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Thanks, hi! I think we're going to start with a very brief video—90 seconds—before Jeff quizzes me.
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So, I didn’t actually set the stage last year when we took over Rocky Mountain Ruby. I added an idea that I had taken from some friends who ran Madison Ruby. The idea was to highlight organizations and people in the community that are doing interesting work outside our little tech bubble.
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I became familiar with Defy Ventures through some friends and thought it was really neat. We are not here to talk about containers and Kubernetes anymore; now we're discussing a much more important topic: prison.
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Can you give us some background on the program? Many people are successful in this program, but what is it actually about? What is the problem at hand that necessitates this program?
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The problem is that many men and women who are behind bars have rarely had a first chance at the opportunities that you and I have, just by virtue of being here. When they are released from prison, their opportunities are pretty grim. There is a lot of discrimination in employment, housing, and just about every aspect of reintegration.
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Our program aims to make them more successful on the outside. Many people do not realize that, while we discuss rehabilitation, the punishment continues even after exiting prison. Individuals often lose their right to vote and struggle to find housing because many places will explicitly deny them based on a criminal record.
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Discriminating based on a criminal record is not federally protected under the law, which makes finding jobs and housing extremely challenging.
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Why then do we promote entrepreneurship? This focus on entrepreneurship serves several purposes. Our founder first visited prisons to see how many men who were incarcerated were actually entrepreneurs, albeit many were running illegal businesses.
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Entrepreneurship is crucial because these individuals have natural talents and are often natural hustlers. Our goal is to redirect their skills to legal enterprises. Furthermore, entrepreneurship teaches essential life skills like problem-solving, creative thinking, and self-motivation that benefit everyone, regardless of whether they own a business.
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It’s worth noting that even though we are known for our entrepreneurship training, two-thirds of our curriculum focuses on character development and personal growth because we want our participants to be successful, whether they start their own business or not.
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Lastly, the allure of entrepreneurship acts as a magnet. It draws participants just as it attracts volunteers, creating common ground between two seemingly different groups. This sparks a shared humanity that becomes evident as they collaborate.
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For instance, tech entrepreneurship might feel far removed from the entrepreneurship that lands individuals in prison. A good example is Uber, whose model involved breaking laws to develop a customer base, resulting in substantial success. This mirrors the approach taken by Defy's entrepreneurs in the past.
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We celebrate success stories, but it's important to define what success looks like when working with such a high-risk population with significant recidivism rates in the U.S. Success for us means that if one person is better off, then we've accomplished our mission. However, we also measure our success through specific metrics.
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We take pride in having launched 170 businesses and maintaining a recidivism rate of less than 5% compared to the national average of about 70%. Our goal is to keep our graduates out of prison and ensure they thrive.
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Additionally, we maintain a 95% employment rate, which we are equally proud of. Many businesses have come out of our program, and I’d like to highlight a couple of them.
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One example is Access Self-Defense, a self-defense training company based in the Bay Area. The graduate runs it, teaching corporate and individual clients alike. I’ve personally benefitted from his services.
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Another notable success is ConBody, an early graduate from New York City who developed a prison-style workout while incarcerated. He has since opened a flagship store in Manhattan and an online fitness platform with over 15,000 subscribers.
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The businesses emerging from our program are typically service-oriented, as we aim for our graduates to start with modest initial funding and achieve cash flow positivity quickly. Financial stability is crucial for them.
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When our program participants graduate and are released from prison, our primary focus is getting them employment. Financial stability is the number one indicator of whether someone will recidivate, so getting them jobs is our goal.
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It's vital to develop a workforce that can contribute to their families while simultaneously pursuing their business endeavors. Local tech people, like Brad Feld and others, are often drawn to our organization because they recognize the value of entrepreneurship.
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If you're a software developer, how can you help? There are multiple ways to get involved. You can hire our graduates—many organizations will benefit from doing so.
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You can also volunteer; you don’t need to be an entrepreneur. If you’ve ever put together a resume or have experience with service businesses, you can contribute significantly to our participants' growth.
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As we expand our efforts in Colorado, we will soon offer volunteer opportunities in prison. Lastly, we are a nonprofit organization and appreciate any financial support you can provide. Just $42 a month covers the cost for one entrepreneur in training to participate in our program.
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Any contribution, large or small, is welcome. You can find volunteer opportunities and make donations on our website.
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Thank you for this opportunity, and please feel free to reach out via email if you have any questions or want to discuss job leads.
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Awesome, thank you, Carrie.
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I like it both for Jeff and Dave. Thank you! Thank you!
