FAQ

In Conversation with Veronica Jow, Founder and Physician at Avid Sports Medicine

As a board-certified Internal Medicine and Sports Medicine physician, Dr. Veronica Jow empowers her patients through the use of empathy, education, and partnership. With a background in medical anthropology and a passion for movement as medicine, Veronica treats everyone from elite athletes to underserved communities in the San Francisco area.

Veronica has over fourteen years of experience in the traditional healthcare setting, as well as experience working with healthcare start-ups. Leveraging her knowledge from working with start-ups that have tried to tackle the medical system before, Veronica now sets her sights on building The Avid Platform, an online resource that solves the challenges faced by people with musculoskeletal conditions.

In this conversation, Veronica Jow and Jenny Kassan discuss their mission-driven approach to funding The Avid Platform. 

Why did you choose an alternative to VC-funding to develop The Avid Platform? What approach did you determine would better align with what you wanted to accomplish?

Veronica Jow (VJ): After my previous experience with a venture capital backed company, I was seeking a funding strategy that allowed me to stay aligned with my values and vision for The Avid Platform. I wanted to obtain funding, but not at any cost. I wasn’t sure that was even possible until I met Jenny. The way that Jenny and her team talk about fundraising and mission driven investing is inspiring for both founders and investors.

Jenny Kassan (JK): Given Veronica’s focus on building an online platform, and her being based in San Francisco, many people she talked to assumed she was on the venture capital path, where investors are looking for a fast exit with a high valuation. Veronica’s goal is to make meaningful change in healthcare, so it was clear she needed a different approach. By using a mission-aligned fundraising strategy, we worked together to identify investors that were interested in investing outside of a venture capital model, and honed the messaging to ensure that there was little time wasted with investors who were not the right fit.

What has been the key to successfully securing values-based investors?

JK: For investors that are passionate about investing in a brilliant physician and woman of color working to solve a major problem in healthcare, this total package was a no brainer! 

The Avid Platform has very high growth potential, as well as the potential to pay generous returns to investors. We just needed to make it clear that the way investors would get paid would be outside of the venture capital model. I believe that an investment model that relies on building profits and sustainable growth is far more likely to yield healthy returns, rather than a model that relies on the one in a million chance of a big exit. We needed to make it clear that this was not an investment offering that would require investors to sacrifice generous returns, but rather that the returns would come in a different way.

VJ: Jenny’s guidance has empowered me to seek investors where I wouldn’t have thought to look, and because of that, I’ve been able to attract several investors that I feel are totally aligned with my vision.

By expanding the definition of what makes an investor, I’ve been able to help people realize  that where they choose to put their dollars is essential to creating the world they want to live in. Investing locally is such a simple and elegant message that resonates with many people.

What is a piece of advice you’d offer to a business owner considering a creative (non-VC) approach to raising capital?

VJ: Using a coach and advisor like Jenny for organization, inspiration, and challenging your own money biases is critical. Non-VC funding is not yet the default model, so sometimes you’ll feel like you’re swimming upstream. Boldness and persistence are needed. It can be a lonely and long road, but with like-minded people around you, it’s easier to stay focused and get results. 

About Dr. Veronica Jow

Through medical anthropology courses as an undergraduate at Harvard, Veronica developed an appreciation for the ways that social, cultural, and biological forces influence health and illness. She studied and experienced how the ways we move, think, and feel are interconnected.

Following medical school at Case Western Reserve University, Veronica selected a residency program in Internal Medicine at New York Presbyterian-Cornell because it encompassed a comprehensive view of adult health and illness in one of the busiest and most diverse places in the country. Throughout her training, she gravitated toward the idea of exercise as medicine, and felt most successful with patients who needed help returning to or maintaining an active lifestyle. This led her to pursue advanced fellowship training in Sports Medicine at the University of Connecticut.

Veronica built Avid Sports Medicine in response to the fragmented healthcare model. Avid’s team of professionals created an integrated care model and proprietary protocols that have led to dramatic improvements for their patients. When she’s not working, you can find Veronica running, dancing, roller skating, and parenting her two high-energy kids.

In Conversation with Della Clark, President of The Enterprise Center

Della Clark’s vision for minority entrepreneurship is about making minority-owned businesses count, serving as catalysts for sustainable economic development in their communities. Since 1992, Della has worked to bring this vision to fruition as President of The Enterprise Center — an organization at the forefront of the Greater Philadelphia region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. 

“Everything that The Enterprise Center does is aligned with our mission of growing minority wealth through accelerating minority-owned businesses,” says Della. “When I joined The Enterprise Center, I knew that I had found my life’s calling. I also — naively — thought that we could train and educate our way out of inequality.” 

