Creating Improved Urban Spaces

Tumml found success by offering money, mentorship, and guidance, but the pair realized that relying solely on fickle philanthropic funding meant the model had a ceiling. To expand their work, they retired Tumml and launched the Urban Innovation Fund in 2016 with $24.5 million in initial investments. While Tumml had offered relatively small checks and support to companies at the earliest stages, UIF allows Brenner and Lein to supercharge their funding and involvement.

Their focus has remained on startups tackling urban problems in areas such as public health, education, and transportation. The types of companies they seek are those that drive economic vitality in cities, enhance livability, or promote sustainability. As Tumml did, UIF provides not just funding but also consistent support in navigating regulatory challenges.

“It’s a very, very small subset of companies that can both work on a problem that, at least in our minds, really matters and be an enormous business.”

And, like Tumml, UIF has explored industries or companies that other investors may perceive as risky. When it was raising its first fund, Lein recalls pitching a large institution on its vision, which includes investing in companies that focus on climate and energy. The organization, having experienced losses during the first cleantech bubble, was particularly cautious—it wasn’t interested in a fund emphasizing those areas. However, Lein and Brenner persevered. Today, climate tech remains one of the fund’s largest focuses, representing more than a sixth of its portfolio of 64 companies. In addition to Electriphi, they have invested in Public Grid, a company providing households with access to affordable clean energy, and Optiwatt, an app that helps EV drivers schedule charging during more cost-effective or environmentally friendly times.

“They took risks in areas, [including] mobility and transportation, where other people might not play because of policy and regulation risk. And they were willing to think about public-private partnerships and what might be needed,” says Rachel Sheinbein, MBA ’04, SM ’04, a Bay Area–based angel investor who has collaborated with the Urban Innovation Fund on investments. “They weren’t afraid to take that on.”

Lein and Brenner have also invested in health companies like Cleancard, which is working to provide at-home testing for cancers, and startups creating workflow tools, like KarmaSuite, which has developed software to assist nonprofits in tracking grants.

Meanwhile, they have cast a wide net and built a portfolio rich in companies led by entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups: Three-quarters of the companies in UIF’s current portfolio were founded by women or people of color, and nearly 60% include an immigrant on their founding team.

When selecting companies, Brenner states they make “very calculated decisions” based in part on regulatory factors that may influence profits. However, they are still pursuing the significant returns that drive other investors.

“It’s a very, very small subset of companies that can both work on a problem that, at least in our minds, really matters and be an enormous business,” she says. “Those are really the companies that we’re looking for.”