Q & A

We recently sat down with Avery Ebron to find out more about his passions, his calling and generally dive in deeper to get to know him.

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What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your work over the last few years?

Real estate was at the cornerstone of a lot of the issues we were bumping up against as a black business. It’s not enough to just support the business itself, but you also have to think holistically about the community that’s surrounding it. That challenge is really what got us to where we are now; it was a pivotal point for us. We have found that raising capital, namely the capital you need to front to acquire property, is extremely difficult for black organizations. We’ve been able to acquire capital for our first project, but this continues to be the biggest issue for us. We want to build a model that can attract capital to the developers that actually live there, people who care about the places that they’re seeking to develop.

The speed and pace of development is also a challenge. Actually having the time to do the community work, the capacity building that actually comes with doing community ownership is not always conducive to the timeline. I think there is something about being in a neighborhood and being in proximity of folks who are doing things or being in proximity of a business that you want to support. A lot of BIPOC businesses may not make as much income starting out; they are starting out from a position with less runway. When you own the real estate, you are designing for those types of entrepreneurs, designing space that they can afford, a space that they can stay there to become a neighborhood institution that builds trust in the community and employs folks.

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Developing alternative business models to the startup status quo has become a central moral challenge of our time. These alternatives want to balance profit and purpose and put a premium on sharing power and resources. Why is getting investments in this alternative model crucial for those who seek it?

What I appreciate about our approach is that early on, we set the conditions for ourselves during the project, and we don’t compromise on them when we start to go out and talk about funding. We started finding folks who were of the same understanding, so it sped up the process. Our leadership is really smart and judicious about working with folks who are not only aligned, but willing to work with you and understand the challenges that you’re facing in your project. There are plenty of folks who are doing community development that use more conventional forms of capital. We don’t want to replicate what’s already been done.

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How do we shift the narrative about the role of capital in BIPOC communities and reframe the perceptions of the risk involved?

A part of it is I don’t want to shift it, I don’t want to respond to it. If that’s the way you feel, then why should I even engage you, right? There is plenty of talent and opportunity here, it is just not vested into and nurtured or compromised on purpose. I think real estate plays an instrumental role in shifting the narrative, because real estate is an asset folks typically get into. Real estate in neighborhoods, there is an opportunity for folks to see that if we take a chance on entrepreneurs, these developers will see a track record of successful projects. The biggest challenge is doing the underwriting. With a history of redlining, the financial industry has not been able to let go of this risk aversion in communities that were redlining in the past, and I think it lingers, even unintentionally, as it's priced into appraisal. One big shift that is needed is the personnel. When you have more folks who are representative of those places, who are fund managers or talking with fund managers, the more capital we will see.

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What are the top three pieces of advice you would give to BIPOC entrepreneurs, who are dedicated to both purpose and profit, as they are starting or scaling their business?

1. Reflect: Understand what is important to you. Figure out what value you seek to provide and to whom. In doing that reflection, talk with people in your network and observe what’s around you. You are going to be doing a lot of work, spending a lot of hours, and dreaming a lot of dreams about what you are doing, so the more that is tied into what you believe – in your purpose – the farther and harder you will go. It’s going to take grit and passion to propel you forward.

2. Find Your Community: Really build that network of friends, partners, and people who are also on that journey. You’ll be better and do it faster since you are leveraging a network of folks that are also doing it with you. Sometimes that can happen on a college campus, volunteering in your community, or just keeping your eyes open and being willing to engage those folks when you see them.

3. Identify your Ecosystem: Understand where your idea or business fits. Understand what the ecosystem is, where you fit in that ecosystem, what you are really trying to do in the system, and who you might want to partner with. Being a real “ecosystem thinker” is really important. It gives you a big advantage strategically, to identify the relationships that you will need to leverage and the ones that you need to say “no” to.

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What is the call to action for investors who seek to promote social justice through investment solutions?

Set some time aside to actually talk with the people working in the areas that you care about investing in, especially in the communities that are doing the work. I think a little more listening and understanding is needed. And without thinking about your return, there could be a great way to build some institution around what your capital could support.

Invest. Invest in BIPOC entrepreneurs doing the work–it’s the only way forward. You have to invest in these solutions and work with them. Get down in the dirt, roll up your sleeves, understand their model, give them the capital they need but also whatever other expertise you can leverage. So please, please, please: listen, invest, roll your sleeves up, and try to do the work.