WEBVTT - Corporate Responsibility for Closing the Wealth Gap 0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:02.240 Let's get this started. I'm super glad to be here 0:00:02.240 --> 0:00:04.600 with you today because then this first conversation that we're 0:00:04.640 --> 0:00:07.920 going to have is about corporate responsibility and closing the 0:00:07.920 --> 0:00:11.200 wealth gap. Who realizes that actually corporations do have a 0:00:11.240 --> 0:00:14.920 responsibility in making this my man? One person knows that 0:00:15.000 --> 0:00:19.520 corporations have a responsibility. Here the blueprint presented by Northwestern 0:00:19.600 --> 0:00:23.840 Mutual Misfireside Discussion will delve into the critical role of 0:00:23.880 --> 0:00:27.160 corporate responsibility and addressing the wealth gap through real time 0:00:27.240 --> 0:00:31.280 examples of how Northwestern Mutual is doing it. Especially they 0:00:31.280 --> 0:00:34.560 have this SARE task Force, which is a sustained action 0:00:34.720 --> 0:00:37.960 for Racial Equity task Force, or they're putting people whose 0:00:38.080 --> 0:00:40.440 jobs it is to make sure this thing happen happens 0:00:41.280 --> 0:00:45.880 in collaborations with global partners. These speakers will explore successful strategies, 0:00:45.920 --> 0:00:49.720 actionable frameworks, and best practices that companies can adopt to 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:55.120 actively participate in closing the wealth gap, ultimately promoting economic equity, 0:00:55.640 --> 0:01:00.240 financial literacy, and inclusive financial well being for all. So 0:01:00.520 --> 0:01:04.120 we're going to have this conversation with Abim Kola, who 0:01:04.200 --> 0:01:07.440 is vice president, chief audit executive and a member of 0:01:07.480 --> 0:01:11.520 the company's Enterprise Leadership Group and was appointed executive sponsor 0:01:11.640 --> 0:01:15.600 for the CEO led Sustained Action for Racial Equity initiative 0:01:15.600 --> 0:01:18.760 aimed at helping to close the racial wealth gap. And 0:01:18.800 --> 0:01:22.200 the moderator here today is Dennis Kale, co founder and 0:01:22.280 --> 0:01:27.120 CEO of Zert You and So Zert You So. And 0:01:27.160 --> 0:01:30.000 he's also a Navy veteran. Any veterans in the building 0:01:30.160 --> 0:01:35.520 right now, any families of veterans, I like that, thank 0:01:35.600 --> 0:01:37.440 them and thank you guys for your service. He's an 0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:41.440 SMU Graduate Bank board member and award winning entrepreneur, including 0:01:41.560 --> 0:01:46.320 afro Tech Future fifty honoree this year Forbes Next one thousand, 0:01:46.640 --> 0:01:51.520 d CEO five hundred n Ey Entrepreneur of the Year winner. 0:01:52.280 --> 0:01:55.560 Welcome to the stage, moderator Dennis Kale and our panelist 0:01:55.880 --> 0:01:56.640 Abim Cola. 0:02:09.000 --> 0:02:11.520 All right, Rondover pause here is. 0:02:15.280 --> 0:02:17.560 But I knew of Ben would hold it down for us. 0:02:17.840 --> 0:02:18.919 So thank you, sir. 0:02:19.040 --> 0:02:21.600 That's what we do as military veterans, right, Thanks for 0:02:21.639 --> 0:02:22.160 your service. 0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:25.800 Thank you, Happy to serve and happy to be here. 0:02:25.919 --> 0:02:33.920 So let's get it kicked off ready, start with you. You 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:40.359 know Northwestern Mutual Financial Services Company founded in eighteen fifty seven, 0:02:41.320 --> 0:02:45.399 been around one hundred and sixty six years. You guys 0:02:45.480 --> 0:02:52.639 are big backers and supporters of black businesses, of black companies, founders, 0:02:53.600 --> 0:02:57.840 underrepresented founders. Can you talk a little bit about how 0:02:59.280 --> 0:03:04.799 that support fits into your overall mission from an organizational standpoint? Yeah? 0:03:04.840 --> 0:03:06.799 Absolutely, But before I get started, I just want to 0:03:06.840 --> 0:03:09.320 take a moment to say thank you so much for 0:03:09.480 --> 0:03:10.040 having us. 