Build Ecosystems, Not Empires
Formerly Brown CEO Letters / Written by Gelaine Santiago
Once you release your limiting beliefs around business, the possibilities open up everywhere.
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Hi Reader,
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about 🌈 IMAGINATION ✨ (cue Spongebob meme).
My musings have mostly been in the context of activism and community organizing. Like Adrienne Maree Brown wrote in her book Emergent Strategy: “All [activism and] organizing is science fiction" because we're "creating conditions that we have never experienced."
But I’ve also been thinking about our roles as entrepreneurs in reimagining the world.
If you think about it, entrepreneurship is an act of radical imagination. You have to go into it with a (somewhat unhealthy) dose of delusion:
- You’re daring to dream that your life can be different.
- You’re figuratively—and even literally—building something that’s never existed.
- You’re foregoing all sense of security to bet on yourself instead.
And if you come from a historically marginalized and actively harmed community, entrepreneurship could even change the trajectory of your family for generations to come.
(Note: I humbly acknowledge that for many, especially folks with disabilities and neurodivergence, entrepreneurship isn't always a choice but the only option.)
I was 25 years old when I started my business, Cambio & Co. Before that, my outlook on life was pretty typical of most immigrant kids: don’t rock the boat, climb the corporate ladder, and try to get to the top faster than your peers.
Things got derailed pretty quickly after I fell into depression, had a quarter-life crisis, and quit my corporate job with zero plans 😬 (oops).
But here’s the thing: once you step out of one system (like corporate culture), you end up seeing the world a lot differently.
I began to realize there are so many ways to make a living. You don’t need to go to an office, work a 9-to-5, or even work 40 hours a week. You don’t need mainstream appeal to create a thriving brand. And you definitely don’t need rapid or viral growth to scale a business.
And when you begin shattering your limiting beliefs around business, possibilities open up everywhere. Like:
- What if our world was built on community care and mutual aid instead of capitalist exploitation?
- What if we spent less money on police, and more on community gardens?
- What if healthcare and housing were considered universal human rights, not privileges?
- What if the typical model for business wasn’t about building empires, but ecosystems?
What could the world look like then?
So, what are you dreaming up, Reader? I’d love to hear from you.
What’s your biggest, wildest, most delusional dream for your business? What do you want your impact on the world to look like? Hit reply and share it with me. Who knows—maybe we can help each other make it happen.
Thank you for dreaming with me. We weirdos need to stick together 🩷
Sending you delusions of grandeur,
Gelaine
Thoughtful Finds 🌸
- Join my next Founder's Focus Session, a monthly co-working session for founders & biz owners who want dedicated time to work on the big projects that'll move our visions forward. Next one's on January 31st!
- Wanna activate your voice & speak your truth unapologetically, no matter who's in the room? My friend Nadia De Ala's hosting a workshop series & you won't regret it.
- A reflection from Queer Brown Vegan, via WearProclaim
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