From Lynn Marie DePippo:
I thought it would be helpful to give an overview of Pythia Capital and what we are building. I view our services more as experiential offerings, helping to bring together fringe entrepreneurs, investors and other aligned people in a platform of open discovery, new experiences and exciting possibilities. In a world so torn apart by division, fear, war, economic upheaval, healthcare problems, social inequities and environmental catastrophes, my hope is this platform will be like the eye of the storm, an energizing and inspirational place where you can find peace, beauty, joy, creative new possibilities, critical thinking, diverse perspectives and new exciting projects.
About Pythia Capital
Our investment framework’s core foundation is based on the 12 permaculture principles, which are regenerative agriculture and sustainable living principles.
We use permaculture principles as the bridge to link ancient esoteric wisdom with advanced science, technology, and mathematics to explore, develop and finance exciting new innovations that lie at the “edge of chaos.”
Ancient and timeless “shamanic wisdom” reminds us how to reconnect with the sacredness and interconnections of all life.
It is no coincidence that new scientific technological, and mathematical advances such as chaos theory, nonlinear complex systems, quantum science, nonlinear mathematics and newly emergent blockchain technologies are also mirroring this theme of interconnectedness.
This awareness of how the sacred connects to advanced understanding of natural evolutionary intelligence is the essence of how we build and re-architect our global societies.
Our highly integrative and regenerative framework works across all industries.
What are the advantages to our transformative, win/win, living systems investment framework?
- Identifying revolutionary, more creative and inspiring innovations earlier and more systematically
- Superior forecasting of industry, scientific and technological trends as well as visionary brainstorming
- Achieving strong financial returns in a more broad and inclusive way
- Operating with more efficient, lean and flexible business strategies and financial processes
- Better aligning of incentives for all stakeholders
- Identifying more clearly the root cause of problems for more regenerative solutions and better investment decisions
- Identifying both opportunities and risks that other investment and business development approaches routinely miss
- Solving multiple problems in our society at the same time by understanding the interconnectedness of many problems and potential solutions
- Allowing transformation to happen more organically by first “unlearning” linear and mechanistic beliefs, patterns of behavior, emotions and thinking
What are some of the Challenges Pythia Capital is Addressing?
Reductionist, linear and zero-sum game solutions to complex problems lead to unnecessary trade-offs. For example, investors can make billions investing in a new drug that has many side effects and only moderate health benefits. However, we often ignore the root cause of many illnesses such as environmental toxicity, socioeconomic issues, or severe emotional trauma that can have very negative impacts on health and wellbeing. Often significant money is made in concentrated and very connected groups who are more concerned about getting rich than figuring out how to make sure water is clean, for example. Zero-sum game solutions like this are institutionalized in our economic systems.
Most sustainable (such as ESG or environmental, social and governance funds) and high impact investment funds still rely on zero-sum game, linear investment frameworks. The “greenwashing” by both companies and investors can be so extreme that the unintended tradeoffs can be worse than regular investment strategies. The following is an example of some of the problems with ESG investing: https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2021-what-is-esg-investing-msciratings-focus-on-corporate-bottom-line/.
What are Pythia Capital’s ideas on How to Address These Challenges?
An economic model that leverages the power and wisdom of complex, sustainable living systems enables people to work together in interdisciplinary ways to solve multiple, interrelated, complex problems in more win/way ways. These principles enable all kinds of businesses and investors (regardless of whether labeled as impact or sustainable) to work together to create value in more balanced and coherent ways.
To reach the 17 UN sustainable development goals, using a nonlinear, complex living system framework to re-architect capitalism is essential. Our framework uses true living complex systems sustainability principles that are far more revolutionary than the typical ESG, sustainable, and impact investing frameworks that exist today.
Our economic system needs to integrate nonlinear, living complex system principles to encourage entrepreneurialism that is more dynamic, vibrant, inclusive and balanced. This is because this type of economic system follows billions of years of evolution of what makes a natural system sustainable and regenerative. Win-win solutions to complex problems can only come from a framework such as this. This process is also the most empowering, creative and balanced way to find, develop and finance new breakthrough science and technology.
We use the framework to visualize future trends, to invest in businesses that apply advanced science and technology to solve complex problems at the root cause, and to better understand and systemically map the true nature of many interrelated complex global problems. This integrated investment framework sheds light and clarity on the most polarizing and controversial complex problems in the world today such as the highly interrelated public health and environmental crises. Even more exciting is that this process is designed to incubate and support some of the most passionate, creative, and talented entrepreneurs, regardless of where they are from and what background they have.
What Big Dangers Do We Face? Why is Using the Wisdom of Nature so Important Now?
