The Fiftyfaces Podcast

Episode 345: Thomas Knowles of Gratitude Railroad: on Impact and Abundance

The Fiftyfaces Podcast

Show Notes

Thomas Knowles is Managing Partner of Gratitude Railroad. Gratitude Railroad is a community driven impact investing firm championing innovative businesses that generate compelling financial returns and enduring impact. He was previously an Operating Partner at the Builders Fund and prior to that held a series of other roles, having started out in venture at SVB Capital.

We speak about the evolution of the focus on The Gratitude Railroad since our last conversation with one of its Founders, Howard Fischer in July 2023. You can find Howard’s podcast here.

Thomas elaborates on the investment focus areas, including climate (energy transition, energy efficiency, waste to value) and social impact (education, healthcare, financial services).

We examine the impact that has been delivered to date, some of the obstacles and challenges that have delivered important lessons and the future of impact investing amid the current zeitgeist.

This podcast is kindly sponsored by Evanston Capital and Alvine Capital. For over 20 years Evanston Capital has had a key focus in identifying early-stage investment managers it believes are capable of generating long-term, value-added returns in complex, innovative strategy areas. Alvine Capital is a specialist investment manager and placement boutique with a particular focus on alternative assets with significant presence in London and Stockholm.

More from The Fiftyfaces Podcast

Oct 21, 2026

Christian Abuide is a macro portfolio manager and asset allocation consultant. At the time of recording he was based in Geneva but he has recently moved to Abu Dhabi where he is continuing to advise on multi-asset allocation and wealth tech solutions.

Oct 13, 2026

Anastasia Amoroso is a Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist at Partners Group. In this role, she provides macroeconomic, private markets, and portfolio management insights to investors. She joined Partners Group from iCapital, where she served as Chief Investment Strategist for the prior four years.

Oct 7, 2026

Joey Mason is a Venture Partner in Life Sciences at Claret Capital Partners where he has been since September 2024. He has over 30 years’ experience in the sector, and has significant experience in most segments of the Life Sciences industry – medtech, pharma/ biotech, diagnostics, health IT and techbio. He has served on the boards of 20 private and public companies in Ireland, Europe and the USA.

Oct 6, 2026

In this bonus podcast we bring you a short conversation with long-term guest and supporter of Fiftyfaces - Jenny Segal, who has just published her sixth book On Motivation - The Blueprint for Success, which is being launched today - October 6, 2026. I

Sep 29, 2026

Anwiti Bahuguna, who is Co-Chief Investment Officer at Northerm Trust Asset Management, where she has spent over three years. She was previously Senior Portfolio Manager and Head of Multi-Asset Strategy for Columbia Threadneedle Investments, and has a PhD in economics from Northeastern University.

See all episodes →