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When Angels Meet the Crowd

How impact entrepreneurs can build a more flexible capital stack

By Donald Megrath, Devin Thorpe, and Annarie Lyles

For many impact entrepreneurs, the financing problem is not simply a shortage of capital. It is a mismatch between the capital available and the enterprise being built.

Traditional venture capital is designed for companies capable of rapid growth and a large exit. Bank financing generally requires collateral, predictable cash flow, or a track record that early-stage ventures do not yet possess. Many impact enterprises fall between those models: capable of generating durable returns and meaningful outcomes without fitting the conventional venture-capital profile.

Two communities can help close that gap: impact-oriented angel investors and the people who invest through regulated crowdfunding platforms. These groups have historically operated in different spheres, but their strengths can be complementary. Angels bring experience, networks, and concentrated capital. Crowdfunding can broaden participation and mobilize a company's community.

The opportunity is not to replace one source with the other. It is to combine them thoughtfully as part of a purpose-suited capital stack.

A capital-stack strategy, not a contest

Regulation Crowdfunding, commonly known as Regulation CF or Reg CF, allows eligible U.S. companies to raise up to $5 million in a 12-month period through an SEC-registered broker-dealer or funding portal. It enables non-accredited investors to participate, subject to investment limits, and requires issuers to provide disclosures through Form C and to disclose financial statements, operational history and risk factors, as well as ongoing reporting in many circumstances. Because Reg CF securities are federally preempted from state blue-sky registration requirements, issuers generally don't need to register separately in each state — though some states still require a notice filing and fee, and state anti-fraud authority always applies.

Regulation A also permits public investment in exempt offerings, but it is a distinct pathway with different limits, qualification requirements, costs, and reporting obligations. For most early-stage enterprises considering a community raise, Regulation CF is the more relevant pathway.

Reg CF is not just a mechanism for reaching more capital sources — it already draws a strikingly different set of founders than conventional venture financing does. Kingscrowd, a research firm that publicly screens active Reg CF offerings, currently tags 72 of 330 active offerings as women-founded, 86 as founded by a "minority founder," and 57 as impact investments. Even allowing for overlap across those categories, the combined reach of these three screens touches over 200 offerings — a majority of the active Reg CF marketplace. Kingscrowd's public search tool lets anyone verify these figures directly. The Super Crowd's own proprietary database, which scores offerings more broadly for any reasonably expected health, environmental, or social-justice benefit — including offerings whose founders do not market themselves as "impact" companies at all — identifies an even higher share. For impact entrepreneurs, that marketplace composition alone is reason to take Reg CF seriously as more than a fundraising mechanism of last resort.

Angel investors tend to participate in seed and early rounds, often contributing more than money. They may help founders refine strategy, strengthen governance, navigate later financing, and build relationships. Impact-oriented angels can also bring an explicit interest in mission integrity and patient value creation.

Crowdfunding contributes something different. A well-structured campaign can reach people who would never enter a traditional angel network, including customers, employees, community members, investors from different geographic regions, and smaller investors. For a consumer-facing or place-based enterprise, those investors may become advocates as well as shareholders or lenders.

Neither community is uniform, and some ventures are poor candidates for either channel. The useful question is not which investor category is inherently more mission-aligned, but whether a particular combination of investors, instruments, terms, and time horizons fits the enterprise.

How the channels can reinforce each other

Founders may be able to raise capital from angels and the crowd sequentially or, when properly structured, in parallel. Because different securities exemptions carry different conditions, companies pursuing multiple offerings should work with experienced securities counsel and understand the SEC's integration framework before approaching investors.

Angel participation can provide a credibility signal in a crowdfunding campaign. In practice, the two groups are more intertwined than a campaign page might suggest. Wefunder, which closes more Reg CF deals than any other platform, requires every offering to open with a lead investor who has already committed at least $5,000 — a bar that, while technically open to a sufficiently affluent non-accredited investor, is in practice cleared almost entirely by angel investors. Wefunder also maintains a running, curated list of offerings with venture and notable-angel participation — 33 of them at the time of this writing — documenting active co-investment between institutional and angel investors and the Reg CF crowd. Research on equity crowdfunding has found that substantial participation by experienced investors can convey information about venture quality and that angels and crowd investors may play complementary roles. An angel's presence is not a substitute for investor diligence. Each investor still needs to evaluate the company's disclosures, terms, valuation, risks, and impact claims independently and make his or her own independent investment decision.

