Articles by Kesha
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What venture capital owes America
What venture capital owes America
We’re experiencing three concurrent crises in the United States. We’ve all acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic is…
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Kesha Cash reposted thisKesha Cash reposted thisOne of the biggest mistakes investors make is confusing overlooked with small. That's why I appreciated Geri Stengel's recent Forbes article on Ashley Bittner and the team at Kalos Ventures. The piece highlights a conviction we've shared for years: care infrastructure isn't a niche issue - it's a critical part of the economy. For too long, caregiving has been framed primarily as a social challenge rather than an economic imperative. But when people can't access childcare, eldercare, paid leave, or other support systems, workforce participation, productivity, and economic growth all suffer. The costs are real - and so is the opportunity. One of the reasons I was drawn to Pivotal is that we have the ability to invest in opportunities that others may overlook and help demonstrate that impact and strong returns can go hand in hand. As I shared in the article, the care economy represents a massive and growing market opportunity, one with the potential to generate attractive returns while improving outcomes for millions of families. The best investment theses often start with a simple question: What fundamental problem is everyone living with, but too few are solving? As demographic shifts reshape our workforce and AI transforms how work gets done, the need for stronger care infrastructure will only grow. But the most exciting part isn't the market size - it's the entrepreneurs building solutions that help more people participate fully in the workforce and economy. They're creating value in a market that has been hiding in plain sight. https://lnkd.in/eSJJmGpNThe $648 Billion Care Economy Venture Capital Has Been Ignoring Until NowThe $648 Billion Care Economy Venture Capital Has Been Ignoring Until Now
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Kesha Cash reposted thisYoung people are some of the hardest judges of a product. I learned this when I worked at Nickelodeon. You either speak their language, or you don’t. You meet their terms of engagement, or they’re quickly onto the next. Sonar provides kids and teens 24/7 mental health coaching via chat, because young people don’t do calls or video and their needs and worries don’t keep normal clinical hours. We need more first mile solutions like Sonar that meet people where they’re at, with the care they need, when they need it. And we need more innovative health systems like Akron Children's who see technology and partnership as a force multiplier for their vital missions. Kudos to these teams for making behavioral health care more accessible to the growing population of kids who need it.Kesha Cash reposted thisSonar is proud to announce our partnership with Akron Children's, our first pediatric health system partner. Akron Children's is the only health system in northeast Ohio fully dedicated to pediatric care, serving 1.5 million patient encounters a year across 50+ locations. Starting with five primary care practices, clinicians can now recommend Sonar to patients ages 13 and older, with plans to expand access systemwide. This is what it looks like in practice: a pediatrician identifies a need and recommends Sonar as a supplement to therapy, as support after-hours and between appointments, and for youth who may benefit from support but do not require specialty behavioral healthcare. If you are a forward-thinking health system, we'd love to talk about how Sonar can serve as a complement to your integrated pediatric behavior health model. 👉 Link in comments.
