What is the Human-Centered Capitalist?
First things first: what is the ‘Human-Centered Capitalist’?
The Human-Centered Capitalist (HCC) is a community for those building and backing the next generation of products and services integral to the lives of consumers. Through IRL meetups, curated experiences, content, tools, and educational opportunities, we aim to support those shaping the future of human experience in building their businesses, and themselves.
‘Human-Centered 'refers to ‘Human-Centered Design’ (HCD). HCD is a problem-solving approach that prioritizes understanding the needs, behaviors, and experiences of end users. It emphasizes creating solutions that are not only functional and feasible, but also deeply aligned with human needs and contexts. The HCC community leverages this philosophy at its core, because we believe that other humans are the secret sauce to building: resonant businesses, delightful experiences, and more fulfilling relationships.
Why launch now?
Technological advancements have shifted our behaviors and changed our lives. With each major advancement, we have seen major jumps in productivity and have been ushered into an age of abundance: incomes are higher, free time or leisure time is at all-time highs, and we have an ever-growing multitude of products and services to choose from. What technological advancements have not translated to, however, is improved happiness or heightened fulfillment.
Some hard facts:
Digital engagement with others does not produce the same psychological effects as in-person engagement. A 2023 study on communication found that people felt less lonely, less sad, more supported, and happier as interactions became more like real life, with a significant gap even between video calls and true face‑to‑face contact. This finding was not isolated. Work on social interaction and wellbeing consistently finds that in‑person interactions produce the largest boosts in mood and social connection, with digital interactions helpful but less powerful.
Screen and social‑media time have exploded since 1990, but on average happiness or fulfillment has not. Happiness and fulfillment, or satisfaction with life, has not risen with each technological advancement. In fact, it has declined. The US Cantril Score, a Gallup survey question measuring self-reported life satisfaction (0-10 scale), has trended downwards in the last 5 years, with significant drops for younger Americans.
We are more lonely than ever. As of 2024, 21% of U.S. adults report feeling lonely, with many experiencing a deep sense of disconnection from friends, family, and society at large.
But we can change this. We are at a precipice now, with a powerful technology that will rewrite businesses and industries once again. We have the opportunity to leverage it to advance intellectual deficits, or, to empower us to build a better future. AI is fundamentally different from past innovations already. It requires us largely to be in the loop, to ask questions and chat. It does not just offer more convenience, and faster and faster actions - it provides enhanced intelligence that we can use to enhance our own, not supplant it.
Why is a ‘human-centered’ community the solution?
While the world constantly changes, what it means to be human remains constant. We launched HCC with a human-centered focus and philosophy because we believe that better understanding humans and connecting with others is an unlock to building better businesses, more resonant customer experiences, and to achieving personal fulfillment.
Put simply, HCC is a: community for humans, building and investing in solutions integral to humans, with a human-centered lens.
We have an opportunity now to leverage technological advancements to power a future marked with higher reported levels of happiness and fulfillment, to live longer and healthier lives, and to bring more people together - instead of apart - to make real progress for us now and in the future, and to create a more human-centered world.
