Erin Harkless Moore He was always interested in mathematics. So, I headed to Wall Street. “It was intoxicating in some ways and incredibly fast-paced,” she recalls. And she clearly enjoyed that life, too, given that she worked there for nearly two decades before becoming an investment advisor at Cambridge Associates.
Then, three years ago, Melinda French Gates Pivotal projects He was approached, wanting Harkless Moore to lead the company’s investment strategy. “I literally pinched myself,” Harkless Moore told TechCrunch. “I was looking for an opportunity that would bring together investing in fund managers, women-led funds, and funds with diverse leadership at an early stage, and align with this impact mission.”
Pivotal Ventures, a part venture fund, part philanthropic organization, launched in 2015 and uses grants, partnerships, advocacy and investment strategies to support founders and nonprofits. with $1 billion commitment from French Gates, the company used a data-focused approach to investing, with the primary goal of putting more women, especially women of color, in decision-making roles. This includes investing in caregiving to allow women to achieve a better work-life balance, advocating for federally paid family leave, encouraging more women to study entrepreneurship, and supporting women in public office.
So far, it has backed investment platform Ellevest, care services company OndeCare, and health consulting platform Tia, according to Pitchbook. The care economy is a big focus for Pivotal, Harkless-Moore said. “It’s a $648 billion market, and it’s ripe for innovation.” Pivotal is also a limited partner in funds such as Magnify Ventures and Leadout Capital, and provides support to help these emerging funds scale.
For a deeper look at Pivotal’s long-term strategy, we recently sat down with Harkless Moore to talk more about its goals, how data can improve social impact investing, and how it expects technology to help when government fails.