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:11.000 It's always a pleasure. 0:03:11.040 --> 0:03:13.240 I was here in March of last year and the 0:03:13.440 --> 0:03:17.040 energy in the room was palpable. It's just incredible to 0:03:17.080 --> 0:03:22.520 see a sea of African Americans here and to be 0:03:22.560 --> 0:03:26.120 able to have this conversation with you is phenomenal. So thanks, 0:03:26.160 --> 0:03:29.399 thanks for having us to the point you made. Northwestern 0:03:29.480 --> 0:03:32.960 Mutual is a financial services company based out of Milwauka, Wisconsin. 0:03:33.480 --> 0:03:35.280 I moved here from New York City to go join 0:03:35.320 --> 0:03:37.960 that company for a variety of reasons. One of the 0:03:38.000 --> 0:03:40.720 principal reasons was exactly the commitment what we're going to 0:03:40.720 --> 0:03:43.480 be talking about today. I saw a company that was 0:03:43.760 --> 0:03:47.400 so committed. The vision of the company is to eliminate 0:03:47.440 --> 0:03:52.240 financial anxiety from Americans in particularly. We know that undersilved communities, 0:03:53.000 --> 0:03:55.800 there's this gap within other SILF communities and I could 0:03:55.800 --> 0:03:57.560 see at that time twenty years ago when I was 0:03:57.600 --> 0:04:01.120 packing up from New York City, I'm moving to Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 0:04:01.640 --> 0:04:03.200 that I was going to connect with a company that 0:04:03.280 --> 0:04:07.200 had a deep vision and mission around financial security fall. 0:04:07.560 --> 0:04:08.960 Now fast forward. 0:04:09.520 --> 0:04:11.840 Through the ten twenty years that I've been at the company, 0:04:12.120 --> 0:04:14.320 the company's been involved in a variety of things in 0:04:14.360 --> 0:04:16.880 the community, trying to improve the lives of the community 0:04:17.720 --> 0:04:20.560 because it matters to us in terms of how we 0:04:20.600 --> 0:04:25.839 developed the communities. Fast forward to unfortunate mode of George Floyd. 0:04:26.400 --> 0:04:29.040 We decided to really really double down in a very 0:04:29.120 --> 0:04:33.919 sustained way to really begin to uplift communities, particularly the 0:04:33.920 --> 0:04:35.600 Black and African American community. 0:04:36.120 --> 0:04:36.880 And I'm sure we're going. 0:04:36.839 --> 0:04:39.400 To be going a lot deeper into the sustained action 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:42.640 for racial equity. But our CEO basically took it upon 0:04:42.720 --> 0:04:47.080 himself post the George Floyd Murdim to actually conduct one 0:04:47.120 --> 0:04:49.120 on one interviews. How many people do that one on 0:04:49.120 --> 0:04:52.960 one interviews with Black and African Americans to deeply understand 0:04:52.960 --> 0:04:57.000 the experiences not only within the community but our advisors. 0:04:57.720 --> 0:05:02.080 And he came away really committed even more committed building 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:04.000 on all the things that he had been doing, that 0:05:04.000 --> 0:05:06.480 we had been doing for years to really make sure 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:08.479 that we have a program which I'm very proud of 0:05:08.520 --> 0:05:11.960 to be the executive sponsor today that is leading the charge. 0:05:12.400 --> 0:05:14.520 And again I'm sure we'll get into the details, but 0:05:14.680 --> 0:05:17.720 high level, we created the Sustained Action for Racial Equity, 0:05:17.800 --> 0:05:20.160 a task force cheered by the CEO, and I say 0:05:20.240 --> 0:05:22.599 cheered by the CEO because in this day and age, 0:05:22.640 --> 0:05:26.120 there's nothing more important in my opinion, that leadership courage. 0:05:26.800 --> 0:05:28.560 I was reading a little about Joon Sanders day and 0:05:28.560 --> 0:05:31.680 they talked about the audacity to be brave, and I 0:05:31.720 --> 0:05:34.480 am just so proud to work for a CEO who 0:05:34.600 --> 0:05:37.279 is so brave to be in a position like this 0:05:37.400 --> 0:05:41.000 myself to recognize that people are waiting for us to 0:05:41.040 --> 0:05:45.520 take a step back an instead we're leaning forward. So 0:05:45.560 --> 0:05:47.320 I'm sure we're getting too a lot of the programmatic 0:05:47.400 --> 0:05:49.840 aspects of the things that I'm very proud of how 0:05:49.880 --> 0:05:54.039 we're leading and supporting black businesses, But just want to 0:05:54.080 --> 0:05:57.360 say that this commitment we've had is built on generations. 