About Stuart
I am on a remarkable journey that spans various facets of the startup ecosystem. As the founder of Yappo Mobile Payments, I navigated the complexities of building a payments app, securing two investment rounds, and even entertaining acquisition offers. This firsthand experience as a founder who's been through the trenches provides me with invaluable insights into the challenges and triumphs that entrepreneurs face daily.
I am also a founder of a very young and small on-demand delivery business in Cape Town and deal with startup teething problems daily.
Being an entrepreneur by blood-type, I am always involved in startup-entrepreneurship-investment related organisations, including:
- Country partner at StartupBus Africa and Design for Change, Startups Made in Spain and ENVIU
- Judge at Startup Chile and Get in the Ring
- Entrepreneurship & economics lecturer at Geneva Business School and TSiBA
- Global Shapers, South African Chamber of Commerce in Spain.
After doing MBA at IE Business School I got involved in impact investment by setting up one the first student-run impact fund in Europe. This was where Fundie was birthed. It was during my time in MBA lectures that I made a decision to work my way to a small fund to invest in startups focusing on decarbonisation and climate resilience.
Why we exist
Our purpose is rooted in the belief that businesses have the potential to reverse the damage they've inflicted on our natural resources, animals, and their habitats. We are consuming irresponsibly and have been for too long. The focus on decarbonization and climate tech isn't just a trend; it's a commitment to leveraging startup innovation to mend the very world we've altered for decades.
We are firm believers that business and positive change are inherently and inextricably intertwined. Profitability and purpose are not mutually exclusive – together they form the DNA of a responsible business.
Our mission is to empower and partner with the brave visionaries – the 'crazy ones' – who share our belief in making meaningful, sustainable change can happen through business. Focusing on startups.
Our collective journey
While we are a small impact investment studio, we are launching a small decarbonisation fund to invest in the companies we work with. Our intention is to use the fund to partner with startups that have innovative solutions that:
- Do regenerative agriculture
- Decrease the consumption demand on animals
- Recycle/upcycle
- Restore Habitat
The premise of the fund is to invest in startups that show traction in
- Decreasing the commercial demand on animals 🐂 and land 🌾
- Decreasing the commercial impact on air 💨
Our existence is driven by the profound belief that even with small actions, when taken together, we can move the needle by a centimeter; protect and repurpose one more acre of nature, reduce the demand on one less animal or reduce the temperature by one degree Celsius.