2025 through the Fairbridge portfolio...

2025 was a difficult year for startups, but it was also a time where new fundamentals positioned our companies for success. In a new world, where anyone can start a company, and where anything can be built, important questions such as what must be built, for who, and why, are once again at the center of value creation.

The Philosophy

As the biggest bottleneck in building companies shifts from the scarcity of software, the execution problem of firms moves from production to intent, design, and efficiency. The best founders bring conviction and clarity to mission, design, and how resources are marshaled to eliminate waste. This new world presents an unprecedented opportunity for founders to build companies of social significance.

Constraints Drive Value

Our companies are ahead in this transformation and In 2025 they reaped the benefits of disciplined navigation of guardrails in the key areas of insight, capital, and rules. Navigating these constraints compounded enterprise value and deepened their moats. Below are a few illustrations.

Insight – At Fairbridge, we find value by backing founders with unconventional insight that’s informed by real experience. We work with them, patiently, to harness technology and translate insight into markets that deliver enduring economic value.

When I met Dalumuzi right after he founded Notto, he was adamant that alternative credit needed to be licensed and regulated. A few key investors passed, arguing this approach wasn’t disruptive enough and because of the lengthy registration process. Last year, Notto unlocked large revenue opportunities with banking and mobile phone partners who were seeking trusted partners to help them scale in frontier markets of alternative credit. Rich, CEO of CoverRight bet that a marketplace for navigating Medicare needed to be technology first and customer first vs. being an affiliate channel for insurance companies. He has also been handsomely rewarded. Pave’s unique insight that analysis for credit would move away from episodic (periodic FICO draws) to continuous (cash flow-based) has positioned the company as the analytics layer for credit evaluation for consumer and enterprise clients.

Money – We encourage our companies to become demand-driven, i.e., to focus on creating demonstrable value that partners pay for early with minimal cash investment. The opposite is supply-driven i.e., raising money to test and establish markets (think CAC).

Most of our companies didn’t raise capital last year. Instead, they engaged key stakeholders to show value unlocking capital efficiency. One of our most exciting portfolio companies, Sora, was acquired by Flourish, who was desperately seeking excellent solutions for personal financial management. The Sora team could have kept it going, but made a calculated move to optimize investor return, while finding a bigger home to advance their vision. Forte, performed a valuable exercise of sharpening its value proposition, eliminating customer segments that appeared to be a fit, but were unprofitable and redirecting critical resources to pursue a lengthy lucrative partnership with a high-value customer. Seal the Seasons structured a creative deal with its packaging partner that dramatically improved its cash cycle while also spending time with key retail customers co-designing a product line that has unlocked an immediate $50M revenue opportunity. And, on a catchup call with Avanlee, she outlined a strategy to work more closely with and sell to smaller, regional plans while building the capacity to engage larger customers.

Rules – We fundamentally believe that when addressing markets that have previously been chronically underserved, delivering exceptional customer value with consistency is the primary driver for outsized return. Authenticity, legitimacy, and results matter. And so, we back founders who build through collaboration vs. disruption.

Our companies invested in the certifications, regulations, and policy engagement that govern their industries. They build relationships with associations and networks that advance their markets. For example, Notto is now Africa’s first licensed alternative credit bureau, Giving Credit is now compliant with Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and over the last two years, Sphere has pursued the arduous regulatory process to allow its products to be eligible for 401(K) retirement plans.

I have many more of these stories of powerful insight we backed that is currently unlocking powerful markets.

In Summary

Market dynamics of abundance – capital, technology, money – favor our investment thesis. Our CEOs demonstrate how ambitious mission-driven founders have an unprecedented opportunity to build. Remaining resolute in intent, focusing on establishing demand before funding, and investing in legitimacy are the key differentiators. If this idea resonates with you and you are building I’d love to hear from you

In my next post, I will dive into specifics for what excites us about building this environment of abundance!