10 Things You Should Know about Stakeholder Capitalism

TRU Colors

Oct 25, 2020

Serial entrepreneur George Taylor discusses the story of TRU Colors Brewery, co-founded by rival gang leaders, promoting peace and providing jobs. The company's culture, led by Khalilah Olokunola, focuses on ending gun violence. Lessons on stakeholder capitalism and impact investing are highlighted, showing how marginalized individuals thrive in a supportive workplace environment.

26:44

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Episode guests

George Taylor

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Providing opportunities for gang members through training in life skills and business skills fosters unity and prosperity.

Creating a supportive culture where basic needs are met enables society's most stereotyped members to thrive in the workplace.

Deep dives

Creating Opportunities for Gang Members

A company that deliberately hires gang members, requiring them to stay active in their gangs, is discussed. The story follows Kalila, who was approached to develop a curriculum for gang members. Through meetings and understanding the gang dynamics, they realized gangs operated more like brotherhoods with positive values. The company True Colors focused on creating opportunities for gang members through training in life skills, business skills, and teamwork.

Introduction

2min

Collaboration with Ex-gang Members to Address Street Violence

4min

Building a Brewery for Peace and Opportunity

5min

Breaking Barriers: From Disparity to Unity

13min

Exploring the Intersection of Nonprofits and For-Profits in Achieving Social Impact

3min

Originally released on October 25, 2020, Episode 7 shares the story of TRU Colors Brewery in Wilmington, NC, a business co-founded by the leaders of rival gangs in the area with the help of a serial entrepreneur named George Taylor. The rules of TRU Colors are pretty straight forward, Make a liveable wage for your job, do your work at a very high level, and use your influence as a gang leader to stop gun violence in your organization. To make that work, Tru Colors has built a special culture, and the storyteller in this episode is the architect of that culture, Khalilah Olokunola, or as she is known at TRU Colors, “KO”.

This story shows us that, when basic needs are met, and a supportive culture has been built, even society’s most stereotyped members can thrive in the workplace. That is the 7th thing you should know about stakeholder capitalism.

Keem Grady produced a mini documentary telling this story and you can see that here.

This story also has great lessons for the impact investing community.

If all goes well this Spring, beer will be rolling off the TRU Colors line come April 1 and you’ll be able to find it in a store near you shortly thereafter. To say in the loop, consider subscribing to the TRU Colors mailing list here (scroll all the way down).

If you liked the music in this episode you can find more at:

Ruslan

Chris Valentine

Emily Brimlow