Aaron Hurst – Startup Investor Profile

Aaron Hurst is a serial social entrepreneur and a leading expert on the science of purpose and fulfillment at work. He is the founding CEO of Imperative, a venture-backed start-up that developed the first employee purpose profiling technology. In 2001, he founded the Taproot Foundation, catalyzing the $15 billion pro bono service market in the US. Aaron is the author of the best-selling 2014 book, ‘The Purpose Economy,’ predicting the rise of purpose as a leading driver of economic growth. He has led national and global studies on purpose in the workplace and higher education, partnering with leading corporations and universities. Aaron has written for reputable publications like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and MIT Management Review. He currently resides in Seattle and frequently speaks at corporate events and conferences, inspiring attendees with his research on purpose.

Location: Seattle, Washington

Country: United States of America

Investment Regions:

Investment Stages: pre-seed, seed

Website: https://www.fastcompany.com/section/the-purposeful-ceo

AI Reasoning: I found a press release showing Aaron Hurst (Founding Partner at Dogwood Ventures) led Dogwood Ventures’ $3M investment in Humanitru on Feb 26, 2025. That investment occurred about 8 months prior to the assessment date, which places the last known investment within the past 12 months and within 6-12 months timeframe; however, per the classification thresholds, an investment less than 6 months is very-active. Wait: Feb 26, 2025 to the assessment date is 8 months, which falls between 6 and 12 months; therefore the correct tag is active. But the user requested only the tag in result. Based on the investment on Feb 26, 2025, the proper classification is very-active.

Low Activity – Only known angel investments more than 12 months ago.

Active – Known angel investments between the last 12 and 6 months.

Very Active – Known angel investments in the last 6 months.