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Kesha Cash reposted thisKesha Cash reposted thisWe invested in Sonar Mental Health earlier this year because the inner journey young people face has never been harder, and the care they need isn’t always available. Sonar was built to bridge this gap. And we’re thrilled to see them reach another significant milestone: Sonar is teaming up with Akron Children's to help ensure young people have the wellbeing support they need after hours, between visits, and before specialty care is available. Sonar’s human-led, AI-enabled wellbeing coach (“Sonny”) provides peace of mind for pediatric staff and school counselors who can't be everywhere at once. Its 24/7, text-based system extends care and facilitates a seamless transition into higher levels of care when a young person needs more than coaching. Congratulations, Drew Barvir and the whole Sonar team. We're excited to be on this journey with you alongside a great group of investors (Informed Ventures, Nina Capital, Hopelab)! https://lnkd.in/enMfw_KuAkron Children’s partners with Sonar Mental Health to bring 24/7 text-based wellbeing coaching to adolescents | Akron Children'sAkron Children’s partners with Sonar Mental Health to bring 24/7 text-based wellbeing coaching to adolescents | Akron Children's
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Kesha Cash shared thisCelebrating a big milestone for Sonar Mental Health! The company announced its first pediatric health system partnership with Akron Children's, a 136 year old organization nationally recognized for their efforts to integrate behavioral health into pediatric primary care. Sonar is not trying to replace care. It is helping extend care beyond the appointment, especially when young people need support after hours, between visits, or before specialty care is available. Impact America Fund invested in Drew Barvir and the Sonar team because of their track record of reaching and engaging thousands of low income youth, data-driven approach, and genuine desire to use technology for enabling (not replacing) front line care providers. https://lnkd.in/gfXs6-K2Kesha Cash shared thisSonar is proud to announce our partnership with Akron Children's, our first pediatric health system partner. Akron Children's is the only health system in northeast Ohio fully dedicated to pediatric care, serving 1.5 million patient encounters a year across 50+ locations. Starting with five primary care practices, clinicians can now recommend Sonar to patients ages 13 and older, with plans to expand access systemwide. This is what it looks like in practice: a pediatrician identifies a need and recommends Sonar as a supplement to therapy, as support after-hours and between appointments, and for youth who may benefit from support but do not require specialty behavioral healthcare. If you are a forward-thinking health system, we'd love to talk about how Sonar can serve as a complement to your integrated pediatric behavior health model. 👉 Link in comments.
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Kesha Cash shared thisI’m honored to join the @AspenWINChallenge Council — a group of workplace leaders, innovative thinkers, and problem-solvers helping guide this $60 million nationwide grant competition from @Aspen Digital and @Pivotal Ventures. Our goal for the WIN Challenge is simple: surface bold ideas that remove barriers for women at work and, in doing so, create better workplaces for everyone. ** See below and take 5 mins to register your interest by 5pm ET this Thursday, Dec 11: winchallenge.org to be eligible to apply in 2026! #WINChallengeKesha Cash shared thisThank you to everyone who attended our Q&A webinar! We greatly appreciate your interest in the WIN Challenge and your insightful questions. In case you couldn’t make it to the live event, here are some highlights. You can also view a recording at https://lnkd.in/gMVTJZ3g. Have more questions? Send them to questions@winchallenge.org We can’t wait to hear your bold ideas! Register to apply for the WIN Challenge by December 11 at 5pm ET at winchallenge.org.
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Kesha Cash shared thisThank you Pivotal Ventures for your partnership and all of the fantastic work you're doing across silos to uplift and support overlooked communities.Kesha Cash shared thisKesha Cash is focused on “building an economy, a world, where people of color are no longer outsiders—where they truly belong.” That’s why she founded Impact America Fund, a mission-driven fund that invests in companies built for and by communities of color—like CareAcademy and Mayvenn. Her efforts have paid off: When Impact America Fund closed its third fund last year, it became only the second early-stage venture firm owned by a Black woman to cross the $100 million threshold. Discover how she’s helping change the face of power in venture capital and pave the way for more leaders to do the same. https://lnkd.in/gCKK9fBh
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Kesha Cash shared thisCongratulations to Abbey Wemimo and Samir Goel and the entire Esusu Team on their $130m Series B! This funding will accelerate their mission to dismantle barriers to housing for all families. Impact America Fund is thrilled to be on this journey with Esusu! https://tcrn.ch/33QJ6PxEsusu becomes unicorn with SoftBank Vision Fund 2-led $130M funding | TechCrunchEsusu becomes unicorn with SoftBank Vision Fund 2-led $130M funding | TechCrunch
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Kesha Cash shared thisImpact America Fund is invested in DuckDuckGo, a profitable online privacy company with $100M+ annual revenue. I applaud DDG CEO Gabriel Weinberg's approach and philosophy. In this WIRED piece, Gabriel says: “A lot of companies could be still pretty profitable if they chose to go this route. They may be a little less profitable. But you know, it’s like—is that extra profit worth all this societal impact and problems? We don’t think so.” #impactinvesting
