Kieran Carty’s journey is a masterclass in purpose-driven ambition. Raised in South London, his trajectory has taken him from an underperforming Lewisham comprehensive school to a first-class honours degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Manchester, the trading desks of investment banking, through international private equity and Silicon Valley venture creation, to his current role as Investment Manager at Big Issue Invest.
Kieran Carty interned at Credit Suisse for several years via their Steps to Success Scholarship program before joining as a graduate investment banking analyst focused on M&A. Subsequently, he joined The Abraaj Group as a private equity associate based in Nairobi, Kenya followed by a role as senior associate at Soros Economic Development Fund. After a 3-year assignment for Soros, Kieran was awarded the US-UK Fulbright Commission’s Sir Cyril Taylor Memorial Award for Social Entrepreneurs, supporting a master’s degree in social entrepreneurship or social innovation at a US university. In this case, Kieran landed an offer from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business to study for an MBA, in parallel with cultural immersion in all things American.
On the MBA, Kieran Carty experienced the Stanford Impact Design Fellowship and the Lean Launchpad programme. Carty shared that his Fulbright experience was ‘bigger and richer than I ever expected at the Fulbright interview stage,’ coincidentally reflecting the scale of the United States of America. Skiing in Utah and Colorado and visiting Hawaii, Texas and Las Vegas only scratch the surface of his US adventure which included a stint as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at a venture capital firm in New York City where he got to work on ideation. He had homed in on a massive structural problem in consumer finance - millions of low-income Americans living paycheck-to-paycheck struggling to build credit simply because traditional credit bureaus only capture about 5% of routine payments. Through extensive interviews with consumers and businesses, he founded a consumer fintech credit-building product, 'by tracking routine, everyday payments outside that narrow 5% window, we designed a system where low-income earners aren't disproportionately penalized, unlocking access to equitable credit.’ From a cultural perspective, during his time in NYC and subsequently Boston, he observed that the ‘West Coast is more open to risk taking and more optimistic while the East Coast is more hardnosed, pessimistic or rather realistic.’ These observations perhaps chime with the super charged entrepreneurial culture of Silicon Valley versus the deep tech innovators culture of the Boston MIT landscape.
Stanford is also famous for its humancentric leadership curriculum and when asked whether this impacted his style as an investor and founder, Kieran’s responded ‘Absolutely. Classes like Stanford’s Interpersonal Dynamics—famously known as "Touchy-Feely"—dramatically elevated my self-awareness, empathy, and leadership presence. In venture building or impact investing, technical skill is only half the battle; the rest is about understanding people, listening deeply, and building genuine trust.’ In terms of entrepreneurial skills, Kieran’s self confidence and ability to pitch ideas sky rocketed as a result of the time spent in the US.
On a personal level, Kieran disclosed that Stanford was transformative too, ‘I actually met my partner during my first year and made lots of friends of all nationalities; business school culture is pro-networking.’ He took the ambassador element of the Fulbright programme seriously by co-founding the Stanford British Society. This had not existed before Kieran’s arrival, and he is now back in Britain working as an investment manager for Big Issue Investment, backing purpose-driven social enterprises and a range of founders tackling systemic inequalities here in the UK.
His journey from a Lewisham comprehensive to Credit Suisse M&A, emerging market PE and building a venture in the US gives a 360-degree view of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and associated capital. Kieran Carty understands first hand what founders face when building from scratch but also, he knows how institutional capital thinks. Ultimately, whether through direct investment, venture building, or community work, his goal remains the same: ensuring capital flows to the people and ideas that create lasting social impact.
*Interviewed by Afua Osei, Director of External Relations, US-UK Fulbright Commission.