This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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In this solo episode of Investing in Impact, Grant Trahant spotlights Access Ventures, an impact investor using catalytic capital, blended finance, and a one-pocket mindset to support economic prosperity, social equity, and environmental sustainability.

Access Ventures approaches investing by asking what prevents people from participating fully in the economy and where flexible capital can unlock opportunities that conventional markets overlook. Rather than forcing every challenge into the same investment structure, the organization uses different forms of capital based on what the problem requires.

The episode explores how catalytic capital can absorb early risk, fund experimentation, and help make opportunities investable for additional participants. It also examines blended finance, which combines tools such as grants, flexible investments, guarantees, and market-rate capital to address complex challenges.

Grant also discusses Access Ventures’ one-pocket mindset, which encourages investors to evaluate their entire portfolio through both a financial and an impact lens instead of separating wealth creation from philanthropy.

Examples Featured in the Episode

GoodMaps is an indoor navigation company backed by Access Ventures. Its technology uses LiDAR scanning and camera-based positioning to provide spoken, visual, and haptic turn-by-turn directions inside complex buildings. The platform is designed to make airports, transit hubs, museums, and other public spaces easier to navigate, particularly for people with disabilities.

The Growth Loan Fund was designed by Access Ventures to serve small-business owners who could not qualify for capital through traditional underwriting. The fund offered non-collateralized loans of up to $35,000, demonstrating how a flexible financial product can address a specific gap in a local economy.

Together, these examples show the range of the Access Ventures model: investing in scalable technology while also creating new financing structures for people and businesses underserved by conventional markets.

In This Episode

• What catalytic capital is and when it can be most useful
• How blended finance combines different forms of capital
• Why every social challenge should not be forced into the same financial instrument
• What Access Ventures means by a one-pocket mindset
• How GoodMaps uses technology to improve accessibility
• How the Growth Loan Fund expanded access to small-business capital
• Why impact measurement must move beyond dollars deployed
• How investors can support access, agency, and community resilience
• The questions impact investors should ask about risk, returns, and community influence

Key Takeaway

Capital is most powerful when it is used with intention, creativity, and patience. Financial resources can remove barriers and create opportunity, but lasting transformation happens when people gain greater access, greater agency, and a meaningful role in shaping their own economic future.

Learn More

• Access Ventures
• Access Ventures Portfolio
• Investing in Impact

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to Investing in Impact and share it with someone interested in using capital as a force for positive change.

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Investing in Impact is powered by Causeartist, a nonprofit media company dedicated to bridging the gap between capital and culture by spotlighting founders, investors, and organizations reimagining how business can serve people and the planet.

Through storytelling, events, and open-access education, Causeartist helps create a shared language of impact, inspiring more founders to build with purpose and more funders to invest with intention.

By amplifying ideas and innovations across industries, Causeartist transforms awareness into action and cultivates a community where paying it forward is part of the foundation for growth.

This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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This episode of Investing in Impact is a little different from the conversations I usually have on the show.

Social Leverage is not an impact investing firm in the traditional sense. It is a seed stage venture capital firm investing primarily in fintech, financial infrastructure, wealth technology, and vertical AI.

But impact does not always fit neatly inside an impact investing label.

Capital allocation shapes which companies get built, which founders get opportunities, where wealth is created, and what happens after successful entrepreneurs and employees gain experience, relationships, and financial resources.

That idea became one of the most interesting parts of my conversation with Matt Ober, Managing Partner at Social Leverage.

Matt described a flywheel the firm sees repeatedly across its network: a founder builds a company, eventually has an exit, and later returns to their hometown or another community where they want to build a life. They begin mentoring and supporting other entrepreneurs.

Those entrepreneurs build companies of their own, and some eventually become new investment opportunities.

Successful companies can create much more than financial returns for investors.

They can create wealth for employees, produce experienced founders and operators, build networks, and recycle knowledge and capital back into communities and future companies.

