entmagazine:

For Jase Wilson, it all started with a love of cities. He had a passion for understanding how they were built, and ended up studying them in college. Along the way, he nurtured a deep appreciation for open spaces, parks and playgrounds.

Wilson recently shared with me his journey of moving from civic activist to the CEO of #Neighborly, a civic mini-bond investment platform. Before Neighborly, Wilson had a feeling that some kind of invisible force guided the financing behind how cities were built, and that these forces also influenced how infrastructure was funded.

During a conference in which he heard a presentation on civic crowdsourcing, things started to click. What if there was a way to create public good and shared value through a community-investment platform that allowed citizens to directly fund projects?

Neighborly was born. The mission is simple: take a complicated and often murky market – municipal financing – and make it easier for people and businesses to invest in the schools, streets, parks and playgrounds they use every day.

The platform also makes it easier for cities to fund projects that communities want without having to wade through the fickle bond market to do so.

There’s a lot of stress to deal with on the road to success. Wilson’s advice is to “just trust it.” He explains:“Having confidence that it will all work out will help you avoid feeling like you are staring into a black pit of despair one day or climbing the highest mountain the next.” (📝: Deep Patel 📷: Jase Wilson) via Instagram http://ift.tt/2c2bUbe