David Ferran, Founder & CEO of the Torrey Project, shares his background in venture capitalism and his motivation for pivoting to conscious stakeholder capitalism. Together with Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch, David walks us through an understanding of stakeholder capitalism as a model for sustainable value creation.
Episode Highlights:
- Shareholder Capitalism versus conventional shareholder primacy/financial capitalism
- Debunking myths and resistance to the adaptation of stakeholder capitalism
- Education—a catalyst for creating awareness of other forms of capitalism and for creating a new generation of conscious entrepreneurs, globally
- How Torrey Project’s Venture-RBF Fund works and what they are doing differently
- A cautionary tale of venture capital funding gone wrong for business founders
- Open call for female-led and under-resourced entrepreneurs—$100M raised fund available
Key Takeaways:
“We are creating a new generation of conscious entrepreneurs.” – David Ferran
“The only way we are going to change the early-stage capital allocation in America is to demonstrate that not only is there a different way to do it but there’s a superior way to do it. And that the net result is higher financial returns. Not lower financial returns.” – David Ferran
“The more you take care of all your stakeholders, the more value you build as a company founder.” – Jenny Kassan
Interview:
David Ferran
Company:
Torrey Project
Bio:
Success came early in David Ferran’s career. At the age of 24, he raised his first million dollars in venture capital. By the time he turned 33 he had bought his first public company and by his 40th birthday, he had taken his first company public with an IPO on the NASDAQ. For nearly four decades David Ferran worked, played, and fought with venture capital investors, private equity investors, and Wall Street analysts. Having been President, CEO, and Chairman of three publicly traded companies gave David an inside view of how capitalism really works in America. Founding seven companies of his own gave him the chance to understand the challenges faced by young entrepreneurs.
These days, David Ferran is committed to creating and empowering a new generation of conscious entrepreneurs while also seeking to impact the flow of global investment capital towards more socially responsible businesses and conscious business leaders.
Torrey Project is a non-profit organization, based in San Diego California that is committed to accelerating the pace of adoption of stakeholder capitalism in America. Torrey Project empowers and supports entrepreneurs who are committed to building businesses that pursue both profit and purpose and act as a force for good in the world.
Get In Touch:
LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/david-j-ferran-executive-mentor-5a19b23
LinkedIn Company Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/torreyproject/
Company: https://www.torreyproject.org/
Additional resources:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you’d like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com