Atento Capital

Our work directs how capital is formed and distributed to expand opportunities for Black and historically excluded communities. We actively reimagine the innovation economy by developing the next generation of venture capital leaders in communities where entrepreneurs face barriers to accessing capital. Our vision is to build a global innovation economy where Black and historically excluded innovators can boldly create, fail, invest, and thrive. Our origins are rooted in the legacy of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), which forged opportunities for Black Americans in a time when our country would not. We are anchored in this intention, and similar to HBCUs, we purposefully extend our support to all overlooked communities, including but not limited to Indigenous, Latinx, LGBTQ+, and undocumented immigrants. We know that innovation lives within us–and has been untapped, underinvested, and ignored for far too long.

Inclusive Investing™ is a market-backed discipline that allows us to cast a targeted, yet wide net when sourcing companies, while keeping outsized returns and impact front and center in our investment decisions. There’s a lot of talk about demographics and a lack of diversity in venture capital. Inclusive investing is a strategy that proactively addresses this problem. While we’re pioneering this strategy, the data supporting our thesis is on our side: diverse fund managers earn better returns, and companies with diverse leadership outperform their peers. Inclusive Investing™ goes beyond diversity - it’s a new investment discipline that can transform the way we source, invest in, and scale businesses, and in doing so, create new pathways to prosperity for individuals, businesses, and communities at scale. Inclusive Investing™ levels the playing field so the best businesses and most talented teams succeed. A Five-Pronged ApproachImplemented cohesively, these five areas of practice yield an Inclusive Investing™ discipline Zeal is spearheading in the venture world across private markets.Diverse Fund Managers: Fund managers and the broader team are diverse with complementary backgrounds and skill sets. Diverse Management Teams: Companies proactively source diverse management teams with complementary skill sets and backgrounds that help portfolio companies outperform. Geographic Inclusivity: Funds source from a wide range of geographies across the U.S., not just traditional geographic VC “hotbeds”. Investment Focus: Investment allocation is directed to sectors where fund managers expect continued innovation and opportunity for disruption. Impact Lens: Investments seek to achieve top tier financial and social returns that impact low-wealth communities and small businesses.

We’re Backing Africa’s Most Underserved Founders. Ennovate Ventures is a tech venture factory, investing in ambitious founders who are using their innovations to improve lives, create jobs, and accelerate sustainable development. 30+ Partners in the last 5 years. 1,287 Founders Supported, with over 300 being female founders. $1.1M deployed to founders, with $3.2M follow-on raised. 1.2M Lives Reached and 3,000+ Jobs Created by our startups.

Zukunft gestalten. Mit Weitblick investieren. Regionen stärken. Wir entwickeln neue Geschäftsmodelle und investieren in Start-ups. Als Teil der Genossenschaftlichen FinanzGruppe bauen wir ein „Beyond Banking“-Ökosystem, das konsequent die Lebenswelten unserer Kunden und Mitglieder in den Mittelpunkt stellt und regionale Strukturen stärkt. Im Kern unserer Arbeit stehen deshalb die Fragen: In welchen Lebenswelten bewegen sich Menschen heute und in Zukunft? Wie können wir unternehmerische Lösungen wertvoll und nachhaltig schaffen? Wo stecken neue Geschäftsmodelle in einer immer komplexer werdenden Welt? INVEST IN PEOPLE Wir investieren in Ideen von morgen mit nachhaltigem Mehrwert und einem spürbaren Impact auf alltägliche Lebensbereiche der Menschen. Durch strategische Investments in zukunftsfähige Geschäftsmodelle, fördern wir erfolgversprechende Start-ups innerhalb und außerhalb der Finanzgruppe und erweitern damit das genossenschaftliche Ökosystem. Unser Ziel ist es, Start-ups mit großem Potential zu entdecken, zu unterstützen und mit ihnen partnerschaftliche Beziehungen aufzubauen. Wir wollen Start-ups dabei helfen, ihr volles Potential auszuschöpfen und gleichzeitig die genossenschaftlichen Werte fördern. THINK BEYOND BANKING Wir gehen neue Wege und entwickeln mit unseren Partnern Geschäftsmodelle und Unternehmen. Vom Trendscouting über die Validierung ökosystemisch relevanter Geschäftsmodelle bis hin zur Markteinführung: In unserem Venture Builder vereinen wir jahrzehntelange Erfahrung einer der größten Bankengruppen Europas mit der Expertise von erfahrenen Entrepreneur:innen, Entwickler:innen und Designer:innen.

