You’ve seen the two main forces that build capital: time and money. Each matters, but together, with the right structure and a little discipline, they become transformative.

The problem is, not everyone has cash to spare. Basic Capital is determined to solve that part of the equation, which we’ll address later. But what should feel empowering to many, no matter the size of one’s income, is that they have something just as valuable: time. 

Some of your colleagues may already grasp compounding, while others are too focused on the next paycheck to bother considering the next 30 years. It makes sense. If you’re just trying to make rent, how could you possibly think about retirement?

That’s where you might come in. Since you’ve seen how wealth works, you can offer a perspective they’ve never had: a frame of reference, maybe a nudge toward ownership. 

Assuming you’re in a position to share what you know, where would your lesson plan begin? 

Start With the Open Secret No One Tells Them

Most people think building wealth comes from earning more. That’s partially true, except higher income only matters if you know how to hold onto it and grow it over time.

The real shift happens when you learn how to work with what you already have. Even modest contributions made early and left alone can turn into something meaningful.

Retirement accounts, when structured well, are engines for exactly that kind of growth. Investor John C. Bogle had a philosophy that very much hammered on this point about maintaining a lasting view:

Owning the stock market over the long term is a winner’s game, but attempting to beat the market is a loser’s game.

The Madman Who Was Right

When Bogle launched the first index fund available to the public, the industry mocked him. Why buy the whole market when you could pick winners? was the conventional wisdom at the time. But Bogle’s theory — essentially arguing the polar opposite — presciently understood that not even the pros could ever know who the winners are.

His “buy the haystack” philosophy (rather than looking for a needle) gave everyday people a chance to invest without needing luck, timing, or a mountain of assets.

He invented a structure that made time more powerful. 

What the Wealthy Get That Everyone Should

Rich people aren’t inherently more financially literate than anyone else. But they can afford advisors. And they can afford mistakes! They have reserves that let them ride out downturns in the market and never have to cash out.

That cushion is a huge part of the wealth-building formula, and it’s the part that working people don’t have. Because the truth is, you can’t compound what you can’t contribute. And when people can’t afford to put money in, they’re excluded from the very structure designed to help them.

This is the problem Basic Capital was built to address, and you can learn more about how we let workers tap into more capital early here. It’s a critical piece of the puzzle. Of course, not everyone wants or needs help getting started. That’s fine. But even without extra dollars, people still have time. 

And time is the most underrated force in finance.

Help Them See What You Know

To many employees, a 401(k) is a glorified savings account. In recent years, a near-majority of Americans have cashed theirs out in times of need. The penalties for early withdrawal are steep, but even worse is the compounding they’re missing out on in the coming years. 

The longer someone waits, the harder it becomes to catch up. That’s because time does the heavy lifting. And that’s why early, modest contributions are more powerful than large late ones, and connecting one’s patience day-to-day to a long-term upside is always a positive reminder.

These are essentially the same capital principles endowments, pensions, and private funds run on.

The Real Dividend

Nobody on your team needs to become a financial analyst, but they do deserve to understand the opportunity in front of them.

Because once someone sees how wealth can get built — and recognizes that the same principles apply to them — then maybe they can start to think differently. They may still need help unlocking capital to get there, but that is a conversation, perhaps, for another day.

If your team has time but not capital, we can help with the second part.