Nichole Wischoff, the founder of Solo GP, a private venture fund, has recently announced the closing of a $20M fund. The fund is impact-oriented and investing in “unsexy” businesses, and is supported by entrepreneur, investor and billionaire Peter Thiel, who is also a mentor to Wischoff.
The fund, which Wischoff has dubbed the Solo GP Renegade Ventures Fund I, will focus on emerging technologies and innovative companies working in sectors like healthcare, education, sustainability and other overlooked areas. These businesses are often overlooked by venture capitalists, yet according to Wischoff, “they offer outsized societal and financial returns for invested capital” making them the perfect space for her fund.
The fund will draw on a wide range of investors from around the world, including Peter Thiel and his investment platform, Founders Fund. Thiel has become a strong mentor and supporter of Wischoff’s fund. According to him, it is “important to connect with resilient founders who are reinventing old industries, pushing the boundaries of our current understanding of how the world works.”
The Solo GP Renegade Ventures Fund I will allow Wischoff to finance ventures which move the world forward. This “renewal of big, bad and unsexy businesses” is something Wischoff believes will pay off in the long run, and looks forward to “investing in existing entrepreneurs running businesses which are currently overlooked by the VC community”.
With the support of Thiel’s personal capital, Wischoff’s Solo GP Renegade Ventures Fund I will be able to bring vital investment to these previously overlooked businesses. By doing so, Wischoff’s fund will make progress towards creating a world of more sustainable, accessible and equitable solutions for society in general.
This monumental funding is sure to make waves throughout the business world and beyond. Wischoff looks forward to the opportunities that lie ahead: “The impact investing space is ripe for disruption and we have the opportunity to be the change actors who unlock diverse capital for undeserved areas around the globe.”