As we officially begin our third application and selection process, we wanted to provide some updates on how our criteria have evolved over the past year in order to give additional context to fund managers applying to Capria. If you have more questions, feel free to contact us at info@capria.vc

Capria is Accelerating Both First and Second Time Fund Managers

First-time fund managers aren’t the only type of impact fund managers who need support. Second-time fund managers are also applying to Capria as they are looking for advice as they grow their teams, target new investment sectors/geographies and expand their fundraising network

More Applicants Means the Acceptance Threshold is Higher

The number of applicants increased by over 25% from Cohort 1 to Cohort 2.  Since we want to keep our cohorts relatively small (3-7 teams), this increased interest means that more teams are competing for fewer spots. This shouldn’t discourage teams who are relatively early in the fund development process from applying, as they could be a strong candidate for a future cycle. We like getting to know teams early so we can see their progress over time.

Show You are Committed to your Impact Fund

Although we mentioned this in our previous update, it warrants repetition: Capria will not invest in a team that is not fully committed to launching an impact fund.  We evaluate commitment in a few ways:

• Is senior leadership 100% committed? If not, what is the plan and time horizon for senior team members to be fully dedicated?
• How much personal capital is a team investing to align interests with their investors?
• How are teams applying a start-up mentality (pay, operational spend, etc.) for the first few years of operations? This is particularly relevant with first-time managers.
• Have teams already started to get feedback from potential investors and potential investees? This does not necessarily mean that a fund is actively fundraising (However, at a minimum, the team has begun to preview the fund with both investors and entrepreneurs).

While we understand that some people are transitioning from other roles, we need to have confidence that senior leadership is “all in” for the type of commitment we are making to one another. We’ve enjoyed interacting with hundreds of aspiring and existing fund managers over the past year and look forward to selecting our third cohort over the next few months!  If you’ve read this blog and think you’re a fit, apply now at www.2021.capria.vc/apply