From the Founders: Halcyon Alumni on Alternative Capital Strategies & Funding with Purpose
A common misconception among investors is that solely profit-first companies are inherently stronger bets than those built around a social mission. Data from the The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) tells a different story: across sectors and markets, impact investments “overwhelmingly meet or exceed investor expectations for both social and environmental impact and financial returns.”
With the global impact investing market now estimated at $1.57T USD, impact-driven founders are redefining how they fund and scale their ventures with intention. While many find success securing venture capital (VC), others are finding that alternative forms of financing better align with their missions and long-term goals.
In this first edition of ‘From the Founders,’ four Halcyon alumni share how they’ve raised capital without compromising their purpose:
Kidus Asfaw , Founder of Kubik, Inc. , has successfully raised from VC firms, such as African Renaissance Partners and Plug and Play, that directly aligned with his venture’s mission. Kubik, the 2023 Global Startup of the Year winner, became the first Ethiopian company to raise a multi-million dollar investment in climate and sustainability solutions.
Kidus’s Key Insights from Raising VC:
Kidus pursued VC funding because Kubik’s market-readiness and ambitious growth trajectory aligned well with the VC model, and he wanted to ensure Kubik could enter the market without delay. Kidus’s prior experience working with the United Nations had shown him that grant-based funding can sometimes shift a venture’s focus toward donor expectations rather than market needs, leading to misaligned priorities and slower execution. In contrast, Kidus saw VC as a vehicle built to take bold risks and deploy resources quickly, which was exactly what Kubik needed at that stage.
When Kidus set out to raise his first funding round, he didn’t have a playbook to follow, as no Ethiopian climate company had raised capital at this scale before. Without that roadmap, Kidus was able to more deliberately target investors whose mission aligned with Kubik’s. He built momentum by bringing together a mix of investors who, at first glance, had little in common. But, as Kidus realized, they were united by one key factor: “a belief in the vision, a belief [in] Kubik being able to execute.”
Kidus also credits his success to maintaining an open, feedback-driven mindset, which has fostered deep trust and collaboration with his backers. “[They’ve] lifted [me] up and molded Kubik in a better way,” Kidus says.
Kidus believes in three key principles in investor relations. First, he stressed preparation—that you should enter any conversation knowing your audience and their mission, and importantly, where that mission aligns with yours. While it may not be the most exciting part of a founder’s journey, Kidus also practices discipline: having an updated pitch deck, a clear data room, and a cadence of regular monthly updates with current and potential investors. Finally, Kidus defines resilience as accepting rejection and knowing that most investor calls will end with a ‘no,’ but maintaining a positive mindset and continuing despite those odds.
Akshita Sachdeva , Co-Founder of Trestle Labs | Kibo , has developed an economically sustainable business model supported by the company’s revenue-driven financial structure. Launched in 2019, the venture’s initial funding came from a stipend and grants, but since, their sales have exponentially increased. Notably, Trestle Labs appeared on Shark Tank India and grew their net profitability from 5% in 2019-2020 to 38% in 2024, currently empowering over 2M visually impaired individuals.
Akshita’s Key Insights on High-Quality Revenue Streams:
Trestle Labs follows a ‘one-to-many’ strategy, meaning that their business-to-business (B2B) model allows them to serve many end users simply through one customer acquisition. For example, by distributing their technology to a single school, Trestle Labs can reach between 30 to 50 visually impaired students. This structure maximizes their impact and means students “don’t have to pay for it from their own pocket,” Akshita says.
This model also improves efficiency. Akshita often collaborates with governments on large-scale projects, allowing Trestle Labs to deploy in bulk and significantly reduce both marketing and customer acquisition costs.
Akshita has effectively leveraged grants and accelerator programs to expand into international markets in the US, UK, and Africa. When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted their core customer bases—schools and libraries—Trestle Labs turned to non-dilutive funding, or capital that does not require giving up ownership or equity. Through MIT Solve , the DBS Foundation in Singapore, and the One Young World Lead2030 Challenge, the team received awards that aligned with their mission and supported strategic expansion. In 2022, Trestle Labs was accepted to Halcyon to help them enter the US market and grow their network, and they’ve stayed connected to this day.
Akshita built Trestle Labs at home in India using local talent and resources, significantly reducing development and production costs. This approach enabled Trestle Labs to offer high-quality, competitively priced products that meet the needs of communities in India and in their additional markets. The team maintains a gross profit margin of ~80%—typically translating to a 30-40% net profit margin after taxes—demonstrating that mission and profit can go hand-in-hand.
