CHICAGO, IL - November 18, 2019

Impact Engine announced today the close of its second venture capital fund, Impact Engine Ventures II, dedicated to supporting and scaling early-stage software companies that improve economic empowerment, education, environmental sustainability, and health. 

Managed by partners Jessica Droste Yagan, Roger Liew, and Tasha Seitz, the Chicago-based, women-led fund brings together investors and entrepreneurs from across the United States who believe investment dollars can and should have a positive impact on society and the environment, and that those positive impacts can be tied to greater financial success.   

“This new fund allows us to continue and deepen our support of early-stage, high-impact entrepreneurs” said Droste Yagan. “We are thrilled to build on our experience from our first venture fund and continue to add more value to entrepreneurs, especially through the addition of Roger Liew as a full-time partner.” 

Limited partners in the fund include Trillium Asset Management, the Illinois Growth and Innovation Fund (ILGIF), and ImpactAssets, as well as many new and returning family offices and foundations. Investors were drawn to the experience of the team and its disciplined approach to investing and assessing impact, as well as the support Impact Engine provides them in exploring broader impact investing opportunities and connecting with their impact investing peers.

Impact Engine Ventures II will invest in early-stage technology companies. “We are looking for great software entrepreneurs who are building and delivering products that drive positive social and environmental impact,” said Seitz. “Right now, we are particularly excited to see the level of talent tackling issues like access to affordable financial services, improving educational outcomes, and upskilling/reskilling the workforce to prepare for the changing nature of work.”

To date, the fund has invested in nine companies: 

  • CancerIQ is a workflow automation system based on clinical best practices that identifies at-risk patients who qualify for genetic testing and streamlines the process of care delivery. 

  • Climb Credit is a financial technology company that offers an alternative approach to financing affordable and compelling career-skill programs, ultimately leading to higher paying jobs.

  • Fixer is an on-demand home maintenance and repair service that employs and trains “Fixers,” specifically targeting applicants underrepresented in the skilled trades.

  • FutureFuel is a student loan benefit platform for employers that enables employees to manage their loans and reduce the cost of their debt.

  • Glimpse K12 is a data analysis platform that enables school districts to improve the efficiency of their spending and better align it with positive student outcomes.

  • KickUp is a platform listing and tracking usage and feedback from teachers of professional development (PD) opportunities. The platform also provides infrastructure for teacher coaching and feedback on their classroom practices.

  • MyVillage is a community of high-quality, home-based early child care businesses. Their software provides business management and parent engagement tools, curated teaching curricula, and marketing support.

  • PadSplit is a platform enabling a new category of privately-owned affordable housing. They partner with property owners to convert rentals into co-living spaces and creating a marketplace to connect individuals looking for an affordable place to live near their job.

  • Plum is a talent management platform that assesses the talents and potential of candidates and employees to better match them to roles and opportunities, improving employee performance and retention while increasing the diversity of the workplace.

In addition to financial investment, these companies receive targeted mentoring and support from Impact Engine’s full-time Operating Partner, Roger Liew, as well as other team members and Impact Engine’s community of investors, mentors, and entrepreneurs.  According to Liew: “It’s been gratifying to find that we can add a lot of value to the companies we invest in, through making introductions as many investors do, but also tapping directly into my CTO background to sort out the details of scaling technology and building product development teams.”

Mike Evans, founder and CEO of Impact Engine portfolio company, Fixer, and previously co-founder of GrubHub, shared that “Impact Engine is an investor I sought out to participate in the funding of Fixer.  They understand how profit and impact can go hand-in-hand, and they spend the time and effort required to understand our business deeply.”  

About Impact Engine

Impact Engine is a Chicago-based venture capital and private equity investment firm focused on driving positive impact in economic empowerment, education, environmental sustainability, and health while seeking competitive financial returns. As a firm, we have $52M AUM and were recognized on the 2019 ImpactAssets50 list, which recognizes outstanding impact investment funds with a demonstrated positive social, environmental and financial impact. We are women-owned and led, and we bring the community together to build the impact investing field. Across two venture funds, Impact Engine has invested in 30 early-stage companies to-date, including 50% women CEOs and 27% non-white CEOs, with 57% of companies headquartered between the coasts.