Catalyzing Community Development & Impact Investing - Bentonville Economic Development
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Summary

In this episode of The Bentonville Beacon, host James Bell chats with Ramsay Ball, Founder of Grey Space Collective, a nonprofit organization based in Bentonville that focuses on community development. Through Grey Space, Ramsay and his team focus on real estate, ventures, hospitality and nonprofits to catalyze community development and impact investing. Throughout the conversation, he shares how cultures, colors and companies blend together to form new relationships, accelerate entrepreneurship and create more good for our community and people. And it is by seeding opportunities for more music, food and art, that Grey Space does its part to do more good, which results in a virtuous cycle of doing more good for the Greater Bentonville area.

Thanks for tuning in!

Show Notes

Timestamps in this blog are for the audio-only version of the podcast; video timing differs.

(0:53) Introduction to Ramsay Ball

(6:51) About Grey Space Collective

(17:12) Creating Collisions with Diverse Social Clustering Initiatives

(21:54) Defining Impact Investment

(29:15) Ramsay’s #BecauseBentonville Story

(32:29) The Secret to Happiness

(38:08) Closing Question

Links

James Bell 

Bentonville Economic Development

Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce

Ramsay Ball (479) 640-6405

Grey Space Collective

HighGround Hospitality

Focus Commercial Real Estate

Quotes

“[We] ended up moving to Bentonville and it was the best move of my life. It’s such a dynamic region and there is so much opportunity here. So that’s how I got here, and I love being here…but so many people were not born here. So many people have come from different parts of Arkansas and around the country. It’s just wonderful. Truly, the land of opportunity is in Northwest Arkansas.” – Ramsay Ball, (5:02)

“…you mix artists, you mix tech people, tech people from different companies, all. Everyone will go to a show, enjoy music, enjoy food, and it creates an opportunity for breaking down barriers, whatever barriers might be there. We often say culture and colors–between different cultures and different colored people, we have a lot of diversity [in Bentonville], and then companies, confluence of companies or people with companies to come together. And we heard that–I heard that–and I was thinking ‘Aha!’, this makes sense, and there’s an economic reason to do it also. So that was really the beginning of the thought process of Grey Space Collective.” – Ramsay Ball, (18:33)

“Impact investment has been an investment thesis for our group and I call it profit with a purpose…I’m a big believer that there are opportunities in impact investment to potentially beat a market return…So that’s a focus that we have is to hopefully demonstrate that you can do really good things and make above market return on your investments.” – Ramsay Ball, (22:39) 

“I’ve heard [the Greater Bentonville Area] described in many ways, but the difference here is the culture. I noticed that when I moved up here. That’s what really sucked me in back in the day, was the opportunity and how things were merit-based…It’s progressive and so many people that come here feel that same spirit.” – Ramsay Ball, (29:28)

“The strategic leadership [in Bentonville] is so good. The mindset of the people here is so good. It’s very practical in ways, but very accepting of new ideas and thought processes. It’s unique, but there’s a certain magic here.” – Ramsay Ball, (31:42)

Catalyzing Community Development & Impact Investing with Ramsay Ball of Grey Space Collective

In this episode of The Bentonville Beacon, host James Bell chats with Ramsay Ball, Founder of Grey Space Collective, a nonprofit organization based in Bentonville that focuses on community development. Through Grey Space, Ramsay and his team focus on real estate, ventures, hospitality and nonprofits to catalyze community development and impact investing. Throughout the conversation, he shares how cultures, colors and companies blend together to form new relationships, accelerate entrepreneurship and create more good for our community and people.

And it is by seeding opportunities for more music, food and art, that Grey Space does its part to do more good, which results in a virtuous cycle of doing more good for the Greater Bentonville area.

