Faith-based PE firm Living Waters Global relies on Ideals’ security and customer support as it targets a $100m fundraise
Private equity
Industry
Private equity
Overview
Living Waters Global is a New York-based venture capital firm with a difference. Its founder and CEO, Lauren A Young, was inspired by her Christian faith to launch a company that would help like-minded clients invest in infrastructure and healthcare projects to benefit US indigenous communities.
While she was comparing Virtual Data Rooms (VDRs) to use for fundraising and investor reporting, a previous colleague recommended Ideals for its robust security features.
“Protecting our data was the most important thing,” said Lauren. “But I also really value customer service, and I think the Ideals team is wonderful.”
The context
Founded in 2020, Living Waters Global is a Christian advocacy fund operating in partnership with a real estate firm in Pennsylvania called the Well Fund. They work with family offices, sometimes as co-investors, advising on strategies and opportunities in infrastructure and healthcare, notably on indigenous land in the Sun Belt and the Dakotas.
In October 2024, Lauren brought in a new team to attract new investors to the Well Fund, setting a target of $10 million AUM. She decided to use Ideals for the fundraising: “My former employer trusted Ideals, and he recommended you. So you already had a lot of credibility with me.”
Key challenges
Lauren’s team needed a data sharing platform to communicate with potential investors who would share her commitment to improving infrastructure and health among America’s indigenous communities.
Given the critical importance of safeguarding sensitive financial and commercial data, her starting requirements were:
- A secure document and data repository
- Advanced security features such as dynamic watermarks, 2FA, and encryption
- Easily adjustable access permission levels
- Excellent customer support
- A user-friendly interface for potential investors
Solution
With the new team in place at the Well Fund, Lauren quickly attracted growing interest from investors. Her Ideals VDR enabled the team to securely share data related to the fundraising activity with different parties, helping streamline the process and save time when communicating with investors.
Using Ideals, the team was able to:
- Easily create folders and subfolders
- Rapidly upload documents in any file format
- Set view access only for companies expressing an interest
- Amend the permission levels once an investor was serious
- Run real-time granular reports to monitor activity
- Access support 24/7
Lauren reiterated that security had been her primary concern, along with high quality customer support.
“I feel very safe with Ideals. The security options ensure all our data is kept confidential and the access permissions are extremely easy to use,” said Lauren. “The team is extremely responsive whenever I have any questions. It means that the fundraising process runs smoothly with no delays.”
The future
Living Waters is now setting up two new data rooms: one for an SPV (special purpose vehicle) in oil and gas worth $6 million and another for an SPV in infrastructure valued at $5 million, both on or adjacent to tribal land. Depending on which is more successful, they may potentially set up other new companies.
“I think that next year we can look at $100 million plus as we build our track record with the SPVs,” says Lauren. “We will continue to use your data rooms as we grow.”
Asked for her main reasons for being happy with Ideals, she says: “Obviously security is our biggest priority, but customer service is really important as well. And the Ideals team is always on-hand to give support when needed.”