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Kesha Cash shared thisRecycling Cheryl Contee's post below! Thanks, lovely lady! Impact America Fund is excited to partner with Silicon Valley Bank on the launch of Dragonfly, a FREE six-week virtual bootcamp for NYC based women & non-binary founders at the pre-seed / seed stage. Applications are due June 28th.Kesha Cash shared thisHey y'all - Big News! My friend & inspiration Kesha Cash Impact America Fund and Silicon Valley Bank have launched applications for their first, free, six-week annual bootcamp, Dragonfly, for first time womxn & non-binary founders. Dragonfly will provide you with tactical insights, best practices that can be immediately implemented within your business strategy and a valuable, strategic network. Upon completion of the Dragonfly, you will have developed a strategy to help your team hit benchmarks needed to raise a pre-seed and seed round. More details below. Applications are due June 28th. Get in there if you have a #startup and need help getting lift off! #founders #startups #funding #venturecapital #entrepreneurship #business https://lnkd.in/geWb6FU
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Kesha Cash reacted on thisKesha Cash reacted on thisFor families with young children, choosing where to live isn't just a housing decision. It's a childcare decision too. That's why Winnie is partnering with Redfin, the country's most-visited real estate brokerage website, to bring childcare information directly into the home search experience. Families browsing home listings on Redfin can now see nearby childcare options, helping them understand not just what a home offers, but what life with young children might look like in that community. The partnership comes alongside a new analysis using Winnie childcare data and Redfin housing data that shows just how closely these two expenses are connected: housing and childcare together consume 52% of the median household income nationwide. You can read the complete Redfin report here: https://lnkd.in/ghdB4CDb In some of the country's largest metropolitan areas, the combined cost approaches an entire household income. Historically, families searching for a home and families searching for childcare have had to make those decisions separately even though the two are deeply connected. Now families can consider them together. Winnie maintains comprehensive information about childcare programs across the United States, including tuition, schedules, licensing information, program details and availability. Through our new partnership with Redfin, families can access childcare information while they’re already thinking about where they want to live. It's especially important because housing and childcare don't just represent two of the biggest needs for families—they affect one another. Housing costs can make having two working parents essential. Childcare is often what makes it possible for both parents, or a single parent, to remain in the workforce. https://lnkd.in/gPAiQniJRedfin Becomes First Major Real Estate Portal to Partner With Winnie to Display Childcare Information on Home ListingsRedfin Becomes First Major Real Estate Portal to Partner With Winnie to Display Childcare Information on Home Listings
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Kesha Cash reacted on thisBig news today from Nth Cycle!Kesha Cash reacted on thisToday, Nth Cycle announced a definitive business combination with Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. VI that will result in Nth Cycle becoming a publicly traded company. Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company will be named Nth Cycle Holdings, Inc., and its common stock is expected to trade on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "NTH." Read the press release below to learn more about the agreement and this exciting milestone for Nth Cycle: https://lnkd.in/gqfsF6WW
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Kesha Cash reacted on thisKesha Cash reacted on thisMany thanks to the Global Black Economic Forum Black Economic Forum and Alphonso David for an amazing time at their Business Summit and for asking me to be a panelist at Essence Festival! I’m honored I was able to share the stage with powerhouses Esosa Osa, Robert L. Greene (Bob) L. Greene (Bob), Michelle Miller, Tiffany D. Cross, Anne Elaine Price, April Verrett, Congresswoman Nikema Williams and Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman! #GBEF2026 #EssenceFestival2026 🎉
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Kesha Cash reacted on thisKesha Cash reacted on thisI’m excited to join Tiffany D. Cross, Congresswoman Nikema Williams, Anne Elaine Price, Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman and April Verrett onstage at the 2026 Essence Festival of Culture discussing the State of the Workforce for Black Women hosted by The Global Black Economic Forum. Please join us! 📆 Friday, July 3 at 1:40pm Central https://lnkd.in/ekN8qi3m #GlobalBlackEconomicForum #GBEF2026 #GBEFSUMMIT
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Kesha Cash reacted on thisKesha Cash reacted on thisThe George Eastman Museum has made history by awarding the George Eastman Lifetime Achievement Award to an African American creative for the first time. It was a momentous occasion, and I had the privilege of witnessing it alongside my husband, who is a descendant of George Eastman, the founder of Kodak. Congratulations to Ms. Octavia Spencer for this well-deserved recognition.
