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Even as the costs and challenges of doing business continues rising, there is a growing political effort creating artificial barriers that undermine business growth. Legislation and political directives are tying business leaders hands and limiting their choices in an increasingly diverse economy. National political rhetoric and autocratic use of federal and state agency authority preempt business leaders from doing anything with a hint of diversity, equity, or inclusion. This ultimately interferes with smart business decisions, restricts markets, and limits communities from achieving inclusive growth and shared prosperity. Inclusive growth should be practical business, not a source of conflict. Inclusion is not just ethical. It can, and should, be profitable. Empowering communities creates widespread prosperity. Inclusion improves the bottom line. Living Cities, the organization I run, has over three decades of experience building inclusive economies for community building and growth. We are witness to the power of people in organizing, governing, and nurturing economic environments that build wealth. With an inclusive approach to development, everyone can benefit. THE DIRECT IMPACT OF CAPITAL INVESTMENTS Most recently, we successfully closed out our Blended Catalyst impact investment fund, which deployed capital around the country in inclusive ways for 10 years. Through that capital, we invested in business models and innovative capital structures that modeled new ways of doing business and delivering results. Over 10 years, from 2015 to 2025, the Blended Catalyst Fund brought together financial and philanthropic partners to improve capital access and investment as a key driver for equitable and inclusive economic opportunity. With our operating partners, Known, we were able to: Deploy over $25 million in capital, the majority going to small businesses and real estate or housing. Leverage that capital 18x for almost $500 million in additional capital to communities that needed it. Create over 6,500 jobs and offer 4,000 social services. While those large-scale numbers are impressive, they do not speak to the direct impact of the capital in communities. After 10 years of investing for inclusion, we have found that inclusive capital does more than generate returns. It can create results that go beyond the balance sheet. NEW BUSINESS MODELS Inclusive capital creates new business models by unlocking financial resources for organizations and entrepreneurs in undercapitalized communities, giving space for innovative ideas that never had the chance to grow. By removing barriers, an inclusive approach to capital can empower entrepreneurs to create solutions tailored to their communities. For example, in early 2025, Fortis Capital and Sunrise Banks offered a loan package to NATIFS, an Indigenous organization addressing economic and health disparities in Native communities. Their loan supported the transformation of a property into a hub featuring an Indigenous restaurant, commissary kitchen, and a center for expanding Indigenous food systems. This partnership shows how tailored financial strategies can fuel entrepreneurship and reveal community-driven solutions in undercapitalized markets. MARKET EXPANSION Expanding inclusive capital allows businesses to enter new markets. When entrepreneurs have access to personalized investments, companies can take advantage of market opportunities and rapidly scale. OnShore Technology Group is a Chicago-based firm that provides validation solutions to life sciences companies, part of a regulatory mandate. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many of OnShores clients, including Moderna, were hurriedly working to bring COVID vaccines and therapies to market. Systems validation was part of this process. Founders First, which received an equity investment from the Blended Catalyst Fund, developed an accelerator program aimed at supporting entrepreneurs like Onshores founder, Valarie King-Bailey. She participated in the program, and then secured a $500,000 revenue-based financing investment from the business accelerator and investment firm. After their engagement with Founder First, OnShore experienced revenue growth of around 90% in one year and have been named to the Inc. 5,000 list three years in a row. COMMUNITY WEALTH BUILDING Inclusive capital is a catalyst for community wealth building, enabling local businesses to grow, create jobs, and foster social and economic connections within undercapitalized neighborhoods. By investing in a diversity of entrepreneurs through business expansion, inclusive capital helps transform small enterprises into engines of prosperity for their communities. Victor Diaz built Renegade Running in Oakland not only as an athletic shop, but as a hub for community building. Diaz participated in Blended Catalyst Fund loan recipient ICA Funds business accelerator program in 2022. He subsequently applied for growth funding. With that initial investment, Renegade Running was able to increase its capital by 100% with an additional investment from retailer REI. The run club, and the company, has become a community hub for Oakland, and in 2024, expanded its operations into Los Angeles. These are three of countless examples of how taking a broad and inclusive approach to capital can benefit everyone. The results from the Blended Catalyst Fund show that direct investment can help private enterprises lift entire communities. The evidence is here. It is time for business and investment leaders to act on the growing body of data proving that inclusive investment is both profitable and beneficial to a healthy local and national economy. Joe Scantlebury is president and CEO of Living Cities.
