WEBVTT - Trisha Prabhu: Putting a Stop to Online Bullying 0:00:04.840 --> 0:00:07.840 That for me was what with the fire and pushed 0:00:07.840 --> 0:00:11.559 me to go okay. I can either be unhappy about 0:00:11.560 --> 0:00:13.880 this issue and how it's affected me, or I can 0:00:13.880 --> 0:00:16.880 take that experience, that personally lived experience, which has given 0:00:16.920 --> 0:00:20.159 me really unique insight into what's causing this problem and 0:00:20.200 --> 0:00:23.560 what needs to change, and I can do something good 0:00:23.560 --> 0:00:27.000 with it and I can help other people. That was 0:00:27.040 --> 0:00:31.360 Tricia Probably. She's only just graduated college, but she's already 0:00:31.440 --> 0:00:34.960 learned value the lessons that have resulted in a successful 0:00:35.040 --> 0:00:39.080 career as a social entrepreneur. One of her best known 0:00:39.080 --> 0:00:43.240 inventions that she patented when she was a young team 0:00:43.400 --> 0:00:49.200 is Rethink, a unique technology that stops bullying. That creation 0:00:49.320 --> 0:00:54.440 earned her a spot on Forbes thirty list. I'm the 0:00:54.520 --> 0:00:58.360 Land for beer and this is senecas on women to hear. 0:00:59.160 --> 0:01:01.760 We are bringing you one hundred of the world's most 0:01:01.840 --> 0:01:07.720 inspiring and history making women you need to hear. Tricia 0:01:07.840 --> 0:01:11.920 Probably recently graduated from Harvard, where she was the youngest 0:01:11.959 --> 0:01:16.520 ever person to win the President's Innovation Challenge. She's also 0:01:16.560 --> 0:01:19.920 appeared on Shark Tank, given a Ted talk, one a 0:01:20.000 --> 0:01:23.959 Rhodes Scholarship, and partnered with the United States State Department 0:01:25.800 --> 0:01:29.520 She's also published her first book for school children. It's 0:01:29.560 --> 0:01:33.720 called Rethink the Internet, How to make the Digital World 0:01:33.880 --> 0:01:38.360 a lot less Sucky. Listen and learn why. Tricia probably 0:01:38.920 --> 0:01:45.080 is one of Seneca's on women to Hear. I'm speaking 0:01:45.080 --> 0:01:49.360 today with Trisha Probu, the inventor of Rethink, a tool 0:01:49.400 --> 0:01:53.760 to reduce cyber bullying. Welcome, Trisia. We're really looking forward 0:01:53.760 --> 0:01:57.080 to this conversation. Thank you so much. I'm past I'm 0:01:57.080 --> 0:02:00.000 so excited to be here. Rethink is such a power, 0:02:00.000 --> 0:02:04.040 a full tool, and obviously something critically needed today for 0:02:04.080 --> 0:02:07.520 our listeners who might not be familiar with it. Can 0:02:07.560 --> 0:02:11.800 you briefly describe how it works and what purposes serves? 0:02:12.400 --> 0:02:16.080 What is it? Rethink is a patent of technology that 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:20.200 detects and stop cyber bullying before it happens. So when 0:02:20.240 --> 0:02:24.000 you download the Rethink app onto your phone, our custom 0:02:24.080 --> 0:02:27.880 built Rethink keyboard, which has the power to detect hurtful 0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:32.600 or hateful content, replaces your mobile devices default keyboard, and 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:35.000 then it works across all of the apps on your phone, 0:02:35.160 --> 0:02:38.840 from email to social media to detect offensive content and 0:02:38.960 --> 0:02:41.600 give you a chance to rethink. So if a user 0:02:41.639 --> 0:02:43.800 tries to say something let's just say it's you are 0:02:43.880 --> 0:02:47.040 so ugly. The rethink detects that and then prompts the user, 0:02:47.200 --> 0:02:50.600 WHOA are you sure you want to say that. When 0:02:50.600 --> 0:02:52.919 I first came up with the concept, I wasn't sure 0:02:53.040 --> 0:02:54.840 how effective it was going to be, if it was 0:02:54.880 --> 0:02:57.320 gonna work, if it was going to actually stop cyber bullying. 