0:05:57.600 --> 0:05:59.760 But we're even more committed to make sure that we 0:05:59.800 --> 0:06:04.680 are reaching and touching lives, particularly in the underrepresented communities. 0:06:06.400 --> 0:06:08.440 Thank you for that, and thank you for your courage too. 0:06:08.720 --> 0:06:10.760 Absolutely, and now I'm going to flip it back to you. 0:06:10.880 --> 0:06:13.880 Right, we're here talking about one of the things that 0:06:13.920 --> 0:06:17.440 inspired us as part of some of the initiatives was 0:06:17.480 --> 0:06:19.520 this notion of access to capital. 0:06:19.960 --> 0:06:20.720 We wanted to make. 0:06:20.640 --> 0:06:23.200 Sure that as part of building on how we've been 0:06:23.240 --> 0:06:28.600 supporting black businesses and underrepresented communities for decades, we knew 0:06:28.600 --> 0:06:31.080 that obviously the gap in terms of access to capital 0:06:31.279 --> 0:06:31.680 is real. 0:06:31.839 --> 0:06:34.960 This has been studied, and we talked about three things. 0:06:35.279 --> 0:06:35.880 I like to say. 0:06:35.880 --> 0:06:38.520 It's getting in the game, so access to capital, to 0:06:38.560 --> 0:06:41.520 get in the game, to start a business, thriving in 0:06:41.520 --> 0:06:45.560 the game in terms of fall and financing, and then 0:06:46.040 --> 0:06:49.000 you know, obviously creating the opportunity to scale businesses such 0:06:49.000 --> 0:06:54.360 that they could be supplies to companies. So what's your experience, Dennis, 0:06:54.600 --> 0:06:57.359 in terms of getting in the game, staying in the game, 0:06:57.600 --> 0:06:58.560 and thriving in the game. 0:06:58.560 --> 0:07:01.920 You have a business that is doing pretty well, You're 0:07:01.960 --> 0:07:02.560 thriving right now. 0:07:02.560 --> 0:07:04.680 Why do you talk a little bit about your business model, 0:07:05.040 --> 0:07:07.839 what you do and then speak to some of those categories. 0:07:08.600 --> 0:07:12.320 Sure, thanks, abim So, just by way of quick background, 0:07:13.000 --> 0:07:16.640 Dennis kel founder CEO at Zertu. We have a mission 0:07:16.640 --> 0:07:20.760 to drive financial equity and inclusion, one relationship at a time, 0:07:21.360 --> 0:07:24.800 and we do that by simplifying loans between friends and 0:07:24.840 --> 0:07:28.320 family and baking in and bill pay transparency. So if 0:07:28.360 --> 0:07:30.920 I borrow three hundred dollars from a BIM to pay 0:07:30.960 --> 0:07:33.880 my pass do AT and T bill. Once a BIM 0:07:33.920 --> 0:07:36.400 approves that loan, instead of the money coming to me, 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:39.880 Zrchu sends that money straight to AT and T minus 0:07:39.880 --> 0:07:42.640 our success fee. So that's how we make money. And 0:07:43.240 --> 0:07:46.320 came up with this idea probably ten plus years ago 0:07:46.480 --> 0:07:49.960 because my sister and other family members would borrow money 0:07:49.960 --> 0:07:52.520 from me and I had limited success in getting that 0:07:52.560 --> 0:07:57.320 money back, and so my thought process was, how do 0:07:57.440 --> 0:07:59.720 I take the awkwardness out of this but also help 0:07:59.800 --> 0:08:02.480 make them more accountable. But the big issue I had 0:08:02.640 --> 0:08:05.200 was not really knowing that the money was being used 0:08:05.200 --> 0:08:07.920 for the intended purpose. And so I give you that 0:08:08.040 --> 0:08:13.200 context because my background started and my career started in 0:08:13.240 --> 0:08:16.360 the Navy as a systems engineer sett an up shift 0:08:16.360 --> 0:08:19.360 to shore ship to ship communications. But prior to that, 0:08:19.480 --> 0:08:22.440 I grew up in very humble beginnings. I grew up 0:08:22.480 --> 0:08:26.520 in low income public Housing and Monroe, Louisiana. We didn't 0:08:26.560 --> 0:08:30.120 have banks or credit unions