We want to build together an innovative, sustainable and inclusive economy through the leverage of private investment conveyed with medium to long term payback prospects. What we believe inWealth can generate more wealth, if invested in responsible entrepreneurs: The accountability of the business that acts in the best interests of all the stakeholders who are drawn to it, develops value over the medium and long terms, and turns out to be a superior investment. Sustainable innovation: We give access to innovative investments that will shape our future economy: we give priority to those who have already embarked on a path of medium-long term economic, social and environmental sustainability, also to reduce risk and acquire greater prospective value Simplicity, Clarity and Transparency: We utilize technology to streamline procedures and provide a seamless, delightful user experience. Even the most complicated documents are made simple to read and comprehend in order to promote wise and informed investment. Through the online platform and special meetings set up by our Investment Managers, all the pertinent information concerning the potential investment is made available. Empowerment and Training: Offering everyone the resources they need to learn about the industry and its quirks will make venture capital investments more accessible. As a result, education is a key pillar for fostering growth in people as well as the ecosystem as a whole. We are a Benefit Company Since its inception, Doorway has decided to be a Benefit Company, that is, a company that places the goals of profit alongside those of value creation and common benefit. How? By conveying venture capital in the service of the birth and development of innovative and sustainable enterprises that can bring positive effects to society. Every day Doorway strives to create real impact by contributing to some of the UN Sustainable Development Goals through its business activities. SDG 4: Quality education - Through the financial education activities carried out during the year and the training initiatives for investors and founders. SDG 5: Gender equality - Doorway promotes the culture of innovation and wants to support successful founders, especially of the female gender, who usually find it more difficult to raise capital. SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth - Through fundraising, Doorway supports those companies that want to grow and expand in Italy and abroad, creating wealth and jobs, especially for young people. Often the investment rounds are used precisely to structure teams and hire new resources. SDG 9: Innovation - Doorway sees the innovation ecosystem as a key driver of economic growth and wants to help it develop in Italy and Europe. We are signatories of the PRI By subscribing to the PRI, the Principles of Responsible Investment, Doorway confirms its ongoing focus on sustainability issues, being part of the international network of more than 4,000 signatory management companies and investors, managing more than $121 trillion in AUM. The initiative, launched in 2006 in New York by the United Nations, aims to establish links between investment and environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and help signatories include these issues in their investment and shareholding decisions.

Since its founding in 2009, H/L Ventures has forged a new way to build companies. H/L Ventures’ unique approach combines Daily Active Engagement with every portfolio company and a focus on investing in growth, impact, and diversity. Today, H/L Ventures manages a family of companies and funds that together comprise a holistic company-building ecosystem. At the heart of this system is H/L Studio, which was among the first venture studios to include social impact in its investment thesis. That venture studio is now supported by our opportunity fund, CityRock Ventures, and our managed services group, H/L Strategies, among other entities. Our team has pioneered an innovative, effective model that aligns the interests of entrepreneurs, investors, other stakeholders, and society to succeed together. At H/L Ventures, we apply these three key elements across our studios and funds: DAILY ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH FOUNDERS H/L Ventures’ involvement with our portfolio companies is as hands-on and supportive as possible throughout the entrepreneurship journey. This is the hallmark of H/L’s approach: we hold ourselves to a standard of virtually daily contact with every company in our portfolio, on an open-ended basis. This is not the empty promise of a website value-added page, but the core of our investment thesis. We host weekly calls with our senior portfolio team and each team of founders, which leads to daily activities involving our staff, Venture Partners, EPIRs, advisors, and network of service providers. All of this is in a supportive mode, meant to ensure that whatever needs our portfolio companies have, we remain actively relevant and helpful, every day. This care is given to all portfolio companies, regardless of which H/L Ventures vehicle is engaged. A POWERFUL ECOSYSTEM We respond effectively and proactively to our portfolio companies via a powerful team and community. Organized in a hub-and-spoke model around our core portfolio staff, four key communities help us co-build companies: Venture Partners & EPIRs, Advisors, Member Partners, and our affiliated Trusted Partner Network. Our team is shared across all our family of studios and funds. ACCESS TO CAPITAL From inception to exit, we provide many different forms of capital. Pre-Series A start-ups benefit from the H/L Studio model, where they enjoy access to virtually every form of capital, including human capital, social capital, networks, experience, and time. H/L does not normally invest in Pre-Seed rounds, focusing on our broad range of value-add services as we build a deeper relationship together via our Studio. We do however offer $100,000 in funding at the formal Seed round stage for our Studio companies [1, see Footnote], as well as an opportunity to leverage our extensive networks of co-investors to benefit the team’s fundraising efforts. Our opportunity fund, CityRock Venture Partners, invests at Series A and Series B. CityRock funds both qualifying studio portfolio startups and companies that come to us from outside of the studio pipeline, provided they fit our thesis and pass our standard due diligence process. Regardless of placement in the H/L Ventures ecosystem, all of our portfolio companies enjoy full access to our venture studio resources.