Drive Investments to Solver Teams

Direct catalytic investments in Solve's diverse portfolio of early-stage social entrepreneurs.

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Our Mission

Solve Innovation Future is a groundbreaking philanthropic venture fund that directs catalytic investments in early-stage social entrepreneurs who are solving the world's most pressing problems. Organized as a donor-advised fund (DAF) with MIT Solve serving as the donor-advisor, Solve Innovation Future is raising $30 million from philanthropic donors through tax-deductible gifts to MIT.

How We Work

Solve Innovation Future makes debt, equity, and alternative investments in Solver teams and Indigenous Communities Fellows selected annually through Solve’s open innovation Global Challenges. Proceeds from investments are reinvested into future Solver teams, creating a pay-it-forward mechanism for social entrepreneurs and a renewable philanthropic vehicle for donors. To date, Solve Innovation Future has catalyzed nearly four times our investment in additional investment capital towards our Solver teams.

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Our Portfolio

Our Supporters 

Team

Alex Amouyel
Alex is the Executive Director of Solve, an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Solve is a community of cross-sector leaders devoted to identifying and supporting solutions to actionable challenges through open innovation. Previously, Alex was the Director of Program for the Clinton Global Initiative, where she curated the content for the Annual Meeting. She also worked for Save the Children International in London and across Asia, the Middle East and Haiti, and at the Boston Consulting Group. Alex holds a double Masters from Sciences Po, Paris, and the London School of Economics, and a Bachelors from Trinity College, Cambridge, UK.

Geoff Davis
Geoff is the CEO of the Sorenson Impact Center. In this role, he leads the strategic direction and vision for the Center. Under his leadership, the Center is poised to elevate to the next level of influence within the impact sector.

Geoff has dedicated his life to championing social impact and equipping the next generation of social impact leaders. For his work, Geoff has been recognized as a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum, an “Entrepreneurial Thought Leader” by Stanford University, a Fellow at Harvard’s Center for International Development, a “Social Capitalist” by Fast Company, and as “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Ernst & Young. Geoff earned a master’s degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School and a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University. He speaks both French and Spanish and resides in Salt Lake City with his wife and three daughters.

Prior to joining the Center, Geoff served as the CEO and Managing Partner of Cicero Impact Capital. Over his distinguished career in social impact, he has founded, co-founded, or advised more than 25 startups and impact-oriented investment funds, as well as served on the boards of 14 companies.

Lara Metcalf
Lara was most recently CFO of the and COO of the Engine, and Managing Director of The Social Entrepreneurs’ Fund (TSEF), an early stage impact VC fund, where she led investments and acted as CFO for TSEF’s three funds, and the related Maycomb Community Outcomes Fund.

Previously, she played a leadership role building the Pay for Success field, an outcomes-focused public-private partnership finance approach, at innovative 501c3 social enterprise, Social Finance, where she acted as CFO and COO and led Social Investments as Managing Director. Before Social Finance, Lara was the CFO, Chief Administrative Officer, and Senior Associate Dean for Operations at the Harvard Kennedy School. This followed an eighteen year career on Wall Street focused on fixed income credit markets at Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Credit Suisse, where she was a Managing Director.

Greg Shell
Greg joined Bain Capital Double Impact as a managing director in 2016. Prior to joining, Mr. Shell served as a Lead Portfolio Manager of a concentrated Global Equity product at GMO. Previously, Mr. Shell was a Senior Equity Analyst at Columbia Management Group and a Consultant at Bain & Company in its Strategy and Private Equity practice areas. Mr. Shell earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and received a Bachelor of Science from MIT.

Casey van der Stricht
Casey is Principal of Solve Innovation Future, an innovative mechanism to make investments in the Solver teams. Casey joined MIT Solve from Social Finance, where she was Vice President, Social Investments, responsible for sourcing, structuring, and placing social impact bonds and other impact instruments, as well as advancing firm strategic positioning. Committed to leveraging new tools to make impact, she has experience in management consulting, financial services, and the nonprofit sector. Casey holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in history from Yale University.

Supporters

  • Noubar Afeyan
  • Narges Baniasadi
  • Stephen Bittel
  • Mike Christian
  • Jida Bittner Helle
  • Frank Ho
  • Ray Rothrock
  • Lorenzini Family Foundation

In the Media

Information for Solver Teams

Solve Innovation Future makes investments on a quarterly basis, using three investment criteria: investability, impact, and additionality. We are most active between October and May. To learn more about Solve Innovation Future and explore investment partnership, please reach out to Zachary.Fisher@solve.mit.edu. 

Photo: Adam Schultz / MIT Solve

 
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