SYAMA BUNTEN

Women don’t talk about money the way we should. Not honestly, not openly, and not with each other. But that’s changing. I’m Syama Bunton, founder of Wealth Catalyst. And getting rich together is where the conversation lives. Every week, a different woman, a different path, and a conversation that will change how you think about your own financial power. This community is growing and you belong in it.

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Here today with the brilliant Alix Lebec. Alix, you have spent your entire career asking a different question about money. What if we use the very tool we have to fund the world we actually want? What a bold and beautiful way to explore this planet. Having had this incredible background growing up between France and South Korea and China, spending two decades inside global development, philanthropy, and investing, Alix, you have seen it all. You have been on the forefront, which is so powerful and inspiring. I’m so grateful to have you here today. You know, in 2020, when you launched LEBEC, this incredible platform designed to help unlock the five billion dollars in the next decade for climate and opportunity solutions.

And I got a chance to meet you and hear about this incredible work. I was like, holy bananas. Here is someone who has built this prolific life, has so much impact, and is yet so young and charming and exceptional that it left me wondering who the heck is Alix Leban? And like, how do I get to know this brilliant woman better? So thank you for being here today on Getting Rich Together. What an honor and a privilege.

ALIX LEBEC

Thank you so much, Syama. I think you should do an introduction for me everywhere I go. So nice. Thank you. It’s an honor to be here.

SYAMA BUNTEN

Talking about how incredible you are is extremely easy. And I’m sure I could think of like 10 other ways to be able to hopefully give you some justice. Alix, before we jump into all the brilliant work you’re up to today, the big vision, the world that you are shaping, I’d love to start with the little girl. I’d love to start with where you were in this world of ours, 10 to 12 years old. What was life like around you? And what was money like around you? What were you picking up from the world?

ALIX LEBEC

Amazing. Thank you so much, Syama. And again, I’m so excited to be on your podcast. So I love that you asked this question because you know I had a very interesting childhood where as a French girl, I left France when I was eight and grew up in actually South Korea and China. And so when I was 10 years old, I was living in Taigu, Korea.

I was going to a British international school. Again, had not learned English when I was in France. So this was still a new language for me. Korea and Asia were a completely different part of the world for me as well. But it was so incredible because my childhood was filled with facing fears and really leaning into all things creative. So let me explain that just a little bit.

What was really, really scary about moving to Korea. And I remember this, my first day of school was going to this English-speaking school and not speaking that language, but really being completely outside of my comfort zone. And I have this memory of standing outside the hotel where my family and I were staying and watching all the taxi drivers. I don’t know why, but I was watching all the taxi drivers. And I remember thinking, gosh, they don’t seem afraid at all. Like I just I wish I was a taxi driver and I didn’t have to face this fear. It was such an interesting feeling. And so of course I got on the school bus, I faced the fear, got past the fear, made amazing friends at the school, and remembered that, you know, English started to really make its way into my language when I was playing with my Barbies and all of a sudden started to play with them in English.

But what was also really fascinating about that time is I got to see all of these movies from American culture and global culture. And I was obsessed with a few of them. But I remember at the age of 10, I would go outside Syama with my walkman, and I would replay the scenes of when one of the actresses in Dirty Dancing was practicing one of the dance scenes to qualify for one of the performances. So I would literally go out and I would pick the right locations and I would practice the scenes. And then I would come home. And after watching a film like Ferngully, you know, I wrote a letter to Chelsea Clinton saying that we needed to save the rainforest. And I love these two examples because I just want to share that I was really growing up in this household where again, we’re outside of our comfort zone, I’m speaking new languages, and my mom was always reinforcing life can feel scary sometimes, but every time you get on the other side and you explore and you create and you go for those dreams, those things that you’re feeling, you feel completely fulfilled. So we were endlessly living this life that was, I think, filled with creativity and magic, and particularly because I had this chance of living abroad.

And, you know, moving abroad definitely gave my family greater financial comfort. So it was absolutely a privileged, you know, upbringing. But we weren’t extremely wealthy. You know, like it was just really about embracing and being grateful for everything that we had and knowing that we were so fortunate to not have just stayed in the same place in France. But when I was eight, I did not have that feeling, Syama. When my dad came home and told us we were moving to Korea, I was very angry. I did not understand. But you know, at ten, that’s where I was.

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SYAMA BUNTEN

Wow. Okay. And so when you had moved to Korea, were you in like an international school? Was it like lots of other children who were coming from different places? I mean, what was this early impressionable experience like?

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ALIX LEBEC

Yeah. So the first two years was in an international British school. So I had friends from all over the world. There were, you know, a couple of French students, German students from Iran, from other parts of Asia. So very, very global. And, you know, there were these beautiful festivals that the school would organize where everybody would wear a costume that represented cultures from all over the world.

So it did feel like we were not the only ones. But then came the second culture shock. After the first two years in Korea, and that was in Pusan, we moved to Taegu, where we went to an American school on an American military base. And that was second culture shock, right? I mean, you know, I was younger, I was in fifth grade, but my brother was starting middle school. So I think the change was a little harder on him. But I came to the school, I learned about hip hop and you know, American culture. And it was a totally different environment. And we were the only French kids on that military base, even though, you know, our parents were not military. So that was a huge change in my childhood, which definitely influenced, you know, many other parts of my personality as I grew up.

