Capital Insight

In this episode, Capital Insight co-hosts and securities attorneys Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch talk with Michael Shuman, economist, attorney, author, and entrepreneur, and a leading visionary on community economics.  Michael is one of our nation's leading thinkers, speakers, and writers on the movement to move money from Wall Street to Main Street.

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Bio: Michael Shuman works on community-based solutions rooted in local markets, small business and devolution and is the author of the acclaimed Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in a Global Age. Former Co-Director of the Institute of Policy Studies, Shuman founded the Center for Innovative Diplomacy, an 8,000-member nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting global peace, justice, development, and environmental protection through direct citizen and city participation in international affairs.

Get in Touch:

Website: michaelhshuman.com

Twitter: twitter.com/smallmart

Facebook: facebook.com/MichaelHShuman

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mishuman

Additional resources:

Voiceover Credit:

Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at [email protected]

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Summary: In this episode, Capital Insight co-hosts and securities attorneys Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch talk with David Lynn of Mission-Driven Finance, an impact investing firm created to fill the gap between philanthropy and traditional investments in order to accelerate positive social change.

Bio: David Lynn co-founded Mission Driven Finance in 2016 after spending 20 years working in the financial and philanthropic sectors and looking for a way to blend those two worlds. Prior to focusing on impact investing, David specialized in family office investment portfolios including both private investments and risk management through derivatives. Most recently, David has been the investment manager for the Price Group, a family office and charitable foundation environment, including directly running an actively managed equity derivatives portfolio and serving as a director with the Price Philanthropies Foundation. With a long dedication to community involvement, David has served in a leadership capacity for a variety of nonprofit and philanthropic initiatives, including San Diego Grantmakers, San Diego Impact Investors Network, Education Synergy Alliance, Mission Edge San Diego, San Diego Social Venture Partners, and San Diego Humane Society.

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Website:

https://www.missiondrivenfinance.com/

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Voiceover Credit:

Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at [email protected]

Check out past episodes here!

In this episode, Capital Insight co-hosts and securities attorneys Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch talk with Kevin Bayuk of LIFT Economy, an impact consulting firm whose mission is to create, model, and share a racially just, regenerative, and locally self-reliant economy that works for the benefit of all life.  Kevin shares about his journey from young tech start up founder in Silicon Valley to permaculture designer to social enterprise advisor and expert and what he learned along the way about how finance can be in service of the greater good.

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Bio: Kevin Bayuk’s roots are in entrepreneurship, having spent nearly a decade starting and growing technology companies, and activating projects and organizations that regenerate healthy ecosystems and socially just and joyful environments. After immersing himself in all aspects of starting and growing companies, Kevin focused his attention on learning about and teaching eco-systemic design. Now Kevin is merging his experience in business with his experience in permaculture to help businesses care for people while enhancing the earth. Kevin also serves as the Senior Financial Fellow at Project Drawdown, developing the business case to address climate change through existing practices and technologies. He frequently teaches classes, workshops, does public speaking, facilitates meetings, plans events and provides one on one mentoring as a founding partner of the Urban Permaculture Institute San Francisco.

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In this episode, Capital Insight co-hosts and securities attorneys Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch talk with Jonathan Coleman of Untours, an outside-the-box travel company that prioritizes immersion in local communities rather than funneling tourist dollars into big hotels that do not benefit small businesses owned and operated by locals.

Bio: Jonathan Coleman grew up in small-town middle America, in a family that didn’t travel much. Now, he has lived in Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East while working in education and youth-focused initiatives. He received his MBA in International Economic Development and spent years at the helm of ASSETS, an organization that helps launch and grow social enterprises and diversely-owned businesses in Lancaster, PA. Their mission and values mirror those of the Untours Foundation, helping create jobs, boosting sustainability, and working toward economic inclusion. Coleman also runs Intentional Tours with my wife Kate, leading cultural immersion tours in the Dominican Republic, Kenya, and Cambodia.

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Website:

https://www.untours.com/

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Voiceover Credit:

Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at [email protected]

Check out past episodes here!

In this episode, Capital Insight co-hosts and securities attorneys Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch talk with Nicole Middleton Holloway, a hands-on, nurturing CFP (certified financial planner) who helps progressive investors live abundantly and make a positive impact with their wealth – in their families, in their communities, and in the world – through socially responsible investing.

