The challenge

Raising venture capital is hard for founders. If you're a first-time founder, or an equity-deserving founder, it might even harder. Jargon like dilution, term sheets, valuation are thrown around left, right, and centre. What can be even more confusing is what impact VC investors are expecting - how does one prepare for a pitch?

Problem discovery

After speaking to over 300 founders over my 2.5 years as an investor at TELUS Pollinator Fund, a common thread emerged - founders did not know what impact investors wanted to see when it came to impact measurement.

How does PINT work?

The Pollinator Impact Navigation Tool (PINT) was developed to act as a compass for start-ups as they begin (or continue) their journey in impact measurement. Each piece of advice and resource linked was sourced from impact investors in North America.

First, we demystified terms and jargon that entrepreneurs may come across in the fundraising process.

Screenshot of PINT guide - glossary or terms you should know

Frameworks you should know about for Impact Measurement and Management

Next, when users open up the Excel tool, they answer a few questions to determine their level of readiness. Think of it as a glorified Buzzfeed quiz for social enterprise nerds.

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A to-do list is generated for the start-up based on their current level of readiness.

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Each to-do list comes with ready-to-use templates. These templates are ready-made for investor presentations.

Screenshot of spreadsheet: Impact data dashboard

Results

The Pollinator Impact Navigation tool went live in July 2023. Use cases and results are still coming in.

Testimonials:

“The TELUS Pollinator Fund has developed an approach to impact management that is robust and comprehensive, leveraging existing frameworks where appropriate but customized to their specific impact goals and context, serving as a leading example within the Impact Frontiers cohorts.” - Mike McCreless, Executive Director, Impact Frontiers

"Using data to drive decisions that drive our business and impact goals is foundational to our success. Unfortunately, we hadn't found a good road map or resource to help us navigate impact management until now. The Pollinator Impact Navigation Tool was immediately valuable and applicable to our business and would be to any impact business. Its simple diagnostic places each company into the right stage of impact measurement readiness and then clearly and simply directs you to what's important at your unique stage. It has become a tool that's core to our data measurement and reporting at Shoelace." - Julia Rivard, CEO, Shoelace Learning

Learn more

Bruno Lam

Pollinator Impact Navigation Tool

The challenge

Problem discovery

Problem definition

How does PINT work?

Results

mugshare

Brighter Investment

Aria

Propel Impact