Q & A

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

2

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

The first decision we had to make regarding the pandemic was making sure our team could work virtually. That meant delivering services, being able to communicate with one another, having folks being supported and open with each other to make them feel comfortable enough to share in that space. We were able to do just that. The other challenge that we had is that we were actually changing our name from West Philadelphia Financial Services Institution to VestedIn. This transition came with a whole host of marketing and branding questions, and going through COVID there was so much other noise. We really were trying to figure out how to get seen in that space. At the same time, we were also moving our offices. When you’re leaving an office building where you have been for 20 years, you’ve got a lot of relationships, so our community and neighborhood folks get attached to you. It was hard to say even though we are leaving the physical location, we are not leaving you. All these conversations had to be virtual, so that was challenging.

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?

We lend to small real estate developers when most CDFIs don’t–we see them slightly different. It is our goal to help them out because they are the asset builders in the community. And if they don’t grow, they don’t get to do larger projects, which could help the communities. At Black Squirrel, we’ve decided to create a small real estate developer accelerator program. It’s 14 weeks of training that we are doing with Urban Land Institute. We are also working with a Black female developer and design firm to support our developers with project management skills. We are also putting the financing together where that financing goes to three black led CDFIs. So for us, rather than thinking Black Squirrel is all about us and what we do, we are creating this ecosystem that is literally built around the developers, so that they’ll hire black and brown contractors and support those communities. Then ideally, those homes will be acquired by those individuals too.. We can make this really about growth in the entire community, but use those developers as the linchpin.

4

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

I think this is the most important question, and honestly I don’t have the answer. I think we just continue to let folks know that this isn’t charity, especially when you’re lending money to small businesses or investing in small businesses. I’m not a big gambler, so when I go to the casino, I know how much I’m willing to lose, as opposed to thinking about what I can make. And I think that’s how folks look at black and brown businesses–how much can I lose? As opposed to, I really see something in this group–let’s invest in them because there is a huge opportunity to move forward. I think that is the biggest challenge that we have at this point.

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?

• Have a business plan.

• Have the baseline items. For example, what do you need to have paid your taxes? At some point in time, you’re gonna need a government and we found out during COVID that you can’t get a loan if you never paid your taxes. Get small business support like QuickBooks or a bookkeeper, an accountant, somebody who can help you manage those numbers and start to learn what all of that stuff means. You need an attorney, even if they are not necessarily on retainer, but you need to know that you can go to an attorney when you need to. Also, you need to have someone helping you manage the risk of the business like insurance and someone around marketing/branding.

• Put together a team of advisors that can really help build networks, opportunities and think think through strategy to help the business grow.

6

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

Accelerate. We have been basically told for years, centuries, to be patient, it is coming. I say don’t be patient anymore. Let’s accelerate this process. Every moment we dont, there is another young person, another grandchild that is being fed by us and isn;t feeding our grandchildren. And I don’t want that to happen. I want our grandkids to be walking into this space confident and assured. So we all need to accelerate our pace.