The plan, on the wall.
Now. Build. Launch. Long-term. Each phase is what we owe the members ahead, and what we ask of the members who come next. Each phase carries the same structure: what ships, who it is for, what success looks like, what is deliberately not in scope, and what has to be true before the next phase can start.
Phase 01 · Now
Now · through 2026
Live nowThe cohort assembles.
Phase one is when the village stops being an idea and becomes a cohort. The Founding 100 assembles, capped at one hundred members, the Class of January 2027. Founding membership is how you signal intent to back the platform: pledge-first today, ahead of any public round. The Founding 100 carry founding equity. The doors to the cohort are open now.
What ships in this phase
- Founding membership opens; the Founding 100 begins to fill
- Pledge-first backing signaled through the founding cohort surface
- Founder and fund manager profiles available for pre-claim
- Private beta cohorts begin rolling invitations
Who this phase is for
Community backers
A way to signal intent to back the network through a pledge, ahead of the public round, and hold founding equity when it opens.
Founding members
One of the hundred seats in the Founding 100, the Class of January 2027, ahead of public launch.
Press covering the build
The charter, the assembling cohort, and a downloadable press kit at /press.
Success looks like
- The Founding 100 cohort assembled, cap-gated at one hundred
- Pledged backing crosses the staged self-fund and Form C thresholds
- Pre-claimed founder and fund manager profiles populated
- Private beta cohort 01 rolling
Deliberately not in this phase
- Public platform access, which lands at January 2027
- Transactional features. Discovery first, transactions after
- Academy courses generally available. Only the Personal Finance beta cohort runs in this phase
- Village Directory at consumer scale
Dependencies
- Founding cohort surface live for pledge-first backing
- Wefunder activation readiness once pledged interest clears the thresholds
- Golden share LLC formed and the founding-team holders identified
- Attorney sign-off on the Public Benefit Corporation charter
Phase 02 · Build
Summer 2026 → Winter 2027
Private beta cohorts.
Phase two is the private build. Sequential cohorts of founding members get into the platform, in stages, and shape it as it gets shaped. The first Academy course ships to a beta cohort. The Village Directory enters beta. The product takes the form the cohorts give it.
What ships in this phase
- Sequential private cohorts of founding members
- Invite-only member directory, feed, connections, and messaging
- Continuous shaping of the platform by cohort feedback
- Village Directory (public-facing business directory) enters beta
- The Academy. First course "Liberation Path: Personal Finance Fundamentals" ships to private beta cohorts
Who this phase is for
Founding members
Access to the private network during build, with a real say in what gets built and in what order.
Personal Finance beta cohort
A first-look seat in the Academy's Liberation Path course, taught alongside a working community.
Beta-claimed businesses
Time to claim and complete a Village Directory listing before the consumer surface goes wide.
Success looks like
- Cohort engagement metrics through repeat sessions, not vanity logins
- Retained members across consecutive cohorts
- Academy beta completions for the Liberation Path course
- Village Directory listings claimed and verified ahead of public launch
Deliberately not in this phase
- Public discoverability. The network is still invite-only
- Transactional features in the Village Directory
- AI literacy track. That ships in the long-term phase
- Three Academy tracks at scale. Personal Finance is the only Academy surface in this phase
Dependencies
- Phase 1 cohort 01 onboarded and giving feedback
- Liberation Path course content production complete
- Village Directory listing schema verified by initial claimed businesses
- Quarterly Community Advisory Council convened
Phase 03 · Launch
January 2027
The platform opens publicly.
Phase three is the public launch. The platform opens on New Year's Day 2027, a deliberate act of timing. Three Academy tracks open publicly. Pro tier launches at $9/month. Institutional tier pilots begin. The Founding 100 cohort is locked in.
What ships in this phase
- Public platform launch on January 1, 2027
- Pro tier launches at $9/month. Advanced filters and priority matching
- Institutional tier pilots for firms and organizations
- The Academy opens three tracks publicly: Personal Finance, Entrepreneurship, Investing
- Ujamaa Accounting releases to members
- Weekly curated 1:1 introductions go live for all members
Who this phase is for
The broader Black professional community
A first-time, non-cohort path to membership in the village.
Pro-tier subscribers
Advanced filters, priority matching, and the curated 1:1 introductions that ride at the Pro tier.
Institutional pilots
A scoped pilot of the Institutional tier inside firms and organizations whose members would benefit from a coordinated seat.
Success looks like
- Public sign-ups landing within the planned conversion bands
- Pro tier subscribers as a percentage of public sign-ups
- Institutional pilot completions and renewals
- Academy enrollments across the three public tracks
Deliberately not in this phase
- AI literacy track. Long-term phase
- Village Commerce. Long-term phase
- Deal-flow visibility surfaces. Long-term phase
- A mobile native application. Long-term phase
Dependencies
- Phase 2 cohort engagement metrics meet retention thresholds
- Liberation Path course graduates from beta to general availability
- Entrepreneurship and Investing track production complete
- Pro and Institutional tier pricing and packaging confirmed at the campaign close
Phase 04 · Long-term
2027 and beyond
The full village.
Phase four is the village at maturity. The Academy expands into AI literacy, live cohorts, and an instructor marketplace. Village Commerce activates the B2B procurement layer between member businesses. Deal-flow visibility lands. LP-to-GP matching opens for emerging fund managers. TheCookout, the cultural members club, is live today; this phase ties it into network membership. The work runs to 2030; the intent runs longer.
What ships in this phase
- The Academy expands: AI literacy track, live cohorts, instructor marketplace
- Village Commerce. B2B purchase infrastructure between member businesses
- Deal-flow visibility. Founders post raises, investors browse
- LP-to-GP matching for emerging fund managers
- TheCookout, live at thecookout.net, ties into network membership at 2,000 paying members
- BWS Studio. Publishing and podcasting infrastructure
- Annual State of Black Capital report
- Mobile app, data partnerships, and ecosystem API
Who this phase is for
Member businesses procuring services
A B2B surface that makes village-spend the path of least resistance for legal, accounting, design, development, and consulting.
Emerging fund managers
An LP-to-GP matching surface that makes capital introductions structural, not happenstance.
Members at scale
A mature ecosystem with TheCookout, BWS Studio, the State of Black Capital report, and the data partnerships that come with it.
Success looks like
- Village Commerce procurement volume between member businesses
- LP-to-GP matches that close into committed capital
- Academy AI literacy track enrollments and completions
- TheCookout engagement sustained past the 2,000-member integration threshold
Deliberately not in this phase
- Anything outside the four-pillar charter. The public benefit is fixed; the surface area is bounded
- Anything that requires venture capital to ship. The structure precludes it
- Anything that breaks the golden share constraints. Those are permanent
Dependencies
- Public launch retention metrics from the January 2027 phase
- Village Directory adoption past the threshold needed for B2B-discovery to be useful
- Academy practitioner-instructor pipeline at depth
- Annual charter renewal vote affirms the long-term direction
2026. 2027. And beyond.
The plan ends. The intent runs longer. Be in the room while it gets built.