Three years of ImpactVC: what we’ve learned and what comes next
- ImpactVC
- 6 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
Three years ago, we set out to understand what was holding the impact venture ecosystem back. We spoke with with VCs - both impact specialists and generalists newer to impact - across geographies and fund sizes, and heard echoes of the same challenges:
"We're figuring this out alone."
"The frameworks out there weren't built for VC."
"It’s a challenge to make ‘impact’ practical for early stage companies."
Two things stood out.
First, a connectivity problem: impact expertise existed, but it was scattered and often built in isolation. Impact specialists and generalist funds were operating in parallel, with little space for exchange, and even less so across borders.
Second, a resource problem: most existing frameworks had been designed for other asset classes - without VCs in mind. For those wanting to do impact well in an early-stage context, practical guidance was sparse, and the space was jargon-heavy and hard to enter for those just getting started.
Those conversations became the foundation of ImpactVC - launched within Better Society Capital and building on ten years of learning as an LP in impact venture funds. We outlined a clear mission: to tilt the venture ecosystem towards impact, and unlock its potential to tackle some of the world's most urgent problems.
Three years on, here's what we've built, what we've learned, and where we're heading next.
What we've built with our community
The landscape today looks quite different to the one we found in 2022. ImpactVC has grown into a global network of over 1,100 members across 750+ organisations in 50+ countries - and the connections, tools, and conversations on impact are flowing.
Convening the ecosystem
We now run 30+ gatherings with nearly 1,300 attendees annually. We've also launched three chapters across the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands - and counting.
Highlights include:
Impact Flock (with Impact Europe) - our annual peer-to-peer VC and LP convening for the honest, practical conversations you can only have with trusted peers. Grown from 60 to 120+ at our most recent invite-only London edition.
3 Space (with Rothschild & Co and WEF UpLink) - our flagship London convening for big-picture thinking across the system, now drawing nearly 300 leaders. Speakers have included Raspberry Pi, Octopus Electric Vehicles, and the European Commission.
Responsible AI convenings (with Reframe Venture and Project Liberty) - a frontier-focused series built around practical takeaways for VCs navigating AI. Including our Stanford Responsible AI Summit - 70+ LPs and VCs, a ~$4T LP cohort — and our 2026 New York convening.
Regional Chapters - three chapters launched across the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands, energising local impact venture ecosystems through events ranging from a GIIN side event at climate unicorn 1KOMMA5, to Bits & Pretzels, SuperVenture, and much more in between. We're thrilled to welcome our newest Netherlands Chapter members - meet them below!
Building the toolkit
From the outset, we were clear that the resources and frameworks available had been designed for other asset classes - without VCs in mind. So together with our members and partners, we set out to build something different: practical tools tailored specifically to those working in VC with an interest in impact.
Three years on, that library has grown significantly, co-created through shared learning across the community:
Resource | Short description |
A practical guide for VCs looking to embed impact thinking into their investment process, covering how to source, select and support high-potential impact startups. | |
Founder Impact Playbook (For Founders and Operators) | Built with input from 35+ community members, this playbook is for founders who want to embed impact into their business from day one - and use it as a genuine source of competitive advantage, not just a values statement. |
Impact as a Driver of Value framework (For LPs, VCs, and Founders) | Drawing on insights from 20+ leading VCs and LPs, this framework helps investors and founders understand how embedding impact at the core of a business creates competitive advantage and long-term value. |
Responsible and Impactful AI work (For LPs, VCs, and Founders) | As AI reshapes venture, we've been working with partners, VCs, LPs and academic experts to develop practical guidance on what responsible and impactful AI actually looks like in practice - from due diligence questions to frameworks for founders. |
Putting it into practice
Resources only go so far - so we've also built support for VCs actually applying practices. Our Impact Investing for VCs training programme, delivered by our Faculty, provides an opportunity for structured learning for VCs to integrate impact practices into their fund and investment processes. So far we’ve trained 50+ VCs, and you can see a case study of its impact here.
