Dear ICA Community,

2025 has been another dynamic year for small businesses. In the face of moving markets, changing consumer behavior, and reduced capital access, ICA Fund entrepreneurs have taken on these challenges while building stronger, more resilient businesses at every turn. And all of us at ICA Fund are proud to be an ally to these founders in sustaining and thriving in this evolving climate. In 2025, the ICA team connected Bay Area entrepreneurs to high-quality advising and flexible capital that bolstered their own creative problem solving. 

As we close this year out, I want to share ICA’s direction for 2026. I am honored to lead this team in our shared work to support entrepreneurs in creating wealth-generating quality jobs and transforming the Bay Area's economic landscape. Together we’re building an economy that works for all.

‍Our pillars of focus for 2026 include:

1. Deepening support for the ICA Portfolio.
2. Launching new models for learning at ICA Fund. 
3. Attracting companies that align to our dual bottom line investment strategy.

‍Let’s dig in:

‍Deepening support for the ICA Portfolio. In 2026 we will be deploying new resources for our portfolio companies. This will look like group workshops on specific topics that dovetail with 1-1 mentorship with an ICA Advisor and/or connections with professional service providers. This allows founders to skill-up with general knowledge, while receiving the hands-on business support to put the skills into action in their business now. Our current FIAT Finance Pilot is a six-month partnership designed to help founders build clean, accurate, accrual-based financials and strengthen their cash flow visibility during a critical period of growth. Participating founders will receive targeted advising, customized financial analysis, and a structured process for developing forward-looking financial plans that support sustainable scaling.

‍Launching new learning models at ICA Fund. In 2025 we ran our last cohort of the ICA Fund Accelerator. This program brought in dozens of incredible entrepreneurs to the ICA community over the past decade, and we honed our core founder curriculum over the 14(?) cohorts we ran. However, following both the clear signal from our community and the broader industry, we’ve decided to move away from bootcamp-style cohorts, and instead offer flexible, modular, repeatable learning opportunities throughout the year that will be responsive to community needs. This way founders can opt into sessions that best fit their business while receiving realtime support on the problems that are most urgently pressing.

‍Investing in companies poised to deliver on our dual bottom line. As we approach the 30th year of ICA, we are ensuring that we’re partnering with companies that will deliver on both the social and financial bottom line. This looks like investing in companies that have durable revenue streams, a clear path to grow, and an orientation around the importance of having strong financial discipline. We are focusing on industries that include workforce-scaled local services, tech-enabled services, and sustainable consumer products. We’ll be releasing refined Investment Qualifications in the new year, in the meantime, learn more about our latest investment in BerryClean, a purpose-driven cleaning service focused equally on quality, profitability, and people.

BerryClean makes good on its mission to prioritize its employees through offering high-quality, fairly paid jobs, robust with 401K benefits, annual bonuses, and advancement opportunities — notably, the company holds weekly “BerryClean University” sessions that focus on professional development and upward mobility. Currently, BerryClean employs 34 people across the Bay Area and has provided jobs to more than 140 employees since 2019 — all of which are W-2 workers with access to benefits, training, and performance-based activities, an uncommon standard in the cleaning industry, typically marked by an extractive labor environment that leads to high turnover rates. 

As we enter a new year, I want to express my deepest gratitude for the grit, heart, and leadership you show every day. We are proud to stand with you during this time of transformation, and we remain steadfast in our mission to expand economic opportunity by empowering entrepreneurs like you.

Let’s step into 2026 with clarity, courage, and shared purpose. We look forward to everything we will build together in the year ahead.

Wishing you a warm, restorative, and merry holiday season.

With appreciation,
Allison Kelly

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