0:02:57.720 --> 0:03:01.360 So I conducted a study to determine its efficacy and 0:03:01.440 --> 0:03:05.280 found that over nine of the time, youth that receive 0:03:05.320 --> 0:03:08.480 a repink alert change their mind. So it's an incredibly 0:03:08.520 --> 0:03:12.880 effective way to proactively stop cyber bullying. That's so interesting. 0:03:13.080 --> 0:03:16.720 So the bullier, so to speak, the bully thinks twice 0:03:16.760 --> 0:03:21.520 about actually sending that message. Is that right exactly? And 0:03:21.560 --> 0:03:24.520 the core principle there is the idea that we don't 0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:26.840 want to put the burden to stop cyber bullying on 0:03:26.880 --> 0:03:29.959 the victim. And when I first entered the anti hate space, 0:03:30.040 --> 0:03:33.760 that really was the dominant approach was encouraging victims to 0:03:33.800 --> 0:03:36.760 tell a parent or to tell an educator. It sounds 0:03:36.800 --> 0:03:40.600 like a good solution and theory. In fact, research finds 0:03:40.640 --> 0:03:44.640 that of victims don't tell anyone, So putting the burden 0:03:44.640 --> 0:03:47.040 on the victim to stop the cyber bullying or to 0:03:47.120 --> 0:03:51.080 find a perpetrator after it's happened simply doesn't work. What 0:03:51.200 --> 0:03:53.480 I wanted to do was create something that would stop 0:03:53.480 --> 0:03:57.200 cyber bullying at the source, with the cyber bully and hopefully, 0:03:57.320 --> 0:03:59.720 you know, as you point out, get them to think twice, 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:03.480 learn that what they're saying online really matters and can 0:04:03.520 --> 0:04:06.720 affect the people around them. That's so interesting. It's actually 0:04:06.800 --> 0:04:11.480 very hopeful too, because I think one often thinks that 0:04:11.600 --> 0:04:15.640 maybe bullies can't can't be influenced in a positive way 0:04:15.680 --> 0:04:20.320 at least at so this is really impressive. You've been 0:04:20.360 --> 0:04:23.000 at this even though you're very young. You've been at 0:04:23.040 --> 0:04:27.919 this anti bullying advocacy for a considerable period of years. Now. 0:04:28.440 --> 0:04:31.640 Can you tell us what sparked your personal commitment at 0:04:31.680 --> 0:04:35.200 such a a really young age. You know, I also 0:04:35.240 --> 0:04:37.799 want to know is where did you see cyber bullying? 0:04:37.920 --> 0:04:39.840 Did you see it in the media, did you see 0:04:39.839 --> 0:04:43.200 it in your community? Were you personally affected by it? 0:04:43.640 --> 0:04:45.880 How did you get into this? It was a little 0:04:45.880 --> 0:04:48.960 bit of a combination of seeing cyber bullying in the 0:04:49.000 --> 0:04:53.960 media in my community, um and unfortunately experiencing it in 0:04:54.000 --> 0:04:57.320 my life. Uh So, growing up as a kid, I 0:04:57.440 --> 0:05:03.000 had experiences with bullying and cyber bullying, being different, being 0:05:03.040 --> 0:05:05.320 not like UM some of the students that I was 0:05:05.360 --> 0:05:07.960 growing up with, and so I knew quite well what 0:05:08.040 --> 0:05:12.080 it felt like to be isolated or rejected or alone. 0:05:12.720 --> 0:05:17.400 But for the longest time, I assumed that those experiences 0:05:17.400 --> 0:05:20.640 were because there was something wrong with me. I assumed 0:05:20.720 --> 0:05:23.919 that because I was different, or because I was rejected, 0:05:24.440 --> 0:05:26.960 it was it has something to do with who I was. 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:31.080 And it was only when I was thirteen that one 0:05:31.120 --> 0:05:34.680 day I came home from school and I happened to 0:05:34.720 --> 0:05:37.200 read online a news article. So you know, this is 0:05:37.240 --> 0:05:40.920 the media about a twelve year old girl who had 0:05:40.960 --> 0:05:43.039 been cyber bullied for over a year and a half 0:05:44.200 --> 0:05:48.200 and received, I mean, just some of the most horrifying messages. 