Venture Capital
She Made an Early Bet on Tesla. Here’s What Nancy Pfund Sees Now
The rise of impact investing is catching up with her “double bottom line” approach.
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Nancy Pfund has been turning ideas into businesses for most of her life. Soldering wires with her inventor father instilled an affinity for entrepreneurs that drew her to venture capital. Pfund made early investments in companies such as Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. and in 2008 spun off a “double-bottom-line” fund—focusing on both profits and social impact—from JPMorgan Chase & Co. San Francisco-based DBL Partners, where Pfund is co-founder and managing partner, has raised a total of $750 million across four investment pools. Here, Pfund, 63, describes what she’s learned and where she’s investing now.
Brian Eckhouse: How did you find your way to venture capital?