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    An impact raise starts with one test

    The first test is whether the business is an impact company at all. If it is, we find the funders who fit, build the case in their terms, and set up the measurement before anyone asks for it.

    A founder whose figures don’t add up across two conversations has a much bigger problem than a weak narrative. (read where we wrote it)

    Who will fund you, and what will they need to see?

    We find the funders who are yours, put cheaper and commercial money into one deal, and build the case on outcomes and numbers.

    1. Who funds impact

      Foundations, impact funds, development finance institutions and corporate programmes each judge a company differently. The first job is knowing which one is yours.

      • Matching your mission to the funders who back it
      • Grants and schemes you can use alongside the raise
      • The impact fund that found you first may not suit your growth round

    2. Blended structures

      Concessional and commercial capital in one stack, so the terms match the risk each investor is actually taking.

      • Grants, loans and equity used together, not one instead of the others
      • Where it helps, one funder agrees to take the first loss, so bigger investors come in
      • Terms that the next round can live with

    3. The case

      Impact investors read a company through outcomes as well as numbers. The case is built for both readings at once.

      • How your work leads to the good it does, said in funders' words
      • Results measured, so your case is proof, not good intentions
      • Financial numbers that an impact fund and a regular fund can both invest on

    What has to be true before an impact funder says yes?

    Each step answers a question a funder will ask, before the funder asks it.

    1. Establish whether you are an impact company

      Many founders qualify and do not know it. The test is whether the outcome is produced by the business model rather than alongside it, and that is a question with a definite answer.

    2. Map the capital that fits

      Impact funds, foundations, development finance institutions and blended structures all judge companies differently. Knowing which door to knock on is most of the work.

    3. Build the case in their language

      An impact investor reads a company through a theory of change and a measurement frame. The same business, described the way a venture fund expects, reads as a weaker version of a venture deal.

    4. Make the measurement real before they ask

      Measurement is the commitment founders underestimate most and the one funders check first. Instrumenting it early turns it from a condition into an advantage.

    What do founders ask about impact and blended finance?

    What counts as an impact company?

    A company whose social or environmental outcome is produced by the business itself rather than by something it does on the side. A company selling affordable diagnostics in small towns is an impact company; a company that funds a school from its profits is a company with a foundation.

    Is impact capital cheaper than venture capital?

    Not usually cheaper, but often more patient. Impact funds and development finance institutions frequently accept longer horizons and lower return expectations than venture, which for the right business is worth more than the headline cost.

    What is blended finance?

    A structure that combines capital with different return expectations in one deal, for example a concessional tranche from a foundation alongside commercial debt. It makes businesses financeable that neither source would fund alone.

    Do we need impact measurement before we raise?

    You need a credible plan for it. Funders rarely expect a full measurement function at the first meeting, but they do expect to see that you know what you will measure and why, and a founder who has not thought about it reads as someone who has not thought about the outcome either.