Brandel: Capital Markets Force Founders into a False Profit-or-Mission Binary
Jennifer Brandel · #61 Can a Zebra Survive in a Unicorn World? · Mar 3, 2025 · at 16:13
Hearken founder Jennifer Brandel explains on The Pitch why she chose a hybrid 'zebra' model over a traditional nonprofit or pure venture-backed company.
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“Our problem, I think, is that the capital structures are set up to be either or. Either you're for maximized shareholder profit, Or maximize mission. And I think most founders actually are somewhere in between on the spectrum, but they're pushed to one side or another just because the capital market was set up with that dichotomy.”
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