excited to begin my journey as a Just Economy Institute Fellow
At age 16, as a bank teller, I set aside twenty-five dollars from every paycheck into a mutual fund. At the time, I didn’t know this was called dollar-cost averaging - I just knew I wanted a secure financial future.
As I moved into my legal career, I continued investing, this time through an employer-sponsored retirement plan.
In 2010, I learned first-hand about private equity and commercial bank loans while fundraising to start a pizza restaurant with my brother. We raised "friends and family" capital and, after nearly twenty denials, secured a personally guaranteed loan backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
All of my investments were for my retirement, my business.
Then, in 2019, my perspective broadened. I co-facilitated an entrepreneurship accelerator for returning citizens with 20 Degrees. It felt great to share what I had learned about small-business financing with a cohort of talented go-getters facing high barriers.
In 2021, our family sold most of our business. Suddenly I had not only time and talent to offer, but also treasure. I became an accredited investor, which opened the door to new investment spaces. I made small bets while learning big lessons. Large sums flowed freely to high-risk startups, but not to established or aspiring brick-and-mortar businesses. Too often, I was the only woman of color in the room. I observed predictable but no less problematic disparities in access to capital.
I’ve since been learning about non-extractive finance and regenerative investing, seeking ways to use money for both financial and social returns. While I have made efforts to address economic inequality through my work, I know I can do more with others.
That’s why I am excited to be a Just Economy Institute Fellow and join 27 other financial activists in shifting the flow of capital and power.
As a Fellow, I am interested in three questions:
How can we reduce the widening wealth gap across race and ethnicity?
How might we leverage capital to spark and sustain efforts that prioritize social and environmental impact?
What are ways we can reshape our economic and financial systems to reduce the emphasis on economic competition and wealth building and prioritize economic cooperation and community building?
This Fellowship offers a chance to explore short-term improvements in the current system while laying the groundwork for more transformative change. I look forward to learning from my peers, leveraging collective resources, refining my thinking, and sharing insights that could help shape a more just and equitable future.
Congratulations! 🎊🎉👍👏
Wow, this is cool to see--congrats, Pooja!