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Obvious: Investing in Solutions for People and the Planet

Giving Compass' Take: • B the Change profiles Obvious Ventures, which finances what it calls "world positive" companies, ones that show promise in providing sustainable solutions for our planet. • For impact investors looking at environmentally-friendly startups, it's worth looking at how Obvious approaches their portfolio. There's an emphasis on innovation and mission alignment, rather than an over-reliance on metrics. • Let's not forget about gender equity: Here's how we can create more angel funding for women entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs, often lauded as “disruptors” in their fields, are now matched by a radical disruption happening in the way they get funded. Located in Silicon Valley and making early-stage venture capital investments, Obvious Ventures is betting on a way of investing that disrupts the process at its core. The firm makes investments in what it calls “world positive” companies: “Startups that create new solutions to big world problems in a profitable and scalable way.” And Obvious takes a long-term view when choosing companies to support. “The world is continually going through major reinvention, and entire industries are being re-imagined,” says Andrew Beebe, managing director for Obvious. “Now more than ever, if we do that in a way that has a long-term view into the market that it’s re-imagining, we think the outcomes are going to be economically better. We think we can outperform as a venture fund because of our focus on world positive companies.” On the heels of its certification, B the Change spoke with Beebe about how Obvious defines world positive, where the rest of Silicon Valley is headed, and companies that are doing remarkable things.