or financial services companies in 0:08:30.160 --> 0:08:33.720 my neighborhood, but we had several liquor stores and pawn 0:08:33.760 --> 0:08:36.840 shops that would cast your check for thirty percent of 0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:40.240 whatever your check was. So even at seven years old, 0:08:40.280 --> 0:08:42.760 I knew that was bad math. And so you fast 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:46.720 forward walked outside the naval base after boot camp. There 0:08:46.800 --> 0:08:50.480 was a lot of payday lenders, etc. And so I 0:08:50.640 --> 0:08:55.560 say that to say me founding Zertu and starting this 0:08:55.720 --> 0:09:00.120 company is really mission driven, but it also goes go 0:09:00.280 --> 0:09:03.800 back to making sure that I was being intentional about 0:09:03.840 --> 0:09:09.040 finding investors like Northwestern Mutual that are aligned with our mission, 0:09:09.120 --> 0:09:13.600 because that is extremely critical and it's not ever about 0:09:13.640 --> 0:09:16.240 just taking money from anyone. One of the first questions 0:09:16.320 --> 0:09:18.880 I ask any investor is what do you bring beyond 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:22.080 the capital? I think that's important, and I think you 0:09:22.160 --> 0:09:25.160 have to have people around the cap table, around the 0:09:25.200 --> 0:09:28.560 table that are in it with you for the mission 0:09:29.040 --> 0:09:32.480 and understand that you can do good. You can do 0:09:32.600 --> 0:09:35.679 well by doing good. And so that's what ZRCHU sets 0:09:35.679 --> 0:09:37.600 out to do. And I think it really starts with 0:09:37.679 --> 0:09:42.200 those early checks from investors and partners like Northwestern Mutual 0:09:42.280 --> 0:09:45.440 that are willing to take a risk on you and 0:09:45.559 --> 0:09:48.319 then understand that you're going to do everything you can 0:09:48.640 --> 0:09:50.679 not to make a liar out of them and make 0:09:50.720 --> 0:09:54.480 sure you have a strong ROI. And so for us, 0:09:54.960 --> 0:09:58.160 it's really about aligning yourself with the right partners early, 0:09:58.679 --> 0:10:00.800 because I do think that has a lot to do 0:10:00.880 --> 0:10:03.920 with your success. And by the way, they've made several 0:10:03.920 --> 0:10:06.760 introductions from a corporate standpoint, so we can drive our 0:10:06.760 --> 0:10:09.400 revenue as well, and so there's so much more that 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:11.680 they bring to the table. And that's what I encourage 0:10:12.120 --> 0:10:15.920 any founder of Color to seek out, is those investors 0:10:15.920 --> 0:10:19.800 that are aligned with you, that understand you, that understand 0:10:19.880 --> 0:10:23.040 the bridge that you're trying to build, because that's going 0:10:23.080 --> 0:10:26.439 to drive your success. And so I take very little 0:10:26.440 --> 0:10:29.720 credit for the success we've had to date and give 0:10:29.840 --> 0:10:31.840 most of that to the support system that we have 0:10:31.920 --> 0:10:33.560 around us. 0:10:33.400 --> 0:10:34.160 It's been a pleasure. 0:10:34.760 --> 0:10:42.240 Thank you back to you so post George Floyd. Okay, 0:10:42.800 --> 0:10:46.719 a lot of companies, corporations made a lot of commitments, 0:10:46.880 --> 0:10:50.160 a lot of promises. Most of those have been broken 0:10:50.400 --> 0:10:53.440 at this stage, and I'm sure everyone in this room 0:10:53.480 --> 0:10:55.920 can tell you some of those promises have been broken. 0:10:57.360 --> 0:10:59.360 Can we talk or can you tell us a little 0:10:59.360 --> 0:11:03.760 bit about Northwestern Mutual and your commitments then and now 0:11:04.400 --> 0:11:08.520 and sort of where you guys are and really what 0:11:08.679 --> 0:11:11.800 advice would you give to other corporations. 