You’re Invited!

Build Ecosystems,
Not Empires

A free 3-day virtual summit built for and by purpose-driven BIPOC founders.

Ready to scale to 6-figures and generate wealth for your community as your business grows?

September 22nd-24th, 2026 | Online

The world doesn’t need Empires, businesses that benefit a few at the expense of many.

We need Ecosystemsbusinesses like yours that create more wealth, joy & justice for everyone.

But the reality is: Almost 90% of small businesses owned by Black, Indigenous and founders of color stay stuck under six figures, despite our businesses already funding our local economies and creating generational wealth.

It’s not because we lack vision or aren’t capable. It’s because we’re taught empire-building playbooks that don’t serve us and never have. We end up caught in capacity leaks—doing all our own marketing, fulfillment, and operations until we burn out. Or we under-price, over-give, and end up… well, burnt out, because that’s what we’re told it means to serve our communities.

The world can be different, and so can our businesses.

That’s why we created Build Ecosystems, Not Empires

Will you join us?

Three Days

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Free Virtual Summit

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Three Days * Free Virtual Summit *

20+ Speakers

Majority of whom are BIPOC founders leading innovative, purpose-driven brands.

You’ll learn the frameworks, strategies, and mindset shifts they’ve used to grow their businesses in alignment with their values.

16 Action-Packed Workshops

Pre-recorded sessions you can watch anywhere you are in the world.

Spanning topics like values-aligned marketing, easeful sales strategies, money mindset, healing, activism, and more.

8 Live Events

Opportunities to connect with values-aligned BIPOC founders, ask questions & get support during live group coaching, and experience powerful transformations.

Most entrepreneur summits teach you how to scale using extractive, empire-building tactics.

Meanwhile, spaces for purpose-driven founders often focus on impact, without giving you the money-generating tools & strategies you need to actually grow your impact in the first place.

Build Ecosystems, Not Empires™ was specifically created for and by purpose-driven BIPOC founders and racialized business owners who are ready to scale to 6-figures while centering community, justice, and joy.

This summit is designed for you if:

You’re driven by collective wealth

You’re deeply committed to using your business as a platform to lift up, reclaim, and reinvest in our communities—while building wealth for yourself, too.

You’re exhausted by "business as usual"

You’re tired of the content hamster wheel, hustle culture, and the pressure to sacrifice your well-being for growth or community. You’re ready to throw out the traditional business playbooks and build a business that feels like you.

You’re done playing small or watering yourself down

You want your marketing, offers, and messaging to reflect your true voice, lineage, and identities—no more whitewashing, greenwashing, or shrinking to make yourself “palatable”.

  • Grow your business in alignment with your values, mission, and activism so your business truly feels like you.

  • Market your work boldly and unapologetically, in a way that deepens relationships with your community and pays you a salary (and a generous one at that).

  • Design products and service offerings that are easeful, joyful, AND profitable. No more spreading yourself thin.

  • Be in community with other BIPOC founders and allies who are growing their purpose-driven brands alongside you.

  • Own your identity as a badass CEO and make decisions from a place of self-trust, intuition, and purpose.

How would it feel instead to…

You and your business can be a source of collective wealth & mutual flourishing.

Join us at the Build Ecosystems, Not Empires Virtual Summit and let’s grow together.

Meet Your Host 👋🏽

Hey, I’m Gelaine Santiago (she/her)!

I’m an award-winning social entrepreneur, speaker, and business strategist for justice-driven BIPOC founders.

For the past decade, I’ve been working at the intersection of entrepreneurship, social justice, and cultural identity.

Previously, I co-founded Cambio & Co. Filipino Jewelry and Sinta & Co. Filipino Weddings, two mission-driven e-commerce brands partnering with artisans in the Philippines. My co-founder and I bootstrapped both into multiple six-figure companies serving customers in 21 countries, created over $1M worth of livelihood for Filipino artisans, and did it primarily through organic and community-led marketing. 

