Profit With Purpose
Check out RevUp’s 2026 Impact Assessment
American entrepreneurship isn’t a luxury. It is—literally—how this country renews itself.
Small and mid-sized companies create the majority of net new jobs. Founders solve problems that institutions are too risk-averse to touch. They serve customers that legacy industries undervalue. For many, entrepreneurship unlocks economic mobility and opportunity otherwise out of reach.
Entrepreneurship is THE engine. Starving it for fuel is a bad idea.
Our funding structures have lagged behind this truth. No shade to institutional VC, but its model sets a necessary but very high standard for what’s considered fundable. But, trad VC is perceived as the de facto tool for most business building.
In practice, there’s a huge gap between early and later stage funding options that VC can’t and doesn’t fill. A black hole that leaves a large and valuable class of companies underfunded at critical stages of growth.
On top of it, the industry may be working to address its exclusionary past, but the demographics of who gets funded remain dismal.
This is a one-two punch that keeps America from unleashing entrepreneurship’s full potential.
Conventional wisdom holds that investors must choose between profit and purpose. Aim for impact or returns. Either be fiduciary-first or values-driven. We believe you can be both.
This Impact Assessment is a quick summary of where we see capital creating investor upside while also expanding access to capital.
We aren’t claiming to be the fix. But, our results are proof points that innovating the capital toolkit is worth doing…and frankly, just waiting to be done!
72 investments later, we’ve delivered an IRR of 14-20% and built a portfolio of companies we and our investors are proud to support. We’ve seen our founders achieve some stellar outcomes, several even coming back to become RevUp investors themselves.
For context, we think of impact in four ways: Investing Everywhere, Investing Beyond Unicorns, Supporting Founders Who Build Without the Perks of Privilege, and Investing into Companies with ESG embedded into their core DNA.
1. Investing Everywhere
Most venture capital flows to just a few states. While we have active investments in major markets, we're proud to also back founders building beyond the traditional hubs, where they create outsized impact. 68% of RevUp companies are based outside of top-tier markets. The promise of entrepreneurship can't be limited by zip code.
2. Investing Beyond Unicorns
Venture Capital’s dependency on exits and billion dollar valuations sets a necessary but very high standard for what’s considered ‘investable.’ The chasm between ‘investable’ and ‘not-investable’ leaves a large class of valuable companies under-funded at critical stages of growth.
We built a model to invest into these companies and unlock the value they create. They aren’t outliers. They are the norm, and they are everywhere. (Video: The Economic Upsides of Investing Beyond Unicorns)
Beyond producing investor returns, filing this gap in the capital continuum enables our companies to go farther, faster. RevUp companies have raised $150M in equity funding AFTER RevUp invested AND the portfolio has produced $350M+ in aggregate revenue—powerful proof points for the value of expanding the entrepreneurial funding toolkit.
3. Backing Founders Who Build Without the Perks of Privilege
Many things have changed in early stage investing over the last decade. One has not: most venture funding still goes to a very narrow sliver of entrepreneurs:
80% of VC funding goes to all-male teams.
2% goes to all-female teams.
Only about 0.5% goes to Black-founded businesses.
We are proud to support founders who build outside of these well-established networks and the perks of privilege found within them:
60% of RevUp companies are C-Suite diverse
51% of RevUp companies are women-led
35% of RevUp companies have founders of color
These are great companies that produce excellent results for investors, led by founders who exemplify the grit, creativity, and commitment that makes us proud to be a small part of their journey.
4. Impact Embedded into Core Company DNA
We are proud to support a meaningful cohort of companies (~40% of overall portfolio) who build companies with ESG impact embedded into their core company DNA. These companies aren’t layering on impact after the fact. They are building from day one to solve real challenges in scalable, revenue-generating ways. Check out the assessment for some examples.
The Barriers to Capital Innovation Are Mostly Imagined
Expanding what we do with capital doesn't mean burning the existing strategy down. It's not a cage match. It’s about adding tools, connecting the dots, and better aligning capital with company trajectory.
If we’ve learned anything from this journey it’s that broadening the lens for what’s "investable" broadens the outcomes invested capital can create.
We are tremendously grateful for the investors who have made all of this work possible. Without our LPs there is no story. Above all, we are grateful to the founders who have allowed us to be a small part of their journey. It is your hard work, sacrifice, and dogged determination that makes everything we do possible.
Read the full 2026 Impact Assessment here and reach out to Managing Partner Melissa Withers at melissa@revupfund.com to learn more about what we're building.
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More About RevUp Capital
RevUp Capital invests in B2B and B2C companies that are revenue-driven and ready to double down on growth. We deploy cash and capacity to help companies grow from $1-3M to $10-30M, quickly and efficiently, using a revenue-based model. Companies enter our portfolio with $500K-$3M in revenue, a strong growth rate, and a team that’s ready to scale. Our typical investment range is $300K-$500K.
More at www.revupfund.com