Crown Letters are one-to-one invitations to specific individuals chosen for their expertise, values, and track record. Each Crown leads a council as the First Seat — the tie-breaker, the standard-setter, and the voice on Liana Banyan’s Steering Committee.
22 letters across the Sweet Sixteen Initiatives.
👑 CROWN LETTER: SALLIE KRAWCHECK Treasury Mentor, Lady Banyan of the Vault First Keeper of the Member Service Account (MSA) Board Candidate, Liana Banyan Corporation Date: January 23, 2026 Dear Ms. Krawcheck, You left Wall Street to build Ellevest because you realized the financial system wasn’t designed to serve everyone — it was designed to serve the people who already had money. I built Liana Banyan for the same reason. ...
👑 CROWN LETTER: MARY BETH LAUGHTON Merchant Mentor, Lady Banyan of the Marketplace First Steward of Let’s Go Shopping Board Candidate, Liana Banyan Corporation Dear Ms. Laughton, You lead America’s largest consumer cooperative. I’m building the next one. REI has 25 million members who believe that outdoor recreation should be accessible, sustainable, and member-owned. Liana Banyan is a cooperative commerce platform with the same philosophy — applied to everything else. ...
👑 CROWN LETTER: CATHIE MAHON Treasury Mentor, Lady Banyan of the Vault First Keeper of the Member Service Account (MSA) Board Candidate, Liana Banyan Corporation Dear Ms. Mahon, You’ve spent your career building financial infrastructure for people the system forgot. I’m building a platform to make sure they’re never forgotten again. Inclusiv represents over 500 community development credit unions serving 20 million people in low-income and underserved communities. You’ve proven that cooperative finance works — that when people pool their resources and govern themselves, everyone benefits. ...
👑 CROWN LETTER: MANEET CHAUHAN Grand Chef Mentor, Lady Banyan of the Table Spice Queen • Empress of Cuisine Let’s Make Dinner Initiative Liana Banyan Corporation Dear Chef Maneet Chauhan, I’m writing to offer you a Crown. Not a metaphorical crown — a real one. A founding leadership position in Let’s Make Dinner, one of fourteen initiatives within Liana Banyan, a platform built on the principle of “Help Each Other Help Ourselves.” ...
CROWN LETTER: MICHAEL SEIBEL CEO Candidate — Liana Banyan Corporation To: Michael Seibel From: Jonathan Jones, Founder Date: January 23, 2026 Re: Leading the cooperative that shouldn’t work (but does) Michael, You’ve spent your career finding founders who see what others miss and helping them build what others say can’t be built. I’m writing because I’ve spent nine years building something the startup world would call impossible — and it’s ready. ...
CROWN LETTER: MOLLY HEMSTREET Co-Crown - Brass Tacks Initiative Liana Banyan Corporation To: Molly Hemstreet (The Industrial Commons) From: Jonathan Jones, Founder Date: March 5, 2026 Re: Invitation: Serve as a “Co-Crown” for a new cooperative manufacturing infrastructure Dear Molly, My name is Jonathan Jones, and I’m building Liana Banyan, a cooperative marketplace and incubator designed so that the people who create value actually keep it. We’re combining cost-plus pricing, shared IP, and member credits into an infrastructure that lets communities build and own their own “platforms” instead of renting them. ...
👑 CROWN LETTER: ALEX OSHMYANSKY Apothecary Mentor Lord Banyan of Lifeline Medications Board Member, Liana Banyan Corporation Dear Dr. Oshmyansky, You built Cost Plus Drugs because you were incensed. I built Liana Banyan for the same reasons. Two patients died that weekend because they couldn’t navigate the red tape to get $10,000-per-month heart medication. You saw it happen. You couldn’t unsee it. So you did something about it. I’ve watched people I care about ration insulin. Skip doses. Split pills. Choose between medicine and rent. The systems we have aren’t protecting or helping people well enough, and arguably are part of the problem. So I’ve designed different ones. ...
Crown Letter: Ai-jen Poo The Family Table — Household Steward January 24, 2026 Dear Ms. Poo, The people who care for our families are invisible — until they’re not there. You’ve spent your career making that invisible labor visible. Fighting for dignity, fair wages, and respect for the domestic workers who hold households together. You know what I know: this work isn’t lesser. It’s essential. I’ve built a platform with fifteen charitable initiatives. The fifteenth is called The Family Table, and I want you to lead it. ...
CROWN LETTER: SAL KHAN Chancellor — Didasko Education Initiative Liana Banyan Corporation To: Sal Khan From: Jonathan Jones, Founder Date: January 23, 2026 Re: Building the education platform you’ve been working toward Sal, You’ve spent two decades proving that world-class education can be free. I’ve spent nine years building the economic infrastructure to make it sustainable. I’m offering you a Crown. Didasko is the education initiative within Liana Banyan — a cooperative commerce platform where creators keep 83.3% of revenue and the margin is permanently locked at Cost + 20%. No extraction. No enshittification. The operating agreement makes it structurally impossible. ...
👑 CROWN LETTER: TAYLOR SWIFT Maestro Mentor, Lady Banyan of the Stage First Voice of the JukeBox Initiative Liana Banyan Corporation VERSION 05 — Crown Offer Format (Updated) Dear Ms. Swift, I’m writing to offer you a Crown. Not a metaphorical crown — a real one. A founding leadership position in JukeBox, one of fourteen initiatives within Liana Banyan, a platform built on the principle of “Help Each Other Help Ourselves.” ...