patient capital

We all want to positively change the world. But where do you start? Today’s guest—a woman who has made an extraordinary impact on improving the lives of millions of people across the developing world—has dedicated the better part of her life to answering this question with actionable, sustainable solutions. Meet Jacqueline Novogratz. A former investment banker, Jacqueline walked away from Wall Street back in 1986 to co-found Rwanda’s first microfinance institution. Today she is the founder and CEO of Acumen,a novel, non-profit financial organization she conceived in 2001 that blends philanthropy with venture capital to invest in people, companies, and ideas solving the toughest issues of poverty. As a pioneer of impact investing, Acumen and its investments have brought critical services like healthcare, education, and clean energy to literally hundreds of millions of low-income people throughout the world. In addition to having four TED Talks under her belt, Jacqueline is also the New York Times bestselling author of The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World and her most recent book, Manifesto for a Moral Revolution, which delves into our pressing need to reimagine and rebuild new systems, and where to begin. Today she shares her powerful story. This is a deeply thoughtful conversation about what is actually required to change the world. It’s about the importance of cultivating moral imagination. Something called patient capital. And the humility and hard-edged hope necessary to tackle gigantic problems. It’s also a conversation about listening, immersion, asking questions, and the importance of transcending dualistic, non-binary thinking—skills critical to eradicating poverty, solving our planet’s biggest problems, and empowering those most in need. To read more, click here. You can also watch it all go down on YouTube. And as always, the podcast streams wild and free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. As you will soon discover, Jacqueline is wise and deeply soulful. I aspire to this new friend’s level of service—an example for us all. Peace + Plants, Rich

My guest today is Jacqueline Novogratz. Jacqueline is the founder and CEO of Acumen, a non-profit global venture fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of poverty.  Our conversation touches on how Jacqueline left Wall Street and ended up starting a micro finance bank in Rwanda, how she thinks about investing in character, how creating dignity plays such a major role in her investments, and how governments and businesses can work together to solve the world's toughest problems. It is a bit of a departure from my normal investing conversations but contains powerful lessons for many investors and builders. I really enjoyed our conversation and hope you will to.    This episode of Invest Like The Best is sponsored by Canalyst. Canalyst is the leading destination for public company data and analysis.  If you’re a professional equity investor and haven’t talked to Canalyst recently, you should give them a shout. Learn more and try Canalyst for yourself at canalyst.com/Patrick.     For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club and new email newsletter called “Inside the Episode” at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag   Show Notes (2:29) – (First question) – Where the concept of the blue sweater came from for her book.             (2:44) - The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World (4:29) – Every child has a humiliated experience and the impact on their life (6:55) – The origin of Acumen (10:42) – Why character is such an important investing filter for her (11:59) – How the markets have changed through the lens of Acumen (16:59) – The challenges of getting started             (17:04) – Manifesto for a Moral Revolution: Practices to Build a Better World (19:46) – Embracing the idea of being uncomfortable and an example for her (21:50) – The space between government action and market action (26:11) – The concept of conformity traps (29:29) – The lens of moral imagination (30:32) – The importance of brining dignity to others (35:09) – Entrepreneurial skills she sees outside of the US that we lack here (39:38) – Biggest problems across the globe she is interested in tackling (42:48) – Impediments to investing in global problems (49:11) – Kindest thing anyone has done for her   Learn More For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club and new email newsletter called “Inside the Episode” at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag