# Matthew Dowd

> Matthew Dowd is a seed investor at Paradox Capital (Austin) backing Social Impact and Banking. See 2 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [Paradox Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/paradox-capital)
- Location: Austin, United States
- Total investments: 2
- Last investment: Sep 2015
- Lead investor: 0%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-dowd-b502326
- X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/matthewjdowd

Matthew Dowd is a seed investor at Paradox Capital in Austin focused on Social Impact and Banking. During the past thirty years, Matthew Dowd has helped shape strategies and campaigns for CEOs, corporations, foundations, governments, candidates, and presidents. He most recently founded Paradox Capital, a social impact venture fund focused on for-profit social good companies. His experience in business and politics will help bridge the paradoxbetween capitalism and social consciousness. Over the last 25 years, Dowd has been an active entrepreneur in Austin, Texas founding three companies which have been highly successful including Vianovo and Public Strategies, all of which he sold his interests in to pursue other endeavors. Dowd has worked both sides of the aisle, but now considers himself a diehard Independent. Dowd’s political work includes serving as the chief strategist on two winning re-election efforts – for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006 and for President George W. Bush in 2004. His innovative approach on the 2004 campaign led the bi-partisan American Association of Political Consultants to name him Strategist of the Year.In the 1980s and 1990s, he advised a wide variety of political clients including helping former Democrat Texas Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock win election and re-election. He has also worked as a member of Democrat U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen's staff, and has worked on the staffs of two Democratic Congressmen.Dowd currently serves as a special correspondent and analyst for ABC News where he appears on This Week, Good Morning America, and Nightline, and writes a regular column for various publications. Dowd covers not only politics but cultural, economic, and spiritual trends as well. He has served on the boards of various non-profit entities including Seton Family of Hospitals, a Catholic nonprofit health system in Texas. He was adviser to Bono at the One Campaign, and to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He has taught seminars at Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and the University of Texas’ LBJ School of Public Affairs.He is co-author of the New York Times bestseller Applebee’s America: How Successful Political, Business and Religious Leaders Connect with the New American Community.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Social Impact | 2 | 100% |
| Banking | 1 | 50% |
| FinTech | 1 | 50% |
| Internet | 1 | 50% |
| E-Learning | 1 | 50% |

9 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 1 | 50% |
| Series A | 1 | 50% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Aspiration | Aspiration is an online financial firm that offers retail banking and investing services built for everyone. Aspiration delivers the financial products that people need in a consumer-focused model that empowers people to choose their fee and aligns the interests of Aspiration and its customers. The company donates a dime of every dollar it earns tohelp Americans that work to climb the ladder of opportunity while making it possible for its customers to choose to give a portion of their profits to a charitable cause of their choice. | $15.5M | Series A | Sep 17, 2015 |  |
| Verb | Verb is the leadership development platform that prepares your people to adapt to the challenges of today’s rapidly changing workplace. Engaging and relevant topics help managers develop the leadership capabilities needed most in the modern workplace, enabling them to support the growth of everyone they lead. Microlearning activities promptlearners to practice skills in a safe space, take action in the real world, and reflect on their growth—leading to real skill development and behavior change. | $2.3M | Seed | Jun 16, 2015 |  |

2 of 2 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Capricorn Investment Group](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/capricorn-investment-group) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Mission and Market](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/mission-and-market) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Moatable](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/renren-inc) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## About Paradox Capital

VC Fund · Davidson, United States

Paradox Capital, a social impact venture fund which is focused on for-profit social good companies.

2 contacts available at Paradox Capital.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Matthew Dowd | Founder | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/matthew-dowd |
| Kyle Tibbitts | Founder & Investor | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/kyle-tibbitts |

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## Featured in investor lists
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## FAQ

### What does Matthew Dowd invest in?

Matthew Dowd invests primarily in Social Impact, Banking and FinTech startups, most often at Seed and Series A stage. Most of the 2 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 Matthew Dowd last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Matthew Dowd closed in Sep 2015. Shizune tracks 2 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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