Beth Stelluto Dunaier has spent the past decade as a leader in the impact investment movement where she has helped pioneer the concept of individuals using their donor-advised funds (DAFs) to make mission-driven investments. We sat down with Beth to talk about the evolution of the impact investment space and her more recent efforts to promote the North Bay community.

In September 2020, Santa Rosa-based Alluxa was acquired for $255 million. We analyzed the most successful Marin + Sonoma exits from 2010-2019 and found there were 11 exits of local startups ten years old or less for $100 million or more, including Ultragenyx, Glassdoor, Millipede, Claret Medical, KRAVE Jerky, Cyan, ClairMail, mFoundry, Enphase Energy, Zep Solar, and Teknovus.

Carolyn McGourty Supple is joining MSIV as our first Entrepreneur-in-Residence for the 2021 calendar year. We sat down with Carolyn to discuss her upcoming collaboration with Marin Sonoma Impact Ventures.

MSIV Founder Zachary Kushel & Marin Economic Forum CEO Mike Blakeley make the case in the North Bay Business Journal for startups as an integral piece of the North Bay’s economic recovery.

We analyzed the institutional financing of North Bay startups last decade and concluded the following: 1) Marin + Sonoma startups rely on disparate capital sources, increasing risk to the region during a downturn 2) Marin + Sonoma startups are undercapitalized relative to their Silicon Valley peers even after adjusting for the number of promising local ventures.

Each day in May, we highlighted an active, still independent startup founded in Marin or Sonoma since 2010. See #MSIV31in31 on LinkedIn and Twitter. Our goal: to raise the community’s awareness of these inspiring ventures. These are their stories, in no order.

Between 2010 and 2019, at least 331 startup companies were founded across Marin + Sonoma, of which 95 received $1 million or more in equity financing. If Marin + Sonoma together were the 51st U.S. state, this hypothetical state would have seen more quality startups formed here last decade than half of U.S. states and would rank in the Top 3 of all states in the number of quality startups per capita.

The short-term impact of COVID-19 is now colliding with structural, technological, and generational trends that have been building over the past few years and all lead to the conclusion that the 2020 decade will see a proliferation of startup companies forming across Marin and Sonoma counties. Read what we are experiencing and have observed.