Aunnie Patton Power - Adventure Finance: How to Create a Funding Journey That Blends Profit and Purpose

Cover illustration: NeMaria

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG

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Although I had made the decision to write this book in 2019, it wasnt until March 2020 when I hastily flew back from the UK to South Africa that I realized I suddenly had the time. Instead of teaching and conducting workshops in 13 countries throughout the course of 2020, I was restricted to the four walls of our home in Cape Town (and thankfully a tiny garden). Although those first weeks and months of lockdown were stressful and anxiety-ridden, Ill always be grateful for how the mammoth task of creating this book centered me. But it wasnt just Adventure Finance that kept me sane, my husband Sean was an absolute gem through lockdown and the entire book writing process. Youve always been unbelievably supportive, but this past year has been something truly unforgettable (in both bad and good ways) and Im so grateful to have you by my side.

Writing a book is tough work. Writing a book while severely morning sick with your first child is one step beyond difficult. My darling baby girl, we havent met you yet, but you were definitely part of this book writing journey and Im excited to share it with you one day (although well probably start with Winnie the Pooh before we move onto finance books).

I cant pinpoint when I first fell in love with finance, but it was probably sometime between my father teaching me the Fibonacci sequence at two years old (as a party trick) and my daily reports to him on share prices and company news from the Wall Street Journal in kindergarten. I may be the finance professor, but my Dad will always be my go-to finance teacher. Im also not the first author in my family. My mother blazed the trail with her books (and now critically acclaimed podcast series) on sexuality and spirituality. In fact, I may be the least interesting writer in our family

Jessica Pothering, Ill be eternally grateful for your insight and lethal editing skills. You took my mishmash of words and thoughts and sculpted them into something truly remarkable.

Eelco Bennick, Kusi Hornberger and Lisa vanEck, thank you from the bottom of my heart for diving into the original manuscript and helping me to completely restructure and rewrite the entire book. Your stamp on the book is indelible. John Berger, Brian Mikulencak, Chintan Panchal and Juliette Thirsk, you were the core of a true legal dream team. Thank you for your ability to think outside the box and for your willingness to brainstorm and answer all of my inane questions. Karin Iten, Lina Rothman and Maegan Lillis, your work on the early stages of the research and case studies was so foundational to the creation of the book. Thank you so much for all of your efforts. And thank you, Mike Stopworth for pushing me to put everything down on paper in the first place.

Natasha Dinham, Adi Zuk, Lee Zuk, Lianne Du Toit, Kelvin Ivankovic, Marie Ang, Tamara Rose, Bianca Fisher, Sagar Tandon, Cameron St. Ong and Akhil Pawar, your comments on the different drafts and efforts on the glossary were absolutely pivotal. Thank you for your honesty and your insights. Natalie Buckham, your proofreading of the entire book was such a gift. Thank you for your attention to detail.

Alex Kuehl, Alexandra Smith, Alison Linguane, Allie Burns, Aner Ben-Ami, Andrea Coleman, Anita Kover, Antonia Opiah, Antonio Diaz, Bernardo Afonso, Bhavik Basa, Bjoern Strauer, Caroline Bressan, Clemente Villegas, Dami Thompson, Dan Miller, Daniel Goldfarb, Daniel Fireside, Dhun Davar, Ed Diener, Elizabeth Boggs-Davidson, Ella Peinovich-Griffith, Emily Stone, Gene Homicki, Ginny Reyes Llamzon, Jim Villanueva, John Kohler, Jorge de Angulo, Joy Olivier, Karla Gallardo, Kate Cochran, Lars Ortegren, Lilian Mramba, Luke Crowley, Luni Libes, Maggie Cutts, Mariella Belli, Max Slavkin, Michael Bryon, Miguel Garza, Morgan Simon, Nichole Yembra, Rahil Rangwala, Richard Fahy, Rodrigo Villar, Rory Tews, Ross Baird, Ruben Doboin, Sachi Shenoy, Sarah Gelfand, Sietse Wouters, Susan De Witt, Ted Levinson, Tetsuro Narita, Tom Hockaday, Tracy Karty, Tyler Tringas and Wes Selke, thank you for your time and commitment. Each story in the book is based on the work that youve done and were willing to share in interviews. Im so grateful for your contribution to the space as a pioneer and your generosity in sharing your story and editing the many, many drafts.

Aaron Fu, Adam Boros, Alessia Gianoncelli, Alexandra Chamberlin, Amanda Cotterman, Andrea Armeni, Annie Roberts, Antony Bugg-Levine, Astrid Scholz, Alex Nicholls, Bill Stodd, Brendan Cosgrove, Brent Kessel, Bruce Campbell, Camille Canon, Candler Young, Cathy Clark, Chris Garner, Christine Looney, Deborah Burand, Debra Schwartz, Dirk Holshausen, Elina Sarkisova, Esme Verity, Fran Seegull, Heather Matranga, Jamie Finney, Janice St Onge, Jed Emerson, Jeff Batton, Jenny Kassan, Jesse Simmons, Joe Silver, John Katovich, Jonathan Bragdon, Jonny Page, Josh Adler, Kirsten Andersen, Laurie Spengler, Lewam Kefela, Liesbet Peeters, Lise Birikundayvi, Lorenzo Bernasconi, Maex Ament, Mark Cheng, Neil Yeoh, Olvia Lloetonma, Priscilla Boiardi, Ravi Chopra, Rob Tashima, Robert Boogaard, Ross Tasker, Scott Taitel, Soushiant Zanganehpour, Stu Fram, Timothy Kyepa, Tom Powell and Wayne Moodaley, this book was built on your wisdom and your experience building innovative funding structures. Thank you for sharing that wisdom with me so generously. Your dedication to innovation and to social and environmental impact is remarkable. Im so grateful to know you and look forward to so much more collaboration in the future.