“Had we been traditional investors, without the need to create manufacturing jobs and make a difference in climate and global warming, we wouldn’t have made our early investment in Tesla. It would have been far too risky. I think that’s a bit of the superpower of impact investing – it opens your eyes to opportunities. ”
— Nancy Pfund
My guest today is Nancy Pfund, the visionary founder and managing partner of DBL Partners. She invested in Tesla when others ridiculed the idea of electric cars transforming the auto industry.
DBL was among the first to see Tesla’s potential, driven by a commitment to decarbonize transportation and create jobs in an industry most believed would never succeed. Today, they’re not just an investor but a pioneer in the field of impact investing, proving that financial success and social impact can indeed go hand in hand.
Nancy’s journey into impact investing began with a strong foundation in anthropology and a unique career path that led her through policy advocacy and tech innovation. Before founding DBL, Nancy was a managing director of venture capital at JPMorgan. Previously, Nancy worked at Intel Corporation, the State of California, Stanford University, and the Sierra Club.
This experience paved the way for her pioneering work at DBL, where she has managed over a billion and a half dollars in assets, backing transformative companies like SolarCity, The RealReal, and, of course, Tesla.
DBL Partners invests across diverse fields such as cleantech, sustainable products, and information technology, all while maintaining a strong focus on climate impact and economic inclusivity. DBL’s approach is centered on their “trifecta” strategy:
- eliminating excess carbon in industries
- achieving substantial impact
- investing in sectors that have historically been carbon-intensive
Join me today as we explore Nancy’s career, the evolution of impact investing, and how DBL Partners is reshaping industries with a focus on innovation and sustainability.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can watch the interview on YouTube here.
What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
- Connect with Nancy: LinkedIn, X
- DBL Partners website
SHOW NOTES:
[00:00] Nancy Pfund’s background
[09:10] Education and early career
[23:40] Transition to venture capital
[32:54] Early success in solar energy and initial investment in Tesla
[38:12] Establishing DBL Partners
[43:10] DBL’s mission, approach, and theory of change
[01:00:42] Aligning impact results with financial returns and impact assessment
[01:17:38] Policy engagement’s influence on DBL’s portfolios
[01:22:48] Advice for impact investors
[01:30:40] Rapid fire questions
MORE NANCY PFUND QUOTES FROM THE INTERVIEW:
“DBL’s theory of change is that innovation can drive transformative improvement in many aspects of our society, but it needs to be coupled with attention to social, cultural, and economic concerns. It also has to be inclusive and broadly participative. We believe that this combination is what it takes to address some of the most important challenges of our age, including climate change. ”
— Nancy Pfund
“The major industries of our age – energy, transportation, and food – have to be reoriented towards a lower carbon future. That will require some policy tweaks along the way. It’s not going to happen without them. ”
— Nancy Pfund
