Pro bono works best when it’s treated as capacity, not charity. Give a growing business a check and you cover this month. Give it the right skills at the right moment and you change what the business is capable of for years. That’s the thinking behind pro bono service, and this spring, PIMCO made it pay off.
Taproot and PIMCO have a long history. Our partnership has helped shape Purpose at PIMCO, the firm’s ongoing commitment to making a difference in the communities where its people live and work. Purpose at PIMCO is how the firm puts its values into practice, building a culture of giving that’s innovative, collaborative, and determined to take on some of society’s most urgent challenges.
“At PIMCO, we aim to take an all-in approach to service, bringing not only our funds but our thought leadership, time, and expertise to help advance the work of our grantees,” said Elizabeth Eckman, Vice President, Purpose at PIMCO.
This program is that approach in action.
The program: skills where they’re needed most
From late March through May, Purpose at PIMCO teamed up with Taproot and Black Girl Ventures (BGV Foundation) to launch a six-week, pro bono service program built for under-resourced entrepreneurs. The goal was ambitious and concrete: strengthen the long-term sustainability of these businesses, help build intergenerational wealth, and move the needle toward a more equitable economy.
“BGV Foundation exists to create pathways for underestimated entrepreneurs to access the resources they need to thrive, not just funding, but meaningful relationships, strategic guidance, and opportunities to grow,” said Anjel Peters, Director of Programs & Marketing at BGV Foundation. “Our partnership with Taproot and PIMCO exemplifies that mission.”
Teams of three PIMCO employees paired with individual founders to tackle a real, pressing business challenge. Over six weeks, each team designed, developed, and delivered a tailored solution built for that venture’s growth and for what that founder needed next.
The value ran both ways. While founders got expert support they couldn’t otherwise access, PIMCO employees advanced professional development goals tied directly to the firm’s own performance criteria. As one pro bono consultant put it, “I loved getting to use my skills in a way that directly supports someone’s livelihood.”
That’s what a well-designed pro bono program looks like: good for the founder, good for the pro bono consultants, good for the firm.
The output: what the teams built
The best way to understand the impact is to look at the work itself. Two of the ventures this cohort supported, Clyn and the Pocket Panty, show just how game-changing pro bono support can be for a burgeoning company.
Turning growing pains into a roadmap with Clyn
Clyn is a cleaning and turnover management platform built for short-term rental property managers. It automates the whole process—scheduling, assigning vetted crews, getting properties guest-ready—so managers can run tighter operations without sacrificing quality.
Like a lot of fast-growing startups, Clyn was stretched thin. Hiring, sales, and product development were all competing for attention, and the business needed standardized practices to keep pace. Its training materials had also drifted out of sync with what the platform could actually do—a small gap that becomes significant as a company scales.
The PIMCO team went to work on Clyn’s product and operational maturity, surfacing critical improvements early, before they could become costly problems down the line. The results were tangible: the team found 32 operational gaps that had been flying under the radar and consolidated them into a single prioritized remediation roadmap, with improved visibility across roughly 60% of the cross-functional workflows the team tested. Clyn walked away not just with a list of fixes, but with a clear order of operations for getting stronger.
Clarity at the moment of scale for The Pocket Panty
The Pocket Panty makes discreet Pocket Panty and Period Kits that offer an on-the-go solution that helps women feel confident, dignified, and prepared. It’s a business with a mission built in: promoting panty equity and expanding access to essentials for women facing systemic barriers.
The brand was growing fast and resonating with its audience, which brought it to a familiar and pivotal moment: getting ready to scale. Before moving into retail, The Pocket Panty wanted its marketing and communications strategy to be clear, differentiated, retail-ready, and unmistakably true to its mission.
The Pocket Panty didn’t need reinvention; it just needed clarity at scale. The PIMCO team delivered a retail-ready, purpose-aligned communications foundation that supports growth without diluting the mission, so the brand’s impact stays both visible and understood as it reaches more shelves and more customers.
The impact: Building relationships and getting results
This year’s cohort brought together four remarkable founders building across a range of industries—inclusive, science-informed toothpaste; dignified on-the-go essentials for women and girls; clean herbal beverage alternatives; and AI-powered quality assurance tools for cleaning teams. Right alongside them were the PIMCO employees, who showed up with curiosity, generosity, and a whole lot of heart.
Over six weeks, founders and pro bono consultants built something rare together: a space for bold ideas, careful collaboration, and real, measurable results. For at least one founder, this type of partnership was new: “This was the first time I felt like people outside my business really understood what I was trying to build,” she said.
The feedback tells the story. Participating founders rated the program world-class, giving it an average of 9.5 out of 10. And on the measures that matter most:
- 100% felt confident the solution they received will address their organization’s needs.
- 100% rated their pro bono consultants’ professionalism, empathy, and collaboration as good or excellent.
- 100% said they’re very or extremely likely to do the program again.
- 100% anticipate increased revenue as a result.
Again and again, founders described the same shift—from overwhelmed to equipped, from uncertain to clear. One said the program helped her see her business differently, walking away “with clarity and confidence.” Another described how the structure and guidance “made something overwhelming feel achievable.”
“Getting to watch the founders come out the other side with more confidence with the tools the PIMCO teams helped them build, that never stops being my favorite part of this work,” said Arianna Flores, a Consultant on Taproot’s Advisory Services team, who helped lead the program.
The pro bono consultants felt the impact, too. Their experience with the BGV Small Business Accelerator was overwhelmingly positive, and the numbers prove it: 100% want to participate again, 100% reported strengthening their professional skills, and 100% said the program increased their overall satisfaction at PIMCO.
“This project pushed me in the best way. Stepping into something I knew nothing about forced me to learn from the ground up and figure out how to apply my skills in a completely new space.” – PIMCO pro bono consultant
Through it all ran the most important thread: building human relationships. “I sincerely enjoyed hearing about my venture partner’s business and platform,” said a pro bono consultant. The founders echoed the sentiment: “I really appreciated the opportunity to work with such caring and knowledgeable people.”
Why it matters
Under-resourced entrepreneurs have a wealth of talent, ambition, and ideas. But they often lack access to the kind of expertise that larger, better-funded companies take for granted. Pro bono service closes that gap directly, putting real capacity in the hands of founders at the exact moment it can change their trajectory.
“When talented professionals invest their expertise in founders who have historically been overlooked, the impact extends far beyond a single engagement,” said Peters. “It strengthens businesses, expands economic opportunity, and creates a scalable model for how cross-sector partnerships can build a more equitable entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
Eckman echoes the sentiment. “Through this program, we were able to directly invest our employees’ skills to help founders strengthen operations, build capacity, and unlock long-term growth,” she notes.
PIMCO, BGV Foundation, and Taproot proved what’s possible in just six weeks: stronger businesses, sharper professionals, fulfilling relationships, and a more equitable economy built one venture at a time. The founders are already carrying that work forward. The invitation now is for more companies to follow their lead.