SYAMA BUNTEN

Wow. And also like how fascinating to be able at such a young age to have such distinct experiences of different cultures, identities, and then also like what people value. Yes. Because everyone values things differently. And until you’re of an age, and for some people maybe never, do they understand their own values and what they hold and how to change them. But you know, when you’re young, you’re really sort of picking up on those things and shape shifting. Okay, these kids are like this and so like these things are important, and then this other thing is you know important. By the time you were in high school, where in the world were you and what was it that you knew of yourself?

ALIX LEBEC

That’s such a great question. So, you know, my first year of high school was still in Taegu, Korea. And I want to say that, you know, I was with a lot of the kids that I had met in the later years of elementary school and then middle school, because it was the same school on that military base in Korea. So we had kind of grown up together. But, you know, there were two white kids in my school. So it was a very, very diverse school and I had friends who were brilliant hip hop dancers who we would dance together after school. I mean, I was learning a lot of things that I would have not learned if I had stayed in Paris. And how fabulous. It was so cool. And you know, hip hop was going through a time in the 90s, right? You had TLC and you know, I mean, just it was such an interesting time. And it was so cool. I still love so much of the music from that time.

And then at 16, my parents moved to China, where I went back to a British international school. And that was really hard for me, Syama. Cause you know, at 16, I had decided at that time that I, you know, belonged in America. I should move to the US. I was no longer really French and you know, hip hop was my favorite music. I mean, I just really saw myself in the US. And to go to this new place that was yet again international and different was hard. And, you know, I remember being 16 and going to my parents in China and saying, I’m ready to live on my own. I’m ready to build a future. And my parents were like, No, you’re not. You’re not ready at all. And so, but they agreed, you know, they agreed to send me on the foreign student exchange program to go live with their friends and finish high school in Dallas, Texas.

So can you imagine going from, you know, Korea to China to then Dallas, Texas. And I remember being on the plane on the way to Dallas thinking, my God, what have I done? I am so stubborn. I was so scared, but you know, so headstrong. And I moved to Dallas, Texas, and I just want to share with you there, you know, it was. There was a lot of racism in my high school. And I had a lot of black friends. I decided to create a girls band, an R&B girls band that had two singers who are black, one singer who was Indian. And I, without really knowing what I was doing, I was like, let’s perform a song by SWV at the talent show and maybe it will bring everybody together.

SYAMA BUNTEN

I love you so much. Okay, keep that.

ALIX LEBEC

You know, and it was always, and I go back to this because, you know, being a creative has always been a part of my life. Dance, singing, acting, imagining, creating in different parts of the world. And so, you know, we put this girl’s band together. I was not the best singer. You know, my friend Amon in particular was very gifted, as was Myra and Tyranica, but I put the whole dance choreography together and Syama, we performed. And I kid you not, everybody in that auditorium who normally was kind of you know sitting in their different places and just not all together, they all got up, they all danced together. It was this beautiful moment of magic. We won first place, and I mean it was it was amazing, and I remember seeing my science teacher at the end of that performance who said, I don’t think you realized you did this, but it was a really brave thing that you did, Aleaks. Because I got called a lot of names in school for, you know, having friends that were not all white. How crazy is that? This was 1998 in Texas. Wow. So it was, you know, it was again not — I was a teenager, you know, teenager, you’re thinking about yourself. So it’s not like there was this social movement intention, but it was kind of beautiful to see that happen and it was amazing to be on that stage and to live that. So that’s kind of the identities I went through, Syama.

SYAMA BUNTEN

I mean, how amazing. And you know, maybe you’ll have to tell us if you ever did have a short career in hip hop dancing and singing as you continue to progress because I can definitely see you and I can see you on stages. I mean, now I know you’re speaking prolifically about changing the world in other ways. I could see you on like America’s Got Talent, you know? Now introducing Alix Lebec. Perform TLC’s Creep.

ALIX LEBEC

You know, it was always a dream to perform, Syama, and it’s still a dream. So I love, I love that you see that.

SYAMA BUNTEN

I totally see it. Okay. So at this young age, you are creating waves of change in communities in ways that young people do, which is like heart forward, not a lot of brain, a lot of vision, and really moving through with like the guidance of the spirit inside of you. Right. It’s like these decisions are happening. You don’t realize what you’re doing. Things are unfolding. And I have a feeling that that is definitely a guiding force here in your life because the movement that you have and the current of your life has always been in these ways that are very heart centered and vision led, without like maybe always knowing all the things you were getting into trouble with or the ripple effects that you’re going to cause. So when it came time for university, what is it you thought you wanted to be? And where did you go? And how did you start to navigate exporting yourself? Because already living now in the US without your family of origin, right? And sort of starting to build, I imagine you headed off to university probably a lot more secure and confident than most young people who are trying to figure their shit out.

