Special Interview: Investor Laura Callanan, founder Upstart Co-Lab: Rocket fuel for creative entrepreneurs

Photo by Daniel Dorsa for Forbes

For entrepreneurs in the creative sector – vs tech and other sectors – getting investment is a special challenge. CE Founder Carolyn Dailey sat down with groundbreaking investor Laura Callanan in Upstart Co-Lab’s New York offices to learn about how they are connecting $8.4 trillion of socially responsible and impact investing capital with entrepreneurs in the $877 billion creative economy.

These are entrepreneurs who are making a profit while also making a difference: addressing larger societal problems, creating jobs and stimulating local economies.

Callanan knows the creative lay of the land intimately, having previously been Deputy Chairman of the US’s powerful National Endowment for the Arts, and she secured Upstart Co-Lab seed funding from the Ford Foundation.

We are very excited for you to listen to the interview to learn about Laura’s outlook on the creative economy and creative entrepreneurship and how she goes about evaluating investments in creative businesses.

 

Interview Notes:

 

Upstart Co-Lab latest research: 2022 Impact Report: Investing for an Inclusive Creative Economy

Upstart Co-Lab in the News:

The New York Times: A Push to Invest in the Arts Grows Stronger
Forbes: Investments Of $7.75 Million And Plans For A $100 Million Portfolio
Barron’s: Future Returns: Upstart Co-Lab to Create Inclusive Creative Economy Fund
Financial Times: Museums should lead in socially responsible investing
Monocle: Worthy Investment
Stanford Social Innovation Review: Capital for Creativity
Worth Magazine: Creative Industries Are The Next Frontier In Impact Investing
The Art Newspaper: How museums can ethically invest their money
ImpactAlpha: Investment opportunities in expanding access and ownership in the creator economy