The reinforcing effect can also work in the other direction. A crowdfunding campaign may demonstrate that a company can attract and engage a community around its product or mission. That can be useful evidence for angels, but campaign momentum should not be confused with proof of business quality. Marketing success does not resolve questions about unit economics, governance, or long-term viability.

The most credible hybrid raises therefore involve substantive participation from both groups. Angels should bring real conviction, capital, or expertise rather than lend their names to a campaign. Crowdfunding investors should receive clear information and equitable treatment rather than be used merely as a source of promotional momentum.

PittMoss, a Pittsburgh-area sustainable soil technology company and an Investors Circle portfolio company, illustrates this layered approach in practice. After building early traction — including a widely publicized Shark Tank investment from Mark Cuban and investment from other angel investors, including from Investors Circle members — PittMoss has built its capital stack through a sequence of angel and crowdfunding instruments in a series of financing events. Its first crowdfunding raise, two 2021 equity offerings totaling just over $700,000 on Republic, taught the company that a Reg CF round could do more than raise money: it activated everyday customers as investors and ambassadors, helping PittMoss get into new garden centers. A second campaign, on StartEngine raised approximately $275,000 in 2023, followed by another convertible note round at PicMii in 2024, before moving to a revenue-share offering on Wefunder — the company's first time trying that structure — closed having raised roughly $300,000. PittMoss is now raising a Series A led by an existing investor alongside a large public-company investor to support its move into Erie, Pennsylvania, where it plans to pursue funding through Ben Franklin Technology Partners. The company intends to open another Reg CF equity round shortly after the Series A's first close — this time to invite non-accredited investors from the Erie community to participate directly in that growth. Cuban himself, Investors Circle community members and other angel groups have continued to participate with follow-on investments alongside the crowd rounds — an example of how an early angel champion can keep compounding credibility through subsequent raises rather than stepping back after a first check. A Reg CF raise also gives accredited angels a way to bring in friends, family, and fans of the company who've long wanted in but couldn't access a traditional angel round. The lesson for founders: sequencing a Reg CF raise to run alongside, rather than instead of, a traditional round can let a company capture the community-building and marketing upside of the crowd while still securing the larger checks a Series A often requires.

More flexible structures for more kinds of enterprises

One of the strongest reasons to combine angel and crowdfunding channels is the range of instruments they can support. Depending on the company, platform, exemption, and applicable law, these may include:

· Traditional common equity

· Preferred equity or convertible instruments

· Debt

· Revenue-based financing

· Other hybrid structures designed around the company's cash flow and growth model

This flexibility matters because many impactful businesses are not natural candidates for conventional venture capital. A social enterprise with recurring revenue and moderate growth may be able to repay a loan or share revenue but have no realistic pathway to a large acquisition or public offering. A founder should not have to manufacture an exit story simply to access capital.

Investors Circle members, for example, consider equity as well as debt and revenue-based financing. Crowdfunding platforms also host varied securities, although instruments with similar labels can contain very different rights, conversion provisions, repayment obligations, and protections.

This is not an argument against venture capital. Venture capital is indispensable for enterprises that require large amounts of risk capital and can scale rapidly. Its portfolio economics, however, favor a relatively small number of outsized outcomes. For many impact entrepreneurs, the better question is whether venture capital should be the primary financing model, one layer in a broader stack, or absent altogether.

Capital should serve the enterprise's mission and strategy — not force the enterprise to become something it was never intended to be.

Beyond capital: reach, learning, and community

For some businesses, crowdfunding can generate value beyond the money raised. A campaign may help a company:

· Reach prospective customers and advocates

· Learn which aspects of its story resonate most strongly

· Build a community with a direct stake in its success

· Increase visibility beyond the networks of a single investor group

These benefits are particularly relevant for consumer-facing or community-rooted enterprises. Still, investment interest may indicate audience engagement without validating pricing, repeat demand, margins, or product-market fit.

Angel investors bring a complementary form of support: sector knowledge, pattern recognition, mentorship, governance experience, and access to professional networks. Combining that concentrated expertise with the reach and energy of a broader investor community can give founders both strategic depth and market momentum.

The model works best when engagement continues after the raise. A large investor community becomes an asset only if the company communicates consistently, reports progress candidly, and treats investors as stakeholders.