ALIX LEBEC

Well, I have to say, first of all, Syama, thank you. And, you know, I went through this interesting ride. So, you know, I feel like fear and wanting to have more stability as someone, you know, who grew up in all these places are things that would just kind of always come back to the surface at different moments. So what I mean by that is, you know, when I graduated from high school and there was that amazing performance, I got scared. I was like, wow, we won first place, but like, could I really even consider doing something like that professionally? Maybe I want something more grounded. And I decided, you know, maybe I love education, maybe I want to be a teacher. And I did my first year of university at the University of Georgia, where my best friend, who I had grown up with in Korea, we were supposed to go to school together, but she ended up taking a different trajectory.

And it was during an internship in that first year in Georgia, again, not really knowing how this came together, but I was in a classroom and I remember thinking, I love this, but I want to go live and shape the world and like influence how people are deciding in the corporate boardroom and then bring those insights back to a classroom. I don’t know that I want to start as a teacher. And I have no idea. I remember these memories, but I don’t know what triggered that. But it was a decision moment. And that summer, I went back to France. My parents were living in Brazil at the moment, but we would spend summers in France. I did a dance competition in my local city. And I went to my dad. And you know, I remember it’s the end of the summer, and I was like, I’m not going back to Georgia. That’s not what I want to do.

And my poor dad, you know, was like, what am I gonna do with these kids? Cause my brother was also creative studying at Northwestern and we were always rebelling and searching. And, you know, I said, Well, Dad, this is kind of your fault. You know, you made me move around all these different countries. And so I’m lost. And I think I wanna go to business school and I wanna stay in France. I wanna reconnect.

SYAMA BUNTEN

Dream.

ALIX LEBEC

With my culture and who I am. I feel really lost and I want to dance and I want to dance in Paris. So miracle, there was one spot left at the American University of Paris because obviously I had not been academically — it would have been impossible for me to go back to the French schooling system. So my amazing mom, again, always the hero of the story, drove overnight with me to Paris for me to take the exams, do the application, the interviews. And luckily I got in and the school said, Listen, you know, we would love for you to do the International Business Administration Program. And we have dance, the arts, you can study cinema. Like there’s a space for you to do it all. And I am so grateful that that school existed because moving back to Paris was instrumental for me.

And, you know, during that time, Syama, I was still kind of, you know, in a learning mode in terms of what I wanted to do. So I loved my finance classes. I can’t remember the name of my finance professor, but it was very predictable. I loved the puzzles around it. Like it activated a side of my brain that I was like, I get this and I love it. And I would do that all day. And then I would go take dance and theater classes at night. And I had no idea how these worlds would ever come together.

But I decided I was gonna do that for four years and we will see where it takes me. I’m just doing it to learn and have fun and we’ll see. And so when I graduated, it was scary because I had no idea what I wanted to do. I wasn’t motivated by profit. I was scared to just lean into the creative industry. I was like, I don’t know. Like, do I want to live my life on auditions? And I got a job at a documentary film firm that was doing films on sustainable development. I had no idea what sustainable development was.

SYAMA BUNTEN

Exactly.

ALIX LEBEC

Exactly. And it was between this and an internship at a finance firm. And my dad really wanted me to take the finance job. And I remember, you know, walking through Paris in my boots and like, you know, my music and thinking, I don’t know. I don’t know if that’s where I belong. And I was so excited when this job opened up at this film firm because I thought, okay, it’s creative. I’m gonna learn. There’s an element of business. I can still take dance classes in the evening, go to the theater, like it’ll make sense. It’ll come together.

And when I started that job at that documentary film firm, I met a really talented African documentary film producer who at the time was doing a film on the genocide and the conflict in Sudan. And he became a really good friend and he opened my eyes to the whole history of aid and all that had transpired, you know, on the African continent. And I thought, wow, I can’t believe I didn’t dive into something like that in school. Because as someone who grew up abroad and saw all these cultures and communities that have less and more, I want to understand that and how we make up for a lot of the bad that has been done in too many parts of the world that has created a lot of inequality.

And so right as I was thinking about that, a job opened up at the World Bank. And I went for it. You know, I did not have a graduate school degree, which everybody had at the bank, but I thought, man, I can get in with my film experience and I’m bilingual and I’ll be entrepreneurial.

SYAMA BUNTEN

Even knowing to do that, you know, it’s really funny because like when I was in high school, I remember looking at the job boards at LVMH because I knew that’s what I wanted, and people my age were like not job hunting for their future. And I was like, I know I want to do this thing. And you know, even knowing about the World Bank or having the confidence to just go for it — I mean, I feel like there is a level of inner confidence, right, to say that this is where I belong. It’s like applying for a job with the United Nations, right? Like you have to have a sense of like worthiness, a sense of larger than you mission. I mean, this is once again like a much broader and bigger calling. So how did you even know that like you could go to the World Bank and get a job?

ALIX LEBEC

You know, it’s so interesting, Syama. I feel like I got so lucky in the sense that like I was always following my heart and like what I was feeling. You know, and when I started to peel all the layers and really understand the history behind Aid and continents like Africa, I was so angry with how the world and politics had handled so many of these things, let alone colonialism. But it really fed the next level of curiosity. Like, how did economics and finance play a role in this? And who made these decisions? And you know, could documentaries be part of the equation and shining a light on what’s not right? And does it get the right stakeholders at the table?

And so I feel like in so many ways, I have always been a late bloomer. And I have always learned by experience and feeling something genuine and something that I wanted to try to solve. Not from like, I have a great idea and I’m gonna solve everything, but more like I want to contribute what I have to solve for this. And so it’s so random, you know, how that job opportunity at the World Bank landed on my desk or wherever I was. I wasn’t particularly knowledgeable on the institution. I hadn’t been in school thinking, wow, I’m gonna apply my finance background to be in the international aid system. Not at all. It was very random. And it just so happened that they were looking for someone like me who would be excited to play a role on different projects.

And there were a lot of peers there who had gone to graduate school and were consulting on very technical projects and when I started they were like, so what projects do you want to lead? And I was like, I have no idea. And it’s really through my time there, you know, I sat in a lot of meetings where European governments were deciding on what policies they would take from the briefs that the World Bank was developing. And as I was in these meetings and saw all of this, then came the second layer, which is, I don’t want this. This is not where my heart is at. I want to dive into the parts of the bank where we are developing educational or social development projects. And I want to see if there’s a way that I can contribute and make those projects better.

And so as that was transpiring, you know, it just so happened that one of the Asia regional directors was coming through the Paris office. His name was Peter Stevens, who became one of my first big mentors. And a really wonderful woman who was more senior, who I had been working with, said, look, someone’s coming. You should meet with him. There’s a position opening up in Bangkok that I think could be really exciting for you. And it requires, you know, that mix of a documentary film background plus, you know, writing. And so I found out when he was coming. And, you know, I found him in the hallway. And I pitched myself, I said, look, I’m really, I grew up abroad, I wanna build projects, I wanna change things, here’s what I could bring. And Syama, you know, luckily I got this job and I moved to Bangkok at twenty six.

SYAMA BUNTEN

Okay, so clearly you’re here on a mission to like change the world. But like, you know, let’s be real here. Like, how well do they pay at the World Bank? You know, you’re coming out of college, you’re like, here to save the world all, but like you also gotta save your own butt. So like, how did you navigate paying rent and thinking about your finances? Was there a thought at all, or was it okay, I’m so happy to do this work, I’ll take whatever I’m getting and figure it out? Like what was sort of the planning process?

ALIX LEBEC

Yeah. It was a little bit of both. And I will say I wish I had immersed myself in financial literacy a little bit earlier on. But again, I you know, I got lucky. So what I mean by that is what was great about earning at the World Bank in Paris is you don’t pay taxes.

SYAMA BUNTEN

What?!

ALIX LEBEC

No, and I’m not saying everybody should not pay taxes, so I’m not advocating that you don’t pay taxes. But it was not a huge salary, but because of the relationship between the bank and these European countries, the World Bank employees at that time were not paying taxes in France. And so I kept my whole salary. And I got a really cute little studio in the 17th Arrondissement. Was not saving any money. So again, I don’t think I had this hugely smart strategy. And as someone who loves fashion and the creatives, definitely, you know, did those things that you do in the 20s where you buy a lot of outfits and you go out and you travel. You’re not thinking about your savings. But it was a pretty good deal. And you know, I negotiated a little bit.

I don’t think I probably could have always negotiated a bit more. And I have to say, you know, no one — not between my friends, like no one was talking about, all right, well, how are you gonna negotiate the salary? You gotta make sure you have this. You know, I mean, those conversations were not happening in my environment at all. Of course I would talk about it a little bit with my parents, but you know, it was like, this is good, like let’s go with it. Like this seems pretty fair, you know.

SYAMA BUNTEN

That’s a generational difference too, right? It’s like when you talk to — and also parents are biased because they tend to be risk averse and they tend to want to make sure that we’re safe. So it’s like there’s a parental bias when it comes to like what they would do for themselves versus what they would tell you to do.

ALIX LEBEC

Exactly. Having said that, my parents did something really smart. You know, I feel like at that stage they were like, Okay, we’ve helped you with school. It’s time for financial independence, Alix. And by the time I started to get immersed in this work at the World Bank, and right before I left for Bangkok, I was ready to go to graduate school. I knew what I wanted to study. And I got into Stanford and I would have — but you know, I was not able to get a scholarship because of my background. I didn’t qualify. And my parents encouraged me to apply for grad school in London. And, you know, my dad said, I cannot pay for you to go to school. You’re gonna have to take out a loan. And I’m just saying there’s a big difference between forty thousand and eighty thousand. You know, like just you’re gonna have to sit down with a banker. And so I got myself a loan to go to graduate school and that experience taught me a lot about financial responsibility. And so I’m glad that they did that. It was time for that next stage.

SYAMA BUNTEN

Okay, so did you go to Bangkok or not? What happened?

ALIX LEBEC

So I went to Bangkok and my god, what an experience, you know. And of course, so the best advice I got again from my mentor, Peter Stevens, was you could come and just do this job description and have fun, or you could come and you could shake things up, Alix, like you could make this an experience where you are challenging. And you know, I was 26. What do you do when you’re 26? You take yourself very seriously, and you’re like, I’m on a mission, I gotta do this 180%. So, you know, but it was such great advice because I was like, I’m gonna color outside the lines. Like, let’s see what I can do with this position, right? And so I did not just do, you know, the job description. I started to meet with a lot of organizations that were working on children’s rights and particularly because you have a lot of street children in Southeast Asia and in Thailand. And I met with other, you know, non-governmental organizations, nonprofits, other private sector companies. Like I would gather these stakeholder events wearing my World Bank title and saying, you guys are shaping education policy. So why is nothing being done about all these kids who are living on the streets? Like what’s missing and what is not working in terms of what the World Bank is doing? Like, why are you guys not happy with this relationship?

Syama, interesting. I had no idea. It again, like just a gut feel. It’s not like I woke up in the morning and said, we gotta engage stakeholders who are left out of the process. It just felt very common sense to like, let’s go meet with the people who are building society in Thailand and addressing big gaps. And so we launched a project that was really looking at this challenge with street children and how to really marry that with an education system that would create opportunities for them. And then I went back to those documentary film producers that I knew, and I hired one of them and I said, let’s do a film in Cambodia that’s really looking at what’s missing from these community development initiatives. The bank was building these huge hydropower water projects in the region that was pushing communities out of their livelihoods and they were trying to do things the right way. But so I got budget within the bank to, you know, fund this documentary film.

SYAMA BUNTEN

Was this the first time you submitted like a proposal for something where it was like you had to put the creative brain and like timelines together?

ALIX LEBEC

Boy, did I learn a lot. You know, I learned a lot doing it. I learned the importance of getting all the levels of senior management on board. You know, I was always really good at challenging. You know, I gave myself this feedback that you also gotta find a way to like get those who disagree with you to also be at the table. And I remember meeting a gentleman from UNICEF who slammed a book on the table when I got to this meeting with this huge book. And who was scolding me, basically saying, You can’t design a project that’s addressing the needs of street children until you have read this manual.

And that is when I had a click and I was like, you know, that’s not what I want to do. I don’t want to do things that are gonna replicate bad processes, but like what is the entrepreneurial side of this work, you know, instead of endless consultation and talk and talk and talk, like where are the doers? Right. So act smartly and respect the process, but like, what does entrepreneurship look like here? And so that’s what that experience got out of me.

By the end of the year, I was in a car. It was a two hour ride to a community in Cambodia. I was in a black suit. I remember I was listening to this song and I was reading this big brief around what we were gonna go tell these communities. And I had a moment in that car where I was like, Am I part of the solution here or am I part of the problem? Like if I’m really being honest with myself. And the World Bank does great things, you know. So I’m not saying they don’t do great work, but just for me personally in that moment, I was like, I don’t feel like I’m solving something. I feel very privileged and I’m handing information top down. I gotta go back to school. You know, I gotta learn what are the ways I could really get behind truly democratizing access.

SYAMA BUNTEN

Definitely.

ALIX LEBEC

Yeah. Financial wealth, economic opportunity, right? Knowledge. Like I wanna know what are those methodologies so people have the tools they need to make their own decisions.

SYAMA BUNTEN

Really like interesting and extremely self-aware thought process, you know, but before the age of thirty, truly anyone’s lifetime, but you know, before the age of thirty, to be like, you know, to whose ends am I serving? And, you know, and where are my own sort of visions? And sometimes it’s not necessarily in knowing what the answer is, but oftentimes it’s figuring out what the answer is not. Yes. And sort of wayfinding through that navigational inner compass, which is like, okay, close, but not there yet, you know, and like closer, but not quite there yet.

And so I’d love to sort of turn our attention to some of these incredible inflection points. I mean to me it sounds like this big aha moment that really set you on the course which would become your life’s work and the impact that you are making on this planet. And with work that is so vision oriented, I feel like it’s different than I’m gonna take this job and then this job. You know, it’s like there is a much greater philosophical principle here. There is a greater life force. And yet my love, you are also still human. So there are also like human needs and you still want to go on vacation and so like marrying all of that. So talk to me about, you know, obviously you went off and did your graduate schooling, and then you started down these roads of really incredible experiences. Talk to me about these inflection points in your own awareness and understanding of what you were starting to really become.

ALIX LEBEC

Amazing. I love that question, Syama. And I want to say one more thing that’s gonna build into that question. You know, when I was living in Southeast Asia all by myself, and it was scary, you know. I mean, I was on the back of motorcycles without a helmet in Cambodia with filmmakers, and we were meeting government members, and I wasn’t always playing by the rules. You know, I was going to meetings I was not necessarily supposed to be going to. I mean, there’s a lot of that, but you know, every morning I would watch spy movies with my cereal and just kind of going back to what I was telling you about when I was growing up in Korea, you know, and I would imagine that I was, I mean, again, I hope I don’t sound crazy, but I would imagine that I was some of those characters, you know, and I was like, okay, like if we’re in this movie, this is what would transpire. And so all this to say that creative channel just brought a lot of joy and helped me deal with a lot of fear. So I’ll come back to that.

But when I went to graduate school, I was in London and it was actually a tough time because you know it’s hard to go back to school when you’re 27. You’ve been earning a salary, you know, you’re comfortable. I mean, granted, I was on all of these, you know, crazy adventures, but the London School of Economics was great. And at that point, Syama, I was like, I am here to study and figure out, you know, what is it that I’m gonna do? So I was very serious. I did not go out and have a lot of fun. I don’t feel like I experienced London in the best way. I was studying all the time, very hard on myself. I remember allowing myself to have a little bit of beer to sleep during my exams, but that was about it. Sorry. So I was so intense and focused on understanding what are the solutions to this global problem. And here’s a moment of reflection and change.

So I was applying for a job at UNICEF to go work in a post-conflict African country on education programs. At the same time, I saw a job pop up at the Clinton Global Initiative. And I was reading about how President Clinton and Jeff School were building this community of social entrepreneurs that were challenging traditional aid. You know, philanthropy and impact investing were still very novel terms back then. They were not used. And I was reading about the community that they were building. And I had this moment of, you know what? I should go to New York. First of all, like Alix, like, let’s just take a breath. You know, and my parents were like, I just, I don’t know that you should take this other job. You know, like, can we just — you just got back from Southeast Asia? Can we just take a beat? You know, you’re going to all these different places.

SYAMA BUNTEN

They’re like, vacation. Alix, go on vacation.

ALIX LEBEC

Exactly. Go on vacation, relax. So I thought it would be great to go to New York and I would love to learn from this community before I go out in the world and replicate things that are not helping. Like it is a time for me to learn. So I got this job at the Clinton Global Initiative and it was exciting because the team was still super small and again like it was this really exciting ecosystem of doers and funders and investors. I met Andrew Cooper. You know, I was working a little bit with him before he launched Leapfrog Investments, right? This was the year that we were trying to get him on stage with President Clinton to announce, you know, what is impact investing and how is his theory going to help millions of people get access to micro insurance? Right. Like it was an interesting time. And it just so happened that I heard about this press conference happening with Gary White and Matt Damon that was focused on the role of microfinance to solve the water crisis. And I was like, I gotta get in that room. I gotta understand what that is. So I snuck in this press conference. I thought if I get caught, I’m gonna say that I’m a French journalist. It’s totally fine.

And I remember, you know, I was so fascinated in this room to hear that there was a market demand, right? Millions of women who wanted access to an affordable, you know, financial loan to pay for the solutions that they wanted. And I remember sitting in the back of that room and thinking, wow, that’s a model that I want to support. I would love to support that idea. That is exactly what I mean when we talk about democratizing access to capital. So, by a very serendipitous set of events, again unplanned, I was working on the opening plenary at the Clinton Global Initiative. And it just so happened that Gary White was passing through New York. My colleague Sophis, who was working on this particular relationship, was out of town and said, Do you mind taking the meeting? And I was like, sure. And so I took the meeting with another colleague of mine, Amanda Chen.

And you know, Gary was just sharing that him and Matt Damon were gonna merge their organizations to form water.org to really go big with this approach around microfinance for water. And of course, you know, we started to work together and it was amazing. And we, you know, they came on stage and six months later I got a job at water.org.

SYAMA BUNTEN

Oh my god. Okay. So here you are building this incredible career in New York. You know, you have your masters, you’re like ready to, you know, conquer the world. New York is not cheap. So you do not get like quality wine and cheese and food like you do in Paris at a reasonable price. Did you have sort of the bleeding heart syndrome, which is like it’s okay if I don’t make any money because I’m here to change the world? Was that sort of the mindset at the time?

ALIX LEBEC
It was. And and boy was that hard. You know, we were not earning a lot. And I mind you, I came to New York two weeks before the financial crisis hit in 2008. You know, where people were lining up outside because they lost their jobs. You know, I was sharing an apartment with a roommate I didn’t know on the upper west side. And it was it was hard, Syama. And I was still, you know, I had had some health challenges when I got back from Southeast Asia that I had been grappling with when I was in grad school, then when I moved to New York. So it was tough, but it was very much that mindset. I was like, but I’m here to like help save the world. So it’s all gonna work out. Okay. Like somehow this is gonna work out.

SYAMA BUNTEN

It’s so funny because I feel like one of the biggest shifts that I’ve seen, and I this will lead into the work that you’re building today, but some of the shifts that I’ve seen in the conversation around impact investing and impact in general is that it feels like to me — and I certainly this is just from observation and not experience — but my observation has been that it used to be more scarcity driven. Yeah. Like let me be a martyr to this cause and let me bleed out in service of building something else. And I think a big part of that was that there was a lack of understanding of how you can support the world towards a vision, create profitability, create ecosystems of abundant change. And so this idea of the martyr who works in impact, I feel like you have been such a driving force in changing this narrative to hey, actually impact can be abundant. And like there is a greater landscape here of change where I can win, you can win, they can win, and no one has to be the martyr anymore.

ALIX LEBEC

Exactly. And it comes with also like sustainability, you know, like if you can’t take care of yourself, you can’t put that oxygen mask on, right? How are you going to take care of everybody else? And I will say that I am grateful I never did like a year of volunteer work abroad. And I hope that doesn’t sound crazy, but you know, when we had interns at the Clinton Global Initiative and we had amazing interns, you know, one of the advice that I gave to the ones who were on my team and working with me who were like, Alix, so what do I do next? And I was like, You’re gonna get a paid job next. Because if you wait another year, then it’s gonna further lower that salary starting point. And then you’ve just lost more time to creating, you know, a financial stability for yourself to do the things that you want to do.

