How We Underwrite Impact and Business Together

Every company has a theory of change, whether it states it or not.

At STVL, we back founders whose theory of change ties growth to human progress. The ones building models where business performance and human outcomes reinforce one another.

When that connection is real, growth scales what matters.

Where We Start

We begin with the problem. The ones worth solving usually sit where human need and market failure overlap. They are foundational. They show up in health care that treats illness instead of promoting health, in education systems that measure attendance more than ability, and in markets that leave too many locked out.

We look for founders who understand these problems deeply and are reimagining what it takes to solve them at scale.

How We Evaluate Both

Underwriting impact and business together means testing whether progress and profit share the same engine.

Is impact built into the model? When the company grows, does its positive effect on people grow too?

Does scale strengthen or weaken that connection? Growth should make the outcome stronger, not more fragile.

Is it durable? When competition, incentives, or policy shift, does the connection hold?

When the answer is yes, the model compounds. Impact fuels business strength, and business strength expands impact.

Where We See It in Practice

We back companies where impact is inseparable from the business model. Their growth depends on creating mutual benefit, where customers, communities, and the company all win together.

PadSplit turns affordable housing into an engine of opportunity. Every new home (a “PadSplit Unit”) expands access for workers while increasing income for property owners.

Ascent redefines education finance by underwriting potential instead of credit history.

Aura Health grows as they help their users solve their problems. As customers engage with hundreds of mental wellness solutions, they rethink their own role in their health.

Each of these companies proves the same pattern. When impact and business reinforce one another, change scales on its own power.

Why It Matters

Markets can accelerate progress, but only when they reward outcomes that matter.

By underwriting impact and business together, we invest in companies where doing good strengthens the business and where the business itself becomes a durable mechanism for systems change.