The tradeoffs founders must price in

A hybrid strategy is not automatically faster, cheaper, or simpler. It can create a wider capital pool, but it can also introduce significant complexity.

Founders should account for legal, cap table management, and accounting costs, platform commissions, campaign expenses, financial-statement requirements, and staff time. An SEC analysis of Regulation CF offerings found that intermediary compensation can represent a meaningful share of proceeds, before other professional and campaign costs.

Terms also require careful coordination. Different valuations, security classes, information rights, or repayment obligations can create friction among investor groups and complicate future financing. A poorly designed raise can leave a company with a burdensome ownership structure or commitments that later investors will not accept.

Investor protection is equally important. Regulation CF investments are speculative and often illiquid; investors may lose their entire investment and may be unable to resell securities for an extended period. A mission-driven company does not become a higher-risk or lower-risk investment simply because its goals are admirable. Founders should communicate both impact and financial risk without exaggeration.

Before combining angels and the crowd, an entrepreneur should be able to answer five questions:

1. Is the enterprise and its impact proposition understandable to a broad investor audience?

2. Does the proposed investment structure and terms fit the company's cash flow, growth strategy, and future financing needs?

3. Is any angel participation substantive enough to constitute a credible commitment?

4. Can the team manage a public campaign, required disclosures, and ongoing investor communications?

5. Are the risks, tradeoffs, and impact claims being presented as clearly as the opportunity?

Building better capital architecture

Collaboration among angel networks, crowdfunding platforms, and impact entrepreneurs can direct more capital toward enterprises overlooked by conventional financing. It can widen participation, offer founders more flexible structures, and connect strategic expertise with community commitment.

But the value of the model lies in design, not in the mere presence of multiple investor types. The offerings must be legally coordinated. The terms must be compatible. Angel participation must be meaningful. Crowd investors must receive transparent information and fair treatment. And the capital structure must strengthen — rather than distort — the enterprise's capacity to create durable impact.

The future of impact finance will not be built by asking every enterprise to follow the same funding path. It will be built by creating a wider range of capital pathways and assembling them around the needs of the business, its stakeholders, and the change it exists to make.

Disclosure: Donald Megrath is Executive Director of Investors Circle; Annarie Lyles is Board Chair of Investors Circle; and Devin Thorpe is Founder and CEO of The Super Crowd. Investors Circle and The Super Crowd offer memberships, programs, and resources for entrepreneurs and investors discussed in this article. This article is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal or investment advice.

First CataCap Raise Met! An Interview with Brandon Chen, Co-Founder & CEO, Finless Foods

- August 11, 2026

Investors Circle: As global pressure on wild marine stocks reaches a critical juncture, companies bridging biotechnology and environmental stewardship are redefining the future of protein. Finless Foods stands at the forefront of this shift, leveraging cellular agriculture to relieve pressure on ocean ecosystems, starting with at-risk species like Pacific bluefin tuna. By aligning with impact-focused investment platforms like CataCap, Finless Foods is combining mission-driven ocean conservation with the capital needed to scale unit economics, navigate regulatory pathways, and transition sustainable seafood from the laboratory to the commercial plate.

Q1. CataCap’s ocean initiative emphasizes scaling solutions that actively protect and restore marine ecosystems. How does raising capital through impact-focused platforms like CataCap differ from traditional venture capital, and how does this funding directly accelerate your timeline for relieving pressure on wild bluefin tuna populations?

Brandon Chen: Raising capital through impact platforms like CataCap opens up a direct line to mission-driven donors and investors—people who bring patience and a higher tolerance for risk to the table. If we look back at CleanTech 1.0, so many pioneering startups got trapped in that classic "valley of death." Traditional venture capital fueled an initial burst of innovation, but because VCs operate on tight timelines to pay back their limited partners, forced consolidation left a lot of great techs stranded. Even with working prototypes, the companies that survived were still pre-revenue and too early for traditional private equity.

Finless Foods is sitting in that exact position today. We offer a direct solution to bluefin overfishing by cultivating real tuna straight from cells. We’ve already developed functional prototypes and are actively lining up global commercial partners while navigating the regulatory approval process. This is precisely where patient impact capital steps in—bridging that funding gap to maximize environmental returns. Ultimately, this support directly speeds up our regulatory approvals and time-to-market, getting cultivated bluefin into the hands of consumers as a real alternative to wild-caught fish that much faster.