Akshaya Anand , Co-Founder & CTO of Korion Health , has leveraged competitions and crowdfunding to advance her company’s product development and operations. Korion Health has also pulled in funding from grants and angel networks, but Akshaya and her team’s biggest source of growth was winning the 2024 Hult Prize Foundation Global Finals, earning a $1M grand prize.
Akshaya’s Key Insights from Competitions and Crowdfunding:
When funds were low early in Korion Health’s journey, the team decided to start a crowdfunding campaign. Since their inception, Korion Health formed a community around them that wholeheartedly believed in the company, the team, and the mission. So, they took a chance on translating that momentum into an actionable campaign. Mobilizing and engaging their supporters through crowdfunding upheld one of Korion Health’s core values to be “community driven and really [make] a device, by the people, for the people,” Akshaya said. As a result, the team raised $150,000 from their Honeycomb campaign.
Akshaya leveraged non-dilutive funding from her team’s pitch competition wins to cover essential legal and C Corp-related expenses. These prizes have also been instrumental in helping Korion Health reach key milestones—particularly their pursuit of FDA clearance, a process that averages 31 months and often poses a significant barrier for MedTech startups. The Korion Health team expects to secure this clearance within a projected budget of $2.3M, showing just how crucial their competition winnings have been.
For early-stage startups like hers, competitions also offer valuable opportunities when resources are limited. “[They’re] really good in helping you build a network when you don’t have anything and are just starting out,” Akshaya notes. Korion Health’s competition successes brought press exposure, connections to mentors, and new partnerships, thanks in large part to increased brand awareness.
Akshaya emphasizes the importance of having a well-crafted pitch and a clear understanding of your audience, particularly in competitions. She credits Halcyon’s weekly pitch practices as a valuable resource for sharpening her presentation skills—a setting where she received constructive feedback from experts and peers without external pressures. Akshaya turned to these pitch practices as “an opportunity to try things [she] wouldn’t normally try,” and capitalized on these actionable learnings on stage.
Shavini Fernando , Founder & CEO of OxiWear , developed her first prototype after being diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, a condition that left her severely hypoxic. Following four cardiac arrests and three strokes, she was determined to stay active and commercialize a wearable technology to help herself and others facing similar health challenges. OxiWear has since received its FDA clearance as a medical device, and Shavini herself has been named a 2022 StartOut Next Generation awardee, a 2022 Washington Business Journal (WBJ) 40 Under 40 winner, and a 2023 WBJ Women Who Mean Business honoree.
Shavini’s Key Insights on Mixed Funding Routes:
Shavini recommends that founders pursue forms of non-dilutive funding in their early stages, which she utilized to begin creating a functional prototype and hire a product designer and CTO. In 2018, Shavini won the Leonsis Family Entrepreneurship pitch competition, receiving $30K. After hitting these benchmarks, Shavini was accepted into Halcyon’s Cohort 11 in 2019. Aided by Halcyon’s support and additional equity-free stipend, she was able to finalize her functional prototype without unnecessarily diluting equity.
Shavini also turned to angel investors (including the Halcyon Angels) and family offices—groups she sees as more sustainable and under less pressure to force a quick exit, instead being interested in supporting their founders and helping them grow in a way that aligns with long-term valuation goals. As Shavini describes, “it's safer… they are not going to push and pull you and try to change [your venture].” While VCs can be more closely tied to market cycles—making them vulnerable during financial downturns—angels and family offices are independently funded, typically offering a more stable source of investment in uncertain times.
Shavini credits much of OxiWear’s success to her committed, mission-aligned investors, advisors, and partners. Thinking through which VCs would truly care about OxiWear’s impact ultimately helped Shavini introduce this funding type to her capital stack. OxiWear [DB2] closed its pre-seed funding round at $1.25M from notable investors such as Halcyon Fund I, GAP Funds, TiE DC , Boston Chapters, and Ted Leonsis , whom she first met at his earlier pitch competition.
Shavini also emphasizes the importance of perseverance. In their first fundraising round, the OxiWear team pitched to 357 investors. Shavini reframed each rejection into fuel to keep refining her work and motivating her cause. It is with this grit and resilience that Shavini not only confronts her personal health issues, but also tackles challenges every day with OxiWear.
Across sectors, regions, and financing strategies, several shared lessons emerge among these four Halcyon alumni:
Funding—and success—is not a one-size-fits-all approach, but through these approaches, founders can build resilient ventures positioned for profit and lasting impact.
ERP Consultant
2moInspiring. Quote of the day for me is: "Whoever said no, I'm thankful for them, because the actually push you more." - Shavini Fernando.
Thanks for sharing your interview with Akshaya Anand !!