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True Wealth Ventures
True Wealth Ventures, led by Sara Brand and Kerry Rupp, writes first checks into early-stage women-led companies improving environmental or human health.
True Wealth Ventures
Founded by Sara Brand and Kerry Rupp, True Wealth Ventures was constructed around the thesis that venture capital systematically under-allocates to women-led businesses, and that targeting companies improving human and environmental health captures the decision-making of women, who drive the vast majority of consumer purchases in these categories. The firm positions itself as a first institutional check, targeting the Series Seed stage with initial investments around $1 million and reserving over half its capital for follow-on rounds. The portfolio concentrates on health and sustainability, deploying across climate technology, digital health, food-as-medicine, and sustainable consumer goods. Identified positions include Solstice, a community solar platform, BrainCheck, an FDA Class II mobile cognitive assessment tool, and Refiberd, whose AI-based system sorts textile waste for chemical recycling. The firm avoids FDA-approval-heavy life sciences like pharma and biotech, instead favoring evidence-based solutions where an acquisition exit within five years at a $100 million-plus valuation is viable. Geographic focus spans the U.S., with named portfolio companies in Texas, California, New York, Tennessee, and Maine. The firm is led by its two founding general partners and operates with the capacity to take board seats post-investment. True Wealth Ventures has been recognized as an ImpactAssets 50 Fund Manager since its second fund. In May 2026, portfolio company RubyWell launched a grant-funded family caregiver support program with the Jewish Association on Aging in the Pittsburgh region, reflecting the firm's ongoing commitment to its human health thesis. True Wealth Ventures' structural distinction is not just its gender lens, but the operationalized link between that lens and its concentrated sector mandate. While many impact funds screen for diversity, the firm pairs a requirement for significant female C-suite equity and authority with an exclusive focus on health and environmental markets where women are the primary purchasers — turning a hiring metric into a sourcing and underwriting edge.
General information
Firm type
Venture Capital
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Austin
Corporate office
Austin, TX, United States
Principals
Sara Brand
Founding General Partner
Kerry Rupp
Founding General Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at True Wealth Ventures?
Founding General Partners Sara Brand and Kerry Rupp lead the firm and its investment decisions. Per the firm's website, the fund was built specifically to address the low percentage of VC dollars going to women CEOs, and both partners are actively involved in sourcing and portfolio management. They attended the Earth E-Capital Summit in April 2026, reflecting their direct engagement with the climate and sustainability ecosystem.
How does True Wealth Ventures source its proprietary deal flow?
The firm's sourcing advantage derives from its narrowly constructed mandate. By requiring at least one full-time female founder or C-suite executive with significant equity and control, and then filtering further for environmental or human health propositions, True Wealth operates in a deliberately constrained but under-networked corner of early-stage tech. Portfolio companies regularly exhibit deep ties to university research ecosystems, as seen with Dermala's licensed microbiome IP and Aeromutable's aerospace-to-trucking technology out of San Diego.
Is True Wealth Ventures structured as a family office or a venture firm?
True Wealth Ventures operates as a traditional venture capital asset manager raising committed funds from external limited partners. It is not a single-family office. The firm was selected for the ImpactAssets 50 list as an impact fund manager starting with its Fund II, confirming its institutional, multi-LP structure.
What investment stages does True Wealth Ventures typically target?
The firm prefers to be the first institutional investor, usually at the Series Seed stage. Its initial check size is roughly $1 million, and the firm reserves over half its capital for follow-on investments in existing portfolio companies. The stated exit path is acquisition within three to five years at a valuation of $100 million or more.
Which sectors does True Wealth Ventures explicitly avoid?
The firm will not invest in life sciences requiring heavy FDA approval processes, such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, or implantable medical devices. This exclusion allows the team to focus on digital health, wellness, and food-as-medicine solutions that do not face protracted regulatory timelines, aligning with its three-to-five-year liquidity horizon.
How does the firm integrate its gender and impact mandates into portfolio construction?
The mandate is embedded at the entry gate: portfolio companies must have at least one full-time female founder or C-suite executive with significant decision-making authority and meaningful equity, and their core value proposition must explicitly improve environmental or human health. This dual screen is not a side policy — it is the only investment criteria the firm publishes, and it governs the entire portfolio from Dalinea's procurement intelligence to Jiminy's insect-based dog food.
What is True Wealth Ventures' posture on co-investing alongside external GPs?
The firm often writes the first institutional check at the seed stage, positioning itself as a lead or co-lead rather than a passive follower. The website does not explicitly describe a fund-of-funds program or club-deal structure, indicating that deployment is primarily through direct equity investments into portfolio companies.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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