[00:00:27] Jay: Hi everyone. Welcome to The First Customer podcast. My name is Jay Aigner. Today, I'm lucky enough to be joined by somebody I've been chasing around for a long time. Finally got her on. Catherine Griffin, CEO and founder of Impactable, not Impactable X anymore. How are you?
[00:00:42] Catherine: I'm great. Jay. How are you? It's good to be here.
[00:00:44] Jay: Great. I'm so I was thinking about the conference I saw you at and there's certain Events you go to and you just see one person over and over again everywhere you turn like you were my person That's I mean from inside to outside to like out in the street. we kept seeing each other So I think we were destined to have you on the show.
So thank you for your time today. I first saw you man, Was it the previous conference? Maybe that I saw you do a pitch where you're the Pax, maybe the year before last year. Okay. And I think you were up on stage and you have such a,a demanding stage presence. It was very cool to see somebody just kind of like.
I felt like I was watching like a Ted talk or something. Like it was very tight. Like everything was like crisp. It was a really great presentation and it stood out to me. so I'm very happy to have you on. It's like, you just,a great business owner in Philadelphia. So what is Impactable just to kick us off?
[00:01:38] Catherine: Thank you for saying that, Jay. Yeah. so Impactable is a predictive impact analytics and reporting platform for founders and funders. So we have a double sided platform. 1 side that serves private companies, founders, startups that use technology to affect their business. Change in the world in some way.
the Tesla's and beyond meets of the world pre IPO. And then on the other side of the platform, we work with the investors, the accelerators, intermediary groups, anybody who manages a bunch of companies. and we enable them to aggregate impact across their portfolios and easily report out to LPs.
[00:02:14] Jay: Interesting. All right. We're gonna get we're gonna get to that. I want to rewind.where did you come from? And did that have an impact on you being an entrepreneur?
[00:02:24] Catherine: Oh, for sure. so prior to launching Impactable, I led a fund and accelerator here in Philadelphia. We worked with hundreds of early stage social entrepreneurs across impact verticals, and we led to global innovation initiatives.
1 with Bloomberg philanthropies focused on urban innovation. We want a mayor's challenge award from Bloomberg in partnership with the city of Philadelphia and the Wharton social impact initiative. Basically, it was our job to. Bring companies to Philadelphia with technologies that could address Philly is public safety challenges, accelerate them and ultimately deploy them, launch them in Philly, with Bloomberg behind them.
And that project was so successful that we then designed a similar one. This time in partnership with the Obama administration, specifically their climate data initiative, which was really a broad call to action for resources in the absence of climate legislation at the time. And so, again, it was our job to sort of leverage all of these resources that were offered by.
Over 80 cross sector partners, like NASA, NOAA and Google and all these big corporates, and channel them towards startup companies that could make use of them in interesting ways. and it was over the course of these 2 programs that our partners started asking. How much impact can we actually expect?
and so we sat down with the founders. We asked them simple questions. They couldn't answer them. We looked around for resources that we could offer them, but those were really designed for public companies. and so it was this problem and this need that really. prompted us to develop then the scaffolding behind what is now Impactable, because companies used it, came back to us and told us it helped them win pitch competitions and accelerate their growth and close their rounds.
And the investors came to me and said, we want these analytics from every company in our portfolio. You should really build a business. so I was given some grant funding and, And really set out, to see if there was a there and turned out, this is a really big problem and people were really interested in what we had to offer.
[00:04:37] Jay: Wow. Did you, where did you grow up by the way?
[00:04:39] Catherine: I grew up outside the city in Chestnut Hill.
[00:04:42] Jay: Okay. And did you have any entrepreneurs in your life growing up that kind of led you to down this path of impact and starting a business.
[00:04:52] Catherine: Not really. I mean, my family's all in the medical field. and so there's definitely some entrepreneurship required there.
but I went to Penn for undergrad and learned aboutof the state, environmental degradation and what was going on and, yeah, You know, just sort of found it fascinating and it didn't add up to me that there were these massive, very sort of existential challenges and lots of smart people have been working on them for decades with trillions of dollars in funding and the needle just seemed to be moving in the wrong direction.
Like that just. Didn't add up to me. And I wanted to find out why and wanted to really invest my career in something that I thought could have meaning and purpose behind it. and so I'm a bit of a black sheep in the family.
[00:05:52] Jay: I can't imagine that's true. it's, an interesting thing. I mean, it.