To do this work, you know, and this is part of changing the mindset. What we are doing, whether it’s the next innovations that are gonna reinvent food systems or water availability or the future of real estate, right? Carbon light building materials. These are innovations that require talent and time and resources. And I’m gonna do a comparison, you know. You have companies like Tesla, right? Like the reason why these companies have reached, you know, trillion dollar valuations is because of years of government subsidies, tax credits. There was a flow of capital that supported the development of those ideas. And I compare that because when we are developing these important innovations and solutions that are building a society, a future and economy that is going to sustain us, why should that be part of a scarcity mindset where no one is paid and you’re not hiring the best talent? How does that make sense? We’re building the future. Why is that considered the B team?

And I don’t love using these analogies, but I’m just trying to relate to how the world sees these things. Like, why shouldn’t the best graduates of every university in the world or those who decided not go to school — why should we not be giving them the tools to want to develop these innovations and solutions that are going to build a future that benefits all of us and make sure that they are paid to do that work? They also are going to have school loans. They also want to have kids. They also need health insurance. They also need to go on vacation to like take a break and be sustainable.

And so I just want to fast forward and tell you that the first time in my career that I really made a decision for myself, started to really pivot away from the martyr, like, I’m gonna, doesn’t matter, I’ll do whatever you need me to do — was when I was 32 years old. I was, you know, working at water.org at the time and I was living in New York, I’d been there for four years, I was burning out. I was just working so much all the time, no savings. And I had a repayment principal on my graduate school loan. And I said, I’m moving to Miami. Miami was different back then, but I was like, I am gonna live close to the water. I am going back to my dance classes. I am next to an international airport. I’ve proven myself. I have networks, I have everything, but man, I need better living conditions. I cannot — I’m not going to now move to four roommates at thirty-two to be able to like pay the bills. I would like to have a better quality of life and I need it for my well being. I can’t keep doing this work if I don’t do this for myself.

SYAMA BUNTEN

You chose yourself.

ALIX LEBEC

First time. Thirty two.

SYAMA BUNTEN

Oh my god, that’s so incredible. And so take me into today, you know, take me into not just the work that you’re building, but this vision of the world that you have really planted — not just seeds in the ground, but my love, you have planted like redwoods in the ground. Right. So like this is bigger than fledgling seeds that maybe some will grow and some won’t. You have full on redwoods, you have forest. I mean, you’re building something that is powerful. And so talk to me a little bit about today’s ecosystem and what you’re building and how and this vision of the world and legacy that you are creating.

ALIX LEBEC

Thank you, Syama. So, you know, when I after water.org, I had the chance, you know, to build Water Equity, this asset manager that is demonstrating how you can invest in water in ways where you can generate financial returns and help millions of people have access to water. And as part of that trajectory, I had a front row seat to building these financial vehicles that blended philanthropy, debt, and equity in very creative and strategic ways, where philanthropy could like de-risk something new and create the right conditions for then debt and equity investors to participate and invest in solutions that just need time to demonstrate financial and impact success.

And when I saw the success of these financial vehicles and how we could be so much more creative with financing, I was blown away — and maybe blown away is too positive of a word, but I was flabbergasted that these models are still considered the exception versus the norm. Philanthropy playing a role of a first loss guarantee, even when it’s not needed, but just to deal with the perception of risk of investing in water in emerging markets was instrumental in unlocking hundreds of foundations, family offices, individuals who would have never invested in a water fund had that philanthropy not been there. So imagine you’re putting a million dollars of philanthropy in that first loss guarantee. You’re unlocking $50 million of investment capital to invest in sustainable solutions, reaching underserved communities with sustainable water solutions, and you’re making a financial return and you’re getting that money back. Like, why would you not do that?

I just don’t understand. So, my thought, you know, by the time I got to my third fund at Water Equity, and I was still seeing that our traditional financial ecosystem was not changing, I was, again, hitting a point of burnout and really thinking, I want to change this mindset out there. And I can’t do it staying at Water Equity. I want to create a firm that is really going to mainstream innovative finance, right? This space that is between traditional philanthropy and traditional finance. There’s so many proof points. You know, organizations like Acumen had already been doing it, Leapfrog Investments, all of these incredible, you know, impact investment managers were coming about. And so I thought this is the right time. It was in the height of the pandemic. And I found a really great group of women who had deep asset management, philanthropy, social entrepreneurial expertise that complemented my work and we really set out to build this company.

And from the get-go, Syama, my dream was the following. As a creative, my other frustration was I go to these philanthropy and impact investing conferences and it’s black suits, it’s scripts. Like we are not part of mainstream culture. You know, people at universities are not talking about this. You know, entrepreneurs on Shark Tank are not reflecting this. Like we’re in a world of our own. And so in creating LeBec, I wanted to bring three things together. You ready? I was like, I feel like we’ve got we’ve got a little bit of Jaclyn Novogratz at Acumen. We’ve got a little bit of Sally Krotchak at Elvest. And we’ve got a little bit of Elaine Welteroth, Ava DuVernay, you know, like these women who are like changing media and storytelling and you can be multidimensional and exciting. And and I wanted to build something that felt like that.

The DNA of LeBec was really meant to be all of that. I just didn’t know how it would all come together. So the goal was we’ll start with strategic advisory and let’s share the innovative finance playbook with both asset owners and social entrepreneurs. I did not want us to advise just one side of the spectrum because I wanted us to be tethered to entrepreneurs who are on the front lines, who are innovating all the time. So that informs the advice that we are giving asset owners.

