Impact America Fund

Impact America Fund Research

Investment Thesis

Impact America Fund (IAF) invests in tech-enabled businesses built for and by people in marginalized communities, particularly focusing on companies that create new frameworks of ownership and opportunity. Founded and led by Kesha Cash, the fund believes that traditional venture capital chronically undervalues business opportunities in low- and moderate-income communities of color. IAF bridges the financial and cultural divides that have kept these communities on the sidelines of the modern economy, providing not just capital but also strategic guidance and LP introductions.

The fund's core belief is that "investing in social impact does not require sacrificing on financial returns." They argue this is both morally imperative and smart investing—the wealth gap for communities of color continues to grow, and overlooked opportunities in these markets represent significant value that traditional VCs miss.

Investment Stage and Check Size

IAF invests primarily from Seed through Series B stage:

• Seed: Companies with demonstrated traction in $1B+ markets
• Series A: Growth-stage companies with product-market fit
• Series B: Selective follow-on investments
• Bridge funding: Between rounds to help companies weather challenges or negotiate better terms

Check Size Range: $250,000 to $3,000,000

• Entry investments typically $250K-$1M at seed
• Growth investments up to $3M at Series A
• Fund targets 15-20% ownership at investment

Lead Tendency

Based on recent activity (District Cover, November 2025), IAF typically leads or co-leads rounds. The fund actively sources deals, performs diligence, and maintains board seats, indicating a lead investor posture. However, they also co-invest with other impact-focused and traditional VCs.

Sector and Model Focus

IAF focuses on tech-driven businesses solving problems within marginalized communities. Key sectors include:

Healthcare & Wellness:

• Twentyeight Health (reproductive healthcare for underserved women)
• Moneta Health (AI-powered rehabilitation therapy)
• Nest Health (Medicaid-focused healthcare)
• CareCar (non-emergency medical transportation)
• Afynia (endometriosis diagnostics)

Workforce & Economic Mobility:

• CareAcademy (home-care training and compliance for low-income caregivers)
• Flockjay (reskilling lower-income workers for tech sales)
• Driver's Seat Cooperative (gig driver earnings optimization)
• MindRight (mental health support for youth)

Financial Services & Credit:

• SoLo Funds (peer-to-peer lending alternative to payday loans)
• Esusu (rental payment credit building)
• Camino Financial (loans for Latinx-owned small businesses)
• LoanWell (lending technology for community lenders)
• SMBX (small business bond marketplace)

Small Business Enablement:

• Mayvenn (income platform for independent hair stylists)
• District Cover (insurance for underserved small businesses)
• ConnXus (supply chain platform for women/minority-owned businesses, acquired by Coupa)

Sustainability & Infrastructure:

• Aja Labs (sustainable biopolymers from crop waste)
• Voltpost (EV charging from lamp post retrofits)

Childcare & Education:

• Guardians Collective (parenting support platform)
• Upswing (student services for non-traditional students)
• Winnie (childcare search and provider tools)
• Schoolzilla (K-12 education data platform, acquired by Renaissance)

Other:

• DuckDuckGo (privacy-focused search engine)
• Namecoach (audio pronunciation integration)

Portfolio Composition

IAF has made 32 total investments across three funds:

• Fund I & II Combined: $65M raised, ~10 companies
• Fund III: $112M (closed 2025), targeting 30 new companies at Seed-Series A
• Total AUM: $177M as of 2025
• Active portfolio: 32 companies as of November 2025

Notable Exits:

• ConnXus (acquired by Coupa) - Global procurement platform
• Schoolzilla (acquired by Renaissance in 2019) - Education data platform

Active Standouts (10M+ scale or strategic importance):

• SoLo Funds ($1B transaction volume, 2M+ downloads)
• CareAcademy (2,500 employers, served 800K+ caregivers)
• Twentyeight Health (100K+ users in 43 states)
• Mayvenn (significant income multiplier for hair stylists)

Team & Culture

Leadership:

• Kesha Cash (Founder & GP): Named one of Fast Company's "100 Most Creative People in Business," subject of Stanford GSB case study. Previously co-founded Jalia Ventures ($5M), was investment associate at Bridges Ventures UK, and analyst at Merrill Lynch. Serves on CareAcademy board, HealthTech 4 Medicaid venture council, Campbell Center for Entrepreneurship advisory board.

