Jack Crawford

Nearly a decade ago, I spoke at a corporate venture capital conference. Many of the anticipated players were in attendance that day (Intel, Google, Microsoft). But what made the day memorable was who else decided to attend (7-Eleven, Walmart, Chipotle …)

Since that day, corporate venture capital has exploded. In Q1 of 2022, CVCs invested nearly $40 billion in 1,300 deals - for both financial and strategic reasons. Put simply, when I realized the AARP wanted to invest in startups, I knew we had an opportunity to do things differently than our competitors.

Impact Venture Capital invests in seed-stage companies using information captured in our proprietary corporate intelligence platform from active discussions and events with corporate M&A groups and CVC teams. We focus on artificial intelligence companies in the enterprise/SaaS, infrastructure, consumer, and deep tech spaces. I’m particularly interested in the security, finance, and digital health industries. Our team is located throughout California with a deep presence in Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, and Sacramento.

In other words, our goal is to offer up “ready-to-invest” startups to our corporate partners. The corporates benefit from curated dealflow, and we gain confidence knowing that future financing risk has been diminished (the fact that they might also be acquirers is not lost on us). Of course, the founders love the robust cap table.

Our belief is that this thesis allows us to de-risk early-stage investments and accelerate pathways to better exits. It's allowed us to invest alongside firms like Intel, Baidu, Applied Materials, Zoom, Yamaha, SK Hynix, Kubota, and Goldman Sachs, as well as top financial investors like Softbank, USVP, and Madrona. Our LPs include notable institutions like the University of San Francisco endowment, the Papal Foundation, and the Mark IV Family Office.

I love working with seed (and earlier) stage founders. Their energy is infectious and my ability to add value is at its greatest. I lean in heavily on my corporate network to support these companies, especially my M&A network. If I know what a corporate is looking to buy, rest assured my portfolio (and the companies I target for investment) will know!

I have spent nearly my entire career building startups; first, as a founder, and later, as an investor. In all of this work, I’ve focused on how important venture capital and ecosystem building can be.

I view venture capital as the critical component of company building for seed- and early-stage technology companies. I began making venture investments in 2005, with an emphasis on information technology products. By combining my front-line entrepreneurial operating experience with venture capital investments, I helped drive the success of some of the most promising companies here at home. I worked closely with company founders to fine-tune strategies, build management teams, recruit key members of the Board of Directors and Advisory Boards, grow revenues, raise capital, and facilitate a positive exit.