Illumen Capital Catalyst Fund

United States
Pre Seed
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About Illumen Capital Catalyst Fund

Illumen Capital Catalyst Fund is a venture capital firm based in United States, focusing on Pre-Seed stage investments. The fund actively supports founders building innovative solutions in AI/ML, Climate & Sustainability, Digital Education Consumer, SaaS, providing strategic guidance and capital to help startups scale.

Investment Focus

Location / RegionUnited States
Funding StagePre Seed
Industry Focus
Ai Ml
Climate Sustainability
Digital Education Consumer
Saas

Investor Signals Profile

active

Sweet Spot

Fund managers backing underrepresented founders via bias-reduction

fund-of-funds
DEI & inclusion
education / fintech / climate / health
bias-reduction research
top-decile fund managers

Bullish Signals

PNAS-published research backing strategywebsite
Stanford SPARQ strategic partnershipwebsite
75+ combined years investment experiencewebsite
Proprietary IllumenIQ bias-reduction platformwebsite
Evidence-based tools unlock stronger returnswebsite
Actively hiring — team scalingwebsite
Invites diverse perspectives to pitch directlywebsite
Research proves race influences investor decisionswebsite
Closing capital gap via inclusive asset managementwebsite

Contrarian Signals

No direct startup investmentswebsite
Hands-on bias-reduction platform requirementswebsite
Institutional LPs only — niche accesswebsite

Founder Do's

Manage venture, growth, or PE fund
Invest in overlooked/underestimated founders
Focus on edu, fintech, climate, health, systems
Implement IllumenIQ bias-reduction platform
Pursue top-quartile returns

Founder Don'ts

Not direct startup investment vehicle
Avoid narrow/homogenous sourcing networks
Don't expect passive LP relationship

Key GPs & Partners

DD
Daryn Dodson
Managing Director
research-drivenimpact-focusedinstitutional
JH
Jason Henning
Head of Investor Relations
IR-focusedinstitutional
OS
Octavio Sandoval
Principal
investmentdue-diligence
JS
Jeremy Sookhoo
Principal
investmentdue-diligence
LM
Leila Mengesha
VP, Product Development & Impact
productimpactresearch-driven
KT
Katie Twomey
Senior VP, Finance & Operations
financeoperationsinfrastructure
ML
Maria Lopez
Portfolio Associate
portfoliomanager-support
MH
Malia Hankton
Executive Assistant to Managing Director
operationscoordination
JN
Jo Nazareth
Senior Operations Associate
operationsinfrastructure

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Fund Overview

Fund Size$32.8M
Saves0

Key People

Daryn Dodson

Daryn DodsonManaging Director
Jason HenningHead of Investor Relations
Octavio SandovalPrincipal
Jeremy SookhooPrincipal
Leila MengeshaVP, Product Development & Impact
Katie TwomeySenior VP, Finance & Operations
Maria LopezPortfolio Associate
Malia HanktonExecutive Assistant to Managing Director
Jo NazarethSenior Operations Associate

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