Illumen Capital Catalyst Fund

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

Emerging fund managers investing in underrepresented founders

fund-of-funds

DEI & inclusion

education / fintech / climate / health

bias reduction

top-decile managers

Bullish Signals

PNAS-published research backing strategyexternal

Stanford SPARQ strategic partnershipexternal

75+ combined years investment experienceexternal

Proprietary IllumenIQ bias-reduction platformexternal

5 sector themes: edu, fintech, climate, health, systemsexternal

Actively hiring — team scalingexternal

Invites diverse perspectives to pitch directlywebsite

Contrarian Signals

No direct startup investmentsexternal

Hands-on DEI requirements for managersexternal

Institutional LPs only — niche accessexternal

Founder Do's

Manage a venture, growth, or PE fund

Invest in overlooked/underestimated founders

Focus on education, fintech, climate, or health

Open to bias-reduction tools (IllumenIQ)

Targeting top-quartile performance

Founder Don'ts

Not a direct startup investment vehicle

Avoid homogenous, narrow sourcing networks

Don't expect passive LP relationship

Key GPs & Partners

Daryn Dodson

Managing Partner

research-drivenimpact-focusedinstitutional

Jason Henning

Head of Investor Relations

IR-focused

Octavio Sandoval

Principal

investment

Jeremy Sookhoo

Principal

investment

Joanna Kuang

Senior VP, Product Development & Impact

productimpact

Leila Mengesha

VP, Product Development & Impact

productimpact

Katie Twomey

Senior VP, Finance & Operations

financeoperations

Maria Lopez

Portfolio Associate

portfolio

Malia Hankton

Executive Assistant

operations

Jo Nazareth

Senior Operations Associate

operations

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Fund Overview

Fund Size$32.8M

Saves0

Website

Key People

Daryn Dodson

Daryn DodsonManaging Partner

Jason HenningHead of Investor Relations

Octavio SandovalPrincipal

Jeremy SookhooPrincipal

Joanna KuangSenior VP, Product Development & Impact

Leila MengeshaVP, Product Development & Impact

Katie TwomeySenior VP, Finance & Operations

Maria LopezPortfolio Associate

Malia HanktonExecutive Assistant

Jo NazarethSenior Operations Associate