Eagle Venture Fund’s Values-Based Approach to Fighting Human Trafficking, Poverty, and Healthcare Challenges
For this latest installment of our Investor Series, we had the opportunity to interview two key members from Eagle Venture Fund: Wes Lyons (General Partner) and Vip Vipperman (VP of Investor Relations). For the first time, we took a unique approach by interviewing both of them to explore their distinct roles and perspectives, uncovering the dynamic synergy between strategy and relationship-building that drives their mission to back transformative ventures focused on human flourishing and impactful returns.
FOUNDED
2017
NUMBER OF PORTCOS
39
STAGES
Seed and Series A
FOCUS GEOGRAPHIES
USA, Western Europe, SE Asia
LOCATION
Offices in Fort Worth, TX, Zurich Switzerland, and Singapore
FOCUS AREAS
B2B Saas that is in one of the following 3 impact areas.
At Eagle Venture, we are driven by a commitment to transforming lives through strategic investments in three core areas:
- Combating Human Trafficking: Our Eagle Freedom Fund is devoted to identifying and supporting organizations and technologies that effectively fight human trafficking on both local and global scales.
- Economic Opportunities for the Poor: Through the Eagle City Fund, we strive to create sustainable economic growth in underserved communities. By investing in social enterprises, we aim to empower individuals and catalyze positive change.
- Healthcare Innovation: We’re exceptionally proud of our largest healthcare investment, LivFul, which is pioneering cutting-edge solutions for healthcare delivery and innovation.
Wesley, what motivated you personally to get started as an investor, particularly within the framework of values-based investing?
For me, one of the pivotal moments that shaped my journey into impact investing was on the battlefield. I served in the Navy and was the officer in charge of the US detachment to the Philippines, where I saw ISIS using children in combat. That experience deeply affected me. While I’m proud of the role we played in helping the Filipino military defeat ISIS, it left me with a strong conviction that scalable solutions were needed to address the world’s most severe issues. While still in the reserves and already involved in venture capital, we began focusing on what it meant to be impact investors.
The origin of Eagle stems from our previous work, where we noticed a pattern: companies that were growing rapidly due to their impact, and their impact was growing quickly because they were expanding. We call these “native impact,” where impact and revenue are deeply intertwined. This concept counters the market belief that high impact equals low financial returns.
The combination of the market showing us that something was possible, despite prevailing doubts, and my experiences on the battlefield, really fueled our desire to find scalable solutions to some of the world’s greatest problems. Today, I lead our efforts against human trafficking, while my partners focus on healthcare and economic solutions to poverty. Together, we support bold entrepreneurs who are driving human flourishing in their areas of passion.
Eagle Venture Fund has a unique vision of integrating values with profitability. Wesley, Vip, how do you balance these considerations when making investment decisions?
Wes Lyons
The key to balancing profitability and impact is focusing on “native impact,” where a company’s product or service is inherently tied to the change it creates. This eliminates the tension between profit and impact because the better a company is at driving change, the more successful it becomes.
Finding such companies requires a different approach than traditional investing. You need to first build relationships and communities around solving the world’s biggest problems. By focusing on solutions, you naturally connect with the best problem-solvers. We review 5,000 to 7,000 deals annually, narrowing it down to about 1 in 500 investments. This rigorous process combines the best of venture capital with social action, which has a profound ability to drive deal flow, but doesn’t let go of the excellence.
A great example is one of our portfolio companies that upskills refugees, increasing their average income from $20,000 to $60,000 a year. Their business model not only transforms the lives of refugees but also has the potential for massive scale. We want to see tens of thousands of lives changed, not just a few. This deep integration of impact and scale allows us to drive both social change and profit in a scalable, exponential way.
Vip Vipperman
Our approach emphasizes building a dense network through relationship-building and community growth. Trying to find the right individuals to bring together and have meaningful conversations. By sharing our focus and goals, we enable more people to understand and believe in the possibility of solving these problems.
To support this, we’ve launched the Clapham Accelerator, which brings together about 100 people twice a year to significantly accelerate the growth of selected startups. The idea is to gather passionate individuals who have the necessary tech skills or funding power to make a real impact. It’s exciting because when you’re in the room with these people, you realize, ‘These are my people.’ This connection not only deepens relationships but also enhances the speed and quality of our investments.
Other organizations are also showing interest in innovations and impact investing. For too long, ESG and DEI have been discussed without much real innovation. Greenwashing—like buying carbon credits—isn’t innovation; it doesn’t solve the root problems. We aim to bring together those who are truly making transformative differences with their companies and lives, driving genuine innovation in these spaces.
Wesley, in your journey with Eagle Venture Fund, what has been one of the most challenging decisions you’ve made that is directly related to upholding the fund’s values-based philosophy?
