A Season of Thanks and Reflection: Triumphs, Trials, and Transformation in 2024
The Journey Continues
As I enter this season of gratitude and reflection, I reflect on 2024 as a year of extraordinary achievements mixed with profound challenges. It’s been a year defined by launching ventures, marking milestones, and pushing forward despite health battles, an unpredictable market, and an unpredictable populace. Each moment has deepened my resilience, sense of purpose, and commitment to driving meaningful change.
I have lived to hear the phrase, “Your swag is on 100,” while it’s a high compliment, I’ve realized swag has been my armor, a declaration of my presence. But after confronting and managing a series of health hurdles, I've come to understand that true strength lies in embracing what’s beneath the surface. This journey has been a testament to resilience and determination, inspiring me to push forward and encouraging others to do the same.
My journey towards self-acceptance has been shaped by conversations with my close collaborator and soul sibling, La Keisha Landrum Pierre. When she told me, “It’s amazing what you accomplish, especially given how sick you are,” I initially resisted the word sick. But in reality, I live with Sjögren’s disease, a “mysterious” degenerative spine issue, RA, and what will likely become a bunch of other letters and symbols that I will have to go to Google to learn to pronounce. Embracing these challenges has allowed me to show up with more authenticity at home and at work. Some days, my priority isn’t emails or meetings—it’s my health and survival. This personal commitment to social change is a journey we can all be part of, shaping a future where everyone's voice is heard and valued.
This perspective shift has redefined courage and resilience for me, strengthening my purpose. In 2024, The Wealth Salons earned a 501(c)(3) certification, a significant milestone recognizing us as a tax-exempt, charitable organization and celebrating its first anniversary. Thanks to Maddie Morris, we partnered with the Canadian Consulate of Los Angeles, spurring additional collaborations with Cooley LLP, HubSpot, BLCK VC, Build in Tulsa, ACT House, Tang & Java, All Raise, and StartOut. Through these collaborations, we’re building economic pathways for people of all ages. I’m especially proud of our partnership with the Canadian Consulate, which expands our impact internationally.
For many, The Wealth Salons might look like “just another business,” but it’s more than that to me. If I had to choose just one thing to do, this would be it. My mission, with both The Wealth Salons and DVRGNT Ventures, is to reshape capitalism into a model that centers on people, not profits. We aim to create generational wealth beyond finances; it’s about breaking down barriers and giving everyone access to a system that has excluded them for far too long.
DVRGNT Ventures also made a landmark milestone this past year, initiating our first close and investing in Precision Epigenomics. Episeek promises to improve the outcomes for people facing the most deadly diseases. It’s more than a financial commitment; it’s a step toward a world where wellness and opportunity are accessible to all.
And it’s not lost on me that Sarah McBride was elected to Congress today—a moment that brings me incredible hope. Sarah is magnificent in so many ways, and I think she was born to be this person, someone ready to hold the mantle of being the first in so many situations. Before her late husband, Andrew, passed, he was one of the first trans people I ever met and one of the most influential people in shaping who I am today. Knowing he was sick, I wanted to make sure he knew that he had made a lasting impact on me, helping me understand my identity in ways I didn’t have the language for at the time. His fight for me, before I fully understood who I was, was beautiful and has become a central point in my own ethos. Losing him broke my heart, but it also broke me open, beginning my journey of self-discovery. Sarah's election to Congress is a testament to being made and a source of hope for the future.
When I became a lead of Trans* at Netflix, I had the privilege to bring Sarah in for a conversation. This wasn’t just about representation; it was about investing in our community. I’ve always believed that any time you have power or authority, you have a moral responsibility to channel resources back into the community. Sarah had been attacked by individuals claiming she was trying to harm women, and I remember thinking,
How could anyone believe that someone who would fight to the death for them could also want to harm them?
This year’s election results don’t disgust me because I know firsthand what’s happening across America. I live in Los Angeles, but you won’t catch me calling myself a Californian first. I am a Southerner and proud of the red dirt roads that will stain my sneakers when I’m home in Mississippi in a couple of weeks.
Growing up in the Great 38™️ fka Middle America or “The Flyover States” 😒, I saw what it means to be talented, driven, underinvested, and overlooked time after time. It’s a story of people feeling left behind—not just rural communities or the inner city, but anyone whose opportunity has felt like it has been taken away, and the likelihood of a return seems increasingly implausible. There are too many who feel like we have so much yet are somehow left with so little, and that has to change.
I’m thinking about how energized I’ve felt this week, even more so than in previous elections when the results seemed confident.
I have a hope that doesn’t make sense, but I know there must be purpose in it. Why else would I feel this way, here and now, if it weren’t for the possibility of real change?
So I don’t know exactly what I’m running for yet—but I am running for something instead of from. I am tired of watching people who don’t understand or care about the things that matter to US lead our country. I’m tired of leaders who don’t even know how to use the technology that run the most impactful systems around the world try to put in place limits with no thought to its actual impact.
Our forebears didn’t fight for this country so that a disconnected few could squander our future.
The Constitution represents all of us. And it’s time that we remind ourselves of this fact.
Someone said, “A government reflects those who choose to participate in it.” This fact seems to be a clear clarion call to anyone who is fed up to stand up and put that big, shiny bag of cash to the side for a bit because, once again, we have a country to rebuild to be worthy of the next generation of brilliant children.
LPAC, California politicos, whoever you are who wants someone who truly understands—come find me. I am ready, I am fed up, and I am determined to make a difference. Change starts with people like me and anyone reading this.
And so, as I close out 2024, I’m reintroducing myself. It’s just B. Pagels-Minor now—the “.” is silent, and no middle name as of 11/4/24. According to a California District Judge and my mama, this is who I am. Take that, systems! I’m showing up on my own terms, authentic and unfiltered. Here’s to 2025, defined by authenticity, resilience, and relentless purpose. Thank you.