Mission Driven

We’re honored to have Uriridiakoghene “Ulili” Onovakpuri, Managing Partner at Kapor Capital, join us on Mission Driven. At Kapor, Ulili leads investments in the health tech and people operations tech companies. She is also the founder of Kapor Capital’s Fellows program, the longest running venture capital internship program for underrepresented individuals. Previously, she served as Director of Global Programs at Village Capital, a global accelerator program and venture capital firm. Ulili received her MBA with a concentration in Health Sector Management from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. She is a native San Franciscan and a proud UC Berkeley Alum.

In the episode, Ulili digs in to investing with an impact lens, including how to combat the perception that impact investing doesn’t lead to enough deal flow or returns. She also shares about a few of the investments she led (though all her companies are her favorites) and growing up in the Bay Area. Finally, Ulili discusses tips for founders raising venture capital, including how to make the right choice in investor partnerships.

Mission Driven is a conversation about startup founders on a mission to address the world’s biggest challenges and how they leverage their social mission for competitive advantage.

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Miriam Rivera holds a number of titles at Ulu Ventures including co-founder, managing director, and champion of the underdog and longshot. She is a distinguished investor known for her dynamic contributions in the tech, legal, and philanthropic sectors. At Ulu, Miriam upholds her mission of supporting transformative startups where her investment approach actively champions underrepresented founders.

In this episode of Mission Driven, Miriam discusses how she went from the second hire on the Google legal team to scaling the team over a hundred, Ulu’s portfolio construction philosophy, and how to use process to eliminate bias. Importantly, she shares some gems for founders on how they should think of their fundraising process.

Amy Francetic, Managing General Partner & co-founder of Buoyant Ventures, joins Rick on Mission Driven in the last of our series about electrification. Amy’s career spans 25 years of high tech entrepreneurship, private equity, and research. Before founding Buoyant, a firm based in Chicago investing in digital climate solutions for energy, transportation, agriculture, water, and the built environment, she co-founded and served as CEO of Evergreen Climate Innovations, a tech accelerator.

In this episode, Amy discusses her path to co-founding Buoyant, a 100% female owned VC, investing in electrification, and some of the most exciting companies in the portfolio (drones, demand response management, space, and more!).

Astrid Atkinson joins Rick on the latest episode of Mission Driven to chat about electrification. Astrid is co-founder & CEO of Camus Energy, which provides software-based Grid Management as a Service, combining real-time situational awareness, device control, and market integration for grid operators and energy providers. Prior to founding Camus, she was a Senior Director of Software Engineering at Google, where she was an early leader in distributed systems reliability. She speaks globally as an expert on large scale distributed systems architecture, reliability engineering, and organizational leadership.

Listen to the episode to learn about how Astrid harnessed the needs and opportunities of the grid to create Camus’ marketplace component, how decarbonization is a team sport, and why capybaras figure in to her and the company’s mission. Plus, hear her advice to women in the tech and energy industries.

We’re joined by Rohan Puri, CEO & co-founder of Stable Auto. Rohan helps us understand software’s role in electrification, chatting about the EV charging landscape. Rohan and his company Stable Auto believe that climate is humanity’s gnarliest problem and that every charger has to be part of the solution. With data-driven insights, Stable Auto helps organizations envision and builds tomorrow’s vital infrastructure.

In the episode, Rohan and Rick cover Rohan’s journey from Techstars to Stable Auto, the first electric car (invented much earlier than you might have thought!), and staying true to the dual missions of sustainability and making money.

We have special guests on the podcast - Freada Kapor Klein and Mitch Kapor. The founders of Kapor Capital have released a new book, Closing the Equity Gap, and, on this episode, they discuss their life missions to make the tech industry more diverse and inclusive.

Tune in to learn how the two got their start, founded Kapor Capital, and have been pioneers in impact investing. They impart important lessons on the power of “distance traveled” founders who harness their early experiences to found companies that better serve society. You’ll hear stories about the two youngest partners of Kapor Capital, Ulili Onovakpuri and Brian Dixon, plus some of their exciting investments. The Kapors challenge the notion that investing with a diversity and equity lens doesn’t create returns. We’re here for it!

Welcome to Season 2 of Mission Driven! We’re switching things up a bit and diving into a sprint on the theme of electrification. The next few episodes will cover various POVs and a deep dive on the following question: what is the role of software in electrification?

Our first guest on electrification is Robyn Beavers, CEO & co-founder of Blueprint Power. Robyn started her career as an energy efficiency consultant and then moved on to become the founding member of Google’s Green Business & Operations strategy team. In this role, she delivered several green strategic programs including the country's largest corporate solar installation at the time, energy efficiency retrofits for Google's global offices, and the creation of a large scale renewable energy investment program. From there, she went on to co-founder Blueprint Power, which was acquired by BP in in 2021. Rick and Robyn chat about how to incorporate lessons from nature in our built environment and what the future of clean energy should look like.

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Mission Driven is a conversation about startup founders on a mission to address the world’s biggest challenges and how they leverage their social mission for competitive advantage.

If you liked this episode, please share, follow/subscribe and tag us on Twitter!

@BetterVentures

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Michael Lombardo, founder & CEO of BookNook, joins Rick on the latest episode of Mission Driven. BookNook is an online collaborative learning platform that provides reading and math support through lessons, gamification, and assessments. They also provide online tutoring services, connecting district students to vetted tutors. The company is on a mission to ensure equitable access to rigorous and engaging instruction through technology innovation.

In the episode, Michael discusses the impact of COVID and distance learning on the growth of the company and the pros and cons of being a non-profit vs. for profit in the education and edtech industry. He also discusses the company's commitment to DEIB, including the importance of caring for employees who join mission driven companies. Finally, Michael shares what’s in store for the edtech and education industry and trends he sees emerging.

Welcome back to Mission Driven. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Eric Whitaker, Co-Founder and CEO of Zing Health. 

Zing's mission is to address social determinants of health to reduce healthcare disparities among historically underserved populations. Their model complements clinical care with behavioral health and community care, collaboration with community partners, technology, and data analytics.

Dr. Whitaker began his career as a primary care physician, researcher, and advocate focused on preventive health and healthcare disparities in communities of color and later served as director of the Illinois Department of Health from 2003 through 2007. He then shifted to developing, investing in, advising, and founding innovative healthcare solutions for medically underserved populations, including Next Level Health and Symphonix Health Holdings.

In this episode he talks about growing up in and building his career in Chicago, being friends with the Obamas, and the opportunity and impact in underserved communities. 

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Mission Driven is a conversation about startup founders on a mission to address the world’s biggest challenges and how they leverage their social mission for competitive advantage.

If you liked this episode, please share, follow/subscribe and tag us on Twitter!

@BetterVentures

In this episode, we talk with Muffi Ghadiali. Muffi is the Founder of CEO of Electriphi which was recently acquired by Ford and now is the Head of Ford Pro Charging. 

Electriphi is a fleet electrification company at the forefront of the EV industry. They developed a fleet and charging management platform designed to simplify fleet electrification, save energy costs, and track key operational metrics like real-time status of vehicles, chargers and maintenance services. Muffi shared what it was like to build Electriphi from the ground up and through the acquisition by Ford, how his focus on mission helped give the company an edge, and what he thinks is ahead for the EV industry. 

Prior to Electriphi, Muffi has 20 years of product experience at companies such as ChargePoint, Amazon, Ouya and Synaptics. 

Mission Driven is a conversation about startup founders on a mission to address the world’s biggest challenges and how they leverage their social mission for competitive advantage.

If you liked this episode, please share, follow/subscribe and tag us on Twitter!

@BetterVentures