More than half of members by invitation only Unreasonable collective they are women and people of color, previously underrepresented among investors
51% of Collective members identify as women or people of color
70% of the CEOs and co-founders of Collective portcos are women/people of color
100% of the Collective Team is made up of women/people of colour
LONDON, April 21, 2022 – Unreasonable Group has revealed that it has achieved its ambitious 50% diversity goal in just one year. Now 51 percent of its Unreasonable Collective members are women or people of color, the company announced in its annual report, released today.
Last year, Unreasonable pledged to give underrepresented groups in investing a seat at the table, and that includes women, people of color, and those who identify as LGBTQ+.
“Inclusivity is at the heart of everything we do, when we look at potential members or companies to invest in, which is why we got these great stats,” says Pratibha Vuppuluri, Head of Investments and Partner, Collective, Mindless Group.
The impact of having investors diverse, whether in terms of gender, ethnicity or geography, has already been felt, with valuable new perspectives brought to The Collective.
And the change doesn’t stop there. Diversity also seeps into investment decisions. One of Unreasonable Collective’s first investments was Air proteins, the pioneering product that aims to sustainably feed the world’s growing population, founded by Dr. Lisa Dyson. And climate-tech startup BlocPower, founded by Donnel Baird, is helping underprivileged New York communities save on energy costs.
“When it comes to capital funneled to diverse and underrepresented founders, this is where the biggest gap lies. Most of the money in Silicon Valley goes to white male founders. We are here to stop it,” says Vuppuluri.
The result is especially impressive because 2020 saw women lose ground in the investment space as funding to female-led and mixed-gender founding teams fell to just 14%.
“Our focus on diversity is ongoing. It’s something I haven’t seen much in the venture capital world, but Unreasonable’s community-driven model opens up new opportunities for women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ investors. We offer pre-screened deals in the Series A stage and if anyone wants to make an investment he can go and visit the company and ask questions to the CEO. It is very important because people are looking to invest their money in companies that have a positive impact on the world,” added Vuppuluri.
And Unreasonable Collective’s investments all have a positive impact, from an innovative and sustainable design and manufacturing company Prefabricated plant TO Goodthe diverse, female-owned company leveraging blockchain technology to reduce food waste and fight hunger.
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About unreasonable
By building a global community of entrepreneurs, investors, creatives and business leaders, Unreasonable serves as a catalytic platform for entrepreneurs tackling some of the world’s most pressing challenges facing us today. Part global community and part investment firm, Unreasonable operates at the intersection of profit, advanced technologies, and impact. Through its International Fellowship, Unreasonable is uniquely positioned to support a select portfolio of growth stage entrepreneurs to scale through the deployment of knowledge, networks and capital. Unreasonable believes in the power of business to drive lasting and scalable change.
