Jacqueline Novogratz has had a big dream since she was young - to change the world.

But life is funny, because her career had a very conventional start - at Chase Manhattan Bank - where she told her Chase interviewer that she had:

❌ No interest in banking; and

❌ Was at the interview only because her parents told her to go!

Jacqueline did so well at Chase, the then COO wanted to fast track her career & have her be his right hand person.

She refused & quit what her father considered to be the "career of a lifetime".

Her mother was convinced that Jacqueline would never marry! 😆

But Jacqueline was adamant.

So off she went to Africa to "save the continent", only to learn that Africa neither needed nor wanted saving!

She experienced failure after failure after failure, but those lessons led to the founding of Rwanda's first microfinance bank & @acumenfund.

Jacqueline also became known as the OG of impact investing, with impressive accolades like:

- One of the World’s 100 Greatest Living Business Minds 2017 - Forbes;
- Forbes 400 Lifetime Achievement Award for Social Entrepreneurship, 2016;
- Bloomberg Markets 50 Most Influential in Global Finance, 2014;
- EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2008.

Not once has Jacqueline wavered from her dream of changing the world.

Even when building Acumen felt like - in the words of Acumen’s first COO, Dan Toole - “Standing at the 5th floor of a brick building & we’re trying to build a terrace brick by brick with no safety net underneath!”

So:

❓ What is it like to live a life of such purpose?

❓ Who are the people (+ life partner!) that you need to surround yourself with to keep the mission alive?

❓ Why did her mentor, John Gardner, use to say that “The key to life is to be interested. Not interesting”?

Well.

You’ll just have to listen to STIMY Ep 124 to find out! 😏

Highlights:
00:00 Intro
00:17 The Novogratz clan
3:06 Wanting to change the world at… Chase Manhattan Bank?!
6:20 The little boy in the hotel
7:45 Saying “no” to Tony Triciano, COO of Chase Manhattan Bank
10:44 Africa doesn’t need saving!
11:59 Born for Crisis
13:53 The secret sauce to building a microfinance bank in Rwanda
15:05 Being maniacal
17:38 Agnes & the Rwandan genocide
20:26 Building a 5th storey building with no safety net underneath?!
22:19 Turning point
24:59 Mike Novogratz, the Forrest Gump of Bitcoin
26:44 How Acumen came to Southeast Asia
32:27 Is Acumen even needed?
35:31 Personal KPIs
38:33 Listening with your whole body
44:15 Marriage
47:45 Finding a life partner while saving the world?!

**

🎙️Show notes/transcript for this episode: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/124

📍 Acumen: http://www.acumen.org/

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WHO AM I:
I'm Ling Yah, a Malaysian lawyer & host/producer of the So This Is My Why, where I interview inspiring people about how they found their why, and their blueprint for turning that why into a reality. I’ve interviewed Olympians, Michelin-starred chefs, top entrepreneurs, VC founders, Hollywood actresses, and more.

P/S
⌨️ I’d love to hear from you! Just leave a comment below or email me at sothisismywhy(at)gmail.com