Today I’m the Founder and CEO of Founding Possibilities—a growth and education studio. I help racialized entrepreneurs scale their online B2C businesses to six figures and beyond, while building generational wealth for their communities. And I’m so excited you’re here!

Grab your ticket and join me and a community of hella smart and ambitious purpose-driven BIPOC founders! Together, we can scale our businesses to new heights and generate more wealth, justice, and joy as we grow.

I can’t wait to see you there!

What To Expect At The Summit:
Build Ecosystems, Not Empires

Build Ecosystems, Not Empires™ is running for 3 days from September 22nd-24th 2026.

The event is entirely virtual so you can attend anywhere in the world with internet access.

Founder-Led Sessions & Live Events

Learn from 22 speakers (majority of whom are racialized) on topics like growing your profit without burnout, relational marketing & sales strategies, abundant money mindsets, and more.

Your free ticket includes 48-hour access to each presentation during the week of the summit.

Private Pop-Up Community

Join our private pop-up summit community and gather with other BIPOC founders like you who care deeply about social justice and are already growing their values-aligned businesses!

The community is where you’ll be able to connect with the speakers and other attendees before and during the summit. Available only for summit attendees.

Chance To Win $1000 Worth of Prizes

Attend live events and participate in the Summit Community for chances to win prizes like 1:1 strategy sessions, operational templates, or yearly memberships to help you keep growing your business even once the summit ends.

Upgrade For Deeper Support

After registering, you’ll have the option to upgrade to the 6-Figure Ecosystem Pass which includes ongoing access to the presentations after the summit wraps up, a dedicated week of co-working & live events, premium bonuses from our speakers, and more!

Get all the details (and a special offer) after you grab your free ticket!

Meet The Speakers

Check out the incredible lineup of speakers you’ll learn from at the Build Ecosystems, Not Empires™ Summit!

Each speaker is a racialized founder with lived experience growing their own purpose-driven brands while revolutionizing their re-imagining what business can be.

Day 1: Activate & Align your intuition, values, and purpose

  • Gelaine Santiago (she/her)

    Build Ecosystems, Not Empires: A Revolutionary Approach To Generate More Wealth, Joy & Justice As You Scale Your Business

  • Miriam Buttu (she/her)

    It's Not You, It's The System: Reclaiming Your Power To Scale Your Business On Your Own Terms

    ⏰ Live Workshop: 2-3PM (ET)

  • Nadia De Ala (she/her)

    Reimagining Success - Stop Negotiating Against Yourself: How to Raise Your Prices, Reclaim Your Time, and Build a Business That Loves You Back

  • Adelina Tancioco (she/her)

    What if your Business is a Sacred Assignment? Connecting To Your Divine Intuition & Purpose

    ⏰ Live Workshop: 3:30-4:30PM (ET)

  • Teresa Purugganan (she/they)

    Attuning To Your Inner CEO: Designing Sustainable Business Systems Around Your Natural Rhythms And Get Shit Done

  • Meenadchi (she/her)

    Myth-busting Money Mindset: Understanding Financial Energetics and Ethics

  • Karolyn Wong (she/they)

    Unblock Your Energy and Heal with Your Ancestors so You Stop Playing Small, Release Scarcity, and Create Mutual Abundance

    Part One: Pre-cursor to Day Two Live Workshop

Day 1 Live Community Call

Reflect & Connect: Summit Opening & Community Kickoff

Tuesday Sept 22nd, 12PM-1:30PM (ET)

Let’s kick off the summit together! Set your intentions throughout the summit with a guided reflection exercise, then connect with your fellow attendees and summit speakers.