0:11:12.840 --> 0:11:15.520 Yeah, I really like the topic of this conversation in 0:11:15.640 --> 0:11:19.040 terms of corporate social responsibility to close the wealth gap 0:11:19.080 --> 0:11:23.160 because we are all uniquely positioned to be able to 0:11:23.280 --> 0:11:26.720 do our you know, a path a part in helping 0:11:26.720 --> 0:11:29.000 to close the racial wealth gap. You know, I'm just 0:11:29.040 --> 0:11:30.880 going to share a little bit about the why, the what, 0:11:31.080 --> 0:11:33.080 and the how. So you know, I talked a little 0:11:33.080 --> 0:11:35.240 bit about the why that this is uniquely aligned to 0:11:35.240 --> 0:11:39.440 our vision. But we recently had another conversation with our 0:11:39.520 --> 0:11:44.040 CEO and where we landed is this is simply a 0:11:44.080 --> 0:11:47.600 growth strategy. It is good for business. It's more than 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:51.400 just being altruistic. Investing in your communities, doing what you 0:11:51.480 --> 0:11:55.680 can to really enable black business is good for business. 0:11:56.000 --> 0:11:58.280 We want to grow, we want to be relevant, we 0:11:58.320 --> 0:12:02.240 want to be competitive. Marketplaces have a change in and 0:12:02.280 --> 0:12:04.920 if you stick with your old business model, you will 0:12:04.960 --> 0:12:07.040 never grow, you will not be relevant, and you will. 0:12:06.840 --> 0:12:07.600 Not be competitive. 0:12:08.400 --> 0:12:12.160 So, Barnan, this is grounded in the business imperative. So 0:12:12.200 --> 0:12:13.760 that was sort of the initial kind of the why. 0:12:14.200 --> 0:12:16.720 And it's always very important, not that this is not 0:12:16.760 --> 0:12:19.400 important for social good, but from a corporate standpoint, to 0:12:19.440 --> 0:12:21.360 be really grounded in the why. And we are so 0:12:21.480 --> 0:12:25.040 ground in the why unanimously around the company. 0:12:25.160 --> 0:12:26.440 Now, what did we decide to do? 0:12:26.559 --> 0:12:26.640 So? 0:12:26.760 --> 0:12:29.480 Again post George Floyd, the CEO pulled a number of 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:31.880 us together and said, I want you to think innovatively. 0:12:31.920 --> 0:12:35.320 I heard the word innovation used here, and my colleagues 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:36.920 and I went to the drawing board and we started 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:41.840 thinking about all kinds of ideas and what was behind 0:12:41.880 --> 0:12:43.959 our minds was the sustained action. 0:12:44.720 --> 0:12:46.840 And that was very, very deliberate. 0:12:47.280 --> 0:12:48.920 The CEO wanted to make sure this was not just 0:12:48.920 --> 0:12:51.240 the fleeting thing because I've read all the articles about 0:12:51.440 --> 0:12:54.800 where all the commitments that companies made to grow black 0:12:54.840 --> 0:12:58.800 businesses and really foster the development of underrepresented the businesses, 0:12:59.080 --> 0:13:01.199 and so we said, it's action. But we went through 0:13:01.200 --> 0:13:03.200 the drawing board and we said what are we going 0:13:03.240 --> 0:13:06.120 to do? And there were a number of levers that 0:13:06.160 --> 0:13:09.280 we created, but we said, let's make this very strategic. 0:13:10.640 --> 0:13:12.560 So we created a strategy and we make sure we 0:13:12.640 --> 0:13:17.520 allocate funds on par with every other corporate strategic initiative. 0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:19.680 And I was asked to be the executive sponsor, So 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:22.200 I was given a portfolio, I was given the money 0:13:22.280 --> 0:13:25.000 allocated to be able to do that, and that gave 0:13:25.040 --> 0:13:27.360 everybody the confidence that this is not just some bite 0:13:27.400 --> 0:13:29.959 side but again that spoke to kind of the sustained 0:13:30.320 --> 0:13:33.400 aspect of it. So getting into the exactly what we did, 0:13:33.960 --> 0:13:36.959 we recommended that we created we created a hundred million 0:13:36.960 --> 0:13:38.400 dollar impact investing fund. 0:13:38.559 --> 0:13:39.440 Now, these things are. 0:13:39.360 --> 0:13:42.080 Not easy, but we had to create the case for that, 0:13:42.280 --> 0:13:45.200 and ultimately that past muster and the focus for one 0:13:45.240 --> 0:13:48.560 hundred million dollar impact Investing fund was around affordable housing, 0:13:49.120 --> 0:13:50.200 healthy sustaining with. 0:13:50.080 --> 0:13:51.960 Neighborhoods, and access to capital. 