Novata: ESG for Private Markets

A few months ago, a former colleague reached out to see if I had any interest in helping to launch a new start-up. 

“Too soon,” I thought. 

I had just left S&P, the acquirer of Panjiva, the start-up that I led for more than a decade. And, besides, I was having fun writing right here.

But then I met the founding team. They shared their vision for a new kind of company that would be mission-driven and commercially-sustainable. Together, we put together a plan for building NewCo, and I was hooked.

Today, I’m very excited to share the news that NewCo — now known as Novata — has raised its first round of funding: $21 million from the Ford Foundation, S&P Global, Hamilton Lane, and Omidyar Network. 

We believe this is the largest Series A ever for a public benefit corporation, and we’ll put it to good use as we bring ESG to the private markets.

Having chosen my next adventure — as co-founder and COO of Novata — I thought it’d be fun to turn the remainder of this post into a Choose Your Own Adventure:

• If you’re interested in the intersection of ESG and private markets (i.e., private equity, private credit, private companies), STOP READING and go directly to novata.com.

• If you’re wondering what ESG is, you’re not alone. Environmental, Social, and Governance considerations are increasingly on the minds of business executives, investors, consumers, and even regulators. Gone are the days when a business was judged solely on returns to investors. Increasingly, we realize that a business can have a positive or negative impact on the world around it. ESG is shorthand for describing the effort to measure this impact, so that a company can manage it. As you might imagine, measuring non-financial impact is really hard. But it’s really important if capitalism is going to work for us, rather than the other way around.

• If you’re wondering whether ESG is relevant in the private markets — and not just for public companies — STOP READING and check out today’s Barron’s op-ed by Novata’s co-founder and CEO, Alex Friedman.

• If you have no interest in ESG or the private markets, but instead signed up for Going Green because you’re interested in the intersection of climate and crypto — fear not. There is a ton going on in this space, and I’ll continue to write about it as time permits.

• If you’re a friend or family member who just signed up for Going Green in order to follow my adventures, thank you for encouraging me to do what I love and for motivating me to do things that matter.