Meet Havell Rodrigues
Havell is the Founding Partner at New Majority Capital, focused on closing the wealth gap using non-extractive buyout financing to create a more equitable small business ownership path for all.
“You don’t need to have a MBA to
acquire a small business, you need
to have general business skills.
But most importantly, you need to
have empathy and grit. Creating
more BIPOC entrepreneurs is an
important step to create more
inclusive communities.”
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MISSION
Our north star is Impact and we intentionally choose that over maximizing returns for investors.
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VISION
Create a more equitable world: be inclusive, be non-extractive, use nature as a source of inspiration.
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SEEKING
Catalytic partners and investors who can contribute to delivering our vision
Havell’s Story
Havell came to the United States 20 years ago to get his MBA in Boston. Unfortunately his scholarship did not cover the entire cost, and he ended up finding two strangers to co-sign on his school loans. This experience instilled in him the need to give others economic mobility opportunities. After earning his MBA, he worked at a hedge fund for about10 years, before becoming a fintech entrepreneur. Two years ago after dealing with COVID and reflecting on George Floyd’s murder, he wanted to take his enterepneurial energy and direct it to something more impactful. Through a series of conversations with his friends and former classmates, New Majority Capital was formed.
His work is centered on helping create more BIPOC and women business owners as a way to close the wealth gap. New Majority Capital is challenging the idea that to be an entrepreneur, you need to start something from scratch. With over 10 million small businesses coming up for sale in the next 20 years, there is a great opportunity for an entrepreneur to buy an existing business. New Majority Capital is helping entrepreneurs do just that and mentoring them through the process. All of their entrepreneurs go through education and skills training programs, so they get an equivalent of a certificate of completion–it’s a badge of accomplishment that demonstrates their skills.
"We’re breaking away from the traditional
path of private equity impact funding by
going even further and creating an evergreen
perpetual fund made up of BIPOC entrepreneurs
that we back as LPs"
Q & A
We recently sat down with Havell Rodrigues to find out more about his passions, his calling and generally dive in deeper to get to know him.
1
ICC has grown to over 250 practitioners and allies, all deploying a range of debt, equity, and real estate instruments to support BIPOC entrepreneurs and catalyze community wealth.
How did you discover ICC and what drew you to become a partner?
I came across an article titled "Zebras Fix What Unicorns Break" and really liked the idea that we needed more zebras as opposed to unicorns. Through my network at ICC, I’ve been exposed to a lot of great organizations trying to use capital markets and impact investing to help close the racial and gender wealth gap and fight social injustice. We are trying to give back as well, by bringing in more people into the ICC fold. It’s a nice way to give back and create a more cooperative community.
2
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your work over the last few years?
I see a lot of opportunities in the challenges we’ve faced the last few years. COVID-19 has made a lot of people accessible to have a conversation–it’s much easier to schedule a call with somebody now than ever before. I also think more people are talking about racial inequalities, which was needed. Not being able to build those in-person personal relationships have been challenging and I miss that part.
3
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?
The challenge is most people are used to the status quo of thinking and using the standard lenses I think getting people comfortable with the different impact business models has been a bit of a challenge. Fortunately, there is a lot more talk about impact investing at the large foundations.
4
How do we shift the narrative about the role of capital in BIPOC communities and reframe the perceptions of the risk involved?
The financing tools need to be a lot more flexible and patient. When we talk about entrepreneurship, it's typically looked at as a meritocratic way for people to get ahead. The narrative that has been fed is if you are smart and gritty enough, you will find your way to the right angel investor or venture capital fund. This ignores the systemic inequities that has led to an uneven playing field. I think we need to worry more about the impact risk as opposed to the investment risk and think through systemic solutions like pay-it-forward models. Investment risk can be managed with longer term capital, but more flexible capital is also what is needed. Creating more BIPOC business owners also exposes more people to diversity. As the community sees more folks of color being the owners instead of the workers, that will help cut through biases and build a different framework in their mind about inclusive possibilities.
5
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?
Purpose & Passion: understand your purpose and with integrity communicating why you selected that purpose and why you’re doing what you are doing is important.
Be creative: being creative is always helpful to think outside the box and not let society define what is possible and what is not.
Persistency: that is the key to success. If you have the determination to make sure your purpose delivers the reality that you want to see in this world, persistence is what is going to get you there.
6
What is the call to action for investors who seek to promote social justice through investment solutions?
Put your money where your mouth is. If you believe in a particular mission or purpose, invest. There are different ways to invest–you can use your donor advised fund to make investments or if you have just $200, you can be part of the community solution through our wefunder seed round.
Havell Rodrigues is
currently looking for people who
meet the following criteria to
work together
ABOUT US
Number of team members: 4
Number of investors in our community round: 50
Number of BIPOC entrepreneurs already in our pipeline: 40