Mindset Venture Group

Alison Lawton, the firm's Founder and President, leads investment decisions. Laura Schoenmakers, VP of Finance and a CFA charterholder, manages the private equity portfolio and leads the due diligence process and quantitative analysis. The team currently includes five professionals, with Schoenmakers handling much of the day-to-day investment underwriting.

The firm's sourcing appears to be network-driven, leveraging Lawton's extensive relationships across social impact, venture capital, and nonprofit sectors. The website emphasizes collaborating with entrepreneurs and using a 'broad network of relationships' to add value. Specific sourcing channels are not publicly detailed, though the firm's dual identity — commercial fund and charitable foundation — likely gives it access to founder networks that most seed-stage investors do not see.

Mindset is structured as a private investment firm managing a CGP Fund, not a single family office. It does not publicly tie its capital to any single family's wealth, and it is listed as an Asset Manager in corporate records. The firm blends commercial venture investing with a parallel charitable foundation, making it a hybrid rather than a pure venture capital firm or family office.

The firm's stated strategy is direct early-stage equity investing, writing $100K to $500K checks alongside lead investors. There is no mention of backing external venture funds or operating a fund-of-funds program. Alison Lawton has made personal angel investments — notably as an early backer of Acumen — but those appear separate from the firm's institutional strategy.

Alison Lawton founded both Mindset Venture Group and the Mindset Social Innovation Foundation, a registered Canadian charity. The firm's website states that Mindset Venture Group 'supports' the foundation, and the foundation invests in social impact companies and initiatives. They share a founder and likely some operational infrastructure, but the foundation operates as a separate legal entity with a charitable mandate focused on global health inequities.

The firm targets early-stage companies, specifically Seed and Series A rounds, with pre-money valuations up to USD $15 million. Its typical investment size is $100K to $500K, and it prefers to co-invest alongside a lead investor. The firm looks for businesses that can reach an exit within a 7-to-10-year window.

Yes, the Mindset Social Innovation Foundation operates alongside the commercial venture fund. The foundation is a registered Canadian charity that makes direct social-impact investments and has worked with partners including Virgin Unite, UNICEF Canada, and the Clinton Foundation. It is legally separate from the venture group, though both share Alison Lawton as founder and president, creating a dual-track structure that is uncommon among early-stage venture firms.