In the latest episode of She Talks Law, I had the pleasure of sitting with two remarkable women: Julie Lein, co-founder of Urban Innovation Fund, and Alison Torbitt, partner at Nixon Peabody.
Our conversation focused on the Urban Innovation Fund and its investments in startups that address urban challenges and create positive societal impact. Julie shared valuable lessons for VCs, angel investors, and startups seeking funding based on her experiences at the non-profit incubator Tumml and now at the successful VC fund Urban Innovation Fund. Julie and Alison also discussed the misconceptions and challenges they face as women in a male-dominated industry and how they leverage their passion for positive societal impact and diverse teams to generate better outcomes and returns on investment.
Below are a couple of highlights from our conversation.
Urban Innovation Fund's Mission: Enhancing Livability
We delved into the concept of impact investing. The term can have different meanings for different people and is often misunderstood as yielding lower returns. However, Julie focused on achieving strong returns by going against the consensus and investing early in trends such as climate and city-focused investing.
"We're a thesis-driven fund that is looking for mission-driven entrepreneurs making our cities a better place to live." – Julie Lein
Julie explained that she and her business partner, Clara Brenner, launched Urban Innovation Fund to provide seed capital and regulatory support to startups shaping cities' future to enhance livability, sustainability, and economic vitality.
"We're not just investing in startups; we're investing in the future of our cities." – Julie Lein
The ESG Framework: Beyond a Stance
Alison emphasized environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in investment decisions, stressing that ESG is not simply a stance—it's a framework for intelligent discussion and comparison. She highlighted the importance of having the right team of advisors to ask the right questions and verify information.
"ESG isn't a checkbox; it's a compass guiding us toward sustainable, equitable investments." – Alison Torbitt
Our Differentiations are our Strengths
Julie and Alison emphasized the importance of diversity in all aspects, as they believe that more diverse teams yield stronger outcomes and returns. Notably, 78% of the Urban Innovation Fund's portfolio includes a woman or person of color in the founding team.
On the other hand, we discussed some challenges faced by women in a male-dominated field. Julie shared some dismissive comments that she and her co-founder, Clara, received when launching their accelerator program, Tumml, and the Urban Innovation Fund. For example, they were frequently asked if they only invest in fashion startups or if they were labeled as an impact fund with concessionary returns. Julie fights against these assumptions and is proud to be part of a woman-owned fund that promotes diversity at the management- and investment-decision levels. She firmly believes that diversity leads to stronger outcomes and returns.
Alison also noted the differing reactions between male and female founders when she advises them on compliance and disclosure issues. She observes that women are more open and eager to learn, creating supportive environments to listen and craft a positive impact together. For this reason, Alison encourages entrepreneurs to seek diverse perspectives and emphasizes the importance of building a strong foundation and a supportive network.
"Take in as much info as possible… seek out your village… if you have a good foundation, they'll help you all the way through." – Alison Torbitt
Thank you again, Julie and Alison, for joining me! I appreciate your perspective as you shared your professional insights and personal experiences in startup investing.