Investment Team:

• Brittany Henry (Investment Associate): Former KPMG strategy consultant (M&A focus), previously Accenture financial process advisor. MBA Chicago Booth, BS Hampton University. Joined as grad fellow in 2017.
• David Clark Guillermo (Investments): Former Goldman Sachs investment banker, later corporate development at Bird. MBA Northwestern Kellogg, BA Economics Wheaton College.
• Kaiton Williams (Investor & Cultural Technologist): Silicon Valley engineer with 10+ years at Microsoft, PhD Information Science Cornell. Research focuses on tech entrepreneurs from non-Silicon Valley backgrounds.
• Yusill (Yui) Scribner (Investments & Strategy): Former VP Strategy & Business Development at Nickelodeon/Viacom, business development at Palantir (healthcare focus), Chief of Staff to U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara at SDNY. BA Political Economics Barnard.

Operations:

• Funmi Garrick (Finance & Operations): Outsourced CFO experience via IQ EQ, investment fund administration background. Licensed CPA. BA Accounting & Finance London South Bank University.

Culture Note: 100% Black female-owned firm. Team explicitly comes from diverse backgrounds—academia, Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and the communities they invest in. Deep personal ties to portfolio company communities are a hiring requirement.

Decision Process & Timeline

Investment Approach:

• Inherent Impact Standard: Business models where success is directly linked to impact at scale. Success drivers must contribute to ownership, opportunity, or empowerment.
• Lived Experience: IAF seeks founders with direct knowledge of communities and problems being addressed—this is a competitive advantage, not emotional preference.
• Technological Innovation with Constraints: Unlike typical venture "hockey stick" growth, IAF looks for ethical, inclusive, sustainable outcomes.

Decision Process: Partnership-based (full team involvement, not solo GP)

Decision Timeline: Estimated 4-8 weeks based on sector familiarity and founder background

Warm Introductions

Warm intro strongly preferred. The fund explicitly states: "If you're a startup raising a Seed, Series A, or Series B round—or bridge capital—we use a simple form to start the conversation." However, they provide a direct contact form at impactamericafund.com/work-with-us for unsolicited inquiries.

Geographic Focus

Primarily United States, with emphasis on:

• Communities of color across all regions
• Rural and urban low-to-moderate income areas
• Cities and regions with "shadow economies" (informal childcare, neighborhood retail, gig work)
• Limited international exposure (selective only)

Recent Activity & Fund Status

Fund III Deployment (2025):

• Latest confirmed investment: District Cover (November 2025)
• Fund status: Actively deploying from $112M Fund III
• Investment pace: 2 new investments in past 12 months (Nov 2025 snapshot)

Notable Recent Investments:

• District Cover (insurance for underserved small businesses) - November 2025
• Previous investments in portfolio suggest ongoing focus on healthcare, workforce mobility, and financial inclusion

Fund Status: Actively deploying. Fund III closed in early 2025 with $177M total AUM. Team prioritizing portfolio support and targeted research over marketing/brand building.

Key Competitive Advantages

1. Cultural competency: Entire team has lived experience in or deep ties to marginalized communities
2. Founder empathy: Understands challenges facing founders from overlooked communities
3. Market insight: Access to billion-dollar opportunities in informal economies traditional VCs ignore
4. LP relationships: Strong institutional LP base (MassMutual, W.K. Kellogg, Ford, MacArthur, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank)
5. Track record: Series of meaningful exits, portfolio companies achieving 10M+ scale
6. Non-dilutive support: Help connecting founders to institutional investors who lack cultural fluency

Investment Process

IAF uses a straightforward form-based initial inquiry at impactamericafund.com/work-with-us. They request:

• Company overview
• Traction/metrics
• Round size and stage
• Contact information

For interested founders, Kesha Cash and investment team review and respond typically within 2-4 weeks.

Typical Involvement Level

Board participation: Typical for lead investments (Seed and Series A) Advisory relationship: For smaller checks or follow-on investments Founder support: Active ongoing mentorship, LP introductions, strategic guidance between board meetings

Anti-Pattern Investments

Based on portfolio analysis, IAF generally avoids:

• Extractive business models (predatory lending, payday loan alternatives)
• Founder teams without lived experience in served communities
• Products designed "for" rather than "with" marginalized communities
• Purely hardware plays (except where embedded in larger platform)
• B2C consumer apps without community ownership component
• International-only expansions in early stages