Announcing our 2021 Cohort

Announcing HGL's 2021 Cohort

By definition, innovation is never finished. The mission of Higher Ground Labs is to promote and support constant innovation for a better democracy. Over the past four years, we have invested in companies that have become core infrastructure for progressive politics. In 2020, HGL companies played a pivotal role in every piece of campaign strategy, including Mobilize, who scheduled more than 13 million volunteer shifts, BallotReady who helped over 35 million voters make a plan to vote, and Impactive that sent over 62 million text messages.

Today, we face different challenges than we were facing even two years ago. America is recovering from a pandemic, adapting to a changing economy, retiring as an unchallenged hegemonic power, and aligning behind new, progressive policy priorities. Individual citizens are fighting against systematic injustice, creeping authoritarianism, social isolation, and growing polarization all without the necessary tools or technologies. The role of innovation and technology is greater than ever and we are proud to play a small role in making it work for good.

Higher Ground Labs has raised our third fund, totalling $15 million, to invest in good companies that fulfill our mission. In this fund, we will continue to invest in companies that influence electoral outcomes, but will also invest in companies that can help strengthen our democracy.

Today we are thrilled to announce our 2021 Cohort. These companies offer solutions to some of the greatest challenges in our industry - outlined by our investment thesis for this year. Our founders are changing the way our politics work. They are former Google and NASA engineers, Techstars graduates, second and third time founders, and well-known political consultants who have helped lead the industry for years. They live in Atlanta, Iowa, Philadelphia, DC and San Francisco. They have already made the Higher Ground Labs community stronger.

Read about them. Tell others about them. Reach out if you want to know more.

Higher Ground Labs’ 2021 investment cohort includes:

Bluelink

Bluelink lets non-technical users easily set up data flows between tools so their campaigns and groups can automatically run processes -- like registering voters or thanking donors -- saving time and money for strategic work while using context to improve the voter/supporter experience. For software teams, Bluelink reduces integration costs so they can focus on products not pipes.

Goodstock & Co.

Goodstock & Co believes in the power of your brand to create, connect, and empower individuals and communities to build a more equal and inclusive America. We are committed to creating good products, connecting good people, and celebrating good causes.

Our online self-service platform helps campaigns maximize the fundraising & visibility benefits of a merch store, without incurring any of the hassles or costs of existing solutions. We make it easy for campaigns to start a merch store without ever having to touch a yard sign, a t-shirt, or HTML. We only source products that uphold and support our collective progressive values and run our company by those same values.

Greenfly

Greenfly was founded in 2014 with a simple mission: to fuel brand love through authenticity. Emotional connection is the key to building a brand that people love. You can’t buy it – brand love is earned through genuine interactions, personal connections and real word-of-mouth. Our mission is to create new ways for brands to win the hearts and minds of customers, fans and followers with authentic recommendations from athletes, talent, influencers, and employees. We believe that authentic advocacy is the future of marketing, and we are leading the way.

Junto

Junto is a platform for structured, small-group video conversations around specific topics. We’re like a fully-automated book club for your organization - we engage an audience at scale without any need for scheduling or facilitation.

Measure Studio

Measure Studio is the premier content intelligence engine for publishers, brands, campaigns, and causes. We provide a secure, turnkey environment for managing social media analytics across Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Measure Studio makes centralizing and analyzing your social media data easy so you and your team can focus on what you do best: making great content.

Universe

Universe is a campaign-in-a-box for underserved local organizers. We provide affordable data services, outreach tools, and owned media to grassroots campaigns of any size to ensure Democratic and progressive organizers are equipped to engage at every level of civic discourse – up and down the ballot.

Unpacking

Unpacking is an online learning platform for gamified diversity training. We power interactive experiences and analytics to improve organizational cultures.

Vocal

Vocal is a digital storytelling partner for high impact causes and campaigns. We help brands reach young audiences through our network of online creators and their communities.

Votus Inc.

Votus is a communication platform that helps organizations build community by talking and listening to their supporters across multiple online platforms. Votus’s software helps organizations identify and engage their supporters through 1:1 conversations across different social networks at scale. True community is built through real conversations with real people.