Investment Process
NewSchools Venture Fund works closely with entrepreneurs to determine the most powerful levers for impact on public education, and to ensure that the ventures we support are positioned for success. We focus on selecting promising entrepreneurs and helping grow their early-stage organizations to scale. We also have the ability to "incubate" new entrepreneurial organizations where we see a need that is not being adequately addressed.
Diligence. NewSchools engages in a rigorous process of due diligence on every organization under consideration for investment. We screen all potential ventures' ability to create social impact based on the following investment criteria questions:
- Does the venture fit with NewSchools' current investment strategy ?
- Is the venture scalable, so that its impact will grow?
- Is the venture financially sustainable, so that its impact will increase over time?
- Is the venture capable of having a catalytic impact on the education system for underserved students, beyond the impact it has on those it directly serves?
Organizations that pass this initial screening process are also evaluated on their management team, the market they are addressing, the product or service they have developed, and their financial model.
Management Assistance. Organizations selected for investment receive extensive support from NewSchools. We are deeply engaged as partners with our ventures in building their organizational capacity. As such, we take an active role with each venture in our portfolio in a variety of ways:
- Board Membership: NewSchools is committed to supporting ventures through ongoing and active board participation. As board members, NewSchools team members regularly engage in strategic guidance, oversight of venture operations and outcomes, and project-specific support. Our presence on a venture's board enables us to stay well-connected with – and up to date on – an organization’s issues and needs.
- Monitoring and Measurement: In order to promote the development of results-oriented organizations, we share our framework for annual goal-setting and monitoring with each of our ventures and expect them to institute rigorous objectives and key results (OKRs) within their organizations. These well-defined metrics also help NewSchools assess the success of our portfolio organizations and identify areas for intervention when necessary.
- Milestone Management and Reporting Process: NewSchools disburses funds based on ventures' achievement of specific milestones, which are typically a subset of an organization's OKRs – usually the most critical objectives. This "milestone management" enables us to hold ventures accountable for their results.
- Other Support As Needed: One of the unique aspects of our management assistance lies in our ability to provide necessary support in a flexible way. Examples may include strategic planning, fundraising support, academic support, team searches, and evaluation planning.
By giving our ventures financial, operational, and educational support, NewSchools reinforces its unique position as a venture philanthropy firm and ensures that our portfolio organizations have everything they need to succeed and make a difference in the lives of underserved children.
In addition, we have established learning communities, whereby our ventures have regular opportunities to learn from one another at in-person events and also online. At the same time, we are committed to building the broader field of education reform, connecting our ventures with other leaders in the field through events like the annual NewSchools Summit and a variety of publications.