Good morning! 

June 15 marks the halfway point of the month - a good reminder that steady progress wins. We’ve got strong momentum, and I’m excited about what we’ll accomplish by staying focused on what matters most.

— Lucas Robinson, Founder & CEO at BudgetMailboxes.com

🎯 This Week’s Strategy:

• Equity and Inclusion Roadmap

🛠️ Boardroom Brief:

• Seattle Affordable Housing Demand Underscores the Scale of the Supply Gap
  

Strategy

🎯 Equity and Inclusion Roadmap

As housing markets evolve, builders and developers are being asked to think beyond project delivery and consider who their communities serve, how accessible those communities are, and whether development decisions support broader economic opportunity. An Equity and Inclusion Roadmap gives development teams a practical framework for embedding fairness, accessibility, and community responsiveness into planning, design, hiring, partnerships, and resident engagement.

This strategy is not just about meeting social expectations. It can also improve project approvals, strengthen community trust, reduce opposition, broaden market appeal, and help developers align with public-sector priorities, financing requirements, and long-term neighborhood needs.

How to Implement an Equity and Inclusion Roadmap in Your Projects

✅ Assess Community Needs Early
Before finalizing plans, evaluate the demographic, economic, transportation, accessibility, and housing needs of the surrounding community. This helps ensure the project responds to real conditions rather than assumptions.

✅ Engage Stakeholders Before Decisions Are Final
Hold meaningful conversations with residents, local organizations, public agencies, small businesses, and advocacy groups early in the process. Engagement is most effective when feedback can still influence design, amenities, affordability strategies, and community benefits.

✅ Design for Accessibility and Inclusion
Incorporate universal design principles, walkability, transit access, adaptable units, multilingual signage where appropriate, and amenities that serve a range of ages, incomes, and household types. Inclusive design can expand the project’s appeal while supporting long-term usability.

✅ Build Diverse Vendor and Workforce Partnerships
Create opportunities for minority-owned, women-owned, veteran-owned, and local businesses to participate in the project. Developers can also work with workforce development organizations to connect local residents with construction, operations, and property management opportunities.

✅ Align Affordability and Community Benefit Goals
Where feasible, explore mixed-income housing models, affordable set-asides, local hiring goals, public-space improvements, childcare access, transportation support, or other benefits that respond to community priorities and strengthen the project’s public value.

✅ Track Progress and Communicate Results
Set clear equity and inclusion benchmarks, such as local hiring participation, supplier diversity, accessible-unit delivery, affordability targets, or community engagement outcomes. Share progress with partners, public officials, and community stakeholders to build accountability and trust.

Why It Matters

Equity and inclusion are becoming essential components of successful development strategy. Projects that ignore community needs can face delays, reputational risk, public opposition, and missed market opportunities. By contrast, developments that intentionally incorporate inclusive planning, accessible design, diverse partnerships, and transparent engagement are better positioned to earn community support and deliver long-term value.

For builders and developers, an Equity and Inclusion Roadmap is a practical tool for creating projects that are not only financially viable, but also responsive, resilient, and better aligned with the future of housing and community development.

Where to Invest $100,000 Right Now, According to Experts

Investors face a dilemma. When the S&P 500 finished its worst quarter since 2022 last month, diversifiers like bonds and bitcoin fell too.

Even with the turnaround in mid-April, analysts at Goldman Sachs and Vanguard have projected low-single-digit annualized returns from 2024-2034.

Bloomberg asked where experts would personally invest $100,000 for their March monthly edition.

One answer that surfaced for a second time? Art.

It's what billionaires like Bezos and the Rockefellers have privately used to diversify for decades.

Why?

1. Appreciation. The ArtPrice100 Index outpaced the S&P 500 overall from 2000 to 2025

2. Low-correlation. The postwar contemporary segment has moved independently of traditional investments like stocks since ‘95.*

3. Resilience. A scarce, physical, and global asset class with decades of demonstrated demand.

Thanks to the world's premier art investing platform, now anyone can invest in works featuring legends like Banksy, Basquiat, and Picasso, without needing millions.

Shares in new offerings can sell quickly but...

Our subscribers skip their waitlist*

^{*According to Masterworks data. Investing involves risk. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. See important Reg A disclosures at masterworks.com/cd.}

Boardroom Brief

Seattle Affordable Housing Demand Underscores the Scale of the Supply Gap

Seattle’s new social housing program drew more than 10,000 applicants for just 15 rent-reduced apartments, highlighting the extraordinary imbalance between affordable housing demand and available supply in high-cost urban markets. The program, funded by a tax on workers earning more than $1 million annually, is intended to support mixed-income housing, but its first available units came through the purchase of an existing 150-unit luxury apartment building rather than new construction. For builders and developers, the takeaway is clear: public demand for affordable and attainable housing remains far larger than current delivery systems can satisfy. While acquisition strategies may provide faster short-term relief, they do not meaningfully expand total housing inventory unless paired with accelerated new development, streamlined approvals, financing innovation, and scalable mixed-income models. As cities continue experimenting with taxes, public development authorities, and social housing frameworks, private-sector builders should closely watch how these programs affect land competition, entitlement priorities, partnership opportunities, and the broader policy debate around housing production.

Game

🎉 Fun Finale: Play & Poll

What happens when you throw out the GTM playbook

That investor was wrong. Gamma is now worth $2B, with 50M users and more than half their growth driven by word of mouth.

They're one of 6 AI-native startups in HubSpot for Startups' free Bold Bets Playbook. Replit grew revenue 50x after half the team pushed back on the strategy. Ramp generated 100M+ views from a single stunt. Clay's co-founder wouldn't hang up a sales call until the prospect DMed him in Slack.

Each one took a GTM risk most founders would never greenlight. Each one paid off.

Get the free Bold Bets playbook