Scaling Purpose-Driven Startups with Impact Venture Capital | Impact Evangelist, Gordon Eichhorst (#035)

SRI360 | Socially Responsible Investing, ESG, Impact Investing, Sustainable Investing

Imagine your portfolio as a catalyst for change, where each investment contributes to solving the world's most pressing social and environmental challenges. That's the promise of impact investing.
Today, we're discussing everything you need to know about impact venture capital investing with a guest whose career trajectory embodies this ethos like no other—Gordon Eichhorst, a trailblazer in impact venture capital.
Gordon's journey into investing begins unconventionally. While he studied both engineering and economics at UCLA, he started his professional life by designing and launching spacecraft as an aerospace engineer and member of the NASA Advisory Council.
With the dip in aerospace developments in the '90s, Gordon found a renewed interest in economics, particularly in analytic finance, leading him to pursue an MBA from the University of Chicago. It was on this path that he positioned himself in leading roles as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and later on, at Morgan Stanley, where he led the European technology banking team during the first internet bubble.
After his time at HSBC as Global Head of the Industrial and Technology sectors, he settled down in London and set up an investment banking advisory boutique, which ultimately seeded the ideas for making a bigger impact on the world.
As the founder of Impact Central, and a General Partner at Opto Impact Ventures, Gordon has been at the forefront of supporting purpose-driven entrepreneurs and startups on their path to growth. Impact Central has nurtured over 50 startups through ten cohorts, proving that solving social and environmental problems can go hand-in-hand with generating profit.
Today's episode explores Gordon's multifaceted career, from his early days as an engineer to his crucial role in shaping the arena of impact venture capital.
If you’ve been meaning to invest in or start a business with a greater purpose, listen in and learn all about how Gordon’s VC fund and accelerator programs bring profit and sustainability together.
Show notes: https://sri360.com/podcast/gordon-eichhorst/
About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing. In each episode, I interview a world-class investor who is an accomplished practitioner from all asset classes.
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Key Takeaways

Intro (00:00)

Gordon Eichhorst’s trajectory from engineer to investment banker (02:34)
Founding Opto Impact, Impact Central, and Chorus Network (11:10)
Gordon’s approach to impact investing (23:46)
Chorus Network, Opto Impact, and startup investing (36:02)
Opportunities in consumer goods, public service providers, & Tech for Good (45:45)
Gordon’s criteria for making an impact investment in an early-stage startup (51:11)
A real-life example of a successful impact investment (01:04:36)
Measuring impact and looking out for impact-washing (01:19:40)
Impact investing vs. other forms of impact investment (01:24:20)
The types of investors at Opto Impact (01:27:44)
Gordon’s thoughts on AI and final questions (01:33:35)
Additional Resources

Connect with Gordon Eichhorst
Impact Central Website
Opto Impact Website