Conscious Venture Partners
Conscious Venture Partners is a Baltimore-based early-stage venture capital and impact investment firm founded in 2013 that invests in diverse founders using innovation to address accessibility barriers in healthcare, education, mobility, nutrition, and clean water under a stakeholder capitalism thesis.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersBaltimore, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Conscious Venture Partners does
Conscious Venture Partners (CVPartners) is a private early-stage venture capital firm and impact investment platform founded in 2013 and headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. The firm invests in founders from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds who apply innovation to dismantle accessibility barriers in sectors such as healthcare, education, mobility, nutrition, and clean water. Its investment thesis is grounded in stakeholder capitalism, positioning the firm against shareholder-primacy VCs by supporting portfolio companies in building models that create mutual value for employees, suppliers, communities, and customers. The team — led by CEO and Managing General Partner Jeff Cherry, with General Partners Joe Valis and John Key, plus advisors Shelonda Stokes and Smitha Gopal — draws on 37 years of combined entrepreneurial experience and 18 years of impact investing expertise, and has accumulated approximately 60 portfolio companies over its operating history.
The firm does not operate a proprietary technology platform; its competitive differentiation is derived from community-embedded deal sourcing, an asymmetric information advantage in diverse founder networks, and a clearly articulated impact thesis. Revenue is generated through two standard venture fund streams: management fees charged to Limited Partners for fund administration, and carried interest on successful portfolio exits. Fund investment is structured via limited partnership commitments rather than consumer-facing pricing, and the firm engages Limited Partners through direct sales-led fundraising and founders through direct deal sourcing via [email protected]. Channel strategy is relationship-driven — relying on community referrals, events, and a content-marketing website — rather than broad digital marketing.
Customer-facing operations are split across three segments: diverse founders and entrepreneurs (primary), Limited Partners seeking impact-driven returns, and the portfolio companies themselves. Marketing and distribution channels are exclusively domestic, with no international footprint disclosed. The firm has not disclosed funding rounds, M&A activity, awards, patents, leadership changes, or regulatory actions; the only publicly attributed transaction in the input data is an investment in Bream (a women-50+ community platform), announced June 16, 2026 alongside AARP as a co-investor.
Conscious Venture Partners firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Conscious Venture Partners
- Legal name
- CVPartners
- Website
- https://cvpartners.vc
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Conscious Venture Partners is a Baltimore-based early-stage venture capital and impact investment firm founded in 2013 that invests in diverse founders using innovation to address accessibility barriers in healthcare, education, mobility, nutrition, and clean water under a stakeholder capitalism thesis.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Conscious Venture Partners industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital and Impact Investing
- NAICS
- Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)
- SIC
- Investors, Nec (6799)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)
Keywords
Where Conscious Venture Partners is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Baltimore
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Conscious Venture Partners business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
Revenue model
- Fund Management Fees: Management fees charged to fund investors (LPs) for overseeing and administering the venture fund.
- Carried Interest (Carry): Performance-based share of profits from successful portfolio company exits, representing the primary upside for the GP (general partner) side of the fund.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
Conscious Venture Partners product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Conscious Venture Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm and impact investment platform that deploys capital into diverse, underrepresented founders building companies that dismantle accessibility barriers in healthcare, education, mobility, nutrition, and clean water. The firm provides portfolio companies with capital, operational expertise, and stakeholder capitalism-driven guidance, while delivering market-rate financial returns alongside measurable social impact to its Limited Partner investors.
Product overview
Conscious Venture Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm and impact investment platform that provides capital, mentorship, and strategic support to diverse entrepreneurs. The firm does not offer a traditional product platform but delivers investment services centered on stakeholder capitalism principles, focusing on founders who address systemic bias in venture capital and break accessibility barriers in areas including healthcare, education, mobility, nutrition, and clean water.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Early-Stage Venture Capital Fund
- Limited Partnership Fund Offering
- Stakeholder Capitalism Portfolio Advisory
Companies that use Conscious Venture Partners
Customer profileSegments3 records
Conscious Venture Partners technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Conscious Venture Partners partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Conscious Venture Partners competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- SoGal Ventures: A first-of-its-kind, global, female-led venture capital firm backing diverse founders. Direct peer in diversity-led investing and global early-stage mandate.
- Kapor Capital: Early-stage impact VC that invests specifically in underrepresented founders and tech startups addressing social gaps. Closely comparable to CVP in thesis, stage, and target founder population.
- MaC Venture Capital: Seed-stage fund investing in technology startups that are transforming various industries, with a stated commitment to increasing representation of underestimated founders. Comparable in stage and diversity thesis.
- Impact America Fund: Early-stage venture fund investing in tech-enabled, high-growth companies founded by people of color and women in the U.S. South and beyond. Highly comparable mission, geography overlap, and stage focus.
- Backstage Capital: Venture fund dedicated to investing in underrepresented founders (women, people of color, LGBTQ+). Directly comparable in mission and target demographic, with similar early-stage focus.
- Rethink Impact: Venture capital firm investing in women, people of color, and other underrepresented founders using tech to address social and economic challenges. Highly comparable thesis and target sectors (health, education, economic inclusion).
- BBG Ventures (Built By Girls): Early-stage fund investing in consumer tech startups with at least one female founder. Directly comparable in target founder demographic and pre-seed/seed stage focus.
- Harlem Capital Partners: Early-stage VC committed to investing in diverse founders and building the next generation of diverse talent. Direct peer in diversity-focused thesis and pre-seed/seed stage.
Broad incumbents
- Acumen: Established impact investment organization with a longer history and broader geographic footprint. Comparable in impact-first thesis but operates at significantly larger scale and across geographies.
Emerging players
- Pipeline Angels: Network of women investors focused on changing the face of angel investing and funding women and non-binary founders. Comparable in mission; operates more as an angel network/syndicate than a traditional fund manager.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Conscious Venture Partners social profiles
Digital presenceConscious Venture Partners financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Conscious Venture Partners leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Conscious Venture Partners funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Conscious Venture Partners M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments1 record
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Conscious Venture Partners
What does Conscious Venture Partners do?
Conscious Venture Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm and impact investment platform that deploys capital into diverse, underrepresented founders building companies that dismantle accessibility barriers in healthcare, education, mobility, nutrition, and clean water. The firm provides portfolio companies with capital, operational expertise, and stakeholder capitalism-driven guidance, while delivering market-rate financial returns alongside measurable social impact to its Limited Partner investors.
Is Conscious Venture Partners a public or private company?
Conscious Venture Partners is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Conscious Venture Partners founded?
Conscious Venture Partners was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Conscious Venture Partners based?
Conscious Venture Partners is headquartered in Baltimore, United States, in the North America region.
How does Conscious Venture Partners make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Fund Management Fees are the primary driver. The others are carried Interest (Carry).
Who are Conscious Venture Partners's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are SoGal Ventures, Kapor Capital, MaC Venture Capital, Impact America Fund, Backstage Capital, Rethink Impact, BBG Ventures (Built By Girls) and Harlem Capital Partners. Acumen is listed as a broad incumbent. Pipeline Angels is listed as an emerging player.
Does Conscious Venture Partners have an API?
No public API is recorded for Conscious Venture Partners.
What industry is Conscious Venture Partners in?
Conscious Venture Partners's product category is Venture Capital and Impact Investing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAD, Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists). Its NAICS code is 5259 and its SIC code is 6799.