0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:55.880 So step number one, Step number two is we have 0:13:56.040 --> 0:13:59.160 a corporate venture capital fund about one hundred and fifty 0:13:59.160 --> 0:14:04.040 million dollars, and that fund is broadly deployed across all races, 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:06.640 Ethnicsi's gender. But we wanted to make sure we had 0:14:06.679 --> 0:14:10.280 a little set aside again for black businesses, and that 0:14:10.400 --> 0:14:11.559 was green lips. 0:14:11.720 --> 0:14:12.959 Okay, let's do that. 0:14:13.520 --> 0:14:15.679 We wanted to make sure that the entrepreneurs that we 0:14:16.000 --> 0:14:19.640 will be funding were strategically aligned to the company of fintech, 0:14:19.880 --> 0:14:22.880 insured tech, Digital, heald AI, that kind of stuff, So 0:14:22.920 --> 0:14:26.640 that was a second bucket. We then my colleague and 0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:28.600 I then said, but we can't stop there. We have 0:14:28.680 --> 0:14:30.720 to make sure we start creating an ecosystem. Why don't 0:14:30.720 --> 0:14:34.080 we create an accelerator, And we studied the Northwest Mutual 0:14:34.080 --> 0:14:38.440 Black Fund Accelerator as a complement of that, and we're 0:14:38.480 --> 0:14:42.480 in the process of graduating the thirtieth cohort sorry thirty 0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:47.040 members from the accelerator. It's a twelve week program. People 0:14:47.040 --> 0:14:49.120 coming to the program get one hundred thousand dollars, they 0:14:49.120 --> 0:14:52.600 get an executive mentor from Northwest Mutual and they graduate 0:14:52.640 --> 0:14:56.280 from the program and gone to get other funding sources. 0:14:57.120 --> 0:14:59.440 As part of the Impact Investing Fund, we've also been 0:14:59.520 --> 0:15:04.000 partnering with local community development financial Institutions CDFIs in the 0:15:04.040 --> 0:15:07.080 local area to make sure that they are able to 0:15:07.280 --> 0:15:09.640 loan to make loans to local business because they have 0:15:09.640 --> 0:15:13.160 the expertise on the ground game. And then we decided 0:15:13.200 --> 0:15:14.520 that also we wanted to take a look at our 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:16.920 supplied diversity program to make sure we come brought in 0:15:17.240 --> 0:15:18.400 that program. 0:15:18.880 --> 0:15:20.720 So these are efforts. 0:15:20.400 --> 0:15:22.720 And initiatives, key initiatives that I'm very very proud of 0:15:22.760 --> 0:15:26.680 that we're driving as hard as possible. On top of that, obviously, 0:15:26.720 --> 0:15:29.560 we're paying very close attention to the culture that we're creating. 0:15:29.920 --> 0:15:31.080 As part of the strategy. 0:15:31.120 --> 0:15:33.280 We had a cultural aspect of it, We had a 0:15:33.320 --> 0:15:36.080 talent aspect of it, and then we had an aspect 0:15:36.080 --> 0:15:38.520 of it that relates to being relevant in the marketplace. 0:15:38.560 --> 0:15:40.680 How do we show up in the marketplace? What would 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:43.920 make people trust us, particularly again underrepresented communities. So I 0:15:43.920 --> 0:15:46.160 share the strategic approach with you, and I know it's 0:15:46.160 --> 0:15:48.240 a little painstaking to go through all the initiatives, but 0:15:48.280 --> 0:15:51.080 they say, this was a very well thought out strategy 0:15:51.480 --> 0:15:55.920 that's resourced with specific initiatives and people aligned with those initiatives. 0:15:56.240 --> 0:15:58.840 And then we're beginning to measure proof points, and the 0:15:58.880 --> 0:16:00.720 proof points that are material, how do we know we 0:16:00.760 --> 0:16:03.320 actually make an impact. We want to make sure that 0:16:03.440 --> 0:16:07.000 the businesses we're funding actually growing revenue. We want to 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:10.160 count the number of people they're hiring because obviously they're 0:16:10.160 --> 0:16:14.920 creating jobs, and we want to for the accelerators the 0:16:14.920 --> 0:16:16.720 founders come in, we want to track sort of full 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:21.720 on funding among many other ways of tracking actual, real impact. 