Q2. Finless Foods operates a unique hybrid strategy—offering both plant-based tuna alternatives for immediate revenue and cell-cultivated bluefin tuna for long-term category leadership. How are the proceeds from this raise split between commercializing plant-based products and advancing regulatory and scaling milestones for your cell-cultivated line?

Brandon Chen: Right now, our primary focus is securing U.S. regulatory approval for our cell-cultivated bluefin tuna before expanding into key international markets like Japan, Korea, the broader Asian region, and the EU. Because of that, all proceeds from this funding raise are dedicated entirely to commercializing our cell-cultivated line. When we pilot-launched our plant-based tuna back in 2022 and 2023, the goal was to build real-world partnerships across the food sector. That turned out to be an incredibly valuable exercise, allowing us to forge strong, direct relationships with national food distributors, restaurant owners, and hospitality operators. Moving forward, we plan to tap right into those established channels to hit the ground running and accelerate the rollout of our cell-cultivated bluefin tuna the moment regulatory approvals clear.

Q3. One of the biggest hurdles facing cellular agriculture is achieving cost parity with wild-caught fish while scaling unit economics. What specific technological or operational breakthroughs will this injection of capital support to bring your cell-cultivated bluefin tuna to a commercially viable price point for restaurants and food service?

Brandon Chen: Right now, premium wild-caught bluefin tuna commands around $200 a pound—and we’re already producing our cell-cultivated bluefin below that mark. But to make our product truly accessible and affordable for the everyday consumer, we’re focused to driving production costs down even further through better feedstock sourcing and operational scale. This capital raise directly supports ongoing projects with our manufacturing partners to test and incorporate lower-cost, food-grade nutrients into our cell-growth process. That cost reduction is the key to expanding our reach, moving beyond high-end fine dining into all tiers of restaurants and broader foodservice outlets. On top of that, Finless Foods operates an asset-light business model—meaning we partner with established manufacturers to scale up production instead of sinking capital into building our own expensive facilities. We welcome impact-driven investors and donors to join this round and help us bring sustainable bluefin to market even faster.

Q4. Impact investors look closely at quantifiable metrics beyond financial returns. How are you and CataCap measuring Finless Foods' direct ecological footprint—such as metrics on reduced bycatch, plastic gear reduction, or overfishing mitigation—to demonstrate tangible ocean impact to your stakeholders?

Brandon Chen: To put our environmental impact into perspective, wild-caught bluefin makes up roughly 1% of total tuna catch by volume, and just 0.08% of all wild seafood harvested globally. We can use those baseline metrics to directly quantify how every portion of Finless cultivated tuna replaces wild catch and drives down bycatch, plastic gear, and overfishing. Commercial tuna fishing relies heavily on deep-sea longlines and purse seine nets, which carry a heavy average incidental bycatch rate of nearly 28%—frequently trapping endangered leatherback turtles, sharks, dolphins, and juvenile fish. On top of that, the commercial fishing industry dumps over 100 million pounds of abandoned or lost "ghost gear" into our oceans every year, entangling marine life and breaking down into toxic microplastics. When you look at how extreme sushi demand historically wiped out up to 96% of Pacific bluefin biomass, providing a cell-cultivated alternative offers a direct, measurable path toward letting wild ocean ecosystems recover.

Q5. As alternative protein markets mature, consumer education remains critical—especially for high-value species like bluefin tuna used in sushi and fine dining. What is your go-to-market strategy for winning over culinary traditionalists, and where do you see Finless Foods' ocean footprint five years from now?

Brandon Chen: It’s really encouraging to see precision fermentation gain a solid foothold, and cultivated meat and seafood are naturally the next big leap forward. Ultimately, real industry growth and ocean impact come down to genuine consumer demand. We expect market adoption for cultivated bluefin tuna to follow a classic adoption curve, starting with strategic early adopters. That’s why we’re focusing first on partnering directly with fine-dining chefs and restaurant owners, while using our social media campaigns to build broader consumer awareness. In parallel, we’re seeking additional investment to get physical cultivated bluefin prototypes directly onto the cutting boards of top culinary talent. When these sushi chefs and restaurant owners experience the quality firsthand, they become our strongest ambassadors—helping us educate and win over both culinary traditionalists and everyday seafood lovers. Looking five years down the road, I’d love to see everyday seafood lovers making a direct, positive impact on the ocean simply by choosing Finless Foods.