That broader definition of impact is what makes this conversation particularly interesting.

Matt brings a unique perspective to the discussion. Before joining Social Leverage, he worked at Bloomberg, led data strategy at quantitative hedge fund WorldQuant, helped launch WorldQuant Ventures, and later served as Chief Data Scientist at Third Point.

Today, he invests at the earliest stages of companies building across fintech and AI.

In our conversation, we explore how Social Leverage evaluates founders, why venture investing is still fundamentally about people despite the rise of data and AI, and how technologies like AI are changing the economics of building companies.

We also discuss several Social Leverage portfolio companies, including Fiscal AI, Slash Experts, and SyntheticFi, the evolution of wealth management technology, agentic trading, the role of financial advisors in an AI driven world, and why the next generation of professionals will need to become deeply proficient with AI.

At its core, this conversation is about how capital, technology, entrepreneurship, and networks compound over time, and how the effects of a successful company can extend far beyond the original investment.

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Investing in Impact is powered by Causeartist, a nonprofit media company dedicated to bridging the gap between capital and culture by spotlighting founders, investors, and organizations reimagining how business can serve people and the planet.

Through storytelling, events, and open-access education, Causeartist helps create a shared language of impact, inspiring more founders to build with purpose and more funders to invest with intention.

By amplifying ideas and innovations across industries, Causeartist transforms awareness into action and cultivates a community where paying it forward is part of the foundation for growth.

This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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In this bonus episode Investing in Impact, we showcase a crossover episode from our Disruptors for Good podcast. On this episode, we speak with Lindsay Hadley, founder and CEO of Harbor Fund, about building a new financing model for films designed to influence culture and create social impact.

Harbor Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that uses philanthropic donations to invest in socially meaningful films. Rather than funding a single project through a traditional grant, Harbor Fund takes an equity position in selected productions. When a film generates a financial return, that capital flows back into the fund and can be invested in future projects.

The result is an evergreen model that combines philanthropy, impact investing, and independent film financing.

Lindsay shares how her 20-year career in nonprofit fundraising led her into filmmaking, why scripted narratives can sometimes create more cultural influence than documentaries, and what Harbor Fund looks for when evaluating hundreds of film submissions.

She also discusses the difficult state of the entertainment industry, the importance of established talent and strong intellectual property, and why commercial viability is a critical part of Harbor Fund’s impact thesis.

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Investing in Impact is powered by Causeartist, a nonprofit media company dedicated to bridging the gap between capital and culture by spotlighting founders, investors, and organizations reimagining how business can serve people and the planet.

Through storytelling, events, and open-access education, Causeartist helps create a shared language of impact, inspiring more founders to build with purpose and more funders to invest with intention.

By amplifying ideas and innovations across industries, Causeartist transforms awareness into action and cultivates a community where paying it forward is part of the foundation for growth.

This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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The biggest opportunity in impact investing may not be finding more money.

It may be building the markets that allow money to move.

That idea runs through this episode of Investing in Impact with Slav Gatchev, Vice President of Innovative Finance at The Rockefeller Foundation.

Gatchev has spent much of his career working at the intersection of finance, infrastructure, emerging markets, and conservation. Before joining The Rockefeller Foundation, he led large sovereign debt conversion transactions at The Nature Conservancy. Earlier in his career, he spent more than two decades advising on infrastructure investments across global emerging markets.

His experience gives him a useful perspective on one of the central questions facing impact finance today:

How do we move from funding individual projects to creating systems that can attract capital at scale?

Throughout the conversation, Gatchev explains why the answer often begins with flexible capital, patient institutions, and a willingness to solve problems that traditional investors cannot yet address.

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Investing in Impact is powered by Causeartist, a nonprofit media company dedicated to bridging the gap between capital and culture by spotlighting founders, investors, and organizations reimagining how business can serve people and the planet.

