Radical Truth

Radical Truth is a podcast produced by TBLI Group and hosted by Robert Rubinstein. TBLI is making the financial system work for all. Our podcast cover the wide range of ESG and Impact Investing topics. What it is? Why is it booming? Is it really helping? Is Impact regenerative in nature? How will climate change impact investments? There will be regular interviews with thought leaders, some known and some not known, but all brilliant and we will have engaging conversations with all of them.Let’s make the financial system work for all. This is Radical Truth. Visit https://tblicircle.com/

Radical Truth is a business podcast hosted by Robert Rubinstein, with 87 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Robert Rubinstein hosts Radical Truth, a business show with 87 episodes published.

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  Radical Truth

  Why The Funding Gap For Women Is Actually Getting Worse

  Sep 28, 20261h 6m

  Women rarely default on bank loans. Banks still lend them less and charge them higher interest. That is not risk pricing. It is bias, and it costs $1.7 trillion. This is TBLI Radical Truth with Robert Rubinstein. When Anne Ravanona started, the gap was $300 billion. Everyone called it a scandal and commissioned a report. Thirteen years later it is $1.7 trillion. Her argument: this is not a diversity problem but a capital allocation failure, and whoever sees it first is sitting on the biggest arbitrage in the market. Anne Ravanona is the founder of Global InvestHer and entrepreneur in residence at INSEAD, with 25 years in global business. She served three years on the jury of the French president's Simone Veil Prize, put women's economic empowerment proposals to President Macron, and has spent six years in the EU delegation to the W20, which advises G20 leaders. Her target is one million women funded by 2030. WHAT'S COVERED - 2% of global venture capital goes to women founders, 3% in Europe, and only 12% of cheque writers are women- 1% of corporate purchasing and 1% of government purchasing worldwide goes to women-owned businesses- Women rarely default on loans, yet banks lend them less and charge higher rates- Her own son is 70 to 80% more likely to get funded, and he does not have to be good- "I have to ask my wife about this": what happens when a woman pitches a product for women CHAPTERS 00:00 From $300 billion to $1.7 trillion01:07 Who is Anne Ravanona02:06 Joan of Arc, and the question she asked at eight02:47 The 2012 question that changed her career04:18 Finding the World Bank IFC number04:38 Passed over, paid less, fired on maternity leave05:36 "I have to ask my wife about this"06:22 Founding Global InvestHer06:51 Asking investors how many women they funded10:01 The email she twice deleted as spam14:05 The W20, and the G20 finance ministers15:17 Thirteen years at 2%: is this a failure?17:39 $28 trillion, what full participation is worth19:06 Her son, 70 to 80% more likely to get funded19:34 "I see it as arbitrage"20:00 The wealth transfer coming to women23:57 A model of business designed by men for men26:03 Risk-averse or risk-aware?27:14 The next guy in a hoodie33:39 Women rarely default, and banks still charge them more35:10 Carly Fiorina, Iceland, and women called in to fix37:07 Ghosting, and a Glassdoor for VCs39:46 Red flags, and the founders who said no45:01 Why they both tell founders to bootstrap52:01 Ranking 1,100 funders on how women-friendly they are52:58 BuyFromHer, and the 1,100 companies on it59:55 How listeners can help MORE ON ANNE RAVANONA Global InvestHer: https://www.globalinvesther.comBuyFromHer: https://www.buyfromher.comAnne Ravanona on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anneravanona/ ABOUT THE TBLI RADICAL TRUTH PODCAST Most finance podcasts protect the industry. This one interrogates it. I'm Robert Rubinstein. For 30 years TBLI Group has been the world's leading ESG and impact investing network. Every week on this show, one unfiltered conversation with someone actually moving capital toward a liveable future, and no polite silence about the ones only claiming to. No sponsors. No pretending. THE EXTRACTION MACHINE How business takes your money, your work, your resources, your data and your future, while presenting itself as something else entirely. Robert Rubinstein's next book, from 30 years inside the system. If this conversation makes you question where your money is actually going, The Extraction Machine takes that investigation much further. TBLI GROUP https://www.tbligroup.comRobert Rubinstein on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertrubinstein/ #VentureCapital #WomenEntrepreneurs #GenderLensInvesting #FemaleFounders #StartupFunding #ImpactInvesting #AccessToCapital #WomenInFinance #SustainableFinance #WomenInVC #AnneRavanona #TBLIRadicalTruth Recorded in August 2026.