The Ripple Effect: Reflections from the Boston Day of Impact - June 12, 2026

Events Sponsored by Investors Circle, JSC Impact, and Foley Hoag, LLC

Investors Circle Reunion: Shaun Paul, David O'Leary, Jeff Soble, Deb Scott, Diane Keefe, Jon Scott, Babbie Jacobs, Sky Lance, and Dan Chapman

There is a unique kind of energy that builds when capital meets true purpose. If you walked into our Boston Day of Impact this month, you didn't just hear investment pitches—you witnessed a collective re-imagining of what an economy can look like when it’s designed to serve people, communities, and the planet.

From the stage to the reception at Democracy Brewing, the theme of the day was clear: Traditional boundaries are shifting, and the most exciting returns are happening where human dignity and financial innovation intersect.

Here are the stories, the faces, and the shifting models that defined our gathering.

The Front Lines of Innovation: 8 Entrepreneurs to Watch

We began by hearing from eight extraordinary entrepreneurs who are actively proving that deep social impact and scalability are not mutually exclusive. They are tackling massive, systemic challenges with elegant, market-driven solutions.

To learn more, connect, make introductions and fund these innovators directly, please reach out via the contact information below:

Wash Cycle Laundry | Gabriel Mandujano, CEO — Changing lives through a social employment cooperative that provides stable, upwardly mobile jobs. g@washcyclelaundry.com
Salus | Brad Kain, CEO — Empowering care teams with essential tools for smarter, faster case management. brad.kain@salus-cm.care
Folia Materials | Jonathan Levine, CEO — Creating breakthrough sustainable paper coatings designed to revolutionize microwave cooking. Jonathan@foliamaterials.com
Knip Bio | Jessica McLear, COO — Commercializing advanced microbial functional feed to make global aquaculture truly sustainable. jmclear@knipbio.com
Reflection Sciences | Isaac Van Wesep, CEO — Providing science-backed tools to accurately measure and improve vital cognitive skills. isaac@reflectionsciences.com
MaineWorks | Margo Walsh, CEO — Dignifying labor by creating meaningful employment opportunities for people in recovery and re-entry. margo@Maineworks.us
Dottir Labs | Nili Persits, CEO — Pushing boundaries in advanced optical analysis to make spectroscopy better and more accessible. nili@dottirlabs.com
change: WATER Labs | Diana Yousef, CEO — Developing low-cost, plumbing-free toilets to bring safe sanitation to underserved communities worldwide. diana@change-water.com

Rewriting the Rules of Capital

But brilliant founders need capital that matches their vision. This month, our network leaned heavily into alternative, founder-friendly structures that challenge standard equity models.

Janice St. Onge, President of the CDFI Flexible Capital Fund, guided us through the mechanics of Revenue-Based Financing (RBF). It’s a model gaining massive traction because it aligns investor returns directly with a company’s actual revenue growth—freeing founders from forced exit timelines and keeping them focused on their mission.

We also explored the massive, untapped potential of philanthropic angel investing. Tim Freundlich, Co-Founder & CEO of CataCap, illuminated how investors can seamlessly deploy philanthropic dollars, appreciated assets, and Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) into high-impact private markets.

The power of this model was felt instantly: just hours before the event, the CEI Climate Note via CEI Coastal Enterprises (led by Kelsie Bouchard) went live on the CataCap platform. For as little as $250, investors can now mobilize DAF capital toward critical climate resiliency. The platform is also hosting Global Round Table Leadership, where Tristan Toleno is pioneering collaborative leadership models. Add a link to their website https://www.globalroundtableleadership.com/

"Investors Circle was instrumental in connecting CEI with the Catacap platform, recognizing the strong alignment between the CEI Climate Note and Catacap’s investor community. IC’s thoughtful leadership and long-standing commitment to impact investing continues to help open the door to new relationships, new sources of capital, and greater visibility for mission-driven organizations – we are excited to be a CataCap partner and deeply appreciate Investors Circle for fostering the connection." - Kelsie Bouchard, Chief Lending and Investment Officer, Coastal Enterprises, Inc.