Through storytelling, events, and open-access education, Causeartist helps create a shared language of impact, inspiring more founders to build with purpose and more funders to invest with intention.

By amplifying ideas and innovations across industries, Causeartist transforms awareness into action and cultivates a community where paying it forward is part of the foundation for growth.

This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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In this episode of Investing in Impact, we speak with Nick Gross, founder of Gross Labs and Gross Labs Foundation, about his journey from musician to entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist.

Nick signed a record deal with Sony Epic Records while still in high school and later founded the Noise Nest, a five studio music campus in Los Angeles. His experience in music introduced him to artists, athletes, entrepreneurs, and emerging founders, eventually leading him into startup investing and business building.

Today, Gross Labs operates as a family enterprise and cultural investment platform spanning education, sports, media, entertainment, wellness, hospitality, and philanthropy.

Rather than functioning as a traditional family office, Gross Labs takes an active role in helping founders build companies, strengthen brands, access partnerships, and connect with a broader ecosystem of operating businesses and social impact initiatives.

Nick also explains how Gross Labs Foundation evolved from Find Your Grind Foundation and now serves as the impact layer across the Gross Labs portfolio.

The conversation explores how capital, culture, education, brand building, and philanthropy can work together to create both financial value and meaningful social outcomes.

About Nick Gross

Nick Gross is the founder of Gross Labs, a family enterprise and cultural investment platform focused on building, investing in, and supporting companies across education, sports, media, entertainment, wellness, and other culture shaping sectors.

He is also the founder of Find Your Grind, an education technology platform helping students develop career awareness, confidence, future readiness, and a clearer understanding of how they want to live and work.

Through Gross Labs Foundation, Nick supports initiatives focused on youth opportunity, education, workforce development, sports, wellness, environmental stewardship, and community impact.

Before becoming an entrepreneur and investor, Nick signed a record deal with Sony Epic Records and built a career as a professional musician. He later founded the Noise Nest, a recording and creative campus in Los Angeles.

About Gross Labs

Gross Labs is a family enterprise and cultural investment platform that brings together business creation, private investing, operating expertise, brand development, and philanthropy.

The platform works with founders and companies across industries that influence culture, including education, sports, entertainment, media, hospitality, and wellness.

About Gross Labs Foundation

Gross Labs Foundation is the philanthropic platform connected to the broader Gross Labs ecosystem.

The foundation works with mission aligned organizations and leaders to create measurable impact through education, career development, sports, youth opportunity, wellness, environmental stewardship, and community initiatives.

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Investing in Impact is powered by Causeartist, a nonprofit media company dedicated to bridging the gap between capital and culture by spotlighting founders, investors, and organizations reimagining how business can serve people and the planet.

Through storytelling, events, and open-access education, Causeartist helps create a shared language of impact, inspiring more founders to build with purpose and more funders to invest with intention.

By amplifying ideas and innovations across industries, Causeartist transforms awareness into action and cultivates a community where paying it forward is part of the foundation for growth.

This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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In This Episode

• Climate tech investment reaches $40.5 billion in 2025

• Why investors remain bullish on clean energy, grid modernization, and industrial decarbonization

• How Nimble is reducing electronic waste through circular consumer products

• Phoenix Tailings' mission to build a cleaner domestic rare earth supply chain

• Clear Robotics and the future of autonomous electric vessels for waterway management

• The role of the Bezos Earth Fund in advancing climate and conservation efforts

• How the UNICEF Venture Fund supports frontier technology startups in emerging markets

• Finance Earth's approach to unlocking private capital for environmental solutions

• Recent funding rounds from Clear Robotics, Campground, and Cocoon Carbon

• New research showing AI is creating more technology jobs than it is eliminating across Europe

Featured Organizations

Companies:

• Nimble
• Phoenix Tailings
• Clear Robotics

Funders:

• Bezos Earth Fund
• UNICEF Venture Fund
• Finance Earth

Recent Funding Covered

• Clear Robotics, $1.75M
• Campground, $2.2M
• Cocoon Carbon, $15M

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Investing in Impact is powered by Causeartist, a nonprofit media company dedicated to bridging the gap between capital and culture by spotlighting founders, investors, and organizations reimagining how business can serve people and the planet.

