Here are a few rapid-responses from startups — By Victoria Fram & Rob Tashima A pandemic, by its nature, demands immediate reactions. The exponential growth of a fatal disease like coronavirus means that individual people, households, businesses, and governments all need to move quickly to restrict transmission while also preparing for the longer-term impacts we will experience, and…

From connected health to hydropower plants, our entrepreneurs are building a more inclusive and sustainable future — We recently shared that Village Capital has made 100 investments. Take a look at how some of our first 100+ investments are helping to build the healthy, connected communities of tomorrow.

Wexus Technologies was the 100th company to be selected for investment through the “peer review” process — For the past eight years at Village Capital we’ve been working toward a single goal: how can we get more people solving big global problems through entrepreneurship? Big problems to us are grounded in the foundations of our society and environment: how we learn and work, how we stay healthy…

Investors need to balance our innate optimism with harsh realities. I’m looking forward to 2018. — It’s easy, everyday, to feel like the world is getting worse. I spent most of 2017 feeling that way. Our president has the lowest approval rating in history. We experienced a record-setting number of natural disasters last year. 82% of the wealth created in 2017 went to 1% of the…

It continues to be a tumultuous and challenging year. The endless deluge of sexual misconduct allegations, the trauma and personal risk faced by survivors. If you subscribe to the philosophy that things have to get worse before they get better, there’s some solace that maybe, hopefully, we’re reaching the bottom…

A Day in Prison with Defy Ventures — Last Thursday, I spent a day at California State Prison Solano with Defy Ventures. Many eloquent investors have written about the transformative experience they’ve had with this organization (Kara Nortman, Brad Feld, Mark Suster, etc.). I have a great deal of respect for these people, and yet — I tend…

Village Capital’s Victoria Fram and Brittney Riley discuss a recent article on the startup gender gap, how to measure a “successful” startup, and the importance of self-awareness. Victoria Fram (Managing Director, VilCap Investments, LLC): Another week, another post about the Gender Gap in Startup Funding. Brittney Riley (VP, US Ventures…

To back transformative innovators, early stage investors will need to start innovating ourselves — Two weeks ago, Bloomberg Businessweek published an article about Fin Gourmet, a company that Village Capital, the firm I co-founded, is proud to invest in. Fin Gourmet catches Asian carp, a wildly invasive and environmentally destructive species in the Midwest, processes the fish, and sells it into high-end restaurants, as…