Humans are not capital.
People are not disposable.
Money is not permission.
Jobs are not statistics.
Communities are not addressable markets,
and profits are not proof.
Yet businesses globally function as though they are.
The mainstream economy lionizes largely inconsequential investment funds and software startups, formed by founders from communities of privilege, with millions in speculative financing while it devalues businesses that provide good jobs with living wages from communities where most Black, Latinx, Indigenous, AAPI and other minoritized people of color live.
And we undervalue them at our collective peril, because despite what little support and media attention they get, in the US, small businesses deliver seventy percent of net new jobs, and the vast majority of new businesses are being founded by people (specifically women) of color.
Why does this matter?
Because contrary to Wall Street’s narrative, small businesses become medium-sized businesses, and medium-sized businesses, with the right support, become big, global businesses, supporting social and economic regeneration while also delivering meaningful investment returns.
At KNOWN, we know entrepreneurs and investors are at their best when they are free to invent and innovate.
But we’re not interested in innovation from an ecosystem of predominantly white men investing in mostly white entrepreneurs from homogeneous communities. There is no diversity or implicit bias training on the planet that will keep that model from perpetuating the cycle of inequities we see everywhere.
The problem is structural.
So the solutions must be too.
In order to fully participate in building the future, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, AAPI and all minoritized people of color must have OWNERSHIP in every piece of the machinery of finance and innovation.
Which is why we help the communities we prioritize build companies and asset management firms that solve meaningful problems in sustainable ways, where retaining ownership and wealth creation within our communities is a priority.
At KNOWN, innovative entrepreneurs and investors are just a starting point.
We focus on what others neglect; on HOW businesses are OWNED, formed, designed, funded and GROWN.
Since we believe in community and interdependence, we focus primarily on building a financial services ecosystem.
Why is that important?
Because at the root of most of the problems we want to solve, are the predatory financial structures that incentivize short-term thinking and unjust outcomes.
We want to help leaders within priority communities build institutions that last and serve as vehicles for multi-generational prosperity.
We are builders.
We were raised in the broken models and economic systems that incentivize short-termism and have seen their flaws and consequences up close.
We are entrepreneurs, investors, architects, innovators and above all else, we are committed to delivering lasting economic opportunities for Black, Indigenous, Latinx, AAPI communities and all who have been unfairly overlooked.