0:05:48.760 --> 0:05:51.200 You know, the world would be a better place without you. 0:05:51.720 --> 0:05:57.279 I hope you drink bleach and die. And unfortunately, Um 0:05:57.520 --> 0:06:04.240 died by suicide. And I remember, at thirteen just being shocked, 0:06:04.839 --> 0:06:08.720 thinking this is so unacceptable, and not really being able 0:06:08.760 --> 0:06:11.520 to wrap my mind around the fact that here was 0:06:11.520 --> 0:06:13.960 a young girl, a girl a year younger than me, 0:06:14.560 --> 0:06:18.760 who had been pushed to this, and I kept thinking, 0:06:19.000 --> 0:06:22.240 this is not okay, and it was really my aha 0:06:22.360 --> 0:06:24.839 moment of oh my goodness. I used to think cyber 0:06:24.839 --> 0:06:27.839 bullying was this problem that only affected me, or only 0:06:27.880 --> 0:06:31.520 affected certain types of people. Now I'm doing research online 0:06:31.520 --> 0:06:34.760 and realizing in many ways it's a silent pandemic that's 0:06:34.760 --> 0:06:38.279 affecting millions of youth globally, and we don't really have 0:06:38.520 --> 0:06:41.599 any solutions to tackle it. And so that was really 0:06:41.600 --> 0:06:44.200 what lit the fire and ignited in me this passion 0:06:44.640 --> 0:06:47.200 to want to stop cyber bullying and to ensure that 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:51.120 all youth feel safe and respected and included online, like 0:06:51.240 --> 0:06:54.440 I deserved, Like this young woman whose name was Rebecca 0:06:54.560 --> 0:06:59.000 deserved um, like all young people deserved. Tricia, I wonder 0:06:59.080 --> 0:07:03.359 what made you so resilient, because you were obviously being 0:07:03.400 --> 0:07:06.680 targeted as well, and yet instead of having it have 0:07:06.839 --> 0:07:10.400 a negative impact on you in a serious way, you 0:07:10.440 --> 0:07:14.320 were resilient enough to really try to do something about it. 0:07:14.760 --> 0:07:17.800 I think for me it was finding purpose in other people, 0:07:18.400 --> 0:07:21.840 you know, looking around my community, talking with friends realizing 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:24.920 this issue was affecting them, to reading about it in 0:07:25.040 --> 0:07:28.320 news stories, and realizing again that this was such a 0:07:28.320 --> 0:07:31.160 big problem, you know. I think that's where I got 0:07:31.160 --> 0:07:34.440 my resilience from was wanting to make the world better 0:07:34.480 --> 0:07:37.120 for other people, and that really was from a young age. 0:07:37.160 --> 0:07:39.920 One of my defining treats was I was always a helper. 0:07:39.960 --> 0:07:42.800 I always wanted to help an uplift and empower other people. 0:07:42.840 --> 0:07:45.040 I was always the person who would talk with the 0:07:45.080 --> 0:07:47.480 other students who were scared or afraid, you know, when 0:07:47.480 --> 0:07:50.120 their parents dropped them off at daycare because they didn't 0:07:50.120 --> 0:07:51.960 know any want or because it was their first day. 0:07:51.960 --> 0:07:54.360 I was always the first one to welcome them, to 0:07:54.440 --> 0:07:57.720 support them. And so I think realizing the scope of 0:07:57.720 --> 0:08:01.600 the issue, the fact also that it was disproportionately affecting 0:08:01.920 --> 0:08:06.200 these historically marginalized communities like women and people of color, 0:08:06.760 --> 0:08:09.760 that for me was what lit the fire and pushed 0:08:09.760 --> 0:08:13.480 me to go okay. I can either be unhappy about 0:08:13.480 --> 0:08:15.800 this issue and how it affected me, or I can 0:08:15.800 --> 0:08:18.840 take that experience, that personally lived experience which has given 0:08:18.840 --> 0:08:22.080 me really unique insight into what's causing this problem and 0:08:22.120 --> 0:08:25.480 what