INNOVATING AND BUILDING FROM THE GROUND UP

Kahlil (KB)Byrd

NEW YORK, NY

Preparing for the next great American rebuild.Expanding economic opportunity, strengthening democracy, and supporting courageous leadership in the U.S. and globally.

Kahlil Byrd FOUNDER, CEO,
INVESTOR, BOARD DIRECTOR

Portfolio

Ventures & civic leadership

Kahlil (KB) Byrd outdoors, holding up a blue cap

Building for
America's next great era.

“Reformers must be relentless and clever in how we keep vital issues on the front burner.”

OUR PLATFORM

Invest America

Invest America is an investment and technology platform taking on the country’s hardest civic and economic problems. We use data, research, strategy, organizational design, and product development to build, back, and invest in ventures and institutions that solve America’s most stubborn economic, political, and social problems.

We are preparing for The Rebuild: a period of sustained political volatility, institutional adjustment, and societal realignment. This disruption creates a crucial opening to move the country forward in extraordinary and unprecedented ways.

Incrementalism will not meet this moment. We are building a cross-partisan community around an organized, ambitious, future-focused agenda, developing and guiding the people, policies and plans, organizations and companies, and capital needed to secure the next great American era.

Learn more about our work and portfolio below.

Our portfolio

ShurFounder & CEOReimagining financial wealth-building for 30 million Professionals with Student Loans. Read Shur’s Impact Report.

Shur is a fintech reimagining financial wealth-building for 30 million Professionals with Student Loans. Its alternative credit scoring, financial guidance, insurance, and banking tools are deployed through “Shur Powered by…” partnerships with cities and states working to attract and keep their workforce.

Visit Shur
With HonorBoard member & senior advisorFighting polarization by supporting principled veterans of both parties who serve with integrity, civility, and courage.

With Honor fights polarization in Congress by supporting principled veterans of both parties who take the With Honor Pledge to serve with integrity, civility, and courage. We work alongside the House’s bipartisan For Country Caucus and a bipartisan group of Senators to pass critical legislation in national security, national service, and veterans’ affairs.

Visit With Honor
Courage ActionBoard memberSupporting courageous elected and civic leaders who stand for integrity, service, and strong American institutions.

Courage Action supports elected and civic leaders who act with integrity under pressure and put service above short-term political safety. Through support for leaders, storytelling, interviews, and public conversations, it builds visible backing for principled leadership and helps courageous leaders sustain their work in the face of backlash or personal cost.

Visit Courage Action
Unite NYBoard presidentBuilding a stronger New York democracy through structural reform and greater citizen voice.

Unite NY is a cross-partisan movement strengthening democracy in New York by amplifying voices and expanding choices for our citizens. We are driving voter awareness and engagement to advance reforms that give our leaders real incentives to tackle the Empire State’s biggest challenges. (KB Op-Ed on bringing Open Primaries to NYC)

Visit Unite NY
The 80Founding board memberA national Center-Left infrastructure initiative launching in 2027.

The 80 is the machine Democrats never built.

Eighty percent of Americans agree on the issues that matter most. But the extremes have hijacked our politics. It's time to fight back by building a Center-Left infrastructure that gives the Democratic majority a name and a network that is designed to be heard - using the playbook that flipped Colorado and Michigan from red to blue by winning back moderates, the middle-class, and independent voters.

Learn more about The 80
VoatzBoard member & investorAdvancing mobile and online voting with hardware-based security, biometrics, and blockchain.

Voatz is a global leader in mobile and online voting, combining biometrics, advanced security, and a blockchain-backed audit trail. It has served more than 5 million voters in public elections across 7 countries and was the first smartphone voting system used in a U.S. presidential election.

Visit Voatz

ABOUT KB

Kahlil (KB) Byrd, smiling, wearing glasses and a navy jacket
Kahlil (KB) Byrd

Entrepreneur.
Institution builder.
Investor.

Kahlil (KB) Byrd is a founder, CEO, and board director who has launched and scaled technology- and data-enabled platforms across fintech and national politics. He is a thought leader and driver in cross-partisan politics, innovation, investment, and social impact.

