SJF Ventures

Such an honor! We are so proud to announce our CEO, Krenar Komoni, has been awarded a 2024 Barry M. Portnoy Immigrant Entrepreneur Award, presented by The Immigrant Learning Center. This prestigious accolade celebrates a diverse group of Massachusetts business leaders for their leadership in innovation, business growth, and contributions to their local communities and economy. Read more. https://hubs.li/Q02Z2bpc0

We are excited to share that Perry Clarkson has been promoted to Partner at SJF! Perry joined the team in 2019 as a Senior Associate and has been heavily involved in our healthcare investments. He serves as a Board Observer at SJF portfolio companies DUOS, Take Command and Cecelia Health. Congratulations, Perry!

📢 “After Springboard, my life has made a complete 180.” This is just one of many stories from Springboard learners in the SJF Ventures case study, informed by 60 Decibels data. Through qualitative and quantitative feedback, the report revealed: > 83% of learners gained skills for better jobs. > 74% grew more confident in themselves and their abilities. > 68% said their quality of life improved. Springboard are using these insights to double down on mentorship quality and bolstering job placement for students in tough markets. This case study highlights how listening to customers—whether students, farmers, or frontline workers—can shape stronger programs and deliver deeper impact. Explore the full story: https://lnkd.in/efmXgxzW Huge shoutout to everyone at SJF Ventures, Springboard and 60 Decibels for making these insights possible: Kelsey Jarrett Anna Rumer Andrew Moers Ramiro Rejas María Belén Cáceres Isabela Nieto Castro!

SJF portfolio company PosiGen recently shared results from its year-long Solar for All campaign in New Haven, CT. The Solar for All campaign, which was done in partnership with the New Haven Mayor's office and the Connecticut Green Bank, aimed to make clean energy more accessible for homeowners in New Haven by coordinating community outreach and engagement activities. This work led to 363 families showing interest in solar energy and 138 households ultimately signing contracts for solar installations, with average household energy bill savings ranging from $700 to nearly $1,300 per month. Read more on PosiGen's blog: https://lnkd.in/gHq7pVUS

Springboard uses a project-based curriculum and helps learners build portfolios that prove skills and lead to careers at emerging startups and tech leaders like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. SJF Ventures invested in Springboard in 2020, recognizing the company’s impact potential: closing the skills gap in a changing labor market. But SJF also aims to improve employee wellbeing with its investments. These are the “intangibles” of a new job and career path: confidence, productivity, quality of life. To better understand its impacts beyond job placement, Springboard worked together with SJF and 60 Decibels to survey its learners. Understanding the platform’s impact on learners — both immediately post-graduation and well into their careers — would uncover which methods were most successful, as well as common challenges Springboard could solve to increase impact. So what did the report reveal? Graduates report higher income, successful career transitions, and job satisfaction 74% of graduates say their confidence in themselves and their abilities increased 83% of graduates report they learned skills that help them find better employment opportunities Armed with the 60 Decibels data, Springboard is already taking action, bolstering job placement efforts in challenging job markets and expanding their events and community support. “We were extremely excited to work with SJF and 60 Decibels on this project, as it gave us very meaningful quantitative and qualitative insight into how we’re impacting the lives of our learners, as well as what they value about our courses and how we can best serve them,” said Andrew Moers, President, Consumer Business at Springboard. “These 1:1 insights are invaluable, particularly given how significant an investment our learners make into our courses and how much they rely upon Springboard to advance their careers.” For more on how Springboard honed its approach to helping learners, check out the link below: https://lnkd.in/g8z7aGbk

We are still here.  SJF has been investing for 25 years in driven entrepreneurs helping to build a better world. Our portfolio companies have helped propel clean energy, the supply chain and circular economy, education and health for the underserved, and effective government services. With or without policy support, they have built high growth, positive impact businesses. We have invested through five presidential administrations, Democratic and Republican Congressional leadership, as well as recessions, 9/11, bank failures, and the pandemic. Our work and our impact continue because entrepreneurs are still creating companies worth investing in to solve challenges worth solving. We work hard to find promising companies, many of which are under the radar because they have been capital efficient in getting started, in sectors we know well, and that can benefit from joining forces with SJF as a financial and platform partner. We strive to connect with businesses where our experience and support will accelerate the growth and impact of ideas that can make a difference. We are still here. We know you are. Let's connect.

We're looking forward to the New Private Markets Impact & Transition Investor Summit this week in New York. SJF's Director of Impact Kelsey Jarrett will be moderating a panel discussing how impact investors should think about artificial intelligence, as a potential tool for driving impact that carries significant risks. If you will also be attending, please reach out!

In the latest edition of Field Notes, SJF's Kelsey Jarrett and Elizabeth Roberts discuss whether impact funds should be investing in cybersecurity, given the unequally distributed consequences of rising cyberattacks and the potential for cyber resilience to protect key institutions like hospitals, schools and local governments. Read on below:

SJF first invested in SchooLinks' Series A funding round in 2021--we are excited for the company's continued growth with support from Susquehanna Growth Equity (SGE)!

Impact Report site launch alert! SJF Ventures invests in companies that create a healthier, smarter, and cleaner future. Built on WordPress, their new Impact Report features an accessible, user-friendly design with custom features like a quiz block to boost engagement. This site makes it easier for the SJF team to update and offers a transparent look at their impressive impact across their portfolio. We handled design, development, and discovery, working alongside content strategist Deborah Zanke . It's already making an impact with stakeholders. Take a look! https://lnkd.in/eVRPw-yq #ImpactReport #WebDesign #WebDevelopment