How do you know, if you go make an app and you go sell it and, you know, somebody buys you out, you know, you get a million dollars and everybody's happy what's but yours is more, you know, this broad change. And I always struggled to understand how do you.is there progress that you can measure that you're going to feel like you've made an impact on such a big scale, right?
Is there like, is there a needle that's going to move that you're going to go? You know what? I built a platform that did X and, you know, whatever the industry is, whatever the problem is you're trying to solve had some sort of impact. How do you get gratification and like, feel like you're actually moving the needle when you're, we're attacking these giant, massive.
Problems, right? Cause you're attacking a small problem. You can get some wins and you can understand it. But how do you get traction and feel like you've done some things in a big space like that?
[00:06:53] Catherine: Well, for us as a company, we are looking at the number of companies on the platform for whom we enable.
Investment so we're trying we're here to drive capital towards the companies that have the greatest potential for impacted scale. and on the investor side, you know, of course, it's volume of capital managed with this kind of analytical rigor on the impact side. And it's also about new money unlocked from the sidelines.
I think 1 of the reasons why the impact field is in. Isn't even bigger. And by the way, it's growing rapidly, but as a percentage of global assets under management, it's still relatively small. I think 1 of the reasons for that is just impact is still a little bit nebulous. It's abstract. there isn't as much.
Analytical rigor around it as there is with traditional financials. And so that's one of the problems we're here to solve. And I think if we can apply, if we can bring it to the field in a big way, I think we can unlock more capital from the sidelines, but in terms of what we do on the platform for our users is we actually size the problem, you know, if we're talking about carbon emissions reductions, right in the U S like how many total carbon emissions are there year over year from a given industry.
And to what degree can a company. Make a dent in that, you know,and so those are numbers that we can pull and offer to the user calculations that we can do. And so part of it is to. Sort of bring it down to earth a little bit. Like, yeah, these problems do feel massive. and it's hard to know whether the work you're doing is really making a dent.
And so we try to bring visibility to all of that.
[00:08:44] Jay: Yeah, that makes sense.and just to that point specifically, what, give me the big, like three or five, like, what are the big things you guys are trying to tackle? Right. I mean, carbon emissions and like, you know, people say climate change, that means a million different things.
And then there's like, you know, social justice and like, there's all these different things that are just like these big hulking problems. What are the biggest ones that you guys see, or you are trying to go after?
[00:09:12] Catherine: Well, yeah, I mean, climate tech is a big one. there's so much money going into that vertical right now.
ag tech is another one, which includes meat alternatives. We're seeing a ton of, you know, seafood alternatives, cell based meat, plant based meat, even one that, you know, Is air based, believe it or not, there's all kinds of innovations happening on that side. and then, justice tech is another big 1.
we do a lot of work with village capital and other organizations that. Support entrepreneurs that helping people returning from prison navigate their experience in the US. so that's a really big 1. I think 2020 really, put a spotlight on, You know, racial equity and social equity and, some criminal justice reform.
so that's been really cool to see. See, those are the big 3.
[00:10:06] Jay: Okay. Yeah. I mean, I just trying to, like you said, it is nebulous, especially to people who don't really think at that level and you can, you see on the news or you hear about it. And it's like, what is this impact we're trying to work on?
But I think those are three good ones.
[00:10:19] Catherine: Well, there are, so the UN drafted 17 goals that we want to hit by 2030. Right. And it's around quality education and reduced inequalities and certainly climate, you know, no poverty, things like that, which are very big goals. And. Right now, we will have no idea whether we actually hit those goals in 2030 or to what degree.
But what I find to be most exciting are the companies that are using technology to achieve these goals or to at least advance them in really efficient ways that aren't necessarily dependent on philanthropy. right. These are venture backable companies that are growing at venture tech rates. You know, yeah, it's incredible what's happening.
And it's sort of flipping the script, disrupting old industries that are at risk now, because of the state. Yeah. And so creating these new markets and unlocking, like, tremendous value, you know, everybody's familiar with, you know, charging stations and infrastructure, right? That's just like 1 example.
Obviously, the solar industry is like, well, it's pretty matured at this point, but there are all kinds of other industries that are now popping up. That are relatively new, but recognize resource, constraints, out in the world and have, you know, found a way to, create something out of nothing. It's really extraordinary.
[00:12:07] Jay: so who was your first customer?
