Ross Baird
Innovator-in-Residence @ Kauffman Foundation
Washington, United States
Ross Baird is a seed investor at Kauffman Foundation in Washington focused on Financial Services and FinTech. Ross developed the Village Capital concept in 2009, and has led the development of programs worldwide. Before launching Village Capital, he worked with First Light Ventures, a seed fund focused on impact investments. Prior to First Light, Ross worked on the development of four education-related start-up ventures: the Indian School Finance Companyin Hyderabad, India, the National College Advising Corps in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and two ventures using technology to promote civic participation. He has a MPhil from the University of Oxford, where he was a Marshall Scholar, and a BA from the University of Virginia, where he was a Truman Scholar and a Jefferson Scholar. Contact: ross@vilcap.com
- Total investments:
- 10
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 50%
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries Ross Baird invests in
Stages Ross Baird invests in
Countries Ross Baird invests in
Investment Focus
Industry
- Financial Services 6 (60%)
- FinTech 3 (30%)
- Banking 2 (20%)
- Finance 2 (20%)
- Software 2 (20%)
Stage
- Seed 8 (80%)
- Pre-Seed 1 (10%)
Country
- United States 3 (30%)
- Nigeria 2 (20%)
- India 1 (10%)
- Kenya 1 (10%)
- Mexico 1 (10%)
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
Olivine Technology
|
Olivine Technology, founded in January 2010, is a software company that specializes in designing and developing automated data capture tools that integrate with best in class third party solutions such as, Quickbooks, Sage Evolution, SAP Business 1, SPSS, and Mpesa.Our solutions focus on the key challenges related to data capture, which are highmonetary costs and length of time involved in capturing, transmitting, organizing, reporting, and analyzing data. | $50K / Seed / Apr 28, 2017 | |
Piggyvest
|
Piggyvest enables Nigerian debit card holders save little amounts of money frequently with minimal effort. They automate the process of saving tiny amounts daily, weekly, or monthly; and then allowing you to withdraw for free on only set withdrawal dates thereby practically making saving more possible for you by eliminating the temptation towithdraw.Piggyvest is a platform that helps individuals and businesses manage their finances effectively - save and invest with ease.As Piggybank.ng, Piggyvest operated in partnership with 2 Microfinance banks and used their licenses. However, in early 2018, Piggyvest acquired Gold Microfinance bank and its license. Piggyvest is also a registered cooperative- Piggytech Cooperative Multipurpose Society Limited (Registration number, 16555). All saved funds are now warehoused with and managed by AIICO Capital, the leading asset management company in Nigeria, registered and licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). | $50K / Pre-Seed / Apr 28, 2017 | |
CNote
|
CNote is an investment platform that earns a better return while investing in the causes and communities that matters.CNote rewards great savers with alternative financial vehicles that earn more - safely and simply. Their first product, CNote Savings, helps good savers earn up to 2.5% annual return -- that's 35x more than a traditionalsavings account.The was founded in 2016 by two women with decades of experience working in finance, venture capital, and private equity. CNote is headquartered in Oakland, California. | Seed / May 23, 2016 | |
Crediyo
|
Crediyo is a point of service lending and analytics platform that helps patients afford out-of-pocket medical expenses. | $20K / Seed / Jul 01, 2015 | |
Livewire
|
Livewire is a marketplace, directory and Q&A forum that connects people with financial and tax professionals online. | Seed / May 19, 2015 | |
|
Crediyo
|
Crediyo is a point of service lending and analytics platform that helps patients afford out-of-pocket medical expenses. | Seed / May 19, 2015 | |
Baby Grubz
|
Baby Grubz is a social enterprise company that provides nutrition solution services for babies. The company produces and packages a wide range of affordable dried homemade cereals, grains, fruits, vegetables, and condiments that serve as a base to make a variety of yummy, nutritious, and fast meals.Baby Grubz was founded in 2013 and is based inLagos, Nigeria. | $15K / Seed | |
Shiksha Finance
|
Shiksha Finance is a RBI licensed Non Bank Finance Company (NBFC) providing loans for asset creation, working capital and school fees in the education sector.Their loans are targeted at education entrepreneurs who seek to improve access to quality education with a particular emphasis on middle and low-income communities. Such entrepreneurs aretypically driven by a mission to deliver higher quality education outcomes for children in their neighborhood. It is not uncommon for such schools to face a lack of funds to expand their classrooms and physical infrastructure, besides having inadequate access to academic and extracurricular tools for their students. This lack of capital is what Shiksha Finance aims to address, by providing finance and loans. | $100K / Seed | |
Billpocket
|
Billpocket convierte tu smartphone o tablet en una terminal punto de venta. Ya no tienes que esperar al banco y pagar exageradas cuotas de mantenimiento, fianzas y papel para poder cobrar con tarjeta. Simplemente necesitas una cuenta bancaria a donde puedas recibir tus cobros con tarjeta de débito y crédito. | $50K / Seed | |
Apitronics
|
Apitronics is a software platform that enables growers to gather real-time in-the-field data and makes it accessible anywhere. | Seed |
Co-Investors
About Kauffman Foundation
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation was established in the mid-1960s by the late entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Marion Kauffman. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, the Kauffman Foundation is among the largest foundations in the United States with an asset base of approximately $2 billion.Their vision is to foster "a society ofeconomically independent individuals who are engaged citizens, contributing to the improvement of their communities." In service of this vision, they focus grant making and operations on two areas—education and entrepreneurship—which founder Ewing Kauffman saw as two ends of a continuum.
Kauffman Foundation Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
Ben McDougal
Midwest Regional Rep
|
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C J Cornell
Kauffman Ecosystem Building Committee
|
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Derek Ozkal
Senior Program Officer, Entrepreneurship
|
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Evan Absher
Program Officer in Research and Policy
|
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Fabian Pfortmüller
Innovator in Residence
|
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FAQ
What does Ross Baird invest in?
Ross Baird invests primarily in Financial Services, FinTech and Banking startups, most often at Seed and Pre-Seed stage. Most of the 10 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 Ross Baird last invest?
The most recent investment recorded for Ross Baird closed in Apr 2017. Shizune tracks 10 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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