Ajo Angels Weekly Pulse

Whats up yall,

I normally send out educational type stuff on Mondays, but It's Black History Month so imma switch it up a bit.

Many of y'all know the history about what happened to Black Wall Street in Tulsa or Rosewood in Florida; but what you may not know is that between 1865 and 1920, there were more than 1,200 Black settlements, enclaves, and towns established in the United States, with around 50 to 60 of them being legally incorporated all-Black towns. These weren't just communities, they were economic powerhouses, places where our people built their own banks, businesses and wealth because they understood something very important and fundamental. When you can't depend on anyone else's system, you build your own. Economic independence wasn't a luxury goal for our ancestors, it was mandatory for their survival. They knew that no matter what laws got passed or what promises got made, the only real protection was owning something that nobody could take away without literally destroying it first.

And we know how that story went, those communities got burned to the ground because other people couldn't handle watching Black folks accumulate wealth and leverage.

Fast forward to now and I'm watching what's happening in this country, and it feels like we learned nothing from that history..our history. DEI programs have been gutted, policies that gave us a small foothold in corporate America are being rolled back, and Supreme Court decisions are systematically dismantling the little progress we’ve made. Meanwhile, most of us are still playing the same basic ass game, thinking that if we just work hard enough at these jobs and climb high enough in these companies, we'll be safe.

That's not what history teaches us. History teaches us that the moment we start accumulating real power, the rules change. The systems that seemed stable, suddenly are not and the opportunities that seemed with reach disappear. If we're depending solely on those systems for our financial security, we're vulnerable in ways our ancestors would instantly recognize.

This is why I keep talking about angel investing and building wealth outside of traditional employment, I really believe we're running out of time to get this right. The current political and cultural environment should be a massive wake up call that we can’t keep putting all our eggs in the basket of just working for someone else's company and hoping they'll take care of us.

Our ancestors built economic power with way less than we have access to now. They couldn't do half of the things we can. We actually have access to the same wealth-building tools that have been creating generational wealth for other communities for decades.

Yet most of us don't even know these opportunities exist, or we think they're not for us, or we're too scared to take the risk because we’ve been conditioned to play it super safe. I get it, but you know what's riskier? Depending entirely on systems that have proven over and over again that they will abandon us the moment it's convenient or it gets uncomfortable with our collective progress.

I'm not saying quit your job, that would be dumb; but what I am I'm saying is that we need to start thinking more seriously about building wealth outside of just our salaries and our 401ks. We need to learn about investing in private markets because that's where real wealth is made and that's why all of the wealthiest people and companies play. We need to be there too. This is about getting early ownership/equity that can turn into real money.

Black History Month shouldn't just be about regurgitating the same stale ass MLK, Rosa Parks or Goerge Washington Carver posters, it should be about asking ourselves what we're doing right now with the opportunities they fought to create for us. And if the answer is that we're playing it safe and hoping everything works out, then we're wasting what they gave us.

The Backstory: Millions of people want to buy a home and are eligible, but drop out because the system is confusing. Many are denied due to credit, paperwork, or missing help programs, even though they could qualify with the right guidance. The founders saw that lenders were losing good borrowers and families were losing their chance at homeownership. Home Lending Pal was built to close that gap and make the process fairer and easier for everyone.

Key Innovation: Home Lending Pal tracks buyer’s progress and shows them what to fix to become mortgage ready. It connects buyers to down payment help, housing counselors, and programs early. For lenders, it helps reduce loan denials by up to 30 percent.

Funding: Home Lending Pal is actively raising capital to scale its platform, expand lender partnerships, and grow nationwide adoption

Black-owned employer businesses in the US grew by nearly 60% between 2018 and 2024, making them one of the fastest-growing segments of business owners in the country?

Cheers,

Abdul

Hey Hey… I’m Abdul I’m the chairman of Ajo Angels and Shujaa Capital and I’m on a mission to introduce angel investing to 25,000 black folks over the next five years. I’m doing this with the goal of narrowing the racial wealth gap as well as trying to close the billion dollar funding gap for black founders.

This information is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. Angel investing involves substantial risk, including the risk of total loss. Consult with a qualified financial advisor and attorney before making investment decisions.