KB leads Invest America, an investment and technology platform taking on the country's hardest civic and economic problems through data, research, strategy, organizational design, and product development. He is founder & CEO of Shur, a fintech reimagining financial wealth-building for 30 million Professionals with Student Loans through the “Shur Powered by…” platform, deployed in partnership with cities and states. Before Invest America and Shur, KB came to cross-partisan reform prominence as the founding CEO of Americans Elect — a $45 million national organization that built the first-ever secure online presidential primary, deployed a team of more than 8,000 to run the largest signature drive in American history, and achieved ballot access in 29 states.

KB is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, where he served as an International Affairs Fellow. He is a founding board member of With Honor and Courage Action and serves as board president of Unite NY. A graduate of Morehouse College and Harvard Kennedy School, he lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Sarah Haacke Byrd, CEO of the national nonprofit Women Moving Millions.

LinkedIn

Perspectives

Writing & conversation

Kahlil (KB) Byrd speaking into a microphone

Thoughts. Ideas. Action.

“It is absolutely worth it to make a decision to launch something you believe in into the world.”

Go to Archive
Washington ExaminerOpinion -

There is a third path on student loans, and voters already agree on it

Sarah Hunt, Founder and CEO of the Rainey Center for Public Policy, and KB propose a ripe innovation: privatize the $1.7 trillion U.S. student-loan portfolio, turn it into a wealth-building system for borrowers, and a win for companies and taxpayers.
New York Daily NewsOpinion -

Closed primaries are costing NYC our moment

Argues that New York City should pair open primaries with ranked-choice voting to include unaffiliated voters, broaden participation, and strengthen electoral competition and accountability.
World Economic ForumEssay -

Stewardship is how businesses can build value for future generations.

Explains how stewardship of financial, human, and ecological capital can strengthen business resilience and create lasting value for future generations.
ShurImpact report -

Shur Impact Report

The story of Shur's early days, successes, research, partnerships, and impact on the lives of Professionals with Student Loans.
Go to Archive

Let’s connect

Bring your ideas.
Let’s get to work.

Get in touch Media Kit Connect on LinkedIn
Back to home

Perspectives

Archive

“I’ve been a practitioner helping to build democratic institutions in the U.S.”

Kahlil (KB) Byrd
Kahlil Byrd participating in a panel discussion at Harvard Kennedy School
June 2023 democracy conversation at the Harvard Kennedy School Forum with alums, students, and HKS professors. Read | Watch(With HKS professors Dr. Archon Fung, Dr. Pippa Norris, and Dr. Tarek Masoud)

30 published works

Read. Watch. Explore.

Washington ExaminerOpinion -

There is a third path on student loans, and voters already agree on it

Sarah Hunt, Founder and CEO of the Rainey Center for Public Policy, and KB propose a ripe innovation: privatize the $1.7 trillion U.S. student-loan portfolio, turn it into a wealth-building system for borrowers, and a win for companies and taxpayers.
New York Daily NewsOpinion -

Closed primaries are costing NYC our moment

Argues that New York City should pair open primaries with ranked-choice voting to include unaffiliated voters, broaden participation, and strengthen electoral competition and accountability.
World Economic ForumEssay -

Stewardship is how businesses can build value for future generations

Explains how stewardship of financial, human, and ecological capital can strengthen business resilience and create lasting value for future generations.
ShurImpact report -

Shur Impact Report

The story of Shur's early days, successes, research, partnerships, and impact on the lives of Professionals with Student Loans.
Northwestern Mutual / PR NewswirePress release -

Northwestern Mutual's Black Founder Accelerator® program celebrates its third year of empowering Black entrepreneurs

Announces Shur’s selection for Northwestern Mutual’s Black Founder Accelerator fall cohort, highlighting its work helping student loan borrowers build financial plans, understand credit, and protect repayment.
Shur, Equifax & VantageScoreWhite paper -

The Student Loan Crisis: Measuring the Impact of COVID Accommodations on Borrowers

Analyzes how pandemic-era student loan accommodations affected borrowers’ credit and finances, and the risks they face as payments resume.
The FulcrumOpinion -

Landing on the moon was a hard thing. So is preserving democracy.

