In Minneapolis, William Lively has spent his career using technology to bring more transparency to finance. As the founder and CEO of EXtrance, a fintech company that integrates artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain, he’s built tools that have made commercial real estate investing more accessible for both investors and institutions.
That same focus on access now drives his work through the William M. Lively Foundation, which is dedicated to expanding education and opportunity across Minnesota.
“The city has a tremendous spirit of resilience and creativity,” he said. “Our goal has always been to amplify that through sustainable, locally rooted private-sector engagement.”
One of the foundation’s main programs, The Renewal Initiative, helps people facing addiction or mental health challenges rebuild their lives. The initiative connects treatment centers, employers, hospitals, and civic organizations to form a network of care. Participants receive housing support, financial education, and direct job opportunities through the foundation’s business partners.
“The mission is to break the stigma around addiction and mental illness by replacing judgment with opportunity,” Lively said. “People are not defined by their worst days. They’re defined by their ability to rise from them.”
From fintech to philanthropy, Lively’s work is proof that innovation and inclusion can coexist, and that progress means the most when it’s designed to lift people up.
Building Something That Gives More Than It Takes
Since its founding in 2020, the William M. Lively Foundation has focused on widening access to technology, entrepreneurship, and digital literacy in underserved parts of Minnesota. Its mentorship programs, educational partnerships, and local collaborations are designed to help future innovators gain the skills and confidence needed to succeed in today’s modern workforce.
Speaking to his dual roles, Lively explained that the goals behind his company and foundation have always been connected.
“They’re fundamentally aligned,” he said. “My philosophy, in both business and philanthropy, is to build systems that empower people.”
For him, the foundation isn’t a side project, but a continuation of the same ideas that guided his company.
“The goal is to build structures that last longer than we do,” he noted.
Those structures include social programs as well as support for the city’s creative institutions. Recently, the foundation partnered with the Pohlad family, who own the Minnesota Twins, to sponsor the Walker Art Center’s annual Avant Garden Gala.
“The Walker Art Center embodies the creative heartbeat of Minneapolis,” Lively said. “Supporting the Avant Garden Gala alongside the Pohlad family was about investing in imagination as infrastructure, because culture drives progress.”
To him, the value of philanthropy lies in its ability to spark creativity and build connection. He believes the Walker Art Center embodies both, a place where art and humanity intersect and where the energy of a thriving city comes to life.
How a Local Startup Became a Global Platform
Before creating his foundation, Lively spent more than a decade solving access challenges within the finance industry. When he founded Extrance, his goal was to fix what he saw as a structural gap in private markets by improving liquidity, transparency, and connection between investors, fund managers, and institutions.
“The goal was to create a system that allowed capital to move intelligently, compliantly, and with true accountability,” he said.
What began as a small startup eventually grew into a global infrastructure platform serving major investment banks, funds, and family offices. By 2025, EXtrance reached a milestone with a $1.2 billion private acquisition by a global investment bank, one of the largest fintech deals to ever come out of Minnesota.
William Lively saw that success as something larger than business. It proved to him that Minneapolis could stand alongside global hubs as a place to build transformative technology companies.
“It validated that the Midwest isn’t just a market for innovation,” he said. “It’s the creator of it.”
The Power of Purposeful Leadership
Building EXtrance from the ground up taught Lively a lot about leadership, and those lessons still shape how he works today. His approach centers on clarity, accountability, and conviction, creating a culture where people are encouraged to, in his words, “innovate boldly but execute with precision.”
He sees effective leadership as removing confusion, helping others do their best work, and staying anchored in purpose. By setting high standards and helping everyone understand the reason behind them, he fosters a sense of ownership and trust that allows people to lead themselves.
Reflecting on what ties his ventures together, Lively believes that lasting growth comes only when it’s grounded in purpose, integrity, and a commitment to leading through service rather than scale.
Guided by both empathy and expectation, he continues to show how the same structure that built a successful fintech company can also drive meaningful social change.
Progress Through Partnership
Part of Lively’s commitment to service involves close collaboration with local government. His partnership with the City of Minneapolis grew out of shared goals to build equitable economic opportunity and foster innovation that serves the public good.
Through both his company and foundation, he has supported that vision by investing in Minneapolis-based firms, partnering with civic institutions, and backing initiatives that create jobs and lasting infrastructure. Technology remains central to those efforts.
“Technology is the foundation of any forward-moving community,” he said. “It allows us to make data-driven decisions, increase transparency, and deliver services more efficiently.”
William Lively believes innovation should make systems more human, not more complex, and that true progress happens when technology expands access and opportunity for everyone it touches.
The Shift From Capital to Collaboration
The sale of EXtrance in 2025 marked a major milestone in Lively’s career, but it also gave him a new perspective on what success looks like.
“Building EXtrance taught me how to scale ideas,” he said. “Civic and philanthropic work taught me how to scale impact.”
This next phase of his career is guided by what Lively calls collaborative capital, a model where success is measured through shared progress rather than profit alone. In Minneapolis, that idea is already taking shape as local investors reinvest close to home, philanthropy becomes more data-driven, and public institutions adopt private-sector efficiency to reach more people.
“Sustainable progress requires patience and trust, two things money alone can’t buy,” he said. “When public and private sectors commit to shared outcomes and transparency, they create legacies that endure far beyond political cycles or market trends.”
Leading Toward a More Connected Future
Throughout his work, William Lively keeps coming back to the idea that the best investment a city can make is in its people.
“Innovation isn’t only technological,” he said. “It’s human.”
Looking ahead, he envisions a world filled with more empathetic leaders who listen more than they speak, and especially before they act.
“True partnership begins with understanding what communities actually need, not what looks good in a report,” he said.
In his view, leadership is measured not by what someone leaves behind, but by what continues to grow after they’re gone. When communities and people are stronger, more connected, and better equipped to lead themselves, that is the real measure of success.
