Interview with Daniel Epstein, Founder & CEO at Unreasonable Group

Unreasonable exists to re-purpose capitalism. We are a company dedicated to supporting an international Fellowship for growth-stage entrepreneurs. We channel exclusive deal-flow to more than a thousand investors and investment funds and we partner with institutions to discover profit in solving pressing global problems. We recently launched the Unreasonable Collective — an invitation-only community for individual investors looking for opportunities at the nexus of advanced technologies, impact, and financial returns.

Today we actively support over 250 growth-stage CEOs who have raised more than $4.9B in financing, generated over $4.3B in revenue, and are measurably and positively impacting the lives of more than 530M individuals across 180+ countries. To help scale their efforts, we have partnered with institutions and multinationals. We work with partners, such as Barclays, Accenture, Pearson, Nike, and J&J, who believe that solving the world’s toughest problems is not only a moral imperative: it is an unprecedented financial opportunity.

To bring our work to life, our flagship initiative is Unreasonable Impact, which we created with our long term partners Barclays. Unreasonable Impact focuses on scaling ventures solving pressing societal challenges whilst also creating at least 500+ jobs in 5 years each. Another cornerstone initiative of ours is Unreasonable FUTURE, which we co-founded with our partners at the Fossil Foundation, Pearson and Accenture.

Unreasonable FUTURE is looking at the intersection of advanced technologies and creating a more just an inclusive workforce of the future. Most recently, and as a result of the global pandemic, we launched The Unreasonable Impact COVID-19 Response Initiative, which awarded 2 million dollars in grants to 23 Unreasonable ventures that each pivoted their businesses to combat challenges related to COVID-19.

The over 250 ventures we support include several British companies, such as Airlabs, which is using its air filtration technology to reduce coronavirus exposure in taxicabs and public transportation and Globechain, which aims to design the first transparent and trusted supply chain system for medical and emergency goods. Ultimately, we are in the business of supporting entrepreneurs, investors, and institutions to profitably solve pressing global challenges.
 
 

 

How did you come up with the idea for the company? 

 
Almost the entirety of my adult life, starting in university, has been shaped by a fundamental belief that entrepreneurship is the answer to nearly all the issues we face today. By the time I received my undergraduate degree in philosophy, I’d started three companies. Although these startups were in entirely unique sectors, the one thing they had in common was a desire to leverage business to solve seemingly intractable societal problems.

The genesis of Unreasonable was simple: I felt like a misfit and wanted to seek refuge amongst fellow misfits (i.e. entrepreneurs who are foolhardy enough to believe that they can change the world but so hellbent and determined they won’t stop of anything short of that). Unreasonable has always been about a community of support for entrepreneurs looking to re-purpose capitalism. From its inception to where we are at today — we exist to leverage business to create a more just future. Now.
 

What advice would you give to other aspiring entrepreneurs?

 
There’s a quote along the lines of “ask not what the world needs, ask what makes you come alive, because what the world needs is more people who come alive”. Anybody who is looking at creating a company should think about that. And hopefully we stumble across work that makes us come alive where the product or service being put out is also something the world desperately needs. Aim for that intersection, and be relentless about it.

Secondly, culture is more important than strategy. If you can create an incredible culture and steer the ship, then greatness can come out of it. So, focus on culture and go after something you believe in.
 

What can we hope to see from Unreasonable Group in the future?

 
We recently launched the Unreasonable Collective — an invitation only community for individual investors looking for opportunities at the nexus of advanced technologies, impact, and financial returns. Members of the Collective benefit from our highly-curated venture portfolio, pooled capital designed to deliver competitive terms, and intimate community experiences.

While our deal-flow is our differentiator, our global and diverse community is our greatest asset. The Collective is committed to promoting a fairer and more equitable ecosystem in the growth stage arena. At least 50% of our members and at least 50% of the CEO’s who we invest into, will always be women, people of colour, and/or from the LGBTQ+ community.

We are just now taking the Collective to the market and are incredibly excited about the potential for this new initiative.