Investor Connect - 436 - Edward Dugger III of Reinventure Capital

In this episode, Hall welcomes Edward Dugger III, Founding Partner and President of Reinventure Capital.

Located in Boston, Massachusetts, Reinventure Capital is a high-impact, high-return venture practice proven to deliver nonconcessionary financial returns along with intentional, measurable, and meaningful racial/social justice impact. Reinventure Capital consists of a diverse team who invests in U.S.-based companies led and controlled by BIPOC — Black, Indigenous, and other people of color - founders, and/or womxn founders of all identities, companies that are at breakeven or so commercializing solutions to real problems, in fragmented industries, at the forefront of one or more shifts, and poised to grow profitably.

Edward was an early pioneer in impact investing, but also had careers as a real estate developer, business strategy consultant, and interim CFO. He has over 30 years of deep business development and venture capital experience, and a track record of notable achievements. At age 27 he became CEO of one of the larger venture capital firms in the nation, backed and mentored by such board directors as the CEO of Morgan Stanley and the Chairman of the Executive Committee of JP Morgan. As one of the earliest impact VC funds, they invested in growth industries to consciously expand business opportunities for entrepreneurs of color achieving an IRR of 32% during its last decade.

Edward also helped launch some of the most successful African American controlled companies, both private and public, and assisted them in attracting over $2 billion in conventional capital, while achieving 30% diversity among managers and employees and generating over 7,000 family-supporting jobs.

Although his investment practice was national, he leveraged his successes as a VC to build bridges among disparate local business communities as an early advocate for, and practitioner of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). As a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, I co-convened with the Bank several business leadership forums advocating more inclusive business practices. Expanding the effort after harvesting the venture funds, I partnered with the CEO of State Street Corporation to form The Business Collaborative (TBC), a unique business community initiative that dramatically increased the B2B sales volume among major corporations and businesses of color in Massachusetts.

Most recently he has responded to our nation's current challenges, stemming from persistent social and economic inequities, by forming Reinventure Capital. Once again he is targeting the vast, untapped reservoir of innovative, entrepreneurial talent, comprised of those of color and women consistently overlooked by the mainstream investment community. In so doing, he is pursuing a contrarian investment playbook as before, ensuring an impact-rich return on capital AND inclusion. Edward is a graduate of Harvard College and Princeton University (MPA-UP, School of Public and International Affairs).

Edward explains the role of social impact in Reinventure Capital’s investment thesis and shares with Hall his reasons for investing in diverse teams. 

You can visit Reinventure Capital at www.reinventurecapital.com, via their LinkedIn page at www.linkedin.com/company/reinventurecap, and via their Twitter page at https://twitter.com/ReinventureCap.    

Edward can be contacted via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/edwardduggeriii/, and via email at [e-mail].