Tasha Seitz
Adjunct Professor in Kellogg’s Sustainability and Social Impact Program
Program Co-Lead in the Zell Fellows Program: Venture Track
Tasha Seitz has over two decades of venture capital investment experience and is currently a partner and investment committee member at Impact Engine, an institutional investor managing venture capital and private equity strategies that drive positive impact in the areas of economic opportunity, environmental sustainability, and health equity. Impact Engine has been recognized for its leadership in impact investing, being named to the ImpactAssets 50 for five years in a row.
Prior to Impact Engine, Tasha was a partner with JK&B Capital, a technology venture capital firm based in Chicago with over a billion dollars of committed capital under management. As a partner, she was responsible for identifying, evaluating, and making investments in startup software companies, serving on boards of directors, managing growth, coaching and hiring management teams, and exiting investments through sale or initial public offering. Having been part of several technology cycles as a venture capital investor, Tasha has seen the power of the entrepreneurs to create markets and touch people’s everyday lives, and she is a passionate believer in the power of entrepreneurship to make the world a better place.
Tasha is an Adjunct Professor in Kellogg’s Sustainability and Social Impact Program where she teaches a class on Early-Stage Impact Investing and co-leads the New Venture track for the Zell Fellows program. She also serves as faculty for the MBA Impact Investing Network & Training (MIINT) program, an experiential learning program for universities across the globe designed to give business and graduate students a practical, hands-on experience in being an early-stage impact investor.
Tasha currently serves on the board of the Bridges Impact Foundation US, which funds programs including the MIINT and Impact Frontiers that are building the impact investing field. She is a founder and former board chair for the Chicago chapter of Social Venture Partners, a partnership of individuals and businesses who believe in a different approach to philanthropy rooted in hands-on support of grassroots nonprofits making outsized impact in their communities. She has also served as a member of Echoing Green’s Investor Advisory Group.
Her interest in impact investing was originally “sparked” when she traveled to Zambia with Spark Ventures, a Chicago-based nonprofit building partnerships that lift communities out of poverty by focusing on job creation and capacity building to have lasting and sustainable impact. She later joined the organization’s board of directors and served as board chair for several years.
Tasha earned a BA from Wellesley College and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
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Masters of Business Administration, 1997, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
Bachelor of Arts, 1997, Psychology, Wellesley College, Phi Beta Kappa -
Chief Investment Officer, Impact Engine, 2014-present
Chairman of the Board, Spark Ventures, 2009-present
Partner, JK&B Capital, 1997-present
Research Associate, Gartner, 1991-1995
Early Stage Impact Investing (SSIM-940-0)
More and more entrepreneurs are launching businesses that reflect their values, and early stage impact investors plays a critical role in funding these innovative companies. In this course, students will gain practical, hands-on experience evaluating the impact and business potential of startup companies, from sourcing deals through investment recommendations. During the course, student will work in teams to analyze and perform initial due diligence on an early stage impact investment opportunity. Students will present their recommendation to a panel of judges as their final project for the class. This course, in contrast to Kellogg's FINC 946 which focuses on institutional impact investing, will focus on direct investing in early stage impact companies through a venture capital lens.
Field Study (SSIM-498-0)
Innovation Frontiers (ENTR-987-5)
Innovation Frontiers examines how innovation ecosystems function, how capital flows through them, and how the relationship between investors and founders shapes what gets built. The course goes beyond the mechanics of venture deals to explore the full landscape of innovation financing—from early-stage ventures in software and AI to the longer-cycle capital structures required in deep tech and life sciences—and how the ecosystems where companies are built determine who wins, who gets funded, and why. Structured as a three-quarter cohort experience (0.5 credits per quarter; 1.5 total), the course combines rigorous classroom discussion, practitioner engagement, alumni mentoring, and immersive field visits to two deliberately contrasting innovation ecosystems—San Francisco and Boston. San Francisco is visited twice: first to examine early-stage company formation and the impact of AI on venture (Fall), and again to engage with growth-stage dynamics, board governance, and portfolio management (Spring). Boston provides a sharp contrast—deep tech, life sciences, research-anchored deal flow, longer capital cycles, and fundamentally different investor-founder relationships—and challenges the assumptions students formed in San Francisco. Chicago serves as an ongoing local reference point throughout the year, with dedicated classroom sessions exploring the home ecosystem through guest speakers and comparative analysis.
Innovation Frontiers II (ENTR-986-5)
Innovation Frontiers examines how innovation ecosystems function, how capital flows through them, and how the relationship between investors and founders shapes what gets built. The course goes beyond the mechanics of venture deals to explore the full landscape of innovation financing—from early-stage ventures in software and AI to the longer-cycle capital structures required in deep tech and life sciences—and how the ecosystems where companies are built determine who wins, who gets funded, and why. Structured as a three-quarter cohort experience (0.5 credits per quarter; 1.5 total), the course combines rigorous classroom discussion, practitioner engagement, alumni mentoring, and immersive field visits to two deliberately contrasting innovation ecosystems—San Francisco and Boston. San Francisco is visited twice: first to examine early-stage company formation and the impact of AI on venture (Fall), and again to engage with growth-stage dynamics, board governance, and portfolio management (Spring). Boston provides a sharp contrast—deep tech, life sciences, research-anchored deal flow, longer capital cycles, and fundamentally different investor-founder relationships—and challenges the assumptions students formed in San Francisco. Chicago serves as an ongoing local reference point throughout the year, with dedicated classroom sessions exploring the home ecosystem through guest speakers and comparative analysis.
Innovation Frontiers I (ENTR-985-5)
Innovation Frontiers examines how innovation ecosystems function, how capital flows through them, and how the relationship between investors and founders shapes what gets built. The course goes beyond the mechanics of venture deals to explore the full landscape of innovation financing—from early-stage ventures in software and AI to the longer-cycle capital structures required in deep tech and life sciences—and how the ecosystems where companies are built determine who wins, who gets funded, and why. Structured as a three-quarter cohort experience (0.5 credits per quarter; 1.5 total), the course combines rigorous classroom discussion, practitioner engagement, alumni mentoring, and immersive field visits to two deliberately contrasting innovation ecosystems—San Francisco and Boston. San Francisco is visited twice: first to examine early-stage company formation and the impact of AI on venture (Fall), and again to engage with growth-stage dynamics, board governance, and portfolio management (Spring). Boston provides a sharp contrast—deep tech, life sciences, research-anchored deal flow, longer capital cycles, and fundamentally different investor-founder relationships—and challenges the assumptions students formed in San Francisco. Chicago serves as an ongoing local reference point throughout the year, with dedicated classroom sessions exploring the home ecosystem through guest speakers and comparative analysis.