And as the business started growing, you know, after a lot of research and really understanding the investment strategy and what the media and narrative change play is — which are the two other pillars — after years of research, here’s the conclusion we came to. So we can continue our strategic advisory work. But let’s launch for Pillar Two a boutique investment manager that is going to develop or construct diversified portfolios of many private market funds, scaling solutions. Why? There’s a lot of great funds out there, like Water Equity, right? And an investor will say, you know what, Alix, I love that fund. I want to invest in it, but it’s water, it’s a seven-year lockup, it’s emerging markets. My financial advisor tells me it doesn’t benchmark with my real estate portfolio. To which I would say, but it’s not an either or. It’s a both and. This water fund is not meant to give you the same returns or the same profile as your real estate fund. It’s supposed to be an and, right? You’re diversifying because there’s water risk out there.

So what I’m trying to get at in a very concise way is traditional wealth management platforms cannot build portfolios of these private market funds because a lot of these private market funds are still considered too small, too niche, too risky to make it on their platforms. So asset owners are saying, I want exposure to impact. I want to solve water. I want to help the oceans, I want to solve, you know, deforestation. And the wealth advisor is going to say, sure, well, here’s what we have. And the asset owner will say, well, that’s not enough. And the wealth manager says, I know you love these other funds, but I can’t put them on our platform.

So what we want to do is build these portfolios so that an investor, you know, let’s say has an account at Morgan Stanley, we can create a carve out. They’ll invest in this portfolio, a very carefully curated group of private market funds that are diversified according to asset class, geography, and sector. So the portfolio is targeting a market rate return. It’s just giving better conditions to the investor. And the investor is investing in a portfolio of funds that are actually solving solutions in a very systemic, sustainable, scalable way. So we’ve launched our boutique investment manager to build these portfolios.

And then third, on the narrative change side, what we’ve continued to do is host these private events where you bring different capital providers together who are unpacking what is innovative finance, like where does philanthropy play a role? Where does then investment capital play a role? But in addition to that, Syama, we are developing an innovative finance strategy that is going to invest in commercial films and TV series that are going to tell stories that are tethered to the world we are experiencing. And also pointing to where there are solutions and possibility, still keeping films entertaining, you know, whether it’s a thriller or a spy movie, whatever, but like let’s integrate these better narratives and where social entrepreneurs will get capital from the project. So because innovative finance is behind the financing of the commercial film, there’s gonna be a piece of the pie that is for social entrepreneurs solving these great challenges.

And the reason we got there — I want to tell you one more thing. You know, you look at a movie like Barbie. Barbie made $1.4 billion, got 50 million views, inspired a lot of articles about feminism, right? There’s a whole movement around the movie. And then its nonprofit of choice got $1.5 million as a grant, which is not much. And then the movement dies, and we move on, and that’s it. So we’re not leveraging entertainment in ways that, you know, in storytelling and narrative change, to really tie that to where there’s change happening in the world. So that’s our three pillars. And it’s really through the strategic advisory, the boutique investment manager, and the narrative change work that we feel confident we can mainstream innovative finance and unlock $5 billion of assets under management.

SYAMA BUNTEN

Amazing, Alix. Well, congratulations. You know, I feel like we could talk for hours, but unfortunately I know that there’s a whole host of things that are begging for your attention today. If you could quickly share with me, you know, there are two final questions before we close out. The first is the most fabulous recent thing and way in which you’ve spent your money. Would love to know that. And then I’ll follow up with my second.

ALIX LEBEC

Wow, that’s amazing. So one of the best ways I spent my money was, you know how we celebrate birthdays and when we get older — well, every time on my birthday, I travel somewhere new and I invest in that local ecosystem. So this year I got to go to Botswana for the first time and meet so many incredible women and obviously saw the elephants, the animals, a lot of organizations working on conservation. But I think really going somewhere I haven’t been and supporting that local ecosystem is a very exciting way in which I’ve had the chance to put my money to work.

SYAMA BUNTEN

That’s amazing. And then my last question is obviously you’re building something really incredible. What is it that our audience can do for you? What is it that you’re calling in this next year and how can we support?

ALIX LEBEC

Yeah. I mean, we are doing a million dollar seed round for our company as we’re launching this new strategy. So, you know, women out there who are excited by this vision of, you know, really financing the world of solutions in a more creative way, all the things that we talked about, just know that we have a seed round open. And then just, you know, spreading the word. I mean, go check us out online. You know, we’re at lebec.co. If our story is inspiring and you want to talk to us or write about it, obviously all of these things are incredibly helpful. And we have great clients, many of whom are social entrepreneurs. And so do check them out. They are always looking for new supporters. And so, you know, our ecosystem is pretty big. But those are the ways I would encourage.

SYAMA BUNTEN

Wonderful. Well, thank you so much for your generosity of spirit, your excellent storytelling and the world that you’re building towards, Alix. It’s really beautiful and I’m grateful to be on this journey with you. Thank you for being here today.

ALIX LEBEC

Thank you so much for having me, Syama.

SYAMA BUNTEN

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