Craig Shapiro is the Founder & Managing Partner at Collaborative Fund. Founded in 2010, Collab Fund focuses on early-stage investments that intersect profit and positive social impact, particularly in the areas of food, climate, health, and finance. Investments include Sweetgreen, Beyond Meat, Reddit, Lyft, & more. In this conversation, we discuss Collab's successful portfolio, their $200 billion climate fund, the Shared Future Fund, a new AI residency in New York City, the evolution of New York's venture ecosystem and the importance of mission-driven investments.
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Timestamps:
0:00 - Welcome Craig Shapiro to The Rise
1:00 - The Mantra: Better for Me and Better for the World
2:22 - Starting Collab Fund in New York
4:38 - The Evolution of the New York Venture Ecosystem
8:04- Success Stories: Portfolio Companies
14:45 - The Beyond Meat Investment
23:54 - Fundraising Challenges and Early Supporters
28:58 - Institutional Investors and Fund Growth, AI Partnerships
33:09 - Graffiti Art and Collaborative Fund
34:45 - Partnership with Sesame Street
37:47 - AI Residency Program
40:51 - Crypto Spin-Out: Collab Currency
47:56 - Mission-Driven Investment Approach
52:46 - Advice for Emerging Managers
57:35 - Future of Collaborative Fund
1:05:00 - Thanks Craig For Joining! Like & Subscribe
#venturecapital #investing #podcast #vc #startup #tech
