In 2019, four Master of Science in Finance (MSF) capstone students founded PSU Impact Ventures after exploring the role capitalism plays in addressing emerging environmental and social issues.
The student-led program provides opportunities for students to make real-world investments using real money. Impact Ventures, the first-student led impact fund in the Pacific Northwest, is made possible through philanthropy and private support. Ultimately, investment returns will fund scholarships for future generations of business students.
“We’re doing this for the greater good,” says MSF candidate Matt Safko. “And to demonstrate that we’re committed to improving our business ecosystem.”
The new student-led impact investing fund closed its first deal in April after months of due diligence and considering nearly 70 pitches from regional startups. Impact Ventures invested $25,000 in optimize.health, a remote patient monitoring (RPM) platform that’s now surging amid COVID-19.
“optimize.health helps a lot of people,” Safko says of the Seattle-based startup. “Measurable social impact is a key investment policy of Impact Ventures. Together with its quick sales growth and high-value management team, the company aligned well with what we were looking for.”
Safko managed the deal with MBA candidate Ben Orndoff and undergraduate finance student Zac McKinster. The team had two terms of hands-on experience working with Impact Ventures and collaborated with the fund’s investment partner Keiretsu Forum Northwest.
“They did a robust, diligent process,” says optimize.health Co-founder & CEO Jeff LeBrun. “It was in line with what a typical venture capitalist would do — maybe even more."
optimize.health started in 2019 and saw early success prior to COVID-19 with its turnkey RPM solution that elevates patient care and optimizes revenue capture through automated billing and reimbursement. LeBrun believes their user-friendly software helps mitigate the high burnout rate among healthcare workers.
“If we can design something healthcare workers like using, then it makes them happier and they can do a better job,” LeBrun says. “We’ve been pretty much just working, eating and sleeping to keep up with demand.” Practitioners need tools like those provided by optimize.health to deliver on the influx of remote care necessitated by COVID-19.
Originally from Oregon, LeBrun says it’s an honor to be the first startup in Impact Ventures’ portfolio. As a student, he participated in University of Michigan’s Wolverine Venture Fund, the nation’s oldest student-led venture capital fund. University of Michigan’s Social Venture Fund is also an investor in optimize.health.
“Michigan and the Pacific Northwest have a long way to go compared to Silicon Valley,” LeBrun says about venture capital investing. “Most companies get started through personal connections, and it’s exciting to bring this model to our region.”
Participation in the program was a fitting culmination for Orndoff, who works as a regulatory analyst with PGE.
“The experience tied together everything I learned throughout the Portland MBA program,” he says. “It was eye-opening to see all of the pitches and creative solutions startups are using to address the vast problems in today’s society.”
McKinster insists that impact investing is not only a way to be bold in today’s business environment, but should be the future of venture capital.
“Venture capital is inherently risky,” he says. “While typical investments only look to maximize capital return, we’re focused on investments that will look more attractive over time because of their impact on people, community and the environment. Impact Ventures fits well with what PSU represents.”
All three students found tremendous value in the professional nature of the fund and gaining access to a community of investors they otherwise wouldn’t have had. It panned out especially well for Safko, who landed an internship with Keiretsu during a lunch meeting.
“It’s a great continuation of what I was learning,” Safko says. “And now the door is open for another PSU student to hold the same role in the future.”