Bio: Prior to her work in finance, Nicole Middleton Holloway spent the first 10 years of her professional career working in the entertainment industry. She helped produce popular shows for FX Networks, and later served as a producer and communications director for actor and activist Danny Glover. As she took on more special projects related to social justice and female empowerment, she began to witness the power of money to accelerate positive social change. She also saw a greater need for more representation of women of color in professional advising roles within the socially responsible investment industry. Nicole took on her first role as an advisor in 2015, and after working briefly at a Wall Street firm, she quickly discovered that it was not the right place for her to build her career because the practices and culture there were not aligned with her personal values. In 2016, she co-founded Strategy Squad – an independent wealth management consulting business – with her co-founder, and father, Dennis N. Middleton, CPA. When Nicole is not advising clients, she stays involved in her local community by serving on an advisory board for East Bay Community Foundation, and is also a regular instructor with Uptima Business Bootcamp, a cooperative business based in Oakland that provides entrepreneurs from marginalized communities with greater access to education, mentorship and resources to create thriving businesses.

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Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join.  If you’d like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street! 

Summary: In this episode, Capital Insight co-hosts and securities attorneys Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch talk with Morgan Simon, co-founder of Candide Group, an investment firm working with families, foundations, athletes, and cultural influencers who want their money working for justice.

Bio: Morgan Simon has two decades of experience making finance a tool for social justice. In that time she has influenced over $150B and is a regularly sought out expert on impact investing. Her book, Real Impact: The New Economics of Social Change has been featured everywhere from Harvard Business School to the United Nations. She is a regular voice in media and an active investor as Founding Partner of Candide Group, a Registered Investment Advisor.

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Voiceover Credit:

Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at [email protected]

Check out past episodes here!

In this episode, Capital Insight co-hosts and securities attorneys Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch attend the Force For Good 2022 investor webinar hosted by LIFT Economy, an impact consulting firm whose mission is to model racially just and locally self-reliant economies that benefit communities rather than corporations. Today, they hear a presentation from the Guild, a socially minded real estate developer taking a systems approach to creating collaborative, inclusive, and sustainable communities with the aim of addressing the root causes of economic inequality.

Bio:

Avery Ebron loves opportunities to collaborate with under-appreciated communities to develop products and places that facilitate agency, equity, and symbiotic relationships. As Head of Community Products and Operations, Avery guides the design and delivery of The Guild’s mission to build community wealth in BIPOC communities. Prior to The Guild, Avery worked at Clearinghouse CDFI, where he led the design and development of financial products for businesses and nonprofits serving disinvested neighborhoods. Avery is also co-founder of the Dismantle Collective and the Healing Justice Collective, creating and curating spaces for healing for people of color. In his spare time, Avery enjoys teaching kids how to play chess and occasionally losing to them.

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Get in Touch:

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Additional Resources:

Join us to discuss what you're hearing on the podcast! Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join.  If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!

Episode Credit: Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at [email protected]

In this episode, Annie McShiras and Ojan Mobedshahi discuss East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative, a community-centered development coop that removes real estate from the speculative market to create permanently affordable, community-controlled commercial and residential projects.  They share how they raised over $4 million for Esther’s Orbit Room, a historic venue in West Oakland, and plans to raise more under their Regulation A+ offering.

Key Takeaways:

"We've raised $4.3 million.  We're about $600,000 shy of our goal. . . .  The same seller who sold us [Esther's] owns 26,000 square feet of vacant property two parcels down. . . .  This whole corridor is getting gentrified.  Getting control of this whole block for community ownership is a real dream of ours."

"It’s an ongoing conversation, to work to transform not only the real estate system but the financial system and the ways in which we’re trying to galvanize non-extractive funding."

Bios: EBPREC Finance Director and Treasurer Ojan Mobedshahi and Investment and Funding Director Annie McShiras

Ojan Mobedshahi is a 2nd generation Iranian American, born and raised in the Bay Area. He has experience in healthy land use spans landscape design, restoration and education, real estate brokerage, construction and development, and political organizing. Ojan lives in a co-op in Oakland, and is also a landscape contractor and regenerative permaculture designer. You can reach Ojan at [email protected].

