Tani Olguin

a16z Podcast | Investing in Communities

Kesha Cash, Tawny Holguin, Tani Olguin

The Impact America Fund targets pre-seed through Series A ventures in underserved U.S. communities to address a critical capital gap where 91% of impact investment currently ignores early-stage opportunities. By combining market-rate financial return expectations with the GERS measurement framework, the fund successfully backed companies like Maven to generate economic uplift for low-income workers while attracting validation from major firms such as Andreessen Horowitz. This strategy aims to transform systemic market failures into profitable, scalable solutions that improve health, education, and wealth indices for marginalized populations.