Equal Opportunity Ventures

We are a nationally-ranked venture capital firm and accelerator that brings together startup founders, investors, corporations, job seekers, universities, musicians and artists. The gener8tor platform includes more than 75 programs spanning startup accelerators, corporate programming, speaker series, conferences, skills accelerators and fellowships. gener8tor believes that everyone deserves opportunities, regardless of race, place or gender. And that is what we consider our mission. Why do we do it? Our mission is to be the best partner for a community to invest in its best and brightest. We envision communities achieving measurable and transformational growth through programming that enables equitable access and opportunity. We do what we do because we care about our communities. At gener8tor, everyone belongs. We don’t just talk the talk, we walk the walk. Our goal is to close equity gaps for founders, continually improve the workforce, and foster relationships with diverse communities and organizations that are dedicated to DE&I. From the culture of our own company to the experience of our programs and participants, we strive to create an inclusive and safe environment for everyone.

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.

We envision an inclusive economy that thrives with innovation by realizing the value and potential of each of us. Our Mission: Building the Future Together We aim to transform people, companies, and industries in order to build a more equitable and inclusive economy. We work with today’s leaders to create long term growth by integrating diverse perspectives and dismantling personal, organizational and systemic barriers to inclusion. We are creating a new class of companies by investing in the next generation of inclusive ventures We believe that an inclusive economy thrives with innovation by realizing the value and potential of each of us. We build an inclusive economy alongside companies and people like you. We believe in the possibility of a brighter future. Let’s Build The Future Together We pledge to build a brighter future. We envision an equitable, entrepreneurial future, and we come alongside diverse leaders to build that future together.

For nearly 30 years, we have successfully identified and cultivated growth-oriented businesses that create good jobs for people living in areas overlooked by traditional VC firms. We finance and help to grow businesses that pay a living wage, provide basic benefits and host a fair and engaging workplace that offers opportunities for training and advancement. We view our investment relationships as collaborative partnerships. In addition to capital investment, we are actively involved in our portfolio companies – bringing our knowledge of socially responsible management practices and working together with our parent company, CEI, to introduce workforce development specialists along with environmental, technical assistance and consulting relationships. We view our investment relationships as collaborative partnerships. In addition to capital investment, we are actively involved in our portfolio companies – bringing our knowledge of socially responsible management practices and working together with our parent company, CEI, to introduce workforce development specialists along with environmental, technical assistance and consulting relationships. We focus our investments on dynamic, socially minded companies that exhibit a dual potential for high growth and positive community impact, particularly those that: Create good jobs and wealth building opportunities for workers with an emphasis on jobs targeted to people with low-to-moderate incomes, in alignment with CEI’s Good Jobs Framework. Are located in markets with more limited access to equity capital including rural areas and small cities. Are led by individuals underserved by the current equity markets, including people of color, women and veterans. Increase the availability of environmentally sustainable products/services that preserve natural resources, reduce waste/pollution or increase the adoption of renewable energy/clean technology. Strong investment candidates will also exhibit: Create good jobs and wealth building opportunities for workers with an emphasis on jobs targeted to people with low-to-moderate incomes, in alignment with CEI’s Good Jobs Framework. Prospects for attractive returns with an appealing market opportunity, realistic projections, appropriate valuation, and pragmatic exit plan. A competitive advantage through proprietary interest in technology, intellectual property, distribution system or other unique attribute. A deep commitment to social benefits including quality employment opportunities and environmental stewardship. Each portfolio company is required to sign a social agreement, securing a commitment to promote CEI’s mission. A viable exit plan within a reasonable time frame.

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.

ECMC Foundation is a national foundation working to improve postsecondary outcomes for students from underserved communities. ECMC Foundation makes investments in two focus areas: college success and career readiness; and uses a spectrum of funding structures, including strategic grantmaking and program-related investments, to invest in both nonprofit and for-profit ventures. Launched in 2018, ECMC Foundation’s Education Innovation Ventures (EIV) program provides catalytic, risk capital to early-stage ventures working to increase postsecondary educational outcomes and economic mobility among learners who face systemic barriers. Through program-related investments, EIV’s capital generates impact alongside financial returns, which are recycled to fund further impact initiatives and drive changes in educational attainment and economic mobility for learners. Investment Strategy and Objectives EIV provides flexible, risk capital to early-stage ventures and entrepreneurs working to seed innovations, prove new models, and enable ventures to scale their impact. Our early-stage investments are designed to support ventures focused on improving postsecondary persistence and completion and/or job attainment at family-sustaining wages, specifically for learners and jobseekers who face systemic barriers to economic mobility. Since launching in 2018, EIV’s investments have allowed the Foundation to tap into the creative power of the nonprofit and for-profit sectors through social enterprises working on college persistence and success, alternative postsecondary education financing, career exploration, upskilling and training, and equitable hiring initiatives. The investment thesis builds upon learnings from the Foundation’s grantmaking portfolios on College Success and Career Readiness. EIV makes several types of investments: Direct Investments: the Foundation invests capital into social enterprises that serve learners and jobseekers Fund Investments: capital is deployed to funds that reinvest capital into social ventures Donor Advised Funds (DAF) Investments: capital is sent through a donor advised fund and invested into social ventures Education Innovation Venture’s Five-Point Model EIV considers ventures that demonstrate a commitment to delivering intentional, sustained and measurable social impact, and align with the Foundation's mission of inspiring and facilitating improvements in postsecondary education for underestimated learners. We look for the following criteria in our investments: Impact: A measurable strategy for driving educational outcomes and economic mobility for students from underserved backgrounds and markets; a commitment to sharing lessons learned with the greater education sector. Risk & Innovation: Early-stage ventures with transformative and disruptive products and services that address an unmet market need. Scalability: Ventures with sustainable business models using market-based approaches that need access to patient capital in order to achieve scale. Leverage: Ventures that test new and bold ideas with the potential to attract additional sources of capital to grow impact. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Intentionality around building a diverse and inclusive body of leadership and practicing strong internal social governance. Special Initiative: Innovative Financing Models Beginning in 2021, ECMC Foundation will invest up to $2.5 million through Education Innovation Ventures into short-term training and education programs that use alternative financing models to accelerate the upskilling and retraining needed for America’s unemployed workforce to find gainful employment and attain family-sustaining wages. Learn more about why we are investing in Innovative Financing Models.