According to the data platform Crunchbase, only 2.4% of venture capital is flowing to founders of color. Della is now embarking on bridging the capital gap for minority enterprises with Innovate Capital Growth Fund, a Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) sponsored by the nonprofit Enterprise Center.

“We need Innovate Capital and more mission-based funds in general,” says Della. “We may not be able to right past inequities, but today we are able to invest in high-potential mature firms that may not have had access to equity capital when they first started.”  

The goal for Fund 1 is $50 million with an investment thesis based around building the balance sheet and scaling minority standout companies to create wealth and a new model for future investments. In this conversation, Della Clark and Jenny Kassan discuss the fundraising strategy they have designed to attract institutional impact investors to this innovative venture.

Why is a mission-aligned fundraising strategy the right fit for Innovate Capital?

Della Clark (DC): It eventually became evident to me that access to capital is the No. 1 disruptor for minority-owned businesses: If a small business owner does not have capital to sustain operations and fund growth, the business stays small. I also observed that our larger, more sophisticated minority-owned firms were struggling to fund the next stages in growth strategies — whether it be investing in technology, people, or acquiring another firm — because their balance sheets were over-leveraged with debt. These businesses were not able to access equity capital at their early and growing stages, resulting in lower growth trajectories compared with majority-owned firms that were able to build their balance sheets sustainably with investment from friends and family and angel investors. 

Jenny Kassan (JK): Innovate Capital is providing supportive equity funding to those who have had almost no access to non-extractive capital in the past. The team behind this fund has been supporting overlooked entrepreneurs for decades and they know what is needed for them to be successful. Mission-aligned funding will allow this fund to achieve its goals, prove its investment thesis, and move on to a larger fund with SBIC leverage.

What is your approach to successfully convincing investors they can do good and see a healthy return from Innovate Capital Growth Fund?

DC: You know, I am known around town for busting kneecaps. (Just kidding!) For me, this is the culmination of 30 years of building relationships and getting my message out there. More than once, I have been called an evangelist for minority-owned businesses. Still, it has not been an easy road. A lot of investors say that they’re values-based but still want funds to promise stratospheric returns on their investment, which is not something we can do. 

JK: Innovate Capital has huge competitive advantages compared to many other funds — it is addressing an incredibly underserved market with generous potential returns; the team has decades of experience providing business support services and debt financing via its CDFI; and, unlike so many equity funds, it has a “no failure” model — the fund will do what it takes to support all of their portfolio companies to succeed. We encouraged the fund to emphasize these differentiators that are likely to be very attractive for values-based investors.

DC: I don’t let “No” bother me. I am out there every single day meeting with and pitching to new potential investors, and I am happy to report that we have $30 million committed towards our initial $50 million raise. My approach is to stay on message and stick to the vision. 

What is a piece of advice you’d offer to a business owner considering a creative approach to raising capital?

DC: My advice is to think big! It might seem like a good idea to try and preserve your ownership stake and minimize debt by bootstrapping everything on a small raise, but it will slow your growth if you quickly burn through the capital that you raise. 

JK: Women of color fund managers face major challenges when raising capital. It is not a simple task to raise a $50 million fund when the odds are stacked against you and the minority-owned businesses you plan to invest in. But if you can exhibit the huge amount of tenacity, fierce commitment, and courage that Della has, you are bound to succeed.

About Della Clark

Motivated by her belief that business success is a team sport, Della Clark epitomizes the core values of collaboration and economic growth that drive the outcomes of The Enterprise Center as operator of a Pennsylvania and New Jersey MBDA Business Center and a US Department of Transportation Small Business Transportation Resource Center. Under Clark’s leadership, businesses have obtained more than $870 million in contracts, $209 million in financing, and created 3,221 jobs through the PA Minority Business Development Center. Minority- and women-owned businesses have secured more than $30 million in loans to start, grow, and succeed through The Enterprise Center Capital Corporation. Clark led efforts to create the Dorrance H. Hamilton Center for Culinary Enterprises, a 13,000+ square-foot food business incubator and hub of community health and nutrition resources in West Philadelphia, now in its 10th year of operation. 

Clark currently serves as a board member for the Philadelphia Equity Alliance, University City District, and Bridge of Hope CDC and serves as a Trustee of Drexel University. She is also a proud Eisenhower Fellow. Clark was recognized in August 2022 with a Lifetime Achieve Award by the Philadelphia Business Journal. She is one of Philadelphia’s Most Influential by the Philadelphia Magazine and is also one the Philadelphia Tribune’s Most Influential African American Leaders for over 10 years.