Embracing Bentonville’s Culture

After growing up in Southern Arkansas, Ramsay earned his MBA in Finance and got his first taste of the real estate industry in Little Rock. He eventually discovered Northwest Arkansas and fell in love with the region, both moving to Fayetteville and opening a Bentonville-based full-service real estate firm in 2003. The real estate company grew very quickly and merged with Colliers International, and Ramsay started focusing on supporting and investing in early stage ventures at that point, while still working in real estate. He and his wife watched the way Bentonville was really starting to grow and finally relocated to Bentonville in 2014, which he called the best move in his life due to the dynamism of the area and the opportunities it presented.

“[We] ended up moving to Bentonville and it was the best move of my life. It’s such a dynamic region and there is so much opportunity here. So that’s how I got here, and I love being here…but so many people were not born here. So many people have come from different parts of Arkansas and around the country. It’s just wonderful. Truly, the land of opportunity is in Northwest Arkansas.” – Ramsay Ball, (5:02)

The region of Northwest Arkansas that Ramsay now calls home has experienced exponential growth, becoming a melting pot of cultures from an influx of people across the globe. Embracing the area’s diverse spirit, Ramsay has forayed into many entrepreneurial endeavors with his most recent being Grey Space Collective, which blends economic incentives with cultural experiences.

“I’ve heard [the Greater Bentonville Area] described in many ways, but the difference here is the culture. I noticed that when I moved up here. That’s what really sucked me in back in the day, was the opportunity and how things were merit-based…It’s progressive and so many people that come here feel that same spirit.” – Ramsay Ball, (29:28)

Inspiring Community Growth

Grey Space Collective believes that the driving force behind cultivating culture and opportunity is to collaborate rather than compete. As a result of this social clustering mindset, it intends to blend music, food, art and more to not only entertain, but to enrich the fabric of the Greater Bentonville Area community. With its name alluding to the unique arena it operates in, Grey Space oversees different buckets in asset management including real estate, ventures, hospitality and nonprofits.  

“…music and food are the key to bring people out of their silos and mix them up. You mix artists, you mix tech people from different companies, and everyone will go to a show, enjoy music and enjoy food. And it creates an opportunity for breaking down barriers.” – Ramsay Ball, (18:22)

Furthermore, Ramsay and Grey Space’s impact extends into the area of impact investing, where opportunities are bolstered without exploitation. Impact investing provides the opportunity for investors to achieve financial profitability while enacting positive change and supporting companies that aim for innovative societal outcomes.

“Impact investment has been an investment thesis for our group and I call it profit with a purpose…I’m a big believer that there are opportunities in impact investment to potentially beat a market return…So that’s a focus that we have is to hopefully demonstrate that you can do really good things and make above market return on your investments.” – Ramsay Ball, (22:39) 

Get Connected!

Thank you for tuning into this episode of The Bentonville Beacon! Join us weekly for more stories and advice from the entrepreneurs, business executives and community leaders who are sparking the rise of the Greater Bentonville Area. If you are interested in discussing whether your business should have a presence in Greater Bentonville or would like to discuss this podcast, please contact James Bell. You may reach James at jbell@greaterbentonville.com or (479) 273-2841.

Links for Additional Mentions

Steve Lane

Collier Duo a Classic Entrepreneurial Story (Talk Business & Politics)

The Arkansas Research & Technology Park

University of Arkansas

House of Songs

Joe Randel

Walton Family Foundation

Troy Campbell

Collin Kendrick

Sonic Guild Ozarks

Mikayla Dietz

Kandice Baldwin

Heartland Challenge

BlakeSt

Ontario-Arkansas Trade Mission (Triple the Trade)

Albert Behr

Behr & Associates

EAIGLE

Northwest Arkansas National Airport (XNA)

Northwest Arkansas Council

Northwest Arkansas EDGE Report (Economic Development: Generating Entrepreneurs)

FreshGrass Festival

Sober Sidekick

Chris Thompson

Wefunder Northwest Arkansas

Heartland Summit

Jordan Carlisle

Arkansas Community Foundation

Scaling the Most Epic Wave of Comeback Stories the World Has Ever Seen with Chris Thompson of Sober Sidekick (The Bentonville Beacon Podcast)

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