needs to change, and I can do something good 0:08:25.480 --> 0:08:28.040 with it and I can help other people. Um And 0:08:28.080 --> 0:08:30.840 I think that that driving mission was really big for 0:08:30.880 --> 0:08:33.600 me in helping me push me to do the work 0:08:33.640 --> 0:08:36.840 and continue to do the work. That's really so beautiful 0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:40.360 and and how mature that at your young age, at 0:08:40.400 --> 0:08:45.480 the time, you began thinking about making a positive impact 0:08:46.120 --> 0:08:49.280 on what has become such a serious problem. So what 0:08:49.440 --> 0:08:51.680 kind of pressures did that put on you? Here? You 0:08:51.720 --> 0:08:55.240 are thirteen years old at the time you begin working 0:08:55.440 --> 0:08:59.839 on Rethink. It's a very high profile role for a teenager. 0:09:00.520 --> 0:09:03.240 How did that make you feel? Did it make you 0:09:03.320 --> 0:09:06.280 feel like you were under tremendous pressure, did you feel 0:09:06.360 --> 0:09:10.000 enormously challenged or did you just go about it in 0:09:10.040 --> 0:09:13.720 a very methodical way? Oh? I think I definitely felt 0:09:13.760 --> 0:09:16.920 the pressure and I felt a little challenged. Um, not 0:09:17.040 --> 0:09:19.280 at first though, because when I first started the work, 0:09:19.559 --> 0:09:21.400 I had no idea that it was going to be 0:09:22.000 --> 0:09:24.960 you know, a product or an entity. Now I like 0:09:25.040 --> 0:09:27.800 to call it a global movement to be more intentional 0:09:27.840 --> 0:09:31.719 and thoughtful online. I was just curious to see if 0:09:31.720 --> 0:09:34.280 this idea that I had come up with could stop 0:09:34.280 --> 0:09:36.800 cyber bullying. So really it started as a science fair 0:09:36.880 --> 0:09:39.680 project and then balloon into something that I could have 0:09:39.720 --> 0:09:42.520 never imagined. And so starting off, I was, you know, 0:09:42.800 --> 0:09:45.679 I was just following, you know, a series of steps, 0:09:45.679 --> 0:09:48.240 and I was really more an investigator and a researcher 0:09:48.280 --> 0:09:51.400 and just curious to understand if this idea I had 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:55.000 UM could make an impact. But certainly as I realized 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:57.520 oh my goodness, I absolutely could and it had the 0:09:57.520 --> 0:10:00.800 potential to transform lives, I felt this real pressure to 0:10:00.840 --> 0:10:03.600 do it right, UM, and you know, not to fail 0:10:03.720 --> 0:10:05.920 the many people who are so excited by the idea, 0:10:05.960 --> 0:10:08.760 who thought that it really did have the potential UM 0:10:08.800 --> 0:10:12.160 to stop cyber bullying before it happened. And then of 0:10:12.160 --> 0:10:15.120 course being a young kid, you know, juggling all of 0:10:15.160 --> 0:10:18.320 that work, uh, you know, which quickly grew UM as 0:10:18.360 --> 0:10:21.160 the product became extremely popular. As we were, you know, 0:10:21.160 --> 0:10:24.680 pursuing these partnerships with Scholastic and the State of Michigan 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:29.120 and the UST Department. UM, the pressure certainly grew juggling 0:10:29.160 --> 0:10:31.960 at all. UM. I think how I dealt with it 0:10:32.000 --> 0:10:36.920 was probably reminded myself how lucky I was to be 0:10:37.000 --> 0:10:39.920 able to do work that I care about so deeply. UM. 0:10:39.960 --> 0:10:42.640 For me, I see the work as a privilege, UM, 0:10:42.679 --> 0:10:44.920 to make impact and to do something that I am 0:10:45.000 --> 0:10:48.120 so passionate about. UM. I think also just creating support 0:10:48.200 --> 0:10:50.640 networks for myself and you know people that I that 0:10:50.679 --> 0:10:53.920 I love friends and family UM that have always believed 0:10:53.920 --> 0:10:57.000 in