Coming Soon: To help our network navigate these creative vehicles, Investors Circle will be hosting a dedicated webinar in the coming months on maximizing DAFs and appreciated assets. Stay tuned for registration details.

This grassroots economic groundwork is kept solid by our vital CDFI partners—including Shannon Bean (CEI Ventures), Alex “Brave Journey” Sterling (Turtle Island Community Capital), and Lubna Maria Elia (Boston Impact Initiative)—who continue to act as the bedrock of localized, equitable growth.

Investors Circle Student Impact Initiative Members: Jeremy Evans | University of Michigan, Babbie Jacobs - coordinator of the initiative, Arina Qian | New York University Impact Investing Club | NIIF https://www.niifonline.com/, not pictured: Nandini Anand | Northeastern Impact Initiative

A Toast to Democratic Wealth

We closed our day by looking at the ultimate model for closing the wealth gap: Employee Ownership. There is a quiet revolution happening here, particularly within the care economy, and we heard moving funding pitches from a group of organizations currently raising capital:

Jobs Worth Owning | Jonathan Ward, Director of Lending
Center for Cooperative Development and Solidarity (CCDS)
Renacer Home Care Cooperative | Andrea Yepes
Wonder Kiddos Child Care Cooperative | Diana Colwell

It was only fitting that we culminated our day at Democracy Brewing, Boston’s (and soon Maine’s) first employee-owned brewery. Over a beverage served by worker-owner and founder James Razsa (james@democracybrewing.com), we watched a brief policy overview on employee ownership and listened to stories from the people who actually own the businesses they work for. Democracy Brewing is also raising for the final permitting for the Lewiston, Maine location.

Looking Forward

As we look to the future, we are also investing in the next generation through our newly launched Investors Circle Student Impact Investing Initiative, bridging the gap between student brilliance and real-world capital.

Thank you for your continued partnership, your capital, and your shared belief that a better economy isn't just a dream—it's actively being built.

Investors Circle in Berkeley & Silicon Valley | June 15–17

From June 15-17, 2026 – Investors Circle's Don Megrath and Gary Tomchuk invested three energizing days connecting with the West Coast impact community across three Bay Area events: our Growing the Impact Economy Investor Networking Mixer in Berkeley, the FOOD FUNDED 2026 Entrepreneurship & Investor Fair, and Venture Summit West in Silicon Valley. From regenerative food systems to climate and frontier tech, they met with principled founders, investors, and ecosystem partners building a more just and sustainable economy—and sparked a number of promising new collaborations along the way.

IC California Region Coordinator Gary Tomchuk (pictured) leads a round-table discussion with early-stage founders and investors on How to Interact with Angel Investors—and What They're Looking For at FOOD FUNDED 2026 in Berkeley.

Over 15 people joined IC's Don Megrath and Gary Tomchuk at the Investors Circle Growing the Impact Economy Investor Networking Mixer on June 15 in Berkeley, CA. These principled changemakers, investors, advisors, and entrepreneurs from across the San Francisco Bay Area came together to connect with peers and leading impact investors, share insights, and explore collaborative pathways for deploying capital toward regenerative and impactful business solutions. We had a fantastic time reconnecting with friends old and new in the impact investing community, and several future California and national collaborations were sparked at the gathering. Look for announcements about developments tied to IC and these influential forces for good in the weeks and months ahead.

Joining us were: Igor Felipe, Blueprint Collaborative; Erin Axelrod, LIFT Economy; Monette R. Stephens, SF Growth Capital; Matt Esposito, Birch Road Associates; Phil Dillard, Thruline Networks; Kevin J. Bayuk, Purpose Capital | LIFT Economy | RiverStyx Foundation; Les Szabo, Dr. Bronner's / Purpose Capital; Jeffrey Mendelsohn, LocalCode; Arno Hesse, Food Funded & Slow Money; Lina Constantinovici, Innovation 4.4; Scott Leonard, Indigenous Organic; Sara Blenkhorn, Buckminster Fuller Institute; Muhammad Fuzail, ValueIQ; and Jason Rissman, Starlings.

Investors Circle was also proud to serve as a community co-host of the FOOD FUNDED 2026 Entrepreneurship & Investor Fair, a dynamic gathering of food entrepreneurs, investors, industry leaders, and ecosystem builders working toward a healthier, more resilient, and regenerative food system. Held June 16 in Berkeley, FOOD FUNDED combined educational sessions, curated investor presentations, and meaningful networking designed to catalyze capital flow into mission-driven food and agriculture businesses. As the organizers put it: food makers are change makers, and funding them is a meaningful bet on our future.

