Underrepresented? Overlooked? More like, untapped.
In her monthly Plugged In video podcasts, ImpactAlpha contributing editor Sherrell Dorsey has been engaging entrepreneurs, fund managers and other Agents of Impact about how to find alpha in inclusion. These investors and entrepreneurs are building technologies, designing financial products and investing in founders to deliver value where many others can’t, or won’t see it.
Here are some of Sherrell’s selections as must-listens for your holiday break:
1. SecondMuse’s Natalia Arjomand: Designing financial products for climate solutions
After 15 years supporting entrepreneurs with a shared vision of an inclusive and resilient economy, SecondMuse zeroed in on finding the right kind of capital to meet those founders’ needs. “We decided to go back to first principles and really focus on the design of these financial products,” Natalia Arjomand, who leads Second Muse’s Future Economy Lab, told Dorsey. That has produced innovative funds for climate solutions and lease-to-own financing for small business property ownership. “We take a collaborative approach, working closely with the communities we serve to co-create solutions that address their specific challenges.” Watch.
2. Citi Impact Fund’s Meredith Shields: Systems change and the future of work
As head of the $500 million Citi Impact Fund, Meredith Shields is focused on investments in financial, social and climate resilience and the future of work. On this Plugged In, she shares Citi’s framework for “system change” and the proof of concept, traction and scalability she looks for in assessing teams tackling major societal challenges. Previously, as head of Sorenson Impact Foundation’s early stage investments, Shields backed companies in education, healthcare, workforce development, and financial inclusion for underserved communities. Watch.
3. Latimer.ai’s John Pasmore: Building an inclusive AI with ‘BlackGPT
Pressure has been building on Meta, Google, Microsoft and OpenAI to address bias in large language models and get right Black history and culture. If the tech giants eventually get the story right, great, Latimer.ai’s John Pasmore told Dorsey. Meanwhile, “Black and Brown people should own their stories.” Latimer has released its own beta “BlackGPT,” loaded with Black historical and cultural facts, including from Amsterdam News, the nation’s oldest Black newspaper. “I think we should build it ourselves. They can take our API, and always be correct.” Watch.
4. Felita Harris and Jacques Agbobly: Designing the future of sustainable luxury
Dorsey interviewed Felita Harris of RAISEFashion, which connects emerging BIPOC designers with established luxury brands, and rising designer Jacques Agbobly about sustainability in the luxury sector. For Agbobly, sustainability is intrinsically linked to his design philosophy. Having grown up in Togo, West Africa, where craftsmanship and handmade clothing are the norm, he brings a unique perspective to luxury. “It’s really about diversifying the language, but also diversifying the experience of what luxury could mean to a wider audience,” he shared. Watch.
5. Include Ventures’ Taj Eldridge: Spotting overlooked opportunity for impact
Some see first-time and diverse fund managers as “emerging.” Include Ventures’ Taj Eldridge sees unique lived experiences and abilities to spot overlooked opportunities for innovation and impact. The omnipresent investor said the key to delivering impact alpha in the Trump era is to embrace talent at all education levels and to lean in, not out, with investments in historically underrepresenting managers and founders, sectors and geographies. Watch.
6. Google’s Rachelle Olden: Up- and re-skilling Black talent for tech’s next wave
Tech jobs will continue to be a path to prosperity, fueled by the rise of artificial intelligence and the continued digitization of all things. Access to those jobs has historically been less than equitable. Sherrell took up the topic with Google’s Rachelle Olden, who leads the company’s Tech Equity Collective. “You don’t have to be a certain age. You don’t always have to have this specific skill set,” Olden told Dorsey. “We want to make sure that we are creating a variety of pathways into this space.” Watch.