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  Radical Truth

  It's Not Who You Know: Why Networking Doesn't Work

  Sep 21, 20261h 3m

  Nobody prices a relationship, and every deal in private capital runs on one. David Homan lost a foundation endowment to Madoff and rebuilt on 2,500 of them. Fourteen years running a cultural foundation, seven albums as a classical composer, and one rule that decides who gets into the room. This is TBLI Radical Truth with Robert Rubinstein. David Homan spent 14 years running a cultural foundation until Bernie Madoff took the endowment, rebuilt his career as a working classical composer, and then built a private community of more than 2,500 connectors around one argument: the introduction is the asset, relational capital is the only capital nobody bothers to measure, and you curate a room for integrity rather than for net worth. David Homan is the founder and CEO of Orchestrated Connecting, a private community of over 2,500 global superconnectors spanning venture capital, family offices, sport, entertainment and founders. He is a classical composer with seven albums and international radio play, author of the 2025 book Orchestrating Connection, board chair of the Arthur Miller Foundation, and founder of SOAR Connect, the relationship technology platform he launched in July 2024. WHAT'S COVERED - 14 years running a multi-million dollar arts foundation, and the day the endowment went to zero- What rebuilding donor trust takes when the money is gone and the fraud was not yours- Why the introduction, not the meeting, is the asset- Give before you ask: the rule underneath a 2,500 person community- Measuring what a room actually produced, instead of counting who attended- Why family offices run on relationships no accounting standard recognises- Networking to be seen, versus connecting to be useful- Seven albums and international radio play, and why he calls composing and connecting the same job- SOAR Connect, launched July 2024, and the problem of building trust into software- Orchestrating Connection, the 2025 book, and what writing the framework down changed- Professional pivots, and what he tells people starting over after a setback that was not their fault CHAPTERS 0:00 The Art of Orchestrated Connecting2:13 Finding Purpose in Divergent Paths4:08 Why Relationship Value Is Overlooked6:17 Filtering Extractors from Connectors8:18 The Power of Vulnerability in Networking12:42 Lessons from the Madoff Endowment Crisis26:02 The Economics of Success Fees40:31 The Eternal Hope for Human Connection RELATED EPISODES Max Studennikoff, CC Forum, on why deal flow is the only measure of a room that matters. The same argument from the convening side. Yarrow Kraner, HATCH, on getting people who cannot normally work together into one room, and what happens when they are. MORE ON DAVID HOMAN Book Orchestrated Connecting: https://orchestratedconnecting.comDavid Homan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrhoman/ ABOUT THE TBLI RADICAL TRUTH PODCASTMost finance podcasts protect the industry. This one interrogates it.The financial system says one thing. Reality often says another.I'm Robert Rubinstein. For 30 years TBLI Group has been the world's leading ESG and impact investing network, which means 30 years inside the room with the people running the system.Every week, one question the industry would rather nobody asked, and the insider who can answer it.No sponsors. No pretending.TBLI GROUP- https://www.tbligroup.com- Robert Rubinstein on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertrubinstein/THE EXTRACTION MACHINEHow business takes your money, your work, your resources, your data and your future, while presenting itself as something else entirely. Robert Rubinstein's next book, from 30 years inside the system.If this conversation makes you question where your money is actually going, The Extraction Machine takes that investigation much further. If you want to understand who really benefits from sustainable finance, subscribe to TBLI Radical Truth. Recorded in 2026.

