Reading: Are There Opportunities in this New World?

Deborah Jackson, Founder and CEO of Plum Alley investments, “stumbled” into investment banking at Goldman Sachs in municipal finance. After 20 years, she retired, found her way onto five non-profit boards and even explored her bucket list.

“I flunked retirement,” she laughs.  Jackson had been mentoring entrepreneurs and investing when she decided to create a business out of it. “I wanted to change the experience of how investing is done,” she tells Lesley. “How do we get women excited about investing? How do we create joy beyond the financial transaction?”

Plum Alley, a private membership that gives investors “access to influence and innovation, and shapes the future by investing in private companies” does just that — and has already invested in 19 companies in 24 months.  “Wise women over 60 have so much to give back,” Jackson says. “Age and wisdom are really significant together.”

Deborah’s Thoughts on Investment during Coronavirus
In every crisis there is also an opportunity. So think about, okay, what will we need going forward? And that often means different products, different services, different protections. So it opens up new areas for innovation, new entrepreneurs, new companies. So I think the point is to be conservative and cautious, because it’s hard to be upbeat in this situation. We don’t know the extent of the damage. But I think we have to think past fear. To be smart, and not give up. We have to figure out where we go from here. What can we learn from this situation? How do we prepare ourselves for the future?

Now is the time we need women to rise up. We all have so much more capability than the world gives us credit for, especially women over 60. We have so much to give back. The world needs us.