2022 Year in Review; our reflection on outcomes
We closed out 2022 with record investments, stronger deal flow, a bigger team, and a larger universe of possibility for our role in building the future of the food system
In 2022 we celebrated two years of partnership and investments in the future of food. We grew our internal team and our ecosystem of partners, refined processes to improve our output, and we completed our first Supercharge III cohort with exceptional executive coaching for our founders. Here we recap the year:
Deal Flow
We saw 34% more deals in 2022 than we saw in 2021. Inbounds grew nearly 2x YoY as we increased our visibility as a firm, and outbounds tripled to 2.7x with the support of our full time associate and our MBA Fellows. With a growing portfolio, we also saw referrals from the founder network increase by over 30%. A process refinement and improved Airtable hacks helped us maintain better deal visibility and improve processing. Our average time for making an investment, from initial call to investment decision, is approximately 63 days.
Investments
Through a lens for culture and climate, we invested nearly $7M across 8 new companies and 3 follow-on investments. We led three deals: one in ingredient technology, another in the B2B marketplace space, and the third in BIPOC-led food media. A majority of our portfolio companies continue to be led by women (54%), while founders identifying as BIPOC represent 77% of our portfolio. Nearly 70% of our portfolio reduces or reverses the impact of the food system on our climate, and nearly 70% of our portfolio contributes to building healthier communities. We co-invested with new and old friends at Stray Dog Capital, Union Labs, Ulu Ventures, The Engine, Marcy Venture Partners, Cleveland Ave, SOSV’s IndieBio, Be8 Ventures, and Portfolia.
Post Investment Support
This year, we ran our inaugural Supercharge III cohort. SuperchargeIII is a bespoke program by Verde Associates designed specifically for our portfolio to elevate individual and organizational awareness for more effective leadership. 100% of participants indicated they’d recommend the program to other founders! Our second cohort will kick off later this month over 8 sessions spanning navigating co-founder relationships to defining organizational culture and managing performance with feedback. More about our post investment support here.
We also engaged with a consultant to operationalize our impact framework, KPI tracking, and impact report rollup thanks to a grant from one of our family office investors. Our portfolio founders will have the opportunity to learn about KPI development, tracking and reporting, which will serve them and support us. We expect this work will serve as VC industry leadership for investing with an impact lens (first peek at our impact case study).
Team
This year we extended our regional footprints beyond Los Angeles and Chicago into New York with the onboarding of Rafaella Fontes as part of our investment team. We also deepened relationships for graduate fellowships with Chicago Booth, UC Davis and MIT Sloan and created new partnerships with Pepperdine, Johns Hopkins, and Duke University.
Community
In a move to play big and have a meaningful impact in the food system, we joined a group of 20 investors to launch the Food Nutrition and Health Investor Coalition, a commitment to drive $2.5B in private investment over the next three years to improve hunger and health outcomes through food. In a more localized move, and because we recognize the power of building in public for women-led firms, we’ve aggregated events across a few intersections and offered them as a resource to emerging fund managers. More about our thoughts on building a firm in public here.
Firm Leadership
From day 1, our intention has been to build a food tech investment platform that endures. And we’re energized by early signs that we’ve seeded something great. After a thorough and data-driven review, the team at Revere rated Supply Change Capital as a Rising Star emerging firm, a designation provided to 3 firms out of 170 reviewed by the end of Q3. Our ratings report can be found here.
Lastly, we are proud and honored to have received recognition from our peers, the investment industry, and the food industry. In addition to winning an emerging manager pitch competition, we were recognized:
As Rising Star VCs shaking up the industry
As women of influence in private markets
As women cultivating sustainable food systems
As a VC firm investing with gender/diversity lens
Looking Forward to 2023, and Beyond!
We entered 2023 with gratitude over our ability to do this work, with appreciation for the partnership we’ve seeded, and with awe over the work happening across our portfolio. We’ll spend a week offsite later this month to build out a strategy and game plan for the year, but at the highest level, what won’t change:
Our desire to have a lasting impact on the food system;
Our impact lens across climate, health, and diversity;
And our commitment to invest 1% of the fund in [post investment] programming and services that support executive leadership, mental health, and company growth
Cheers to all of our friends building firms alongside us. May the Year of the Rabbit deliver on its promise to embody fluidity and contemplation. And if you need a pop of color in your life, we invite you to lean into “Viva Magenta”, Pantone’s 2023 Color of the Year which strongly resembles our key brand color. We knew we were on to something!
Cheers!