Rooted in Capitalism for Social Change, Inaugural ENTREPRENEURS IMPACT SUMMIT, Founded by i(x) investments, Receives Over 100 Commitments from Businesses and Entrepreneurs Focused on Tackling the World’s Biggest Problems

Impact investing firm i(x) investments hosted the inaugural 2-day gathering, Entrepreneurs Impact Summit (EIS), a new type of event that is rooted in capitalism for social change in Santa Monica on Thursday, June 13, and Friday, June 14. After a welcoming dinner and celebratory kick off on Thursday evening, the conference programming began early Friday morning with Trevor Neilson, CEO + Co-Founder, i(x) investments, and EIS presenting sponsor Gunnar Lovelace, founder of Good Money. Both on stage welcoming guests.

“This is not a normal conference of talking heads. This is a conference that will produce very deliberate intentional commitments to decarbonize our economy,” Lovelace shared in the opening welcome. “A part of being here today is not looking away,” Neilson added in talking about choices in how to deal with the world’s biggest challenges.

EIS was attended by over 300 people, including business leaders from all over the world interested and engaged in participating in real solutions to fight climate emergency, poverty, human rights and other immediate world issues. Speakers included Lauren Gropper, Founder + CEO, Repurpose, Inc.; Brian Sirgutz, Founder + CEO, Ampathy; Naomi Gleit, VP of Social Good, Facebook; Jesse Draper, Managing Director, Halogen Ventures; Joanna McFarland, CEO, HopSkipDrive; and Stephan Nicoleau, Co-founder, Managing Director, FullCycle. Participating sponsors also include Facebook, Brex, This Saves Lives, KelvinZero, Loeb and Loeb, and Wastefuel.

Public commitments included:

  • Save the lives of cardiac arrest victims through crowdsourcing CPR. (Matthew Wolf, CPRSave)
  • To account for 10,000 new registered voters 18-25 years old. (John Michael, CommonAlly PBC)
  • Encourage and actively support 5 clients as they incorporate sustainable and responsible investing (environmental, social and corporate governance-ESG) criteria in investment analysis and portfolio construction. (Jake Block, Deutsche Bank)
  • Facilitate the employment of one million formerly incarcerated men and women. Next year, we're targeting 1,000/month; in 5 years, 10,000/month, to total by Year 10, 1 million+. (Richard Bronson, 70 Million Jobs)
  • Over the next 12 months, FullCycle is committed to investing $100M in companies – and their projects – to accelerate and scale the deployment of climate-restoring technologies. (Ibrahim AlHusseini, FullCycle).
  • Over the next 5 years, Good Money is committing to move at least $5bn from big banks destroying the planet to a values-based financial system where every customer is an owner for first time in history. (Gunnar Lovelace, Founder + CEO, Good Money)

“Entrepreneurs can no longer sit on the sidelines and let government and the nonprofit sector address the biggest problems we face. The 300 entrepreneurs who came together for the inaugural EIS are focused not on talk, but on action. This event, which will occur annually, is the start of a new movement to align profit with purpose,” added Neilson. Trevor founded Entrepreneurs Impact Summit along with i(x) investments Chief of Staff Abby Pick and other i(x) team members.

Over the next 12 months, i(x) investments commits to raise/invest over $100M in companies that address the global climate emergency by reducing carbon emissions.

The summit organizers have already had applications submitted for 2020. EIS 2020 plans are underway which will include an awards ceremony from this year’s company commitments. For more information, go to entrepreneursimpactsummit.com and follow @entrepreneursimpactsummit for updates.

About i(x) investments

Founded in 2015, i(x) investments is a permanently capitalized holding company for investors who want to create long-term economic growth in combination with positive, measurable social impact. i(x) believes the world's biggest problems are also the biggest market opportunities and invests in areas of human need: Renewable Energy, Green Commercial Real Estate, Gender Equality, Media, Education, Workforce Housing, Technology, Water, Food and Health. The company uses a multi-strategy investment approach throughout the entire capital structure. For more, please visit https://www.ix-investments.com/.