One of the biggest challenges we faced at Eagle Venture Fund was balancing our emotional investment in entrepreneurs with the need for analytical rigor. Early on, we struggled to differentiate and quantify types of impact because we lacked the frameworks to properly score and evaluate them. We knew intuitively that some companies had high impact potential, but without a systematic approach, it was difficult to assess their scalability and overall effectiveness.
For instance, we initially had trouble letting go of emotionally compelling investments, like one aimed at preventing bullying and suicide among kids. Despite the high impact, the company struggled with scaling and team dynamics, which made it hard to balance our emotional drive with rigorous analysis.
Over time, we developed a three-dimensional framework to better evaluate impact. The first axis assesses how a company impacts its employees and suppliers. The second axis evaluates its effect on the environment and creation. The third axis measures its influence on the society in which it operates. This framework allows us to quantify and score each aspect of impact, providing a clearer picture of a company’s overall effectiveness. Additionally, we focus on the catalytic nature of our investment—whether our involvement significantly advances the mission and drives transformative change.
This approach allows us to transform our emotional insights into actionable metrics, helping us make more objective decisions. By integrating these frameworks, we aim to ensure that our investments are not only impactful but also scalable and sustainable, aligning with both our values and our commitment to high-quality returns.
Vip, what are the key factors you consider when communicating the fund’s vision and strategy to potential investors who may be more accustomed to traditional investment strategies?
The key lesson we’ve learned is that if you’re talking to people about investment, you still have to talk to people about the investment opportunity first. While we’re deeply passionate about the transformative work we support—like rescuing trafficking survivors, helping refugees find jobs, or stopping the exploitation of children online—it’s crucial to first address the core investment aspects when speaking to investors.
We focus on four essential elements: market, opportunity, team, and diligence.
First, we highlight the market potential. For example, we see significant billion-dollar opportunities arising from strategic litigation, evolving policies, and the broader crackdown on big tech. These create a fertile environment for impactful businesses to thrive.
Second, we emphasize the opportunities. We need to demonstrate that there are enough for-profit companies making a difference in these spaces. People often question whether it’s possible to find profitable tech companies fighting human trafficking, for instance. We have to show that not only do these companies exist, but we also have access to them.
Third, we present our team. We have a diverse group, including Harvard MBAs, ex-military leaders with strong leadership experience, and finance experts who navigated the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Recently, we brought on a serial entrepreneur from Singapore, adding further strength to our team. And then there’s Tim Tebow, whose influence and connections—ranging from Congress to communities that care deeply about our causes—have significantly bolstered our team’s capability and reach.
Finally, we emphasize our rigorous diligence process. Investors need to know that we can identify and back the best of the best. We’ve developed robust software and processes that allow us to do just that, ensuring we support companies that are not only impactful but also capable of delivering strong returns.
By first establishing that we have a solid investment foundation—market, opportunity, team, and diligence—investors are more receptive when we then discuss the impact. It helps them see the full picture and understand how we’re uniquely positioned to succeed both financially and in driving meaningful change.
Wes, how does Eagle Venture Fund balance its core investment philosophy with the evolving market landscape, and how do you assess the success of your investments, especially regarding social impact and sustainability?
The evolving landscape is indeed a challenge, but it also presents a unique opportunity to stay true to our core philosophy by focusing on asking better questions. In the traditional investment world, many are laser-focused on making money, often missing the broader picture. We contend that asking the right questions leads to better companies and, ultimately, better returns.
Take Immerse, for example—a virtual reality language learning platform. On one hand, you have Mark Zuckerberg, spending billions of dollars a month trying to figure out how to monetize the metaverse. On the other, you have Quinn Taber, an entrepreneur living in the Middle East with refugees, asking how he can use virtual reality to help those most in need. By asking a better question—how can immersive technology be used to make a real difference?—Quinn has created a product with perhaps the highest lifetime value in the industry.
Quinn’s success is rooted in his approach—spending time with people in need, understanding their challenges, and creating solutions that address those specific needs. This focus on solving real problems, rather than just generating profits, is a compelling advantage.
In navigating the latest technological trends—whether it’s blockchain, AI, or virtual reality—we don’t see ourselves as technology-specific investors. Rather, we view these tools as enablers to solve pressing problems. For instance, blockchain is simply a digital ledger—our interest lies in how it can be used to address real-world challenges. The same goes for AI and virtual reality. These technologies are not our end goals; they are means to achieve our primary objective: solving problems that matter.
This approach allows us to maintain our core philosophy while adapting to the changing landscape. By focusing on the fundamental questions and the problems we aim to solve, we ensure that our investments not only generate financial returns but also create meaningful social impact and sustainability.