The 2026 summit featured conversations and workshops on regenerative food systems, climate action, equitable ownership models, funding pathways, culturally relevant food innovation, and scaling mission-driven food enterprises, along with the annual Food Investor Showcase highlighting curated food and ag ventures.

IC California Region Coordinator, Gary Tomchuk, and IC Executive Director, Don Megrath, led two dynamic round-table discussions with early-stage founders and investors on How to Interact with Angel Investors—and What They're Looking For.

Lina Constantinovici, Innovation 4.4, shares insights at the How to Interact with Angel Investors—and What They're Looking For round-table discussion moderated by Gary and Don.

Gary also served as a panelist and start-up pitch judge for the Regenerative: Starts with Ingredients—Selecting and Growing Supply Webs That Do Right by Soil and People session with Grace Belangia, Make Startups, and presenters Matt Cohen, SIMPLi; Susan Buckwalter Hartman, recoup; and Tracey Mason, Conscious Beverages.

We look forward to continuing as a community co-host of FOOD FUNDED, and more, in the days ahead. Your Investors Circle team shared many wonderful moments and connections in Berkeley last week—heartfelt gratitude to everyone we met. Future collaborations are in the air.

Don and Gary also attended Venture Summit West – Silicon Valley on June 16–17 in Mountain View, CA, representing Investors Circle as investor judges and ecosystem partners. Hosted by youngStartup Ventures at the Computer History Museum, Venture Summit West is one of the West Coast's premier deal-making events, linking venture capitalists, corporate VCs, and angel investors with a curated group of more than 100 top innovators across sectors including AI, climate and clean tech, fintech, digital health, and deep tech. The energy across the two days was electric, with back-to-back pitches, one-on-one matchmaking, and candid investor conversations making it one of the most dynamic startup gatherings of the season. Don and Gary were impressed by several of the impactful companies that pitched and the founders and investors they connected with—look for a few to potentially appear at future IC monthly meetings to share their stories.

The summit brought together:

170+ venture capitalists and investment leaders
200+ presenting companies and innovators

Learn more about Venture Summit West → VENTURE SUMMIT LINK

Antony Millin, Chair, NEXT for Startups & Emerging Growth Companies, Shulman Rogers, moderates the Climatetech & Cleantech at Scale: Funding the Induistrial Transition investor panel at Venture Summit West 2026.

Taken together, last week's three San Francisco Bay Area events—our Berkeley mixer, FOOD FUNDED, and Venture Summit West—reflect Investors Circle's deepening commitment to the West Coast and California impact investing and entrepreneurship community. From regenerative food systems to climate and frontier tech, we're building relationships with the founders, funders, and partners shaping a more just and sustainable economy. We're grateful to everyone who made these gatherings so energizing, and we're excited to carry this momentum forward into new collaborations and friendships in the months ahead.

Portfolio Company News

Photon Marine – June 2026 IC Portfolio Company Progress Report

Some images from Photon Marine’s Port of Friday Harbor, WA project.

Photon Marine is electrifying one of the last fossil-fuel-dependent transportation sectors: commercial marine fleets. Report from Marcelino Alvarez, Founder & CEO; email for more information: marcelino@photonmarine.com.

“We build high-performance electric outboard motors and fleet intelligence software for workboats, aquaculture, tourism, ports, and other mission-critical operators. Over the last twelve months, we’ve booked $5.5M in sales, including a $7M Washington State DOT grant to electrify the Port of Friday Harbor, a Port of Detroit (Michigan) contract for two zero-emission patrol/survey vessels, CARB/CORE voucher-backed deployments with customers including Scripps and the Port of Oakland (CA), and a Washington Tribal Electric Boat Program award supporting the Quinault Tribe.

We also have a term sheet and loan documents for a $40M credit facility designed to fund leasing, demo fleets, and working capital, a major unlock for scaling commercial adoption.

To bridge to that credit facility close and our Series A this fall, we are wrapping up a $2M SAFE, with $497k remaining at a 30% discount and a $10k minimum check size.

You can learn more in our pitch deck and our overview video.”

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