0:16:21.880 --> 0:16:24.520 So we're very, very proud of the work we've been doing. 0:16:24.880 --> 0:16:27.600 But I just want to underscore exactly the question you asked, 0:16:27.680 --> 0:16:30.400 which is we're not seeing as many proof points. And 0:16:30.400 --> 0:16:33.680 I've read a number of articles about people leaving, you know, 0:16:33.720 --> 0:16:36.760 the commitments they've made, But there's no better time for 0:16:36.880 --> 0:16:39.040 us to double down the commands we're made. And I'm 0:16:39.120 --> 0:16:42.240 just really proud of how we're going about this. 0:16:44.040 --> 0:16:47.800 Thank you for that. I'm going to double click on something. 0:16:47.920 --> 0:16:50.160 Is there a call to actually you would have for 0:16:50.240 --> 0:16:54.040 other companies just based on the ecosystem you just walked 0:16:54.080 --> 0:16:57.240 through and talked us through. You're not just throwing money 0:16:57.280 --> 0:17:01.720 at these companies or these founders. You're in saying, you know, 0:17:01.840 --> 0:17:04.240 go make it happen and then wondering why they fail. 0:17:04.600 --> 0:17:07.959 You're actually building a support system, an ecosystem around this. 0:17:08.520 --> 0:17:10.080 Is there a call to action you would have for 0:17:10.119 --> 0:17:11.240 other organizations? 0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:14.440 Yeah, no, I appreciate that. Yeah, the call to action 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:16.520 is across. So I would say about three dimensions. I mean, 0:17:16.560 --> 0:17:19.840 the first is, frankly, from whatever your vantage point is, 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:23.800 the call to action is that courage, the audacity to 0:17:23.840 --> 0:17:26.160 be bold, to continue to think outside of the box 0:17:26.200 --> 0:17:29.560 because you know, it's hard, you know, and there are 0:17:29.560 --> 0:17:31.600 times when you doubt it. There are times when people would, 0:17:31.680 --> 0:17:33.840 you know, impede the progress drying makes. So that's number 0:17:33.840 --> 0:17:37.400 one call to action. Let's be bold, let's be audacious. 0:17:37.560 --> 0:17:39.359 Obviously we have to think constructed and make sure it's 0:17:39.359 --> 0:17:42.320 grounded in the business. So that's number one. Number two 0:17:42.520 --> 0:17:46.359 is it's beyond just activity. Even though I mentioned a 0:17:46.440 --> 0:17:49.680 number of things that are very positive. I talked about 0:17:49.720 --> 0:17:51.440 how we want to measure progress at the end of 0:17:51.480 --> 0:17:54.720 the actual impact you're making, and let's make sure that 0:17:54.960 --> 0:17:59.000 the programs we're doing actually tailored to deliver actual impact 0:17:59.040 --> 0:18:01.480 and not just activity. 0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:01.720 You know. 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:05.800 Lastly, you know, I would just basically say, closing the 0:18:06.040 --> 0:18:09.719 wealth gap for many may seem like boiling the ocean. 0:18:10.240 --> 0:18:13.600 It's a giant wealth gap, and there's so many doors 0:18:13.600 --> 0:18:16.119 you can open, so many dimensions you can take, and 0:18:16.200 --> 0:18:20.720 sometimes it may feel frankly overwhelming, like how do I 0:18:20.760 --> 0:18:22.359 know if I'm scratching the surface, how do I know 0:18:22.359 --> 0:18:23.879 if I make an impact? I'm just gonna go back 0:18:23.880 --> 0:18:26.480 to my tried and true ways or traditional ways. The 0:18:26.600 --> 0:18:31.320 third call to action here is for you know some 0:18:31.359 --> 0:18:34.600 of us are from corporations, but within your vantage point, 0:18:34.680 --> 0:18:39.640 within your power, construct find ways to determine the kind 0:18:39.640 --> 0:18:41.720 of impact you can make, what door you can open. 0:18:42.800 --> 0:18:45.600 Even if you're an entrepreneur, you probably have a network 0:18:46.000 --> 0:18:48.920 that you can expose other entrepreneurs too. And I'm sure 0:18:48.920 --> 0:18:52.560 you have thoughts around this, Dennis, but it's a universal 0:18:52.600 --> 0:18:55.600 call to action for us or to believe that as 0:18:55.640 --> 0:18:57.960 a as a community, we're much better off if we 0:18:58.119 --> 0:19:00.000 uplift one another. 