[00:12:11] Catherine: Well, we've had several iterations, right? So when we first started, it was, well, when we really first started, it was at the accelerator and fund that I ran, and so our first customer then was this guy I read about now in the New York Times, extraordinary entrepreneur, amazing company.
His name is Jimmy Chen. He founded a company called Propel. Basically, they have built a mobile app for eligible, but unenrolled food stamp beneficiaries to apply and roll and manage food stamps remotely without having to go to some government office. They're now backed by and Drayson and. You know, I think Serena ventures, I mean, they've got an incredible investors behind them and they're crushing it.
that was our 1st ever customer.we recently launched software though. And so it was, we were sort of born again and so now we're onboarding users to the software. And our very first customer actually was the OPEC fund, believe it or not. They were running a pilot project in Madagascar, for like clean cook stoves and they were the first on the platform.
[00:13:19] Jay: How did you get them?
[00:13:21] Catherine: A referral. So we had built a network of partners over the years and had sort of established a reputation. And when it came time to kick off this pilot project, we were the first people they called. yeah, networks are enormous. And so I might be sort of an outlier in that respect.
It's not like this is, was never something that I sort of dreamt up in the shower one day and decided I wanted to build, right? It was something that really very organically emerged out of our experience on the ground. And therefore there was a network around it. There were people who said they needed it and people who said they wanted it.
Um, so, yeah, when we've had new versions of ourselves, the network's been there to really drive traffic.
[00:14:10] Jay: has there been people who said they wanted it? But then when you built it, they didn't want it anymore, or they weren't interested. I am curious, like, the flip side of that, right? It's like, because you do hear that, like, you hear that's a common pitfall of, like, people saying they want something, or if they're giving something away for free, or they're doing free trials, and then people, you know, they get to the paid point, and then people go, well, I'm just, it's not for me, right?
Does that happen to you guys?
[00:14:35] Catherine: yeah. Yeah, it has. I mean, we've, we started building a wait list in Q1 of this year and had compiled like 250 companies that had themselves signed up for this thing.you know, and like 10 percent of them ultimately were really interested when it came to it. I'm not sure what that is, if it's a communication issue or what timing issue,and then certainly with free trials, but, you know, this is.
We sort of straddled two very different markets. Right. And so one thing I've noticed on the founder side is that timing is really everything. You know, we talked to somebody who's interested, but they're not going to be in a position to actually pay for another year. And a lot of them do end up circling back.
A lot of them we don't ever hear from, but a lot of them do circle back or they're not in a position, you know, to pay after the free trials up, but we'll hear from them again in a few months. Um,but, yeah, it's really just honing in on, you know, ideal customer profile, I think, and all of the drivers of that, which is something I think.
You never,I don't know if you ever fully get it, you know, I've asked people about product market fit and they're like, you know it when you have it, but it's hard to define. so we're just trying to learn as much as we possibly can about the profile of the people who we know. Love what we do.
use it every day, refer it to their friends. Like I want to know everything about that person. And I want to try to invest all my time in finding more people just like them. And try to stay away from the people who say 1 thing and kind of do another
[00:16:17] Jay: right? Who was your 1st, investors you mentioned you grant money like, and, you know, you're going after new investments and new rounds.
who was your 1st? Yeah, because that's a different type of customer. We talked about the 1st, 2nd before the show. It's a different, I mean, you, and you do it for the platform, right? It's a different, so you have two ICPs really, right? You have your founder side and then your funder side. So it's like,who was the first one?
And has that, what have you learned? Have you changed that as you've gone? Is it, has it morphed as you've gone over time? Like I don't, like I said, I know nothing about the investor side of the world. So this is very interesting to me.
[00:16:49] Catherine: Well, so, yeah, we sell 2 funds and we sell 2 accelerators. And so our 1st customer on the fund side, I think was the decarceration fund, which is a fund out of Philly that invests in justice impacted individuals with technologies.
Designed to, ameliorate the experience of navigating the criminal justice system.I've known these guys a really long time and they've worked with us from the very beginning. so again, relationships and Philly is fantastic for this. I find, it's a really good place to get 1st customers.
yeah, but I think.
[00:17:30] Jay: I think that's a key point too. and it's something that I've circled back on in our business was like, and somebody said it in one of my podcasts was like owning your backyard, right? Like, don't shortchange where you're at because there's, I call it the hometown discount, right?
like you get. You at least get a conversation, right? I mean, you notice my hat when I got on, like, I mean, I can't tell how many conversations I've started that led the business with go birds. Right? I mean, it's like, there's no reason not to, have you tried to branch out of Philly and then come back?