Uses Unite NY’s work on open primaries, ballot access, and voting reform to argue for cross-partisan support for the difficult but essential task of preserving democracy.
The HillOpinion -

Three months can make all the difference for vulnerable student loan borrowers

Argues that the student-loan payment pause should be used to help vulnerable borrowers avoid default and build long-term financial stability.
FixUSEssay (PDF) -

Building Stakeholder Values into Corporate Purpose: An Execution Strategy

Proposes stakeholder engagement plans, shareholder accountability, and transparent reporting to turn corporate-purpose commitments into measurable action.
Morning ConsultOpinion -

Voting Needs to Be Easier. Period.

Calls for better election funding, fewer participation barriers, and expanded use of technology to make voting easier and more accessible.
The HillOpinion -

To unite America, Biden administration must brace for hate

Uses Hank Aaron’s example to argue that the Biden administration must confront racist extremism while pursuing inclusion and national unity.
New AmericaResearch report -

Prospects for Climate Change Policy Reform

Heather Hurlburt and Kahlil Byrd map conservative climate-policy efforts and recommend solutions-focused messaging, stronger organizations, and patient cross-partisan coalition building.
Harvard Kennedy SchoolProfile -

Honorable Charge: Rye Barcott MPA 2009 has set out to change the political culture in Congress by helping elect veterans

Highlights KB’s role as a senior strategist in With Honor’s early years, as Rye Barcott built the organization to help elect veterans and foster cross-partisan leadership in Congress.
The Washington PostNews report -

Howard Schultz’s presidential ambitions spurred a months-long effort to disrupt the 2020 race

Michael Scherer reports on Howard Schultz’s preparations for a potential independent presidential campaign, including national polling and plans for advertising to challenge the two-party system.
HuffPostEssay -

The Founders of Helena: Just 21 Years Old and Reshaping Political Entrepreneurship

Profiles Helena’s young founders and their effort to connect leaders across generations and disciplines to implement solutions to global problems.
ForbesEssay -

Reawakening America: The New Professional Political Class

Argues that newly politically engaged entrepreneurs and business leaders can use their independence, resources, and problem-solving skills to advance reform.
MediumEssay -

Reinvesting in the New America

Makes the case for seed financing and shared infrastructure to help bipartisan political entrepreneurs develop and scale practical reform solutions.
The HillOpinion -

More Than Just Two ‘Cups of Tea,’ But Something Stronger

Summary pending verification of the original article.
HuffPostEssay -

Independent Reformers Could Have Sweetened This Fetid 2016 Election Brew

Argues that independent reformers need stronger candidates, durable infrastructure, and consistent funding to turn voter dissatisfaction into electoral success.
The HillOpinion -

Too Many ‘Too’s’: The Journey of the Insurgent Candidate

Uses Evan McMullin’s candidacy and earlier political newcomers to challenge assumptions that outsider candidates are too inexperienced or too late to succeed.
HuffPostEssay -

Political Entrepreneurship and ‘The Fear Factor’

Examines how fear of exclusion, financial instability, and failure shapes political entrepreneurship, and why reformers must develop the resilience to overcome it.
HuffPostEssay -

Political Entrepreneurs Need a New Teddy Bear

Uses Theodore Roosevelt’s conservation legacy to argue for bold presidential leadership and political entrepreneurs willing to move beyond incremental reform.
HuffPostEssay -

Political Entrepreneurs and Return on Investment

Draws lessons from the marriage-equality movement to argue that reformers must pair clear strategy and capable teams with measurable returns for funders.
HuffPostEssay -

Political Entrepreneurs Are Driving a New Reform Surge

Calls for a coordinated ecosystem of funding, talent, technology, and mentorship to help political entrepreneurs overcome entrenched political dysfunction.
New York MagazineMagazine profile -

The Third-Party Rail

John Heilemann examines KB’s leadership of Americans Elect and its effort to secure nationwide ballot access and nominate a cross-party presidential ticket through an online convention.
Fox NewsVideo profile -

Power Player Plus: Americans Elect’s Kahlil Byrd

KB discusses Americans Elect in this Fox News Power Player Plus appearance.
NPRNews report -

Nonprofit Seeks To Be New Political Force

Peter Overby examines Americans Elect’s online presidential nomination effort, featuring KB’s explanation of its mission and questions about the organization’s financing and donor disclosure.
The New York TimesOpinion -

Make Way for the Radical Center

Thomas L. Friedman explores Americans Elect’s effort to nominate a cross-party presidential ticket through an online convention, featuring KB’s perspective as CEO on opening the process to dissatisfied voters.