Day 2: Scale Sustainably with relational marketing, soulful selling & easeful growth strategies

  • Gelaine Santiago (she/her)

    Empathy-Driven Content Marketing: How To Stop Posting Into The Void & Attract Your People Instead

  • Carissa Begonia (She/Her)

    Build Your Power 100: Get More Leads and Visibility by Activating Meaningful Community Connections

  • Crystal Pope (she/her)

    Easeful Visibility: How to Stay Visible Without Burning Out (Especially If You Hate Creating Content)

  • Karolyn Wong (she/they)

    Tap into Your Ancestral Wisdom and Divine Intuition to Reimagine & Grow Your Business Ecosystem

    ⏰ Live Workshop: 5:30-6:30PM (ET)

    (Part Two: Builds upon Part One)

  • Paloma B. Concordia (she/her)

    PR For The People: Using Media & Public Relations To Get More Visibility & Authority In The Age of AI

  • Kathy Kwon (she/her)

    Money-Making Websites For Founders Scaling To 6-Figures

  • Khryzza Kelley (she/her)

    Your First Hire Is a Design Decision, Not a Job Post (How to Build a Team That Scales From Day One)

  • Carmela Montenegro (she/they)

    Your First Automated Content Engine

Day 2 Live Coaching With Gelaine

Align & Grow Your Ecosystem: Office Hours Q&A With Gelaine To Scale Your Business To 6-Figures

Wednesday Sept 23rd, 1PM-2PM (ET)

Here’s your chance to get personalized coaching and feedback about your business!

Come with a challenge you’ve been struggling with or a question you have about growing a profitable and sustainable business that lifts up your culture and community.

Day 3: Recirculate wealth as you scale and Reimagine a better world

  • Gelaine Santiago (she/her)

    Moderator of Founders Panel: Building Ecosystems, Not Empires In Practice

    ⏰ Live Session: 12-1PM (ET)

  • Melinda Jackson (they/she)

    Fund The Change You Want To See: How To Build A Business That Bankrolls Our Collective Liberation

  • Dani (aka. Stella Gold) (they/them)

    Build Your Business Wealth Roadmap: A Regenerative Approach To Pricing, Profit, and Claiming Your Financial Power

  • Lana Kristine Flores-Jelenjev (She/her)

    Healing-Centered Entrepreneurship: Moving from Protective to Resourced Engagement

    ⏰ Live Workshop: 3:30-4:30PM (ET)

  • Ashley A. Bernard (she/her)

    Capacity-Conscious Community Building: Grow Your Business, Not Your Burnout

  • Sheena Dennise Ewan (she/they)

    Alignment over Acquisition: Creating Ecosystems for Collective Liberation

  • More Speakers Coming Soon

    Founders panelists to be announced

Day 3 Live Panel

Founders Panel: Building Ecosystems, Not Empires In Practice

Thursday Sept 24th, 12PM-1:30PM (ET)

It’s one thing to say that we want to build ecosystems in our businesses, but what does that actually look like?

You’ll hear from Black, Indigenous, founders of colour and allies who’ve each scaled their businesses with an unapologetic focus on their mission and values. 

We’ll talk about the honest struggles, joys, and lessons learned on the journey of scaling a business committed to social justice and collective wealth, plus what worked/not along the way. 

Day 3 Live Community Call

End of Summit Journalling Session & Community Celebration

Thursday Sept 24th, 5-6PM (ET)

We’ll start with a guided journalling session to help you plan the next steps for your business after the summit is over, followed by an opportunity to connect and celebrate your wins with your fellow attendees & speakers.

How Our Event Is Built Differently

Build Ecosystems, Not Empires isn’t your typical business summit. You won’t find sleazy girl boss or bro tactics, and we’ll never tell you to ignore your own wealth and health to serve your community.

Every presentation and resource at the summit falls within one of three pillars:

Because business doesn't have to be extractive. When we scale our businesses generously and sustainably as BIPOC founders, your success becomes your activism.

Together, we can revolutionize our industries and create more wealth, health, and joy for our communities.

Have Questions? We’ve Gotchu!

Still have questions? Take a look at the FAQ or reach out anytime. If you’re feeling ready, go ahead and apply.

Thank You To Our Sponsor, Fern CRM!

🌿Fern CRM is the ethical all-in-one business tool for brands that care about people, profits, and the planet.

Ethically priced to save you money AND we donate 5% of every payment to social and environmental causes.

So you can feel good about where your money goes, without sacrificing performance.

Prizes proudly sponsored by The Reach Club