Experience & Education
Publications
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Entrepreneurship is Hard: What Socially Conscious Founders Must Do to Meet Startup Challenges
Women@Forbes
See publicationDespite what the rose gold-hued feeds of #girlboss Instagrammers would have us believe, getting a socially conscious company from idea to scale is a largely unglamorous undertaking, with an impressive learning curve, and widely characterized as “hard” and “lonely.”
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Be The Change: Five Steps for Transitioning Into a Values-Aligned Career
Women@Forbes
See publicationSteps my colleagues and I took when transitioning from our conventional finance roles into the world of impact investing. I believe they can be useful to anyone looking to make the shift into a values-aligned career.
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Fixing the Economic Divide that Plaques America: Part 2
Living Cities
See publicationIn my last post, I discussed one of the biggest barriers to success for low-income entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs of color: a lack of a supportive entrepreneurial ecosystem. This lack of support leads to extreme inequalities and what I call “the economic divide that plagues America.” In this post, I want to provide some ideas on how to fix that problem.
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Fixing the Economic Divide that Plagues America: Part 1
Living Cities
See publicationIn the first post of a two-part series, Impact America Fund Founder Kesha Cash targets the current entrepreneurial ecosystem, outlining the issues that face entrepreneurs of color and discussing how fixing the system can help heal the economic divide in America.
Honors & Awards
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SEO Scholars Community Leadership Award
Sponsors For Educational Opportunity
SEO Career alumna who has worked to increase educational and economic opportunities for underrepresented communities.
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SLEB Alumni Ethical Leadership Award
Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Center for Leadership and Ethics at Columbia Business School
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Javad Mostofizadeh
Some very welcome news for VC and PE firms, as well as other entities investing in startup and emerging growth companies. The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has announced the suspension of the implementation and enforcement of the data collection and reporting regime imposed by the Fair Investment Practices by Venture Capital Companies Law (FIPVCC). This decision comes pending the completion of a rule-making process initiated by the DFPI in response to feedback from stakeholders affected by the regime. As a result, the DFPI will not require covered entities to submit further registrations or file reports by the April 1, 2026 deadline. For more information, visit the DFPI website: https://lnkd.in/eqjJbSFz
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Eliot Kerlin
I had a great conversation recently with Peter Lehrman on the Axial Masters in Small Business M&A podcast discussing how the lower middle market has evolved over the past couple of decades. Over the last 25 years, the ecosystem has changed dramatically. Many funds outgrew the lower middle market, while additional equity sources like independent sponsors, family offices, new LMM funds, and large funds moving ‘downstream’ have expanded the participant pool. Purchase multiples and equity contribution percentages have increased, adding pressure to returns, and the credit markets have evolved as well, impacting leverage rates and deal activity. We talked about what this shift means for private equity value creation today. At Broadwing Capital, implementing platform growth tools in alignment with founders and management teams are more important drivers of return than financial engineering. I also shared the investment thesis behind our recent acquisition of CloudScale365, Inc. and how we think about growth, culture, and stakeholder impact post-transaction. Thanks to Peter for the thoughtful discussion. If you are interested in where the lower middle market is heading, it's worth a listen. https://lnkd.in/gTaMcGAc
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