Acumen is 15 years old today. When we began this journey, the world was a different place. Few had heard of the terms “patient capital” and “impact investing.” The world was less connected. Most people viewed business with hard-headed seriousness while charity was left to softer hearts. What if we acknowledged that change comes from a blend of hard heads and soft hearts? What if philanthropists approached their giving with the same sense of accountability and, well, acumen, that they brought to financial investments?

We wanted to challenge the status quo when it came to solving poverty. We had seen how unbridled markets can overlook entirely or exploit the poor. And we had learned first-hand that top-down philanthropy and government alone can distort the dynamism and efficiency of markets, too often saddling the poor with low-quality services, sometimes creating a hopeless cycle of dependency.

In 2001, we founded Acumen with the mission of changing the way the world tackles poverty. Patient capital was at the model’s core. We would raise philanthropy and invest it for up to a decade (or more) in intrepid entrepreneurs building businesses to serve the poor. We would accompany the investment of patient capital by supporting management often by taking board seats or placing Acumen Fellows to work directly for companies. We would measure not just financial returns but also social impact. Any money returned to Acumen would be reinvested in other innovations designed to help the poor.

Selling the patient capital idea at first was a challenge. “I make money here and give it away there,” one wealthy individual confidently told me. “Trying to merge the two,” he added, “is just bad business.” Some questioned whether we even understood how capitalism worked.

Thankfully, Rockefeller Foundation, Cisco Foundation and three extraordinary philanthropists took a risk with us to create a new model of change. By September, we had a small but viable pipeline of investments and were preparing to move into our new offices a block from Ground Zero when the world was stunned by the terror attack of 9–11. I’m not sure any of us fully understood then how much the world would change.

Over the next 15 years, we would see capitalism and religion’s hardest edges carve deepening rifts in society, both economic and social. Trust in institutions waned as fear grew. Yet in these same 15 years, the world has become more connected and aware.

Today, there are nearly as many mobile phones as people on the planet. Companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter have revolutionized how we communicate and stay in touch with people across the globe. B-Corps have reinforced an ethos of business broader than rewarding shareholders. The Millennial generation began to see the world as more integrated and insisted on knowing whether potential employers followed sustainability practices. Social entrepreneurs in every country focused increasingly on using business to pursue social and environmental ends.

As a result of these developments, we now have a unique and powerful opportunity. Never before has a generation had the skills, tools and knowledge to imagine and then build a global economy that is at once inclusive and environmentally sustainable. We are increasingly aware of how connected we are, not only to one another but to all forms of life on earth. Any notion that we are separate is a delusion. We need each other and we are part of each other.

What inspired us to start Acumen 15 years ago still inspires us today: this is our moment as a world to solve poverty, both material and spiritual. It is within our collective capability if we have the courage to do what is right for the vulnerable, not just the wealthy. Today, Acumen has invested nearly $100 million in more than 90 companies working across 11 countries in Africa, South Asia and Latin America. As I look back, I’m amazed and humbled by how many individuals have committed to working on behalf of people with so much less than they have, who are relentless in their pursuit of excellence, and determined to build business models that are sustainable for the long term.

We have seen how single companies with the right values and support can, in time, enable widespread systemic change. d.light, our first investment in clean energy, has not only brought affordable light to nearly 60 million but it has helped create an entire sector serving the poor. Ziqitza has provided more than 300 million Indians with access to emergency medical services and built a new healthcare model. Water Health International, just an idea 10 years ago, now brings affordable water to eight million people a day. LabourNet has trained more than 300,000 of India’s poorest workers, giving them skills and confidence that translate into income. Companies like PagaTech and Esoko in West Africa and M-Kopa and Juhudi Kilimo in East Africa have harnessed new technologies to enable millions of Africans to participate in the economy. NRSP Bank and Kashf Foundation have made markets more inclusive in some of the most difficult parts of Pakistan. In total, nearly 200 million people have benefited from Acumen’s investments.

Many of our companies not only have succeeded in transforming millions of lives, but they are crafting a different narrative about poverty altogether. Each investment is a story of opportunity, resilience, persistence and hope. Some have created or redefined entire industries. Some have re-set expectations not only of the poor but among the poor themselves. All have enhanced lives and contributed to creating new narratives based on hope and possibility. All have changed the story of poverty in significant ways.

These investments have allowed Acumen to learn what it takes to build companies serving the poor. We are much more focused today on providing services entrepreneurs need after we’ve made our initial investments. We have built the Acumen Fellows program, now more than 340 global leaders strong, to support the next generation of leadership. We are partnering with great companies like Unilever, GE, IKEA, EY and Bain that understand the need for more inclusive business models. We have begun to share what we are learning through +Acumen, an online platform to help move ideas into action that has seen more than 300,000 sign-ups across 175 countries.

Over the next few weeks, we’re going to share how we have seen the narrative of poverty shifting. We hope to spark a conversation among our community and beyond, for this work is not possible without all of you. On this 15th anniversary, we would be sorely remiss if we did not give a thousand thanks to the many individuals from around the world who have supported Acumen in ways I cannot count. For no one creates change alone.

We are each other’s destiny. The more we do this work and understand the interconnections across the world, the more certain we are that Acumen is on the right path. Over the last 15 years, we have come to understand in deepening ways how the story of poverty is the story of all of us. Our next chapter will be one in which we approach patient capital as part of an ecosystem that includes government, the private sector and all players across society. This ecosystem includes you and your own efforts to build a world in which all people matter.

I, for one, could feel neither luckier nor more grateful to be doing this work. And we are just getting started.

This is the first piece of a month-long series on what it takes to change the way the world tackles poverty and how we, as a society, can shift the narratives around the poor. Read the full series on Acumen Ideas.