me and encouraged me. UM, you know, through high 0:10:57.080 --> 0:11:00.120 points and through failures. UM. I think was really the 0:11:00.280 --> 0:11:04.040 cute UM. And you know one other pressure challenge and 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:06.520 highlight is just it is the way that I was 0:11:06.600 --> 0:11:09.360 perceived and seen because I was so young. You know, 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:15.040 I talked about partnerships early on a lot of partners Uh. 0:11:15.160 --> 0:11:18.719 It kind of saw me as very cute but not 0:11:19.240 --> 0:11:22.640 very serious. And so that was I was a more 0:11:22.679 --> 0:11:26.080 difficult work challenge. UM. That took you know, just a 0:11:26.080 --> 0:11:28.160 lot of confidence and a lot of hard work and 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:31.520 a lot of persistence, UM to get some of those 0:11:31.559 --> 0:11:34.840 initial partnerships and then to create um, you know, a 0:11:34.920 --> 0:11:38.440 network UM with which I could I could make this 0:11:38.440 --> 0:11:41.800 this app that I had created a movement. Well, so 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:46.600 many wonderful lessons of in what you just described as 0:11:46.679 --> 0:11:50.840 to how you embraced this desire to really have impact. 0:11:51.400 --> 0:11:54.040 You know, I was also thinking, as you were, as 0:11:54.040 --> 0:11:57.160 you were talking about it, we should never underestimate what 0:11:57.240 --> 0:12:00.760 can come out of a science fair project. So I 0:12:00.840 --> 0:12:06.640 know that you have a book which came out fairly recently. Yes, 0:12:06.920 --> 0:12:10.560 rethink the Internet. It sounds like a very good title 0:12:10.640 --> 0:12:13.920 for an important test. Tell us about the book and 0:12:14.520 --> 0:12:16.959 why did you write it, what do you hope will 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:20.520 come of it? So we think the Internet is the 0:12:20.559 --> 0:12:24.600 world's first ever buy youth four youth guide to safely 0:12:24.640 --> 0:12:28.240 and responsibly navigating the Internet. And the book for me 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:31.720 was really born out of the experience of, you know, 0:12:31.840 --> 0:12:34.679 over my now nearly decade long career doing this work, 0:12:35.320 --> 0:12:37.760 meeting you all over the world, um, you know, in 0:12:37.760 --> 0:12:41.880 the US certainly, but in Europe and Asia, around the world, 0:12:42.320 --> 0:12:45.800 and having this common experience of talking with them about 0:12:45.840 --> 0:12:49.960 technology and the Internet, and realizing that they were extremely 0:12:50.040 --> 0:12:53.640 tech savvy. They knew how to use their phones, but 0:12:53.720 --> 0:12:58.800 they were digitally not very literate. They didn't know what 0:12:58.880 --> 0:13:03.200 digital footprint will is. They hadn't thought very critically about 0:13:03.240 --> 0:13:08.040 managing screen time or detecting this and disinformation online. There 0:13:08.040 --> 0:13:11.640 were a lot of digital literacy skills that were missing, um. 0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:13.720 And part of it was because some of that education 0:13:13.840 --> 0:13:16.480 wasn't being delivered. But another part of it was because 0:13:16.559 --> 0:13:19.720 the education that was being delivered wasn't exciting to them. 0:13:19.760 --> 0:13:22.640 It was pretty bland. Um. Sometimes it was delivered by 0:13:22.640 --> 0:13:25.440 people that they didn't consider legitimate. Miss space you know, 0:13:25.480 --> 0:13:29.040 older adults maybe who didn't use technology as regularly as 0:13:29.040 --> 0:13:31.319 they did or use the social media platforms that were 0:13:31.360 --> 0:13:34.240 relevant to their lives. UM. And so I have this 0:13:34.320 --> 0:13:37.199 experience over and