The 2021 Ring-trospective
If we don’t leave 2021 with a lot of regrets (Covid & Co), we can’t deny that the past year has been one hell of a year. New impact VC fund, new deals, new team members with always the same idea: with or for impact, we believe in the empowerment of people who can move the lines, for the better.
Ring in a few figures 👇🏻
- 200+ millions under management
- a team of 15+ dedicated to the empowerment of talented entrepreneurs willing to build a better tomorrow
- 6 new deals
- 17 companies back every day, week, month by our investors & our Ring2Success program
Now let’s get into more detail.
1/ Ring Mission: the first closing ⚡️
March 2021. We’re in. Our impact VC fund is born with some 35 million euros after the first closing.
100%VC — 100% Impact. With this DNA, our fund is ready to support ambitious start-ups which pursue impact by design and use tech to address social and environmental issues.
2/ New deals under the Ring flag!
Edtech, circular economy, inclusive fintech, etc. This year saw the signature of 6 deals in the core of our investment themes among which:
> Lizee, the Circular Economy Enabler (€1.3M raised): this first deal proves that the reuse of resources in a world that is starting to run out is key. Lizee’s goal is crystal clear: make sure that 87% of products we use no longer end up in the trash.
> Oclock, the Edtech company which wants to make online developer training accessible to everyone and everywhere (€4M raised), has the ambition to democratize coding and favour inclusion thanks to accessible & high-value trainings.
> Simplyk, the North America’s first free technology platform for nonprofits ($3.7M): Unlike other platforms, Simplyk earns revenues exclusively from optional contributions that donors can add at the end of their transaction.
> LiveMentor, the Edtech scale-up which wants to turn entrepreneurial dreams into reality (€11M)by offering innovative online training and coaching with a mentor. Their objective is simple: democratize entrepreneurship and make it easier to start a business in France and in Europe.
3/ 7 newcomers in the team!
Chief Impact Officer, Principal, Operating Partner dedicated to HR, Ecosystem Manager, Analyst, Financial Controller: this year, our workforce has doubled in size! In order not to forget anyone, here is a list to consult without moderation ;-)
- Laurent Babut, Partner;
- Géraldine Fillet, Analyst
- Marie-Gabrielle Sorin, Chief Impact Officer (if you want to better understand what she does, take a look!)
- Colette Alcaraz, Ecosystem Manager;
- Charlotte Lafont, Principal;
- François Bathily, Financial Controller;
- Florence Bonpaix, HR Operating Partner.
4/ For an inclusive tech: our engagement with #TechYourPlace 🤝
When it comes to inclusion and diversity, tech is clearly not a good student. To change things, we joined the #TechYourPlace movement, co-created by Diversidays and the Mozaïk RH foundation.
The objective is simple: make Tech more inclusive. Reflection on cognitive biases in recruitment, awareness and training of teams, provision of tools to make the diversity of profiles, whether from sexual or ethnic minorities but also rural, senior or self-taught, etc., a reality: the #TechYourPlace movement allows us to question our habits and move the lines collectively.
Convinced that we have a role to play in boosting sustainable value creation, we are the first VC to join the movement alongside Serena Capital.
Find out more about our commitment to #TechYourPlace
5/ Our philanthropic fund, Ring Foundation
A third pillar appears in our investment ecosystem: the Ring Foundation endowment fund. Its objective is nothing more nor less than to finance and provide operational support to associations over a period of 3 years that use technology to promote the inclusion of vulnerable populations and to address environmental issues.
In 2021, we started to support Entourage, which, through its LinkedOut app, helps homeless people find a job, as well as Code Phenix, whose goal is to train people in detention in order to help them reintegrate.
Find out more about our Foundation
What’s coming up in 2022?
1/ Accelerate on impact
Between Growth, Tech & Impact, why choose?
‘In 2020 and 2021, companies, especially Tech ones, have demonstrated their role and influence in responding to major societal challenges. The recent crisis has accelerated awareness of climate change and inequalities, forcing companies to change quickly, particularly in terms of their carbon consumption and their corporate practices. For example, the number of purpose-led companies (entreprises à mission) has increased fivefold in a single year between June 2021 and June 2020.’
Source: Impact, the real 2022 priority
We are betting that these entrepreneurs need a new category of investors to support their transition to more sustainable models, what we call companies With Impact. For Impact companies also need to find financial partners capable of understanding their challenges in order to leverage their value proposition.
Our aim: keep focusing on investing in impact growth tech companies to tackle climate change and social issues.
2/ More and more support with our Ring2Success program
Since our creation, we have been strongly convinced that an ecosystem is powerful and that collective intelligence is the key to success. Ring wants to be a catalyst, a sphere composed of valuable resources and diverse experts, from business specialists, researchers and scientists to philosophers and marketers.
Our Ring2Success coaching program, led by Thibaut Bechetoille, is driven by this vision. Whether it’s to help our companies export to the US, to make a place for themselves in the ongoing war for talent, to measure their impact or to guide them in the deployment of differentiating growth levers, our team of Operating Partners is present at every stage of growth. In good times and bad!
Discover our program and the talented people who make it up
3/ New deals to come
Stay Tuned with announcements to come on tech impact deals in the coming weeks. See you then!”
