The options for entrepreneurs looking to raise money for impact projects continues to broaden. The latest to join the growing list is Founders Future, a French investment firm for European startups, which has just raised a fund of over 20 million Euros. The VC says it hopes to have completed a round of 50 million Euros which it will use to deliver seed and Series A investments.
The company will focus on developing startups working on vertical farming, last-mile delivery, mental health, mobility, cleaner alternatives to packaging and those working on the circular economy.
Sifted reports that most of the money has come from angel investors, including Thierry Gillier, the founder of clothing brand Zadig and Voltaire; Bris and Yves Rocher, from the French cosmetics brand Rocher; and Michael Benabou.
“Impact is everything now,” says French tech entrepreneur Marc Menasé, who started Founders Future. “The consumer now wants to buy products that are more respectful across many criteria, and employees want to work for companies that take into account their impact on the planet and other ESG criteria.”
The company has also created software which will help guide nascent business though their scaling process.
“We have new software called Zei which we use to assess businesses. Along with the founders, we plug in all the information we have about a startup and then we can share their impact trajectory, highlighting areas they need to improve on.”
The software could highlight that a company needs to change to a renewable energy supplier for its manufacturing process, for example, and that would be set as a target for a quarter.
“With more than 15 years of experience in entrepreneurship and investment, I am convinced that the market needs businesses and products that shake things up and operate in a more respectful manner. It is clear that the new generation of entrepreneurs will no longer be able to do things like before, and we want to help them and finance this new paradigm to create tomorrow’s high-impact big businesses,” explains,