We have been working diligently on this service for quite some time, but admittedly we have had many obstacles to rolling these ideas out to the world. The world is finally getting ready for these ideas, as they are radical and revolutionary. Our natural intelligence investment principles are not all puppies and rainbows; though, they are extraordinarily beautiful (like nature that is sometimes an earthquake and other times the beautiful blue green water of a calm sea). Our approach to living systems investing is very authentic, as we use actual sustainability principles, not principles that some people or groups made up and gave the label “sustainable” or “regenerative” just to attract funding (the more puppies and rainbow crowd). Often these types of projects are just window dressing. They often contain the same energy as the linear, zero-sum-game economic system that we have now, concentrating power at the top, operating by control, fear, scarcity and polarization (“follow our rainbow plan or bad things will happen to you”).
The real danger we face is worse than the significant uncertainties of all the global crises. It is very dangerous if the whole area of sustainable business and investing becomes the main vehicle for an Orwellian takeover of global society disguised as “solving climate change” or “fixing the financial industry.” This is the natural consequence of a reductionist, war mentality (war on emissions, war on viruses, war on cancer, war on climate change…) disguised as science that is more about concentrating power and control by controlling the narrative on sustainable business, impact investing or the green economy.
The reality is that concentrating power this way is just how our economic system functions. Our economic systems are not aligned with the understanding of true laws of physics (natural intelligence). Realigning our global economic system with natural intelligence is necessary but does naturally change power structures by balancing top down structures with empowered bottoms up creative efforts. You can call yourself an impact investor, ESG Investor, venture capitalist or whatever, but the result is the same if you are still working within the boundaries and structures of the existing, highly incoherent global system. The level of the power grab is in proportion to the chaos that is around us. However, it is not the answer and has no possibility of working to restore healthy order.
The really heart breaking thing about this current trend is it will end up making our planet much less resilient with radical atmospheric and land changes inevitable regardless of how much carbon we count, as the core issues of massive degradation of global ecosystems are barely addressed at all (pesticides, monoculture industrialized agriculture, deforestation, biodiversity loss, wetland loss, soil erosion, water cycle degradation and pollution…). Gaia is a living system, a living earth, not a mechanical widget. Without a living earth ecosystem that is resilient and healthy, we cannot survive or thrive either. The health of every other system in global society depends on restoring Gaia’s ability to regenerate and heal.
There is a mentality in powerful circles that people need to be monitored and controlled to deal with the chaos of our complex, interconnected crises, that somehow regular people will just create more chaos and ruin the planet more if left unsupervised. There is a war mentality in these same circles that the only way of handling the complex crises (such as climate instability, resource depletion, public health issues, and economic system crises) is to control all aspects of our lives globally from the top down. The problem with this narrative is that you need to keep people in fear to control them. It also requires a high degree of dishonesty that is much easier to see through these days. This is not a level of consciousness that can empower anyone to heal anything or create emergent solutions. Clearly we need another option and Gaia points the way with her natural intelligence.
We are quickly reaching a time of extreme incoherence in the world across systems. These “false” solutions create a false “order in the chaos.” The incoherence and lack of vitality for the people and planet remain, but even worse than before. We all become characters in a dystopian sci fi novel if we are not observant and do not connect the dots correctly. We feel that is the real reason we see such opposition in the world to the “woke” crowd. It is a complex issue, but the way beyond the fighting and polarization is to address these shadow potentials head on and shine the light in a healthier direction. To be “awakened” is to be aware of the truth of what we have been doing to our planet and to each other. It is to be aware and awake to the corruption at every level of our societies globally, as it is not so hidden anymore. We are all guilty in some sense as we are all part of these systems so pointing our fingers at that “other” relentlessly is not helpful, but we do need to see in the light what we, as humans, are capable of doing to each other and the Earth without burying our heads. It is to be awake to our soul connection to each other and the earth. The fact that there is such resistance to the word “woke” tells you something is very wrong.
Using living system principles helps investors to see both the shadow and the light possibilities. Even people that are using words like “sustainable investing” or “systems investing” or “living systems investing” or “natural capital” will struggle to find real vibrant solutions to complex issues if they do not have the special “Gaia” glasses on to see reality as it really is, not how they want it to be or are programmed to think by powerful top down narratives. Cognitive dissonance and high levels of group think, though understandable in many ways, are very extreme right now for many people across all areas of society.
We do not make false promises on easy solutions for the interconnected complex crises. However, true “order in the chaos” that is empowering, emergent, coherent and full of vitality for people and planet can only come from modeling our economic systems on nonlinear, living, ecosystem principles. We live on a living conscious beautiful planet. It is the fractal nature of reality. It is where all the most advanced science is leading us. What we do to her we do to ourselves.
To learn more about Pythia Capital and our service offerings, please click here.