Resilience Grows Through Relationships.

Every thriving community possesses extraordinary strength.

The relationships exist. The wisdom exists. The leadership exists.

When Relationships, Opportunity, and Investment Come Together With Purpose, Communities Flourish.

Our Mission

Potlikker Capital coordinates capital, knowledge, partnerships, opportunity, and trusted relationships alongside producers and processors who have been historically excluded from access to capital and opportunity. Through Ecosystem Investing, we cultivate the conditions that strengthen individuals, enterprises, communities, and the food systems they sustain.

Our Vision

A future where every community has the power, relationships, and resources to shape its own prosperity, steward its land, nourish its people, and build resilience across generations.

Our Story

There is a word in the American South for the nutrient-rich broth that remains after greens have been slow-cooked: Potlikker.

For generations, it has symbolized resourcefulness, care, and wisdom, a reminder of the strength and value held within the sacred resources that diverse communities have cultivated across generations.

Potlikker Capital was founded on that same belief, and it continues to guide every investment we make.

Communities have always possessed the leadership, knowledge, and vision to shape their own futures. Every relationship we build connects capital, knowledge, partnerships, and opportunity in ways that strengthen people, enterprises, and communities for generations to come.

See Resilience in Action

THE VISION BEHIND POTLIKKER

Mark Watson

Co-Founder & President

Mark Watson is a nationally recognized investment strategist, systems thinker, and leader who is helping reimagine how capital can strengthen communities, expand opportunity, and build long-term resilience.

As Co-Founder and President of Potlikker Capital, Mark is helping redefine the role of capital by aligning relationships, knowledge, opportunity, and investment around historically overlooked agricultural producers, food entrepreneurs, and rural communities. His philosophy that capital should strengthen the conditions that allow people and communities to thrive has positioned Potlikker Capital as a leading voice in reparative investment, regenerative finance, and community resilience.

With more than four decades of experience across commercial banking, institutional investment management, philanthropy, and mission-driven finance, Mark has dedicated his career to connecting financial innovation with community impact. His leadership includes founding a socially responsible investment advisory firm, contributing to the development of the Boston Impact Initiative Fund, serving as former Managing Director and Senior Investment Strategist for the Fair Food Fund, where he helped redesign the Michigan Good Food Fund, and advising organizations working at the intersection of finance, food systems, and equity. He also serves on the Potlikker Capital Board and as a member of the Resilience Council.

A sought-after speaker and advisor, Mark is widely respected for challenging conventional thinking about investment and encouraging leaders to build ecosystems of opportunity rather than transactions. His work continues to influence national conversations about community wealth- building, regenerative economies, and the future of resilient food systems.

Mark earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.