earliest stages of growth. This includes Build Studio for turning early-stage ideas into launch-ready companies, their Fund for investing in the future of human needs, and an Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) Program that brings the entrepreneur community together to build innovative solutions. Based in New York, Human Ventures embodies and promotes the diversity, resilience, and ambition characteristic of the city's entrepreneurial ecosystem. Their impact extends beyond traditional venture capital through their comprehensive support system that focuses on building better entrepreneurs as much as better companies, guided by core values of growth, courage, resilience, openness, collaboration, and gratitude.

Hustle Fund is a venture capital fund that invests in hustlers at the pre-seed and seed stages, focusing on hilariously early startups. They position themselves as investors who back entrepreneurs with strong hustle and drive, regardless of traditional pedigree or background. The fund operates with a mission to democratize entrepreneurship and investing, offering extensive resources including blogs, books, newsletters, and educational content for both founders and investors. They provide practical, non-BS advice through multiple channels and maintain an active community of entrepreneurs and investors. Hustle Fund has created significant impact in the startup ecosystem by making angel investing accessible to people from all walks of life through their Angel Squad program, which includes over 2000+ angel investors. They matter because they're breaking down barriers in venture capital, teaching investment strategies to a broader audience, and fostering a community where aspiring entrepreneurs can learn, connect, and access capital regardless of their background or network.

New Age Capital is a thesis-driven seed stage venture capital firm that invests in tech and tech-enabled startups founded and led by Black and Latino entrepreneurs. They focus on companies at the seed stage with products in market, early customer traction, and some revenue, leading seed rounds up to $3M with an emphasis on capital efficiency. The firm operates with a mission to address the historical underrepresentation in venture capital funding by supporting underinvested, bootstrapped founders from their communities. They are industry agnostic and seek the best software or technology-enabled solutions across various markets, though they exclude fashion/fashion tech, media, crypto/web3, and medical device companies from their investment scope. New Age Capital plays a crucial role in the venture ecosystem by filling gaps in funding for Black and Latino entrepreneurs who have historically struggled to access capital. Founded by Ivan Alo and LaDante McMillon after their own experiences building a fintech company and witnessing peers struggle to raise money, they represent a response to the lack of diversity in traditional VC firms and work to ensure that entire demographics of innovators are no longer ignored in the startup funding landscape.

Responsibly Ventures is a PreSeed VC Impact Fund focused on backing remarkable teams building startups in sustainability and social good sectors. They support founders in realizing what they call 'Venture Scale Positive Impacts' by investing in companies that create measurable environmental and social benefits alongside financial returns. Their mission centers on understanding not just what teams are building, but why they're building it and who they're building it for at a fundamental level. They operate by seeking startups with an 'impact moat' - where the company's mission-driven focus provides a unique strategic advantage in the market. The fund actively promotes all forms of positive impact as core value drivers, including diversity, inclusion, empathy, social responsibility, ethics, and actions focused on both people and planet. Responsibly Ventures has created meaningful impact in the venture ecosystem through their portfolio companies and broader community initiatives. Their partner community 'posi2ive' includes over 10,000 impact-aligned investors and founders, creating a network effect for sustainable innovation. They've demonstrated concrete results through portfolio companies like Kidsy (diverted over 1 million pounds of products from landfill) and it's electric (expanding EV charging access across 9 cities), proving that impact and venture-scale returns can coexist effectively.

SustainVC is an impact-focused venture capital firm that backs innovative entrepreneurs working toward a sustainable, more equitable, and healthier world. The firm focuses on two primary impact areas: Climate & Sustainability, and Access & Opportunity, targeting companies that can deliver both positive impact and positive returns. Their mission centers on supporting entrepreneurs who share their vision of creating systemic change through market-driven solutions. SustainVC operates with the philosophy that profitable investments and meaningful impact can go hand in hand, seeking to accelerate positive change through strategic capital deployment. The firm plays an important role in the impact investing ecosystem by bridging the gap between traditional venture capital and social impact. With offices in Boston, Durham, and Philadelphia, SustainVC positions itself as a key player in supporting the growth of companies that can address critical societal and environmental challenges while generating strong financial returns.