Through storytelling, events, and open-access education, Causeartist helps create a shared language of impact, inspiring more founders to build with purpose and more funders to invest with intention.

By amplifying ideas and innovations across industries, Causeartist transforms awareness into action and cultivates a community where paying it forward is part of the foundation for growth.

This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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Hey everyone, welcome back to the podcast.

Today’s episode is a little different.

After years of building Causeartist as a media platform spotlighting impact startups, founders, investors, and innovators, we’re entering a completely new chapter.

Causeartist is now officially a nonprofit organization.

And honestly, this decision came from something simple.

The mission became bigger than a media company.

Over the years, I’ve had the chance to interview incredible founders, nonprofit leaders, impact investors, climate innovators, technologists, artists, and builders from all over the world.

And one thing became very clear to me.

There are millions of people working every single day to solve massive problems in the world, but many of their stories never get told.

A lot of these founders and organizations are building in areas like climate, education, healthcare, financial inclusion, food systems, AI for good, community development, and so much more.

But many of them are doing this work without enough visibility, without enough media support, and without enough long-term storytelling infrastructure behind them.

We want to help change that.

The vision for Causeartist moving forward is to build a lasting home for the impact economy.

A place focused on impact startup storytelling, founder and innovator interviews, educational media and research, ecosystem databases and directories, podcasts and live conversations, community collaboration, and resources for people building positive change in the world.

At its core, Causeartist is built around one belief:

There are millions of people using their talents, creativity, skills, and businesses to improve the world, and their stories deserve to be seen.

That belief has guided this platform from day one.

And now becoming a nonprofit allows us to think longer term.

It allows us to focus on building something durable.

Something mission-first. Something that can continue spotlighting innovators and builders for years and decades to come.

I also just want to say thank you.

Thank you to every founder who trusted us with their story.

Every investor who shared insights.

Every nonprofit leader, partner, listener, reader, and supporter who has been part of this journey.

You helped shape what Causeartist has become.

And honestly, we’re just getting started.

I’m incredibly excited for what we’re building next.

More stories.

More founders.

More conversations.

More tools and resources for the people trying to create a better future.

So thank you for being here.

Thank you for believing in this mission.

And let’s continue building together.

See you in the next episode.

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Investing in Impact is powered by Causeartist, a nonprofit media company dedicated to bridging the gap between capital and culture by spotlighting founders, investors, and organizations reimagining how business can serve people and the planet.

Through storytelling, events, and open-access education, Causeartist helps create a shared language of impact, inspiring more founders to build with purpose and more funders to invest with intention.

By amplifying ideas and innovations across industries, Causeartist transforms awareness into action and cultivates a community where paying it forward is part of the foundation for growth.

This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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Most impact funds operate at the margins of traditional finance. The Citi Impact Fund operates from inside one of the largest banks in the world. That's a different kind of leverage.

Meredith Shields manages a $500 million carve-out from Citi's balance sheet, deployed exclusively into double bottom line companies.

In this episode, she covers how the fund defines impact, why it moved to Series B investing, and what she's watching in sectors like care, education, and financial resilience. She also names names, rolling through more portfolio companies than most guests manage in an hour.

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Investing in Impact is powered by Causeartist, a nonprofit media company dedicated to bridging the gap between capital and culture by spotlighting founders, investors, and organizations reimagining how business can serve people and the planet.

Through storytelling, events, and open-access education, Causeartist helps create a shared language of impact, inspiring more founders to build with purpose and more funders to invest with intention.

By amplifying ideas and innovations across industries, Causeartist transforms awareness into action and cultivates a community where paying it forward is part of the foundation for growth.