James Lee Sorenson
Founder @ Sorenson Impact
James Lee Sorenson is a Series A investor at Sorenson Impact focused on Financial Services and Travel. James Lee Sorenson provided the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah a $13 million gift in 2013 to create the Sorenson Impact Center (formerly the James Lee Sorenson Center for Global Impact Investing (SGII)), with a mission to cultivate students’ social impact expertise. Jim plays an active role in supporting the Center andmentoring its student participants.After leading a team that developed a high-quality, low-cost videophone that transformed communication capabilities for 1,000,000 deaf individuals in the early 2000s, Jim realized that his investments could ‘do well while doing good,’ and he hasn’t looked back. He was an early funder of microfinance, granting funds to non-profit Unitus in the early 2000s and then investing in Unitus’s for-profit spin-off, Unitus Equity Fund (UEF). Through UEF, Jim invested in SKS Microfinance Ltd. (now called Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd.), an Indian company providing financial services to the poor. From 2006–2009, SKS grew from serving 200,000 clients to 3,700,000 clients, and in 2009, SKS went public with a market capitalization of $1.7 billion.In 2012, through the Sorenson Impact Foundation, Jim began making program-related investments (PRIs) into high-impact, early-stage social enterprises with robust business models capable of reaching underserved populations at scale. In 2013, Jim became an early investor into Pay for Success, also called social impact bonds (SIBs). His first PFS investment was in New York State for a program that aimed to reduce recidivism. Financial returns depended on the success of job-training programs for newly released prisoners. When the project was announced, 41 percent of formerly incarcerated individuals returned to prison within three years, costing government $60,000 per prisoner annually. Since then, Jim has participated in several PFS transactions in the state of Utah and Massachusetts.
- Total investments:
- 3
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 33%
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries James Lee Sorenson invests in
Stages James Lee Sorenson invests in
Countries James Lee Sorenson invests in
Investment Focus
Industry
- Financial Services 2 (67%)
- Travel 1 (33%)
- FinTech 1 (33%)
- Finance 1 (33%)
- Logistics 1 (33%)
Stage
- Series A 1 (33%)
- Funding Round 1 (33%)
- Debt Financing 1 (33%)
Country
- United States 2 (67%)
- India 1 (33%)
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
Blowhorn
|
Blowhorn is India's leading intracity logistics provider. We operate in multiple cities and offer forward, reverse logistics for first, middle and last mile within cities | $5M / Debt Financing / Jun 01, 2019 | |
Mission Markets
|
Mission Markets operates a capital market for impact investments. It provides capital market support services and data and technology solutions to the growing market of impact investors and socially responsible companies. The company was founded in 2009 and headquartered in New York, United States. | $1.5M / Series A / May 23, 2013 | |
University Growth Fund
|
The University Venture Fund (UVF) is the largest student-managed venture capital fund ($18.2M) in the United States. UVF is an independent venture fund that leverages the innovation of students from around the country. It promotes entrepreneurship by creating a forum of students to be directly involved in venture capital. Associates in theUniversity Venture Fund are given a unique opportunity to work together with seasoned venture capitalists performing due diligence on start-up opportunities around the nation. UVF has invested alongside many nationally recognized venture funds including Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Benchmark Capital, Battery Ventures, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, Opus Capital, Best-Buy Capital, etc. Major investors include Morgan Stanley and UBS.University Venture Fund invests in compelling new technologies, high growth opportunities and stable cash flowing businesses across a broad range of industries and sectors. This opportunistic investment approach allows UVF to take advantage of the latest trends and market dynamics and leverage the diverse backgrounds of our students. UVF only co-invests alongside other reputable institutional investors.Each year UVF hosts the University Private Equity Summit when business students from around North America gather to share best practices and learn from investment industry professionals. | $5M / Jan 13, 2005 |
Co-Investors
About Sorenson Impact
The mission and purposes of the James Lee Sorenson Global Impact Investing Center (SGII Center) are to accelerate and advance the understanding and application of principles of free enterprise to create scalable and sustainable, global societal change.
Sorenson Impact Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
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James Lee Sorenson
Founder
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Patrick Mullen
Executive Director
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Dustin Shay
Head of Impact Labs
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2 more contacts available
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FAQ
What does James Lee Sorenson invest in?
James Lee Sorenson invests primarily in Financial Services, Travel and FinTech startups, most often at Series A and Funding Round stage. Most of the 3 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.
When did James Lee Sorenson last invest?
The most recent investment recorded for James Lee Sorenson closed in Jun 2019. Shizune tracks 3 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.
Is Shizune's investor data accurate?
Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.
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