Going Back to Prison
In October of 2016 I walked into a maximum security prison alongside more than 70 SoCal founders and investors. It my first experience with Defy Ventures, a non-profit that empowers the incarcerated through entrepreneurship. We came as volunteers to offer guidance on the business ideas of the inmates, or as Defy Ventures describes them, Entrepreneurs In Training (EITs).
The program was so powerful I came back in 2017 for a second visit and brought my own group of friends from the tech and VC community to volunteer. It was an unforgettable experience for everyone who joined me. But of all the days events, memory that stuck with me the most was the number of the EITs who told us with great sincerity, “this is the best day of my life.” Aside from something like a wedding, it is so rare to have the opportunity to be a part of the best day of someone’s life. Defy accomplishes this for people with regularity, which for me really put into perspective the impact of the program.
But not long after our visit, Defy started showing up in the news for all the wrong reasons. The organization was hit with a wide variety of accusations, from misappropriating funds to misrepresenting statistics about the programs effectiveness. The board kicked off an investigation into the allegations as well as other serious issues related to the organization’s founder. While they quickly found that many of the claims were unsubstantiated, the sentiment amongst my friends who joined me on the visit were that they were so damaging Defy as an organization wasn’t going to be able to recover. I’m sure that sentiment extended well beyond our small group of volunteers.
Earlier this year I sat down with Andrew Glazier, a local leader in the organization who became Defy’s national CEO after the leadership changes. He talked to me about the conclusions of the investigation, exactly where the organization stood, and how he had essentially been tasked with rebuilding a lot of what had been lost. At the end of our meeting he asked that I come back and do another prison visit. I was a bit reluctant to get involved again but in passing he mentioned the upcoming trip was to the California Institution for Women (CIW) which struck a personal chord with me. My mother worked as a physician at CIW for my entire childhood all the way through her retirement. I had never been inside the place and I certainly never thought I’d be able to contribute anything to the same women she gave her career to.
“Okay Andrew, I’m in.”
The first thing I noticed was the volunteer group that showed up last month at CIW was much more representative of SoCal in terms of ethnicity, profession, and gender. Off to a great start. The EITs had spent months preparing for this day so the energy was a mix of excitement and nervousness, but still they showed up strong. I’m especially proud of the woman who took first place in the pitch competition. Her idea was a new type of child safety seat and her pitch was as polished as the most prepared entrepreneurs I’ve seen outside prison walls. I genuinely look forward to continuing to work with her and people like her through Defy.
It was a well run program that had a similar format and feel as my visits the prior two years. However there was one major difference this time, it was an overarching feeling I could only describe with one word — authenticity. Volunteers weren’t just there because their colleagues were going or just so they could post a picture from prison with some “scary” inmates on Facebook. It felt like people were there simply because they wanted to help other people. Even still, every volunteer left feeling that they ultimately got more out of the day than the EITs.
If you haven’t already made a visit with Defy it is worthwhile for you to make the time. You don’t have to be a VC or have built a business empire to have the experience to contribute. Your simple words of encouragement and sincere belief in an EIT can be the reasons that someone has the best day of their life. To those who have previously visited but were put off by all the controversy, I’d strongly encourage you to take another look at the organization being built with the new leadership. They still have a tremendous impact on the lives of people who are often very deserving of a second chance.
I’m glad to see the Defy organization back on its feet. One thing is for sure, I’ll be back to prison again!