Bringing impact narratives into the mainstream
Alongside the work happening inside the community, we've worked to amplify what great looks like more broadly. Our collaboration with EUVC includes The Impact Highlight podcast, which surfaces the stories, strategies, and lessons from leaders at the frontier of impact and venture - building the evidence that impact drives business value creation.
The ‘Impact Leader of the Year Award’ at the European Venture Awards celebrates the funds, founders, and individuals setting the standard, shining a light on what excellence looks like across the ecosystem.
How the market has evolved
We’ve seen a lot change over the past three years, including in financial markets, geopolitics, and technology. The venture capital market cycle has turned, AI has exploded onto the scene as a major investment theme, and the tenor of conversation on climate, inclusion, and other such topics has shifted markedly.
Against that backdrop, impact venture has continued to move from the margins towards the mainstream, and into a more mature, defined phase. A few shifts stand out:
From momentum to maturity - a stronger focus on credibility, rigour, and clearer articulation of impact strategies.
Higher impact understanding from LPs - more sophisticated impact theses, improved measurement, and increasing emphasis on real-world outcomes.
Impact as a value driver - the most compelling strategies now embed impact directly into value creation, and support founders on measuring and articulating this, rather than treating impact as an overlay.
Across these shifts, we see one pattern clearly: impact is strongest where it is tightly linked to long-term value creation.
Three years on: sharpening our focus
Today, as we mark three years, we're introducing a new visual identity and sharpening how we communicate what ImpactVC does:
ImpactVC is the home of impact in venture capital.
Our mission is to equip venture capital leaders with the insight, tools, and trusted relationships they need to raise and deploy capital more effectively - driving meaningful impact alongside strong financial performance.
We believe impact is a competitive advantage that drives long-term value. As the market matures, our role is to deepen our collective understanding of this dynamic - and help to build the evidence, data, and case studies that support it.
That means doubling down on two areas:
1. Elevate the quality of LP ↔ GP dialogue on impact
Enabling more capital to move confidently into impact-driven venture strategies through clearer, more credible conversations - through LP ↔ GP convenings and working groups on topics such as impact reporting, impact-linked carry, and other areas at the interface of investor relationships.
2. Equip VCs at the forefront of their craft in impact and venture
Equipping members with the judgment, tools, and insight to back the highest-potential opportunities - through peer working groups, practical resources, and learning designed to move from insight to application.
Our role remains the same at its core- but the depth, rigour, and collaboration required across the ecosystem continues to grow.
Built by the community
None of this would be possible without our members - and we want to take a moment to say thank you.
To our original Community Working Group, who in 2022/23 helped shape the trust and connectivity at the heart of this network. To our working group members and Faculty, who have generously shared their expertise across the Impact Playbooks, Impact as a Driver of Value, AI workstream, and our learning masterclasses. And to our Chapter Leads and Steering Committees, who continue to strengthen peer-to-peer communities across the UK, Germany, and now the Netherlands.
We're also grateful to our sponsors and partners, including Better Society Capital, Morgan Lewis, Rothschild & Co, Sage and BMW Foundation for their ongoing support - and Project Liberty Institute, Zendesk, and Mozilla Foundation for enabling our Responsible AI work in particular.
Every step of progress reflects a collective effort. ImpactVC is, and always will be, built by its community.
What comes next
The opportunity ahead is significant, but so is the work still to be done. The ecosystem still needs more capital flowing into high-impact opportunities, greater clarity in how impact is defined and delivered, and stronger collaboration across geographies and strategies. Over the next three years, we'll keep building the infrastructure, relationships, and insight to support this.
To our members, partners, and collaborators: thank you for being part of this journey.
Join ImpactVC If you're working at the intersection of venture capital and impact, or want to be, we'd love to have you involved. Sign up here
Share your thoughts and feedback
And if you're already a member, we'd love your feedback on what to do more or less of. Share your feedback here
Join our next learning programme
Sharpen your impact investing craft and learn to source, select and support high-potential impact startups. Register interest in our next Impact Investing for VCs programme here.