Category:
E-Commerce
Chain stores have Black Friday. Online marketplaces have Cyber Monday. For local businesses, it’s Small Business Saturday.In the last 20 years, more segments of the retail industry have vied for their own piece of the holiday shopping season. The travel trade has firmly joined the trend with another post-Thanksgiving sales push: Travel Tuesday.On the same day as the nonprofit world’s Giving Tuesday, airlines, hotels, cruise ship companies, travel booking platforms and tour operators get in on the annual spirit to spend by promoting one-day deals. Consumer advocates say there are legitimate savings to be had but also chances to be misled by marketing that conveys a false sense of urgency.“People see ’40 percent off’ and assume it’s a once-in-a-lifetime steal, without recognizing that the underlying price may have been inflated or that the same itinerary was cheaper last month.” Sally French, a travel expert at personal finance site NerdWallet, said.She and other seasoned travelers advised consumers who want to see if they can save money by booking trips on Travel Tuesday to do research in advance and to pay especially close attention to the fine print attached to offers.People hoping to score last-minute deals for Christmas or New Year’s should double-check for blackout dates or other restrictions, recommended Lindsay Schwimer, a consumer expert for the online travel site Hopper.It’s also wise to to keep an eye out for nonrefundable fares, resort fees, double occupancy requirements or upgrade conditions that may be hidden within advertised discounts, according to French.Shoppers should be wary of travel packages with extra transportation options or add-on offers, French said. Instead of lowering fares or room rates, some companies use statement credits, extra points, included amenities and bundled extras as a way to tempt potential customers, she said.“Many travel brands want to keep sticker prices high to maintain an aura of luxury, but they still need to fill planes, ships and hotel rooms,” French said. “Add-on perks are their workaround.”Consumers who are prepared rather than impulsive and on the lookout for the up-sell are in a much better position to identify authentic bargains, consumer experts stressed. Knowing what a specific trip would typically cost and comparison shopping can help expose offers based on inflated underlying costs and whether the same itinerary might have been cheaper at other times, they said.“Compare prices, check your calendar and make sure the trip you’re booking is something you genuinely want, not something you bought because a countdown timer pressured you,” French said. “What gets glossed over is that the best deal might be not booking anything at all if it doesn’t align with your plans.”Travel Tuesday came about based on existing industry trends. In 2017, Hopper analyzed historical pricing data and found that in each of the nine previous years, the biggest day for post-Thanksgiving travel discounts was the day after Cyber Monday.The site named the day Travel Tuesday. The number of offers within that time-targeted window and the number of travelers looking for them has since expanded.“Nearly three times as many trips were planned on Travel Tuesday last year compared to Black Friday,” Hopper’s Schwimer said. “We continue to see growth in the day, year over year, as more travel brands and categories offer deals.”The event’s origin story is in line with the National Retail Federation coining Cyber Monday in 2005 as a response to the emerging e-commerce era. American Express came up with Small Business Saturday in 2010 to direct buyers and their dollars to smaller retailers, credit card fees and all.A report by the consulting firm McKinsey & Company last year noted that November and December tend to be slow months for travel bookings, making Travel Tuesday a “marketing moment” that could help boost revenue.Hotel, cruise and and airline bookings by U.S. travelers increased significantly on Travel Tuesday 2023 compared with the two weeks before and after the day, the report’s authors wrote, citing data provided by the travel marketing platform Sojern.While Travel Tuesday so far has been mostly confined to the United States and Canada, “European travel companies can anticipate the possibility that Travel Tuesday will become a growing phenomenon in their region, given that other shopping days such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday have spread beyond North America,” the report stated.Vivek Pandya, lead insights analyst for Adobe Analytics, which tracks online spending, said consumers have more tools than ever this holiday season to help them determine if deals hold up to scrutiny.“Social journeys, influencers providing promo codes and values, and generative AI platforms taking all that in the prices, the social conversation, the reviews and giving guidance to the consumer, that’s a very different, dynamic kind of journey consumers are taking than they have in previous seasons,” Pandya said.Both he and French emphasized that prices rise and fall based on multiple factors, and that the winter holidays are not the only major promotional period of the year.“We now have dozens of consumer spending ‘holidays,'” French said. “Amazon alone keeps adding new versions of Prime Day. So if you don’t buy on Travel Tuesday, you haven’t missed your moment.”The Associated Press receives support from the Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism. Cora Lewis, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
Gustaf Westman, the homeware designer known for his delightfully chunky objects, just unveiled his latest project. Its a shelf inspired by classic puzzles. Gustaf Westman [Photo: courtesy Gustaf Westman] In a new video posted to his Instagram, Westman introduces the Puzzle Shelf, a modular unit that comes in the form of several components resembling giant puzzle pieces. Users can assemble the shelf however they see fit, as well as select their own piece colors, which include white, forest green, fire-engine red, pink, a range of blues, and even a metallic silver. Its currently available on a made-to-order basis, as each unique shelf is produced by a London-based 3D-print artist. Westmans irreverent take on design, which evokes memories of childhood play and imagination, is the reason that he’s managed to amass a cult following in just five years since opening his eponymous studio in 2020. The Puzzle Shelf expands on his existing niche of products that turn everyday objects and home decor into whimsical, colorful statements. [Photos: courtesy Gustaf Westman] Designing a puzzle shelf Westmans most beloved designs take ordinary itemslike a dinner plate or wine glassand reimagine them with a twist, often by inflating them to satisfyingly rounded proportions. More recently, hes also been delving into some more experimental designs, like a table specifically engineered to hold glass stems, a spiral bag made to carry a baguette, and a plate that perfectly cradles meatballs. In an interview with Fast Company back in August for his first collection with Ikea, Westman explained that his designs are often inspired by memories from his own childhood. For this new shelf, he says, Ive always loved toy aesthetics, and puzzles have such a simple, fun function. The idea of pieces connecting to create something new felt like a great starting point.” [Photo: courtesy Gustaf Westman] To test the design, Westman first sketched the shapes out on paper before rendering them digitally. Then, he created a 3D-printed miniature model of the structure, small enough to sit on a table. In the final design, each long shelf puzzle piece is supported by two smaller puzzle pieces, which stack together like Lincoln Logs. Westman told Vogue Scandinavia that the design can be styled as a coffee table, a bookshelf, a bar, a side table, and even a desk. A puzzle can take many forms, Westman said. I wasnt interested in copying the look of a flat puzzle pieceinstead, I focused on the function and the idea of pieces interlocking and creating something new when they come together. [Photo: courtesy Gustaf Westman]
Category:
E-Commerce
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