Unreasonable Collective has closed Q1 2021 with investments in Classcraft, Goodr, At One Ventures and Turtle Tree, totalling more than USD3 million.
The Collective, a private co-investment club launched by the Unreasonable Group at the end of 2020 with racial and gender diversity at its core, explicitly directs capital into Unreasonable ventures operating at the intersection of high impact and disruptive innovation. With a mandate to ensure its investments are channelled into deals and founders that are diverse in nature, and with a commitment that at least 50 per cent of its members are women, people of colour, and/or identify as LGBTQ, the club is also democratising access to investment opportunities by giving individuals accredited investors from diverse backgrounds, unique access to co-invest alongside top institutional groups, via managed syndicates, in high impact, high growth ventures generating societal and environmental impact as well as exceptional returns.
“With both the short and long term effects of the global pandemic further exacerbating existing challenges such as education, human health & nutrition, food crisis, we are backing the ventures we feel are not only addressing these very real pain points but are the ones we are confident will become household names,” says Pratibha Vuppuluri, Head of Global Portfolio & Investment, Unreasonable Group. “Of the four companies we have invested in, three have under-represented founders – diversity is in our ethos, both in terms of flow of capital and member base. Not only is it the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do.”
The Collective’s first investment, led by Theodorus Investment Funds, was in Classcraft, an edtech venture which allows educators to motivate learners to reach their potential through playful learning experiences that promote growth and human connection. “Investing in Classcraft which is tackling the global pandemic head on by supporting children through the gamification of learning and education, was a no brainer for us. We are excited to continue our journey with Classcraft, an alumni of our Unreasonable FUTURE 2019 program” added Vuppuluri.
Goodr, The Collective’s second investment was made based on the venture’s impressive business model, disruptive blockchain technology and strong traction with key customers including the City of Atlanta and the NBA to reduce food waste and combat hunger. “One third of the food grown in the world goes wasted while 1 in 9 Americans go hungry. Goodr has cracked the code on solving the solution to this problem,” said Christiana Musk, Chairwoman of Unreasonable, founding member of the Collective, and avid impact investor focused on sustainable food systems.
Its most recent investment was in TurtleTree, a biotech company pioneering the production of milk using cell-based technology to significantly reduce carbon footprint and address food resilience. “TurtleTree’s novel approach leveraging groundbreaking innovation in response to growing demands in the human nutrition markets, is fascinating. I am really interested in the cellular agtech industry as a whole, so this investment was a natural one for me to make,” says Jennifer Case, Founder and President, New Leaf Biofuel.
“We are thrilled to receive the incredible support of the Unreasonable Collective who have been excellent at supporting mission-driven startups like TurtleTree in solving the world’s most important issues,” says Fengru Lin, Founder and CEO, Turtle Tree.
And finally, The Collective facilitated an investment in At One Ventures, an investment fund focused on companies that have the potential to disrupt our largest planet-negative industries and activities, including energy, agriculture, manufacturing, agriculture, manufacturing, built environment and transportation. At One is led by Tom Chi, a long-term mentor to Unreasonable’s Fellows over the past 10 years.
“We are honoured to have the deeply-aligned investors from the Unreasonable network supporting our work,” says Tom Chi, Founding Partner, At One Ventures. “Unreasonable has been pivotal to my own learning and to that of a brilliant group of entrepreneurs focused on social and environmental good. We look forward to continue learning from each other and investing toward a world where humanity can become a net positive to nature.”