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  Radical Truth

  What the World's Wealthiest Families Won't Tell You About Climate Change

  Sep 14, 20261h 4m

  Eight years ago they said impact investing was a fad and climate change was arguable. Now the same people call Max Studennikoff of CC Forum asking for a $1 trillion opportunity, blue or green. His answer: where have you been all along? This is TBLI Radical Truth with Robert Rubinstein, an impact investing and climate finance podcast from TBLI Group. Max built CC Forum, the gathering the press calls the Green Davos, on one conviction: the world does not lack capital and it does not lack climate conferences, it lacks alignment between the people who control the money, the people who write the rules and the entrepreneurs who can actually change the system. We argue about whether events can move capital at all, why he refuses to take a cut of any deal struck at his own forum, and why he thinks the market, not policy, decides which technology wins. ABOUT THE GUEST Max Studennikoff is the founder and chairman of CC Forum: Investment in Sustainable Development, held across London, Paris, Monaco, Los Angeles, Dubai, Bahrain and Zurich since 2018, and patronised by Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Albert II of Monaco, President Macron and the Crown Prince of Bahrain. The 14th edition runs in London in late October, and the next one after that is the forum's first Pan-African edition. IN THIS EPISODE Impact investing, climate finance and the machinery of convening: the 2016 Davos coffee that produced the idea, the property he sold to fund the first edition, why deal flow is his only measure of success, 400 speaker applications for 100 places, why CC Forum takes no cut of the deals it creates, the trillions going into AI, COP, Chinese solar, and why the real barrier was never convincing anyone, it was access to the person who writes the cheque. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction: CC Forum, the Green Davos 04:09 Davos, 2016: the coffee conversation that started it 05:53 "Create a club of impact investors. That's what the world needs" 07:27 Selling a property to fund the first edition 15:07 Deal flow is the one and only criterion of success 22:38 The rowing boat, and the people who cling to the outside of it 29:47 The sceptics come back: "Max, is there a $1 trillion opportunity?" 34:34 400 applications to speak, 100 places on stage 44:11 "Profiteering from technology is immoral" 45:35 COP: 200 heads of state, private planes, a preposterous outcome 47:09 "We are making the right moves. The pace is wrong" 48:22 Pakistan, and a third of national energy consumption installed in a year 53:26 Solarge: no glass, no aluminium, no PFAS 55:38 The real challenge is not convincing, it is access MORE ON MAX STUDENNIKOFF CC Forum: https://cc-forum.com Max Studennikoff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-s-179938155/ RELATED EPISODES Yarrow Kraner, HATCH, on getting people who cannot normally work together into one room. Christopher Marquis on the impact mafia. ABOUT THE TBLI RADICAL TRUTH PODCAST Most finance podcasts protect the industry. This one interrogates it. I'm Robert Rubinstein. For 30 years TBLI Group has been the world's leading ESG and impact investing network. Every week on this show, one unfiltered conversation with someone actually moving capital toward a liveable future, and no polite silence about the ones only claiming to. No sponsors. No pretending. Follow TBLI Radical Truth for a new episode every week. Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDBhRVM93uUnAAtqOMIz_yg THE EXTRACTION MACHINE How business takes your money, your work, your resources, your data and your future, while presenting itself as something else entirely. Robert Rubinstein's next book, from 40 years inside the system. If this conversation makes you question where your money is actually going, The Extraction Machine takes that investigation much further. TBLI GROUP https://www.tbligroup.com Robert Rubinstein on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertrubinstein/ Recorded in Amsterdam, September 2026.

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  Radical Truth

  Thomas Ng: 500 Blind People Trained, Not One Got Hired

  Sep 7, 202648 min

  A school in Manila trained 500 blind people to use a computer. Five years of teaching, and not one ended up properly employed. Thomas Ng was a trustee, and he spent three more years walking them into every boardroom he knew. Lots of excitement. Zero result. So in 2008 he started a company to hire them himself, before he had worked out what the company would do. On TBLI Radical Truth, Robert Rubinstein asks him what that cost. Ten straight years of losses, ten years without drawing a salary, and a promise to his wife about the house. The episode makes three arguments: that the people nobody will employ are an underpriced workforce rather than a charity case, that you cannot be fully honest as a senior person inside a large multinational, and that the corporate career he walked away from is the only reason the second act worked.Thomas Ng spent 25 years at ABB and Rexam plc, starting ABB's first joint ventures in China and finishing as the first Asian country manager in the Philippines. He left at 47. Genashtim, the company he founded in 2008, was fully remote from day one out of necessity, employs 252 people in 39 countries, and has staff turnover of two percent. Its team does the certification analysis behind more than 11,000 B Corps in over 90 countries. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 00:39 Penang, a schoolteacher father, and a family with no car 02:06 Twenty five years at ABB and Rexam, and the China joint ventures 03:42 Walking out at 47 with all the trimmings 04:09 The computer school for the blind in Manila 04:54 Five hundred people trained, not one properly employed 05:04 Starting a company to hire them, before knowing what it would do 05:33 Fully remote in 2008, and the day the digital office vanished 07:17 Ten years of losses, ten years without a salary 08:09 What B Lab and B Corp certification actually are 09:33 B Lab scaled down for COVID, then submissions came in six times over 10:57 A pilot of twenty that became 150 people in 29 countries 12:04 From about 3,000 certified B Corps to more than 11,000 15:34 252 people, 39 countries, and 2 percent staff turnover 18:31 Blue switchgear, yellow switchgear, purple switchgear 24:28 You cannot be honest all the time in a large multinational 25:52 Japan, Indonesia, and the Malaysian government surprise 29:18 Can anyone purpose driven rise to the top of a listed company? 35:16 The promise about the house, and what his wife said back 44:39 Why greed is not a long term strategy ▶ Subscribe for a new Radical Truth conversation every week: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDBhRVM93uUnAAtqOMIz_yg?sub_confirmation=1 MORE ON THOMAS NG Genashtim: https://genashtim.com Thomas Ng:https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-ng-1497791/ ABOUT THE TBLI RADICAL TRUTH PODCAST Most finance podcasts protect the industry. This one interrogates it.I'm Robert Rubinstein. For 30 years TBLI Group has been the world's leading ESG and impact investing network.Every week on this show, one unfiltered conversation with someone actually moving capital toward a liveable future, and no polite silence about the ones only claiming to.No sponsors. No pretending. THE EXTRACTION MACHINE How business takes your money, your work, your resources, your data — and your future. The book examines the systems through which value is extracted from individuals, workers, consumers, communities and the planet — often while the system presents itself as something entirely different. If this conversation makes you question where your money is actually going, The Extraction Machine takes that investigation much further. TBLI GROUP https://www.tbligroup.comRobert Rubinstein on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertrubinstein/ Recorded August 2026. Thomas Ng joined from Kuala Lumpur.

