Bonny Moellenbrock thought she’d have a career in nonprofit environmental advocacy after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the early 1990s.
In a strange turn of events, she wound up in venture capital, but on the leading edge of a new movement to give investors the option to place money in companies that offer more than just the opportunity for financial gain—some entrepreneurs and funders want to also have a positive impact on the environment and people around them. It’s taken a couple decades for the concept to catch on, and for angel networks to form around it. Today, Moellenbrock is at the helm of the oldest and largest of those groups.
Investors’ Circle, headquartered in Durham, is a leader in educating and rallying investors around entrepreneurs with social or environmental missions. And that’s all while providing financial return. In our latest Founders Series interview, Moellenbrock discusses the growth of impact investing, the challenges that surround it and the role her organization plays in its success (including a very recent exit). She also gives some case studies, both from within the organization’s national portfolio and locally in the Triangle, where IC has made at least three recent investments.
Here’s an opportunity to learn from a woman who has dedicated her career to ensuring the venture capital industry provides more than just financial gain to a small few.