Annie McShiras works to actualize her bold vision of an economy where all people have enough to thrive through her work as a fundraiser, storyteller, and business development strategist. She has worked across fields including student organizing, worker cooperative development, popular education, impact investing, and transforming our financial system. A white queer organizer, Annie is dedicated to justice, abundance, and equity, and is committed to learning and growing as a lifelong practice. She remains steadfast in her approach to create parallel, democratic institutions that provide a more just alternative to corporate capitalism. Annie’s tenet belief is that there are enough resources for everyone to thrive as long as those resources are distributed equitably. You can reach Annie at [email protected].

Get In Touch:

Website: https://ebprec.org/

The video mentioned in the episode: https://youtu.be/LC7D_boDd2Q

Socials:

Company Twitter: https://twitter.com/ebprec

Company LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/ebprec/about/

Company Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ebprec

Additional Resources:

Episode Credit: Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at [email protected]

In this episode, Capital Insight co-hosts and securities attorneys Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch attend the Force For Good 2022 investor webinar hosted by LIFT Economy, an impact consulting firm whose mission is to model racially just and locally self-reliant economies that benefit communities rather than corporations. Today, they hear presentations from investees including East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative, Community Services Unlimited, and The Guild.

Bio(s): Present on this call were LIFT team members Ryan Honeyman and Kevin Bayuk.

Ryan Honeyman is a Partner / Worker-Owner at LIFT Economy and coauthor of The B Corp Handbook: How to Use Business as a Force for Good (Berrett-Koehler Publishers). Ryan has helped over 50 companies—including Patagonia and Ben & Jerry’s—become Certified B Corporations, recertify as B Corporations, and maximize the value of their B Corp certification. Along with his LIFT Economy team, Ryan helped cofound the Force for Good Fund, a $1M fund that invests in women and people of color-owned, "Best for the World" B Corps (e.g., those that score in the top 10% of all B Corps worldwide). He is also a co-host of Next Economy Now, a LIFT podcast highlighting the leaders who are taking a regenerative, bio-regional, democratic, transparent, and whole-systems approach to using business for good. Ryan has been a featured speaker at SOCAP, Bioneers, Summit LA, the B Corp Champions Retreat, the Sustainable Enterprise Conference, the Hong Kong Social Enterprise Summit, the Stanford d.school, the Wharton School of Business, the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, and many others.

Kevin Bayuk’s roots are in entrepreneurship, having spent nearly a decade starting and growing technology companies, and activating projects and organizations that regenerate healthy ecosystems and socially just and joyful environments. After immersing himself in all aspects of starting and growing companies, Kevin focused his attention on learning about and teaching eco-systemic design. Now Kevin is merging his experience in business with his experience in permaculture to help businesses care for people while enhancing the earth. Kevin also serves as the Senior Financial Fellow at Project Drawdown, developing the business case to address climate change through existing practices and technologies. He frequently teaches classes, workshops, does public speaking, facilitates meetings, plans events and provides one on one mentoring as a founding partner of the Urban Permaculture Institute San Francisco. Kevin has helped design and start food security gardens and public learning experiences intent on reminding people that we,too, are nature. Kevin has raised millions of dollars to capitalize business operations, led teams of more than 30 employees, and can speak well to the benefits and pitfalls of raising capital and the many paths of growing a business.

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Links/Socials:

lifteconomy.com/forceforgood

Summary: In this episode, Capital Insight co-hosts and securities attorneys Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch talk with attorney Jason Wiener about his work with clients to design and implement values-aligned funding strategies .

Bio: With more than a dozen years of experience as an attorney – including several years in Big Law litigation, and as a labor lawyer – Jason’s range of expertise and experience brings an innovative approach to solving client issues. He has served on executive strategy, human resources, finance and other management level teams and on the board of nonprofits, cooperatives and corporations. Jason has published more than six scholarly law review articles on international, human rights and renewable energy topics and speaks regularly about worker-owned and cooperative business model, non-extractive finance, the future of work, the contemporary and teal practice of law, distributed solar policy and sharing economy legal issues. Jason is an adjunct professor in Colorado State University’s Global Sustainability and Social Enterprise program, where he teaches an MBA course on business law and ethics. He is also a guest lecturer at the University of Colorado Law School’s Entrepreneurial Law Clinic.

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