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Bios, images & inquiries

Media kit

Kahlil (KB) Byrd smiling with arms folded, wearing a burgundy sweater

Highlights

Kahlil (KB) Byrd is a national leader at the intersection of technology, politics, cross-partisan reform, and impact. He previously led Americans Elect, a national bipartisan effort to reimagine the presidential nominating process. He is the founder of Invest America (tech and data platform solving civic and economic challenges through research, strategy, technology, and organizational design) and Shur (economic mobility for Professionals with Student Loans). KB serves as board president of Unite NY (focused on systemic reform in New York State), and sits on the board of With Honor (electing bipartisan principled veterans to the U.S. Congress), and Courage Action (Supporting bold national civic leadership). KB is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a graduate of Morehouse College and Harvard Kennedy School. He and his wife, Sarah Haacke Byrd, live in Brooklyn.

Downloadable Biography

For interviews, speaking, and media inquiries.

Get in touch

DEMOCRACY TECHNOLOGY, DATA, AND INNOVATION

Americans Elect

CO-FOUNDER & FOUNDING CEO

Read the AE after action report.

Americans Elect set out to reimagine the U.S. presidential primary through technology and give voters a bipartisan ticket on all 50 state ballots. Working alongside Chairman Peter Ackerman, co-founder and CEO KB raised $45 million and built the national organization to pursue that mission.

The effort secured ballot access in 29 states and brought together more than 150 paid staff, 5,000 contractors, and 3,000 volunteers. KB led finance, operations, and legal, built the board of directors and a 130-member advisory board, and oversaw delivery of a secure, scalable online nominating platform.

In 2012, the platform earned the South by Southwest People’s Choice Award, the Campaigns & Elections CampaignTech Innovator Award, and two CLIO Awards for content and interactive excellence.

PATHWAYS TO WEALTH FOR PROFESSIONALS WITH STUDENT LOANS

Shur

Founder & CEO

Visit the Shur Site Read Shur's Impact Report

Founded in 2020 as a public benefit corporation, Shur is a fintech helping 30 million Professionals with Student Loans move from debt to wealth creation. Most are between 29 and 40 years old, the stage of life when people buy homes, start families, launch businesses, and decide where to put down roots.

A national study Shur conducted with Equifax and VantageScore, spanning 250 million Americans, found that people still carrying student loans at 32 have credit scores averaging 78 points lower than peers who paid theirs off.

Through its "Shur Powered by…" partnerships, mayors, governors, and economic development leaders deploy Shur's alternative credit scoring, financial guidance, insurance, and banking tools to attract and keep their workforce. Banks, credit unions, and advisory firms gain a path to a generation of customers they have long overlooked, and communities gain residents who stay.

Washington Examiner · July 2026

There is a third path on student loans, and voters already agree on it

Sarah Hunt, Founder and CEO of the Rainey Center for Public Policy, and KB propose a ripe innovation: privatize the $1.7 trillion U.S. student-loan portfolio, turn it into a wealth-building system for borrowers, and a win for companies and taxpayers.

Read article

Shur · December 2024

Shur Impact Report

The story of Shur's early days, successes, research, partnerships, and impact on the lives of Professionals with Student Loans.

Read report

Northwestern Mutual · February 2024

How Kahlil (KB) Byrd of Shur Is Focusing on Helping Graduates Move From Student Debt to Wealth

Shur investor Northwestern Mutual’s profile of KB and the team, discussing how the company supports the economic journey of Professionals with Student Loans.

Read | Watch

Northwestern Mutual / PR Newswire · October 2023

Northwestern Mutual's Black Founder Accelerator® program celebrates its third year of empowering Black entrepreneurs

Announces Shur’s selection for Northwestern Mutual’s Black Founder Accelerator fall cohort, highlighting its work helping student loan borrowers build financial plans, understand credit, and protect repayment.

Read article

Shur, Equifax & VantageScore · July 2022

The Student Loan Crisis: Measuring the Impact of COVID Accommodations on Borrowers

Analyzes how pandemic-era student loan accommodations affected borrowers’ credit and finances, and the risks they face as payments resume.

Read report

The Hill · February 2022

Three months can make all the difference for vulnerable student loan borrowers

Argues that the student-loan payment pause should be used to help vulnerable borrowers avoid default and build long-term financial stability.

Read article