Planting the forest.
EDITION 21: INVEST ON PURPOSE
When you’re stuck in the trees…
There’s a saying: you can’t see the forest for the trees. Lately, I’ve been so into the details that I wasn’t seeing the big picture. In my corporate days, big picture thinking and storytelling were specialties of mine.
But between building BeeCene and trying to process so much of what is happening in the news, I lost that altitude. I’ve been finding myself deep in the trees and unable to see the forest.
Well last week, during a conversation with a venture capitalist, something clicked. I was describing BeeCene and she told me, “This is kind of a funky VC deal.” To be fair, it came from a good place. She is in fact very much aligned with our mission. But her comment offered me the moment of clarity I needed to realize I had to zoom out.
We’re not just a new fund. We’re not just a tech platform.
We’re building the rails for a future that doesn’t exist yet. And that requires a new kind of infrastructure.
So let’s take a quick detour. Stay with me, because I promise it will all make sense.
Do you know the history of Shopify?
In 2004, three friends in Ottawa, Canada wanted to start a store to sell snowboards online. But at the time, the infrastructure didn’t exist for regular people to build e-commerce businesses. You had to choose between a basic template that looked like everyone else’s site or spend tens of thousands on custom development. So they built their own store.
Before long, other entrepreneurs started asking to use their software. The founders realized they weren’t just solving their own problem, they were unlocking something much bigger.
They pivoted from snowboards to software. And Shopify was born.
They didn't just create another way to sell products—they created the system that let millions of entrepreneurs who'd been locked out suddenly compete with Amazon.
Now Shopify powers millions of businesses worldwide, from side hustles to billion-dollar brands. They took something that required deep pockets and technical expertise and made it accessible to anyone.
This is what BeeCene is doing.
We’re not just building a fund. We’re building the rails.
BeeCene is the infrastructure for a new financial future. One where private market investing is accessible, community-driven, and aligned with real-world impact.
As we talk to software providers and platform vendors, we’re frequently running into resistance. Our model breaks their assumptions. They aren’t set up to allow investors to invest with such low investment minimums. They question why I wouldn’t just ask people to invest higher dollar amounts “because accredited investors can afford it.” They don’t understand the psychological barriers that keep people, and in particular women, on the sidelines with that kind of rhetoric.
So now more than ever I see the forest we’re planting.
Because here’s the thing: we're not here to make the system work slightly better for people already in it. We’re here to build the system that brings more people in.
Help us plant the forest.
In our capitalist society, one of the things we sometimes overlook is the influence and power our dollars have. Every dollar you spend and invest is a vote for the future you want to see.
And most of our investments today go into public companies—big names with big returns and even bigger influence. These companies have access to capital, lobbyists, and power in all the usual rooms.
But what about the millions of small businesses building real value in their communities? The ones creating jobs, solving everyday problems, and showing up with care, not just scale? They’re chronically underfunded, overlooked, and often locked out of the system entirely.
At BeeCene, we believe the future of investing and lending has more voices, not fewer.
And this is just the beginning.
We imagine a future where impact fund managers of all sizes use BeeCene to redirect capital toward the causes that matter. Where millions of people are newly brought into private market impact investing. Where investing isn’t about choosing between purpose and performance.
We’re proving you can have both.
Be part of the funky future.
The future doesn’t need more of the same. It needs more funky deals. And it needs you.
We’re launching soon and giving early access to people who sign up for our waitlist.
Join the list here. Let’s plant something different.
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The information provided is current as of the date of this writing and for informational purposes only. It should not be relied upon as investment advice or recommendations, does not constitute a solicitation to buy or sell securities, and should not be considered specific legal, investment or tax advice.
Investing entails risk, including the possible loss of principal, and past performance is not predictive of future results.
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