Straight answers, in one place.
Everything people ask us in a first conversation: what the studio is, how the money works, how to apply, and what happens if it does not work out.
The studio.
We are the investment arm of Foundry for Good: we build, acquire, and scale mission-driven companies serving the U.S. social good economy. We invests off Foundry for Good's own balance sheet, built from our seven profitable operating companies.
No. There is no committed fund size and no ten-year clock, because the studio invests off of our own balance sheet. The capital is permanent, which is why companies here are built to be profitable rather than positioned for a sale on someone else's schedule.
There will be more details soon on a potential accelerator event, but we are primarily a venture studio focused on equipping companies with what they need to succeed in the social good sector.
Behind it, we have partners who operate the businesses funding it: Adam Weinger, who founded Double the Donation and is Chief Executive Officer of Foundry for Good, Rafi Norberg, who founded and runs Nexus Marketing, and Kanwei Li, Chief Technology Officer, with Ryan Gaines as Chief Financial Officer. An advisory bench of chief executives and senior operators from across the nonprofit and association software economy sits around them.
We primarily invest in the social good economy: nonprofits, associations, and the companies that serve them. Our entire advantage is fourteen years of experience and success in this market. Outside it, we would be an ordinary investor.
Both. Getting Attention was built inside the studio with zero outside investment. Tradewing was acquired in October 2024 and rebuilt from the brand down. Our default preference is businesses with existing infrastructure and proven leaders.
Deliberately few. This is because we provide capital, manpower, and expertise towards success. The next cohort is sourcing 3–5 mission-driven ventures. In the social good space, we would rather succeed with a small number than move with a large number thinly.
Foundry for Good backs the social good economy through several routes: an angel network that runs quarterly pitch forums, business acquisitions, strategic rollups, growth equity, and the value-add services every company draws on. The venture studio is the route that builds and capitalizes new companies from scratch, and it is what this site is about. If your situation fits one of the others, we will say so and point you there rather than force it into a cohort.
Capital and ownership.
No. Foundry for Good funds the company. You draw a base salary from day one and build full-time: you are not expected to self-fund the business or work for equity alone.
Each venture is funded to reach real milestones: $250K per venture, sized to give the company roughly two years of runway. The precise figure is set per venture.
Founding teams hold 5-30% equity in total combined across the founding team. Where you land in that range depends on your role, the stage you join, and the scope of what you own operationally.
Because the studio carries the capital, the runway, the platform, and the loss if the venture does not find its market. The founding team carries full-time accountability for the outcome, which earns a real and meaningful stake. It is ownership, not options theater.
Two ways. A base salary from day one, and equity that becomes a claim on distributions, a future sale, or continued compounding as the business becomes cash-generative. Because capital is permanent, no fund clock forces which of those paths you take.
The model is designed so it does not have to. Ventures are built to be profitable rather than to chase the next round. If a company does earn the right to more capital, Foundry for Good can fund up to $1M directly, or reach up to $10M alongside curated funding partners. That is an option the business unlocks, not a default assumption.
Not every venture finds its market, and the model accounts for that. Because Foundry for Good provides the capital and runway, a founding team is not left personally in debt if a venture is wound down: and the operators who ran it well are people we want to build with again.
In a founding agreement, finalized per venture. The model page describes the shape of the deal, not a substitute for it. Complete terms are provided in writing at the final step of the process.
Founders and venture leads.
Often we do: years inside the sector surface problems worth solving, and we validate them before a founding team is brought on. We also partner with operators who arrive with their own sharp wedge into the social good economy.
We pair complementary co-founders: typically a business lead and a technical lead: who can commit full-time. The business lead owns go-to-market, customers, hiring, and the P&L. The technical lead owns product and engineering from the first line of code.
Yes. Founder matching is part of what the studio does, and we run the same diligence on the match that we run on the market.
No. Venture leads can be based in the U.S. or the Philippines. The companies serve the U.S. social good economy either way.
It is a strong signal but not a requirement. Direct corporate leadership or entrepreneurial leadership counts, because what we are testing is whether you have run something and know what needs to get done.
Weekly mentorship from our value-creation specialists, plus whatever you pull from the shared functions: marketing and sales strategy, talent acquisition, back-office set-up, inbound marketing, and warm introductions across the 500+ partner network. The company is yours to run: our record rests on being active, engaged investors who keep the operator independent.
If you want majority control from day one, if your plan depends on raising a priced round, or if you want to keep a full-time job elsewhere while the venture finds its footing. We will tell you early rather than waste your quarter.
From first conversation to written terms is typically a few weeks, driven mostly by how quickly we can match you to a specific validated venture.
Talent and partners.
Because it is already there. Foundry for Good runs a 100+ person team in the Philippines across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, holds it at a 95% retention rate, and has filled every leadership seat to date by promoting from inside. The portfolio serves the U.S. social good economy and will continue to, but the investment bench behind it is the next layer on a team that already works. There is also a deep pool of finance and operating talent there with exactly the profile the studio needs, and comparatively few venture platforms competing for it.
No. The people on this bench run diligence, sit in portfolio operating reviews, and are first in line for a venture lead seat when a company is capitalized. The studio's stated intent is to source venture leads from this team.
No. Operators convert well here. What we look for is a specific record of something you owned and what happened to it, comfort with ambiguity, and judgment about people.
The 500+ partner network across the social good space is used deliberately for customer conversations and go-to-market, not as a logo slide. If you serve the same buyers, start a conversation and tell us who you reach.
The studio's own cheques come off Foundry for Good's balance sheet, and that is what makes the capital permanent. Where a deal is larger than the studio writes on its own, Foundry for Good can syndicate it through its angel network and curated funding partners: up to $1M direct, and up to $10M with partners. Nothing in the studio model depends on that happening.
Possibly. We acquire mission-driven businesses doing $250K to $5M in annual recurring revenue, typically in nonprofit software, GovTech, EdTech, or social services, where the core product is established and growth has plateaued. We look for at least five years of operating history and at least two years of healthy margins. We move at the speed of a founder: an offer in 7 days, and most deals closed inside a month. You can exit completely, roll equity forward, or stay in the leadership seat. Start a conversation with what the business does, who buys it, and what you want to happen to your team.
The library page lists every figure the rest of the site is built on, stated conservatively, plus eight operating notes explaining how we decide.
Ask us directly.
If something here is unclear, that is useful for us to know. Send the question and we will answer it plainly.