In Conversation with John Tapper, Founder & CEO of All Learners Network 

John Tapper was a classroom teacher for over 20 years before he founded All Learners Network — a professional learning organization focused on creating equitable access to quality math instruction for all students. Demand for ALN’s services has been growing exponentially each year and more funds were needed to extend its reach to more teachers and students. Because All Learners Network is a profitable, evergreen service business—not a high growth tech company—John was eager to find an alternative to VC funding. 

“VC investors generally want to run the show and prioritize growth over everything else,” says John. “Finding aligned impact investors was important to us and to our organization so that we could scale while staying focused on our mission.” 

John had read Jenny Kassan’s book, Raise Capital on Your Own Terms, and reached out to learn more about non-VC funding strategies. In this conversation, John and Jenny discuss how ALN adopted a mission-driven fundraising strategy and describe the offer they designed to successfully attract values-based investors.

The Kassan Group (TKG): How did you two work together to determine the right kind of investors for ALN?

John Tapper (JT): At All Learners Network (ALN), we’re trying to change opportunities for students through mathematics. Our mission comes first. We want to find investors who not only understand that, but support the idea. 

Jenny Kassan (JK): Because of ALN’s skilled management, track record, niche, and business model, it’s making a positive impact while also generating significant profits, enabling it to offer generous annual returns to investors. But these returns will come from profit sharing, not from a “liquidity event.” Therefore, ALN needed to find investors who were happy to receive annual checks instead of waiting for that big exit VC-oriented investors want.  

TKG: Describe the process you used to design an investment offering to attract the right kind of investors for ALN. 

JK: We worked with ALN to design an investment offering that fit the company’s goals and plans. We helped the team consider the interests of all stakeholders—customers, employees, and investors—to enable the company to attract investors without compromising on its commitments to any stakeholders. We eventually settled on preferred stock with an annual cumulative dividend and a redemption option at year five, as well as a debt offering for those investors that prefer the extra protections that come with a debt investment. 

TKG: How did you begin connecting with investors?

JT: We started with our own network—it’s important to make sure the list of people who care about your mission is deep. Our board has several members who are connected to the same small (250-student) mission-driven college in Maine that I graduated from, College of the Atlantic. They reached out to other people connected to the school and were able to interest some of investors. 

TKG: How have your conversations with investors gone? What have you learned? 

JT: I’ve learned the importance of being authentic in your communications with potential investors. ALN’s biggest investor interviewed me three times before he gave us any money. During the second interview, he asked me to tell him the relative value of mission and profit. Without thinking, I told him 80% mission, 20% profit. Later I thought, “What a mistake! I told a potential investor that we prioritize our mission well above making lots of money!” I contacted him to try to clarify. He told me that was just the answer he was looking for. He is exactly the kind of investor we want to work with.

TKG: What’s your best advice for social entrepreneurs seeking investors? 

JK: There are so many bright shiny objects that cross your path when you’re raising money. Well-intentioned people share information about platforms you can list on, events you can pitch at, impact investors you can contact, etc. Unfortunately, a huge majority of those opportunities are designed for companies following the VC funding path. If you are not on that path, you need to be disciplined about discerning which opportunities fit your model and steadfastly avoid wasting time on those that don’t.

JT: Change your thinking about investing in your company. If you’re a mission-driven organization, seeking investors can feel like asking for a donation. My investors are going to make a substantial return on their investment. I’m proud of that, even though it took me a while to really wrap my head around investment, rather than “donation” or “contribution.”

Our biggest investor said that, although he believes in our mission and organization, he expects to make a substantial return from his investment. Beyond “doing well by doing good,” investing in our company makes good financial sense. We’re almost halfway to our goal and continuing to hustle.

About John Tapper 

John Tapper was an elementary classroom teacher, math curriculum coordinator and math coach for over 20 years. His teaching experiences range from the two-room elementary school in Vermont where he began his career to his work at the Neighborhood School on the Lower East side of Manhattan. 

John completed his Ph.D. in Teaching and Learning at New York University focusing his research on teaching methods that support struggling math learners and the effects of poverty on mathematics learning. John has provided professional development on mathematics learning throughout the U.S., Europe, and Japan. He is the author of, Solving for Why: Understanding, Assessing, and Teaching Students who Struggle with Mathematics, K-8, Teaching Math for All Learners, and the upcoming book, Invisible Butterflies: Rigor and Support for Learners with Math Difficulty. He is also the author of numerous reports and research studies.

John is the founder and CEO of the All Learners Network, an organization that makes math accessible to students regardless of background or circumstance.