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  Radical Truth

  The Fight to Save the World's Forests: A Conversation with Philipp Kauffmann

  Aug 31, 20261h 7m

  Carbon credits never funded a forest left standing. Philipp Kauffmann pays the Indigenous guardians who stop deforestation instead, per hectare, per year, verified by satellite, not by consultants.Nobody has built a business model for a forest that is left standing. This is TBLI Radical Truth with Robert Rubinstein. Kauffmann argues that carbon credits failed standing forests by design, because the mechanism rewards the most threatened land and leaves intact forest unfundable; that Indigenous guardianship is a service that can be priced, contracted and verified; and that arguing over who profits from nature is a distraction from the results.Philipp Kauffmann is the seventh generation of a German forestry family whose ancestors wrote forest doctrine for the Prussian king. He founded Original Beans, a Good Egg winner on the 2026 Chocolate Scorecard, and co-founded Sacred Forests with Daniel Povel of Triodos Bank and Aart van Veller of Vandebron.WHAT'S COVERED- Why carbon credits leave an intact standing forest unfundable, and reward the land closest to being destroyed- Indigenous conservation as a service: a price per hectare per year, a contracted area, a satellite verified result- Why three to four euros per hectare per year is the entire model- Why Indigenous title holders now refuse to deal with carbon project developers- Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and 2.5 million hectares under contract today- The pushback that nobody should make money on nature, and why he prefers results to the moral high groundCHAPTERS00:00 Introduction: the Indiana Jones of conservation01:01 Seven generations of foresters and the origin of "sustainability"02:29 From internet entrepreneur to the UN to Original Beans04:52 Why the chocolate industry's child labour story is a fairy tale05:48 Cacao destroys 2 million hectares of forest a year08:31 Prices quintupled: cacao as the canary in the coal mine12:29 Why forests are the cheapest climate technology nobody funds15:43 Indigenous conservation as a service: paying per hectare, per year17:39 The trust problem: REDD+, ARR and where the money really goes20:18 How carbon markets commodified nature 25 years ago22:29 REDD's perverse incentives, and why Indigenous people walked away26:09 Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta: where the model started28:48 No financial return: donor advised funds and 2.5 million hectares30:29 "You should not make money on nature": the media pushback35:09 African Parks and the cost of the juicy headline37:03 Radical Truth and the impact mafia42:23 What Indigenous knowledge and Western science each bring48:50 Earning trust: you don't arrive with a Hummer and a contract53:07 The target: 5 million hectares by 20301:00:05 How listeners can help▶ Subscribe for a new Radical Truth conversation every week: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDBhRVM93uUnAAtqOMIz_yg?sub_confirmation=1MORE ON PHILIPP KAUFFMANN- Sacred Forests: https://www.sacredforests.earth- Philipp Kauffmann on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipp-kauffmann/ABOUT THE TBLI RADICAL TRUTH PODCASTWelcome to the TBLI Radical Truth Podcast, where we feature the pioneers redefining the purpose of capital. For 30 years, TBLI Group has been the world's leading ESG and impact investing network. Here's why Radical Truth is different: most finance podcasts protect the industry — Radical Truth interrogates it. Every week, unfiltered conversations with the founders, fund managers and system-changers actually moving capital toward a liveable future, and calling out the impact-washing that isn't. No sponsors. No pretending.TBLI GROUP- https://www.tbligroup.com- Robert Rubinstein on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertrubinstein/#CarbonCredits #Deforestation #IndigenousRights #StandingForests #NatureFinance #ForestConservation #REDD #ImpactInvesting #Rainforest #CocoaDeforestation Recorded in Amsterdam, August 2026.

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