From the NAACP to Silicon Valley – Closing the technology gap

They told , the youngest President & CEO of the NAACP, that he can’t.

✘ He can’t fight the Tea Party.
✘ Marriage equality will never take place
✘ There’s no changing the death penalty
✘ The NAACP is an old organization that nobody cares about.

They told him he can’t. and he did.

Jealous has been a leader of successful state and local movements to
✔ ban the death penalty,
✔ outlaw racial profiling,
✔ defend voting rights,
✔ secure marriage equality,
✔ and free multiple wrongfully incarcerated people.

Under his leadership, the NAACP grew to be the largest civil rights organization online and on mobile, experienced its first multi-year membership growth in 20 years, and became the largest community-based nonpartisan voter registration operation in the country.

Ben has been named to the 40 under 40 lists of both and magazines. He is #1 on TheRoot.com’s 2013 list of black leaders under 45, and now he’s coming to Silicon Valley.

———————–
CHANGING SILICON VALLEY
Closing achievement gaps by 2050 would boost our economy by $2.3 trillion
———————–

When asked – What’s the most overlooked issue facing America these days? Ben answers was – Poverty, and he intends on changing that.

His assignment as a venture partner with Kapor Capital and the Kapor Center for Social Impact is to *create a freeway to the tech world from poor communities of color where now there is little more than a trail.*

Kapor Capital make investments in for profit information technology-focused, seed-stage startups that create positive social impact, along with economic value.

———————–
HOW DO YOU GET THERE FROM HERE?
and what will our future look like when we do
———————–

On the unpredictable road of entrepreneurship, it can be immensely helpful to receive guidance and advice from those who have traveled those roads already.

Their experiences, distilled into teachable information, can help the rest of us avoid common pitfalls. Although their advice should be treated as a source of inspiration and not prescription, you can avoid a lot of useless theory by listening to those who are doers, not simply dreamers.