Q&A with Trish Costello of Portfolia
Impact Profile
Trish Costello, CEO & Founder
Trish Costello is founder and CEO of Portfolia, which offers a radically different investing process designed for women and other emerging investors. She is also co-founder and CEO Emeritus of the Kauffman Fellows Program, Center for Venture Education -- the global educational institute preparing the leaders of the venture capital industry, located in Palo Alto. As we get ready for One World’s Virtual Impact Summit this Thursday 4/30, we asked Trish to share her insights from her years of experience utilizing investment strategy as a force for good.
What are some of the social and environmental challenges you are addressing through your work as an investor? (In essence, the themes of your fund, with any compelling statistics you would to share that underscore the problem)
Portfolia is disrupting the traditional venture capital model by creating entrepreneurial funds focused on areas where women make markets, such as women's health, active aging, consumer, sustainability and food & agtech. Portfolia also focuses on investing opportunities that serve people of color and LGBTQ communities -- products and services historically overlooked by traditional venture capitalists but positioned for significant growth and profitability.
In the active aging space, women (who inform $5-15 Trillion of US spending) are often the leaders when considering options that promote better health and longer life for themselves and their families. Women make 80% of all healthcare decisions for themselves and their families, and nearly all nutritional decisions. They should be able to invest in companies that create the dynamic aging experience they want for themselves and their loved ones.
When it comes to diversity and markets serving People of Color, a recent study by DiversityVC discloses that only one percent of venture-backed start-up founders are black, and 1.8 percent are Latino. Recent demographic shifts and the increasing influence of POC and the LGBTQ community underscore that there are outsized opportunities for innovation, growth and returns.
How, if at all, is your approach toward investing evolving due to the current health crisis?
None of our investments are in public companies that are traded on the market. When public markets are experiencing turbulence, it can actually be a good time to add private venture investing to your portfolio because these smaller, innovative companies can more rapidly adapt and respond to the emerging needs of the world. Some of today’s most successful companies were started during downturns. We look at the sectors that will be experiencing the most growth and leading the way as we learn from this crisis - life sciences, telemedicine, remote learning and connectivity, AI, to name a few -- and look for those companies with strong executive teams that know how to effectively manage runway and burn rate.
How can investors and entrepreneurs keep long term values in mind while managing the urgency of this moment?
Nothing beats experience in a time crisis. If you’re just beginning to invest in entrepreneurial companies, it’s even more important now that you join a group or fund as you begin. For those of us who have been through many business cycles and crises, it’s a time to be disciplined in your approach -- to invest where you have expertise and have a deep understanding of the ways these sectors will be impacted by this crisis. Most important for us, is to consider will these companies bring a solution to the world that is worth our time and investment dollars to back. These are the times when you go back to the basics: smart, innovative investors, backing top teams with unique products in the market, can help identify the companies that will define our futures. Well-run companies that are conserving cash and being strategic can position themselves for long-term growth.
Can you share any examples of investors or companies that have pivoted to meet the current health crisis?
One of our Portfolio companies, Gennev, originated as an online solution to help women manage and track their menopause symptoms, but has recently pivoted In response to the COVID-19 crisis. They have expanded their telemedicine platform beyond menopause counseling to include Primary Care Practitioners, so women can receive medical guidance on a variety of issues from the safety of their own homes.
Urbaneer, a leader in compact living spaces (aka “tiny homes”), recently partnered with Skyline Champion Homes to deliver the first scalable small home solution to be produced nationwide. There is huge demand for backyard homes, especially in the western parts of the US. With the global social distancing challenges posed by covid-19, there is increased need for housing multi-generational families in “backyard home” accommodations. There is also increasing demand for new aging-in-place solutions.
MoCaFi, which is focused on the underbanked, has moved to providing a conduit for those who do not have secure banking relationships to receive Covid stimulus money. Those with the greatest need often don’t have access that is easily provided to the middle class.