Sharon Schneider is the Founder of Integrated Capital Strategies, a consulting firm that helps founders and family offices drive positive social change. Her firm specializes in setting up or realigning family offices to better align with the values and evolving priorities of individuals seeking a more integrated approach to life.

We invited Sharon on the show after being inspired by one of her posts, where she highlighted a growing trend: younger generations of high-net-worth families are rethinking their relationship with family wealth, especially in light of climate change.

In this conversation, we explored the distinctions between impact capital, aligned capital, and catalytic capital, and how family office strategies can incorporate these concepts. We also discussed key considerations for entrepreneurs and fund managers when engaging with family offices, how family offices can structure loan guarantees to address the first-of-a-kind project finance gap—and much more.

In this episode, we cover: 

• [2:13] Sharon’s journey to founding Integrated Capital Strategies
• [8:42] Her perspective on catalytic capital
• [12:27] Feedback from family offices: privacy and urgency
• [16:14] Fiduciary duties of family offices
• [19:25] How Sharon collaborates with family offices
• [23:30] Tips for high-net-worth individuals
• [27:23] Guidance for founders approaching investors
• [28:53] Advice for GPs raising capital
• [32:55] Underutilized tools in catalytic capital
• [37:40] More advice for founders seeking funding
• [41:57] The role of corporate strategics in startups
• [44:11] Sharon’s outlook on the future of family office investments

Episode recorded on Dec 19, 2024 (Published on Jan 20, 2025)

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant