We’re continuing to bring you the “Best of” Access & Opportunity by revisiting my 2021 conversation with NBA champion turned investor, Andre Iguodala. Andre isn’t just a four-time NBA champ and Finals MVP—he’s the master of the pivot, a key playbook for Access & Opportunity. While cementing his legacy on the court, Andre began making moves to achieve success off the court, too. In 2010, he ventured into investing, funding companies you know today, like Zoom and Allbirds. In 2021, he doub...
Dec 17, 2024•35 min•Season 8Ep. 34
Today, we’re continuing to bring you the “Best of” Access & Opportunity by revisiting one of our favorite conversations, with Nely Galán. Nely embodies the ethos of Access & Opportunity. She’s a savvy woman of color in business who’s written her own story by betting on herself time and again — starting as an Avon saleswoman at just 13 years old, and culminating with becoming the first-ever Latina President of Entertainment for a U.S. television network. As a titan in media, Nely’s own jo...
Nov 26, 2024•39 min•Season 8Ep. 33
Today, we’re revisiting our 2021 conversation with educator Betsy Mayotte to discuss how having the right information at the right time can make navigating the student financing industry more manageable. But first we'll hear from Farrukh Siddiqui, an entrepreneur whose company uses income share agreements, or ISAs, to help student borrowers get out of debt. Come on and join us for the ride. Disclaimers The guest speakers are neither employees nor affiliated with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC. (“M...
Oct 23, 2024•28 min•Season 8Ep. 32
Today, we’re revisiting Carla's 2022 conversation with Kara Nortman, a venture capitalist who started a National Women's Soccer League team, to make a playbook for all women’s sports leagues to win by. But first we'll hear from WNBA star Nneka Ogwumike, President of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association. Nneka will give us context to the WNBA’s ongoing and active discussions around pay. Then, we’ll turn to Carla's conversation with Kara for her playbook to build thriving women’s sp...
Oct 07, 2024•27 min•Season 8Ep. 31
On this 2021 episode, we’re talking about the importance of reaching back to help others on their business journey and how alternative sources of investment can help women of color take their companies to the next level. We hear from Maya Penn, founder and CEO of Maya’s Ideas, a slow fashion brand she started at just eight years old. She shares what she's learned about raising funds as a young, black, female entrepreneur, and the help she’s received along the way. Then, host Carla Harris sits do...
Sep 24, 2024•29 min•Season 8Ep. 30
Latino Americans’ purchasing power hit $3.4 trillion in 2021, according to a report from the Latino Donor Collaborative, and is expected to account for over one-third of growth in apparel spending in the next five years, according to the 2021 Claritas Hispanic Market Report. With Nielsen noting that women are largely in control of household spending in this demographic, designers and retailers are working to make their sectors more inclusive to Latinas as consumers. But it’s a tough hill to clim...
Feb 07, 2024•26 min•Season 8Ep. 29
Rates of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation among college students are at an all-time high. And while students of all backgrounds face similar levels of mental health challenges, ethnically diverse students are far less likely to seek treatment. That gap is due to factors including lack of access to a diverse selection of counselors; cultural stigmas surrounding mental health; and the cost of care. The need for more robust mental healthcare continues once students transition into the work...
Jan 12, 2024•26 min•Season 8Ep. 28
With advances in technology, the music industry is changing faster than ever. Streaming services add more than 100,000 new songs every day. In this environment, artists’ ability to market and distribute their own work brings a lot of opportunity. But the influx of new music also means more competition for creatives hoping to break through. Meanwhile, record companies and publishers often control ownership of music rights, meaning that they can profit disproportionately. In this episode, we’ll he...
Nov 09, 2023•25 min•Season 8Ep. 27
A 2022 analysis issued by consulting firm Oliver Wyman found a shortfall of 8,000 pilots in North America, or 11% of the total workforce. That gap is estimated to grow to nearly 30,000 by the end of the decade. In their pursuits to staff up and meet new hiring goals, there is an opportunity for commercial airlines in the United States to diversify an industry that has a legacy of being overtly white and male by breaking down the barriers to entry. On this episode, we’re exploring how the aviatio...
Aug 04, 2023•26 min•Season 8Ep. 26
On this episode, we discuss the lack of representation in the video game industry, from the stories that get told in games to the people who get to make them. While gamers of color are more active than their white counterparts, they still only make up about 13% of the gaming development industry, according to a study by Pew Research. First, we hear from Neil Jones, a Black video game developer who went independent after struggling for years to break into the industry. He shares what inspired him...
