Will Poole shares views on resilience and ‘recession-proof’ businesses

Even before COVID-19, CIOs everywhere have worried about economic downturns and the state of their investments. When it comes to where and what to invest in, the professionals at Unitus Ventures advise investing in those businesses that are, essentially, ‘recession-proof’.

"Impact strategy is an excellent hedge against recession, simply because private domestic consumption continues even if the economy goes down," explains Unitus Ventures Co-Founder and Managing Partner Will Poole.

"If you are investing in companies that are serving those needs, then you are certainly much more resilient against an economic crisis."

Unitus Ventures, formerly known as Unitus Seed Fund, funds early-stage Indian technology startups in the healthcare, education and fintech space.

By investing in entrepreneurs that are creatively tackling India’s unique challenges across these sectors, the company is by extension helping to improve the lives of families in the lowest social-economic strata.

It was this feel-good work that prompted Poole to leave his successful career at Microsoft behind him and launch this life-changing company.

Founded in September 2012 with Dave Richards and Srikrishna Ramamoorthy (pictured right, alongside Poole), Unitus Ventures closed its first fund in 2013 at INR140 crore and made 23 investments, including Hippocampus Learning Centres, BetterPlace and DriveU.

Poole and Ramamoorthy attended Sir Anthony Ritossa’s 8th Global Family Office Investment Summit where representatives of more than US$4 trillion in investor wealth gathered to discuss ‘Investing in a New Age’ in Dubai. This invite-only event saw a record-breaking number of global business deals funded.