Openspace Ventures: Sustainable Venture Capital

The case describes a successful Singapore-based venture capital (VC) firm, Openspace Ventures, and its decision to incorporate elements of sustainable investing throughout its business. Similar to many early-stage investors, Openspace’s early returns were driven by portfolio companies with a combina...

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Main Authors: DEARTH, Matt, TEO, Melvyn
Format: text
Language:English
Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2022
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Online Access:https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cases_coll_all/399
https://smu.sharepoint.com/sites/admin/CMP/cases/SMU-21-BATCH%20%5BPDF-Pic%5D/SMU-21-0034%20%5BOpenspace%5D/SMU-21-0034%20%5BOpenspace%5D.pdf?CT=1643088986075&OR=ItemsView
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spelling sg-smu-ink.cases_coll_all-13862022-07-07T01:51:48Z Openspace Ventures: Sustainable Venture Capital DEARTH, Matt TEO, Melvyn The case describes a successful Singapore-based venture capital (VC) firm, Openspace Ventures, and its decision to incorporate elements of sustainable investing throughout its business. Similar to many early-stage investors, Openspace’s early returns were driven by portfolio companies with a combination of large addressable markets, dedicated entrepreneurs, and a strong product offering aligned with the opportunity. Issues of sustainability or environmental, social, and (corporate) governance (ESG) were not initially part of their process, but after their initial success the founders are interested in “doing well by doing good”—and believe that it will not require sacrificing returns. This case illustrates how traditional early-stage investors such as Openspace can evaluate the trade-offs associated with adding a sustainability component to their investment process. In this brief case we introduce the protagonists, Shane Chesson, his co-founder Hian Goh, and the proposal they deliver to a room full of investors: to integrate sustainable investing principles throughout their successful, traditional VC business. Class discussion should lead to a decision on whether Openspace should proceed with Openhand, and if so, how to successfully manage the implementation. Students will be able to 1) apply knowledge of the relationship between VC and sustainable investing to other asset classes or strategies experiencing a similar transition; 2) address the potential concerns of various stakeholders of a VC firm related to the impact of a shift towards sustainable investing; 3) Understand the challenges associated with changing perception and practice in early-stage investing, both internally and externally; 4) appreciate how motivated leadership can incorporate sustainability into VC without relying on concessions. 2022-01-01T08:00:00Z text https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cases_coll_all/399 https://smu.sharepoint.com/sites/admin/CMP/cases/SMU-21-BATCH%20%5BPDF-Pic%5D/SMU-21-0034%20%5BOpenspace%5D/SMU-21-0034%20%5BOpenspace%5D.pdf?CT=1643088986075&OR=ItemsView Case Collection eng Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University Asset management venture capital social investments fundraising environmental sustainability business and society Asian Studies Corporate Finance Finance and Financial Management
institution Singapore Management University
building SMU Libraries
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider SMU Libraries
collection InK@SMU
language English
topic Asset management
venture capital
social investments
fundraising
environmental sustainability
business and society
Asian Studies
Corporate Finance
Finance and Financial Management
spellingShingle Asset management
venture capital
social investments
fundraising
environmental sustainability
business and society
Asian Studies
Corporate Finance
Finance and Financial Management
DEARTH, Matt
TEO, Melvyn
Openspace Ventures: Sustainable Venture Capital
description The case describes a successful Singapore-based venture capital (VC) firm, Openspace Ventures, and its decision to incorporate elements of sustainable investing throughout its business. Similar to many early-stage investors, Openspace’s early returns were driven by portfolio companies with a combination of large addressable markets, dedicated entrepreneurs, and a strong product offering aligned with the opportunity. Issues of sustainability or environmental, social, and (corporate) governance (ESG) were not initially part of their process, but after their initial success the founders are interested in “doing well by doing good”—and believe that it will not require sacrificing returns. This case illustrates how traditional early-stage investors such as Openspace can evaluate the trade-offs associated with adding a sustainability component to their investment process. In this brief case we introduce the protagonists, Shane Chesson, his co-founder Hian Goh, and the proposal they deliver to a room full of investors: to integrate sustainable investing principles throughout their successful, traditional VC business. Class discussion should lead to a decision on whether Openspace should proceed with Openhand, and if so, how to successfully manage the implementation. Students will be able to 1) apply knowledge of the relationship between VC and sustainable investing to other asset classes or strategies experiencing a similar transition; 2) address the potential concerns of various stakeholders of a VC firm related to the impact of a shift towards sustainable investing; 3) Understand the challenges associated with changing perception and practice in early-stage investing, both internally and externally; 4) appreciate how motivated leadership can incorporate sustainability into VC without relying on concessions.
format text
author DEARTH, Matt
TEO, Melvyn
author_facet DEARTH, Matt
TEO, Melvyn
author_sort DEARTH, Matt
title Openspace Ventures: Sustainable Venture Capital
title_short Openspace Ventures: Sustainable Venture Capital
title_full Openspace Ventures: Sustainable Venture Capital
title_fullStr Openspace Ventures: Sustainable Venture Capital
title_full_unstemmed Openspace Ventures: Sustainable Venture Capital
title_sort openspace ventures: sustainable venture capital
publisher Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University
publishDate 2022
url https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cases_coll_all/399
https://smu.sharepoint.com/sites/admin/CMP/cases/SMU-21-BATCH%20%5BPDF-Pic%5D/SMU-21-0034%20%5BOpenspace%5D/SMU-21-0034%20%5BOpenspace%5D.pdf?CT=1643088986075&OR=ItemsView
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