May 31, 2023•27 min•Season 8Ep. 24
American entrepreneurship had been on a 40-year decline. But 2020 is the year that turned around; entrepreneurship is on the rise once again. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, aspiring entrepreneurs filed paperwork to start 5.4 million new businesses in 2021. This recent surge in entrepreneurship has been disproportionally attributed to women and people of color, so for this special two-part series we’re honing in on an intersection of those two identities: Black women. In the second of our t...
Apr 20, 2023•23 min•Season 8Ep. 23
According to a 2021 report in the Harvard Business Review , 17% of Black women are in the process of starting or running new businesses, compared to 10% of white women and 15% of white men. For this special two-part “Black Women Entrepreneurship” series, Access and Opportunity is on the road in Washington D.C. – recently named the best city for Black entrepreneurs to start a business – to hear from the women driving this Black business boom by putting community at the center. On this episode, Ca...
Apr 20, 2023•25 min•Season 8Ep. 22
An extreme funding gap exists for Black female entrepreneurs who, in 2021, received merely 0.34% of the total venture capital spent in the U.S. in the first half of the year, according to Crunchbase. And while more concerted efforts to diversify capital allocation have come out of these jarring figures, the community of adequately funded Black female founders remains incredibly small. On this episode, we speak with one of the select few Black female founders who got her funding. In 2021, Monique...
Feb 08, 2023•29 min•Season 8Ep. 21
The barriers to entering and staying in the workforce are complex for disabled people, and magnified for disabled people with additional marginalized identities. This results in long term impacts to their household wealth: in the United States, the median net worth among households with adult members with a disability is $33,318 less than the national median, according to a report from Prosperity Now. On this episode, we learn how unemployment drives the disability wealth gap and how advocates a...
Jan 10, 2023•28 min•Season 8Ep. 20
A recent survey commissioned by Nova Credit found that nearly half of immigrants said a U.S. credit card is hard to obtain. Without a credit card or any type of credit history to their name, immigrants are likely to find themselves identified as “credit invisible” and unable to establish their financial identities. On this episode, we learn from those with firsthand experience navigating the American credit system as immigrants and how they’re channeling lessons-learned into solutions that are m...
Dec 08, 2022•18 min•Season 8Ep. 19
Around the world, over 80 million individuals are displaced according to the UN Refugee Agency, with many forced to flee their homes for prolonged periods of time due to protracted internal crises. While emergency aid may provide for their immediate basic needs, it in no way supports their quality of life nor does it create a pathway to building a future in a foreign country. On this episode, we discuss the unique challenges that exist for founders uprooted from their home countries. First we he...
Nov 23, 2022•28 min•Season 8Ep. 18
In May of 2022, the U.S. Soccer Federation agreed to a landmark deal awarding equal pay for the women and men of the US National Soccer teams. On this episode, we look at what this move means for other women’s leagues charting the same course towards equity in pay and beyond. First, we hear from Los Angeles Sparks player Nneka Ogwumike about her path to becoming a decorated player in the WNBA and how she’s using her platform to engage the league in conversations about equity. Nneka also talks ab...
Nov 12, 2022•26 min•Season 8Ep. 17
In America, real estate investment has been the primary way for people to build wealth that they can sustain and pass down to their children. But the vast majority of those who get a piece of the real estate pie are white men. Real estate investment has a long history of systemic inequity due in part to racist lending practices and exclusionary urban planning Despite the challenges, there are BIPOC entrepreneurs working to change the exclusivity of this industry. On this episode, we hear from tw...
Oct 24, 2022•27 min•Season 8Ep. 16
Indigenous voices have been left out of the conversation around climate change, even though they are among the first to face the direct consequences of global warming due to their interconnectedness with the environment and its resources. On this episode, we hear from Indigenous leaders working to uplift Native voices and bring generations of environmental wisdom into the fight against climate change. First we hear from Nikki Cooley of the Navajo Nation. As the co-manager of the Climate Change P...
Sep 26, 2022•24 min•Season 8Ep. 15
Too many people in the U.S., particularly those from communities of color, live in geographic areas that have little to no access to an affordable and adequate supply of healthy and fresh whole foods. Unequal access to quality food has ripple effects across health, performance in school, and ultimately, the ability to generate wealth. On this episode, we learn about how food industry professionals are working to eliminate food deserts across the country. First we hear from entrepreneur Cassandri...