Have you just stayed here and just tried to kind of grow it here? 1st? Like, what's been your plan? Location geo plan?
[00:18:09] Catherine: Yeah, that's interesting. I mean, our customer base is global. and with cove it, you know, that really unlocked enabled us to more easily build relationships internationally. but when push comes to shove with 1st customers, and I said, you know, there's been various iterations of what we've done.
You know, Philly people are always the first to step up, or when there's a challenge or a question or, you know, some networking, some quite like advising. I need Philly is always the 1st to step up. So it's just, it's a phenomenal community. I found, but yeah, I mean, we work with companies and funds all over the world.
Um,Yeah, we've just really gotten our footing here. And so I feel especially loyal, to Philly people, for a lot of reasons, they're good people, but, they've been, amazing from a business standpoint.
[00:19:02] Jay: How,do you market? Are you doing like, you know, is it direct sales? Is it conferences?
Is it a mix of a bunch of things? Like how are you going out there and trying to attack finding two completely separate groups of ICPs at the same time? or is it at the same time?
[00:19:19] Catherine: Yeah, so to clarify, so we've prioritized the founder market first because everything we offer to investors is an extension of what the, how the founder uses the platform we generate, you know, founder portfolio level, Portfolio company analytics.
And so if the founder can't navigate the platform, if it doesn't delight them, if it doesn't offer value for them, nothing on the investor side matters. So we strategically decided to target that market 1st. We are now shifting to the fund market. Because I think the value proposition is clear. The ICP is easier to define.
it's an easier market to sell into. so, yeah, we've tried not to target both markets equally at the same time. but from a marketing perspective, I mean, we acquire customers a number of ways. One is through direct outreach. One is through, like channel partners. So we work with a lot of accelerators, like, you know, tech stars will offer webinars and workshops.
We have lots of people who refer others to us, which we love. and then we're building, you know, the SEO behind our website. We've just started experimenting with paid ads. and we're not investing heavily in there. We're just very much at the testing phase of that. We have a lot more to learn.
Conferences are great. They're just expensive. I would love to be able to travel and take time out of the office and really show up in a meaningful way at some conferences, but, they're all very international and, they tend to have a pretty. Steep price tag attached to them. So that'll be something we invest in more, I think, in the future.
But, you know, I've been delighted, with the number of inbound leads we've gotten. and it seems like there's a bit of a tipping point happening. We went to a conference actually in October and it was phenomenal. And ever since then, we've been getting, you know, Inbound interest from funds all over the country, people all over the world, people we met there, people didn't meet there.
so I don't know. We also operate in a relatively small market, you know, compared to others. Of course, I think it's easier. To stand out with a great product in a more niche market, one that's definitely growing, but it's not like a commodity by any sense of this, of the imagination. So,yeah, I mean, the marketing is something I, want to invest so much more in.
but we really want to invest once we know. What works best and running a lot of tests right now.
[00:22:04] Jay: all right. We'll have one more question for you non business related If you could do anything on earth and you knew you couldn't fail what would it be?
[00:22:17] Catherine: I would set up a network of global animal sanctuaries for endangered species
[00:22:24] Jay: That's the first endangered animal species.
is there a favorite endangered animal you have?
[00:22:31] Catherine: No,
[00:22:32] Jay: just all of them. There's a lot. I mean, the rate we're going, there's a lot, there's going to be more, ever. I think there are more every second, at the rate we're going.that's a good one. I've never heard. I haven't heard that. that's, that'll go down the list.
[00:22:47] Catherine: Yeah. That's, it's a dream one day.
[00:22:51] Jay: All right. Well, if people want to find out more about you, more about Impactable, How do they do that?
[00:22:56] Catherine: Go to Impactable X dot com.
[00:22:58] Jay: Beautiful LinkedIn. are you active on LinkedIn? you on there,
[00:23:02] Catherine: find me on LinkedIn as well.
[00:23:04] Jay: All right. All right. Well, you were fantastic.
Like I said, I hope people check you out. I really love seeing you on stage and, you know, it's always a pleasure seeing you in person. So, hopefully get some more conferences and, you know, we'll see you again soon. Okay. Thanks for being on Catherine.
[00:23:18] Catherine: Thanks Jay.
[00:23:19] Jay: See ya. Bye bye.