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About us
Channeling the best resources to solving the world's biggest problems
The Story of the Stone Soup
Some travelers come to a village carrying nothing more than an empty cooking pot. Upon their arrival, the villagers are unwilling to share any of their food stores with the very hungry travelers. Then the travelers go to a stream and fill the pot with water, drop a large stone in it, and place it over a fire. One of the villagers becomes curious and asks what they are doing. The travelers answer that they are making "stone soup", which tastes wonderful and which they would be delighted to share with the villager, although it still needs a little bit of garnish, which they are missing, to improve the flavor.
The villager, who anticipates enjoying a share of the soup, does not mind parting with a few carrots, so these are added to the soup. Another villager walks by, inquiring about the pot, and the travelers again mention their stone soup which has not yet reached its full potential. The villager hands them a little bit of seasoning, like potatoes, onions, cabbages, peas, celery, tomatoes, corn, meat, milk, butter, salt, and pepper. More and more villagers walk by, each adding another ingredient. In the end, a delicious and nourishing pot of soup is enjoyed by travelers and villagers alike.
We see ourselves as the stone in the story, acting as catalysts helping founders (akin to the travelers in the story) connect with investors to gain the resources they need to create something amazing that everyone can partake in.
Our Vision
Redefining Entrepreneurship
We want to create a reality where founders who are solving the world's biggest problems have access to the funding and talent they need to achieve their vision.
According to the UN, there is a US$2.5T annual financing gap in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the same time, achieving the SDGs will open up US$12T in market opportunities. Our goal is to channel 1% (US$100B) of global alternative investments by 2050 to startups whose financial success is driven by the positive impact they are creating on society.
We will achieve that by showing the world that it is possible and better to build companies that do well by doing good. We believe that financial value should be derived from social value. In the long run, we want to redefine entrepreneurship so it no longer centers solely on profit maximization but also targets broader societal challenges.
Our Team
Samantha Lee
Founding Partner
With more than 10 years of experience in impact investing, consulting, and venture capital, Samantha has worked with over 200 founders and social sector leaders to help them achieve their vision and goals. She was a founding member and CEO of Conjunct Consulting, a 1000-member social change consultancy in Asia.
Now she wants to use her experiences on both sides of the table to help founders gain access to the resources they need to build effective, scalable and truly impactful organizations.
Oyinda Ajayi
Founding Partner
Oyinda is passionate about scaling businesses and creating equitable access to opportunities for underserved demographics globally. She previously consulted for Consumer Goods and Financial Services companies Africa at Bain before heading to Paga, a Fintech company in Nigeria. At Paga, she led business strategy, corporate development and expansion as the Chief of Staff to the CEO.
She is excited to back and support business ideas and founders that are providing critical solutions around fundamental human needs.
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Shiro Wachira
Operating Partner
Shiro is an experienced operator in emerging markets, with expertise in East Africa. Most recently, she worked with GiveDirectly, leading operations and system improvements across their programs as Chief of Staff for International Programs. Prior to that, she was a manager on the internal consulting team at One Acre Fund where she led multiple global talent and change management projects.
Shiro is passionate about accelerating ventures led by non-traditional founders, sustainable economic growth, and community-led innovation.
Advisors
Jeep Kline
Founder of MrPink VC /
Founder of SeaSky Lab
Jeep is a Founding Partner of MrPink VC, an impact venture fund targeting entrepreneurs in emerging markets. She recently founded SeaSky Lab, a project that bridges knowledge and resources from Silicon Valley to Asia for tech entrepreneurs. An advisor to several incubation programs, she is UC Berkeley Skydeck’s lead ambassador to 48 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. She is also a lecturer in the Sustainable and Impact Finance Group at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.
At The World Bank, Jeep implemented technology projects in South America, Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe. Later, she joined Intel Corp., where she created the company’s first Android tablet for emerging economies. She is a Board Member of the Intel Alumni Network in San Francisco Bay Area and The Circulate Initiative in Singapore.
Chuck Eesley
Stanford Technology Ventures Program/
Stanford Digital Economy Lab
Chuck was previously an entrepreneur, early employee, board member/advisor, and investor in the areas of life sciences, online education and machine learning. He has also been an advocate and mentor for historically under-represented groups in STEM, academia and the tech sector via programs such as Diversifying Academia, Recognizing Excellence (DARE), Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST), and SURF among others.
His online entrepreneurship class has taught over 200,000 students in over 100 countries. When not occupied with his Stanford responsibilities, Chuck is actively involved as a co-founder, board member and angel investor in many high-tech start-ups.