Aug 12, 2022•29 min•Season 8Ep. 14
Between the authors landing 6 figure deals to the editors sourcing new talent: the publishing industry in America is much whiter than the general population. While some progress has been made since the #PublishingPaidMe movement of June 2020, there is still a long way to go to make the publishing industry equitable. On this episode, we learn about how industry insiders are breaking down barriers for aspiring authors of color. First, we hear from published author Khalisa Rae about how she found h...
Jul 06, 2022•27 min•Season 8Ep. 13
On this episode, we’re exploring the potential of the circular economy. First, we hear from Kenyan entrepreneur Nzambi Matee about how she’s tackling the plastic waste problem in Nairobi through Gjenge Makers, her company that creates alternative building products out of the typically disposed of material. Nzambi speaks to the potential for innovative solutions such as affordable housing that come from reframing how we view the waste that we create. Then, host Carla Harris sits down with Garry C...
Jun 10, 2022•21 min•Season 8Ep. 12
On this special episode, Carla Harris sits down with journalist and fellow Morgan Stanley podcast host Sonari Glinton to discuss their careers, the roles they play in fostering opportunity and their experiences around equity in the economic landscape. https://www.morganstanley.com/what-we-do/inclusive-innovation-and-opportunity Disclaimer text The guest speakers are neither employees nor affiliated with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC. (“Morgan Stanley”). The views and opinions expressed herein do ...
May 11, 2022•22 min•Season 8Ep. 12
On this episode, we’re talking about the push for more representation of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in entertainment. First, we hear from musician Charlene Kaye, also known as KAYE, about how the lack of Asian American artists she had to look up to growing up forced her to shy away from her identity. Charlene shares how she is now furthering the conversation through music, and her podcast, Golden Hour. Then, host Carla Harris sits down with Bing Chen, the founder of non-profit Gold Ho...
Apr 14, 2022•28 min•Season 8Ep. 11
On this episode, we’re talking about America’s high rate of recidivism – with nearly 80% of those incarcerated returning to prison after five years – and what can be done to reduce this figure. First, we hear from Marcus Bullock, the founder and CEO of tech company Flikshop, about the obstacles he faced when transitioning back into society after serving an eight-year prison sentence. Marcus applied for 41 jobs before finally finding employment as a paint mixer, opening the door for him to eventu...
Mar 18, 2022•31 min•Season 8Ep. 10
Money circulates nearly an unlimited number of times in white neighborhoods, but only once in African-American communities, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth. On this episode, we ask: how can we keep the Black dollar circulating in Black communities for longer? First, we hear from Bernard Bronner, President and CEO of Bronner Bros., the Black, family-owned beauty company behind the annual Bronner Bros. Hair Show. After losing their best-selling hair care product because they didn...
Mar 03, 2022•31 min•Season 8Ep. 9
According to the U.S. Census, roughly one in ten homes in America lack a broadband internet connection, and the city of Brownsville, Texas tops the list of least connected cities in the country. On this episode, we’ll learn from two people on the frontlines in the battle against this digital divide. We hear from Brownsville high school teacher Mayra Delgado. After seeing her students struggle with connectivity, she co-founded a group called What the Fiber to address the problem. Then, host Carla...
Feb 03, 2022•26 min•Season 8Ep. 8
More than half of asset managers still believe that hiring diverse teams comes at the cost of higher returns, despite data showing otherwise. On this episode, host Carla Harris speaks to Heard Capital founder and CEO William Heard as he shares his journey to become a successful Black hedge fund manager and how he’s paving the way for money managers like himself, with less traditional pedigrees, to achieve their goals in the financial industry. https://www.morganstanley.com/what-we-do/inclusive-i...
Dec 31, 2021•15 min•Season 8Ep. 7
On this episode, we learn about how one woman is working to foster economic equity in the outdoors and how supporting founders of color will improve the outdoor industry for everyone. We hear from founder Patricia Cameron about her nonprofit, Blackpackers, which aims to address the gap in representation in the outdoors by providing gear, outdoor excursions and outdoor education for free or at a subsidized cost. Then, host Carla Harris sits down with Dan Kihanya, REI’s Director of Corporate Devel...
Dec 20, 2021•20 min•Season 8Ep. 7
As of 2021, $1.7 trillion in student loan debt is collectively owed by 45 million borrowers. On this episode, we learn about the size and scope of the student debt crisis and how borrowers, educators and policy makers can help stem this growing figure. We hear from entrepreneur Farrukh Siddiqui about his company, Defynance, which works with former students to pay off their loans and replace them with income share agreements. Then, host Carla Harris sits down with Betsy Mayotte, the president and...
Nov 04, 2021•26 min•Season 8Ep. 6