0:19:00.800 --> 0:19:01.800 That would be my call to action. 0:19:02.040 --> 0:19:04.040 Thank you for that, Thank you for your leadership too. 0:19:04.200 --> 0:19:07.240 Absolutely all right, I'm going to ask you also what 0:19:07.320 --> 0:19:10.000 advice you have for people from your vantage point as 0:19:10.000 --> 0:19:13.880 an entrepreneur. Granted it's been it's not easy to build 0:19:13.880 --> 0:19:17.119 a business. I'm sure most people in this room recognize 0:19:17.160 --> 0:19:20.480 the number of times you get told no, the amount 0:19:20.480 --> 0:19:22.240 of time it takes to be able to get something 0:19:22.280 --> 0:19:25.959 started and then scale it. But my question is on 0:19:26.000 --> 0:19:28.720 a twofold you asked me about from a corporate standpoint, 0:19:29.240 --> 0:19:31.960 and I would ask from a corporate standpoint, from a 0:19:32.040 --> 0:19:36.000 VC standpoint, and from an entrepreneurial standpoint. I'm sure you've 0:19:36.040 --> 0:19:39.680 experienced a little flavor between all those three, what advice 0:19:39.720 --> 0:19:42.240 would you have from your unique vantage point given some 0:19:42.280 --> 0:19:44.959 of the challenges and nuances of experience for each one 0:19:45.000 --> 0:19:47.240 of those constituents. 0:19:48.440 --> 0:19:52.159 I think it's a great question, and I've talked to 0:19:52.320 --> 0:19:56.320 all of those organizations and entities, and what I would 0:19:56.400 --> 0:20:02.760 say is, I'll start with corporate. You touched on this Corporate. 0:20:03.160 --> 0:20:05.440 I think if and when corporate comes to the table 0:20:05.480 --> 0:20:11.560 and they're looking at investing in black founders or underrepresented founders, 0:20:12.200 --> 0:20:15.000 if if they come to that with the spirit of 0:20:15.040 --> 0:20:19.239 this is a charity versus this is an investment, I 0:20:19.280 --> 0:20:22.159 think it's the wrong start. I think you know that 0:20:22.280 --> 0:20:25.359 conversation doesn't go far and those commitments are going to 0:20:25.400 --> 0:20:29.280 fall off fairly quickly. So that's what I'm encouraged by 0:20:29.440 --> 0:20:33.320 what you guys are doing at Northwestern Mutual in terms 0:20:33.320 --> 0:20:37.640 of understanding, you know, and vetting deals. Right. So when 0:20:37.640 --> 0:20:39.960 I'm talking with corporate investors and you guys know this, 0:20:40.400 --> 0:20:43.000 it's the same diligence process as it would be if 0:20:43.040 --> 0:20:46.680 I'm talking to a VC. So for me, I approach 0:20:46.720 --> 0:20:49.760 it as if you know, it's the same common conversation. 0:20:50.440 --> 0:20:53.200 But when I hear organizations sort of give me clues 0:20:53.280 --> 0:20:56.200 that you know they're viewing this as a nice sort 0:20:56.200 --> 0:20:57.960 of thing to do because it's the right thing to 0:20:58.000 --> 0:21:01.160 do in the moment, versus this being baked into their culture. 0:21:01.520 --> 0:21:04.240 I shy away from those corporate investors because I know 0:21:04.280 --> 0:21:08.440 they're not really committed to me, to investing in black 0:21:08.480 --> 0:21:12.080 founders and really helping us be successful. So that's one thing. 0:21:13.280 --> 0:21:16.959 And I never got that impression with north with Northwestern Mutual, 0:21:17.080 --> 0:21:21.800 So I would I would say to corporations, organizations, bake 0:21:21.880 --> 0:21:25.399 it into your culture. Okay, make sure that founders of 0:21:25.440 --> 0:21:29.119 color and not underrepresented founders know that they have just 0:21:29.160 --> 0:21:31.800 as much of a shot as getting an investment, assuming 0:21:31.800 --> 0:21:35.159 they're button up, you know, and they can sort of 0:21:35.200 --> 0:21:40.880