over again. And then the pandemic hit 0:13:37.800 --> 0:13:40.080 and I was at home, and you know, it had 0:13:40.160 --> 0:13:42.840 all of a sudden, all of this extra time, and 0:13:42.880 --> 0:13:46.080 I thought to myself, this is such an incredible time 0:13:46.240 --> 0:13:48.400 to do something I wanted to do for a long time, 0:13:48.520 --> 0:13:52.120 which is to create the book that I think all 0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:55.640 of these youth would love and that they really need. UM. 0:13:55.679 --> 0:13:58.079 And that is, you know, a guide that teaches them 0:13:58.120 --> 0:14:01.080 in a way that's super fun and super accessible, but 0:14:01.120 --> 0:14:05.160 it's also very educational and informative. How to be smart, 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:09.520 responsible digital citizens, how to make the Internet a kind place, 0:14:09.840 --> 0:14:12.160 how to make positions online that they can live with, 0:14:12.160 --> 0:14:15.800 both online and offline, um, and how to ensure that 0:14:15.800 --> 0:14:19.120 they're helping and uplifting and empowering other people online. And 0:14:19.120 --> 0:14:21.760 so that is what gave birth to Rethink the Internet. UM. 0:14:21.800 --> 0:14:24.440 The format of the book is it's you know, seven stories, 0:14:24.480 --> 0:14:27.880 fictional stories. All of these characters, um, you know, who 0:14:27.880 --> 0:14:31.240 find themselves in tricky situations online and they're trying to 0:14:31.280 --> 0:14:34.160 figure out how to troubleshoot them, and the reader follows 0:14:34.200 --> 0:14:37.040 these characters along their journeys and learns the lessons that 0:14:37.080 --> 0:14:39.920 the characters learned. UM. And the book also comes with 0:14:39.960 --> 0:14:42.960 a companion guide for parents educators so that they can 0:14:43.000 --> 0:14:46.160 support young readers as they're reading the book. UM. But 0:14:46.240 --> 0:14:48.680 really my goal was to write in a voice that 0:14:48.880 --> 0:14:52.960 was super relatable, super accessible, UM, and in a way 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:55.640 that would be really legitimate to this youth audience. And 0:14:55.720 --> 0:14:58.400 so far that's been the overwhelming piece of feedback is 0:14:58.440 --> 0:15:01.520 you really love that they are hearing from a fellow 0:15:01.560 --> 0:15:05.000 young person UM that knows exactly what topics are relevant 0:15:05.040 --> 0:15:08.040 to them. UM. And that they're not just learning, they're 0:15:08.120 --> 0:15:11.280 learning in a way that's fun and more meaningful to them. 0:15:11.320 --> 0:15:14.200 And what is the age group that you're targeting when 0:15:14.200 --> 0:15:17.440 you talk about youth? So the age group for the 0:15:17.480 --> 0:15:21.160 book is middle grade UM eight eight through twelve is 0:15:21.200 --> 0:15:25.600 basically the the defined age group. But it's funny, I've 0:15:25.600 --> 0:15:27.800 talked with so many adults who said that they found 0:15:28.720 --> 0:15:31.440 found the book really valuable as well, because you know, 0:15:31.680 --> 0:15:34.520 some of the lessons we teach are not just applicable 0:15:34.560 --> 0:15:37.440 to youth, UM. You know, our first chapter, for instance, 0:15:37.520 --> 0:15:43.239 dives into asking for people's permission before you post photos online. 0:15:43.560 --> 0:15:45.800 And there's so many adults who, you know, told me 0:15:45.880 --> 0:15:48.360 after they read that chapter they started to think back 0:15:48.440 --> 0:15:50.720 on all the photos they've taken, not only have friends, 0:15:50.720 --> 0:15:53.360 but of their family, their kids, um, and not really 0:15:53.400 --> 0:15:56.320 ever asked if it was okay with them that they 0:15:56.360 --> 0:15:58.520 go ahead and post that on Facebook or you know, 0:15:58.840 --> 0:16:02.360 share that on another so media platform. So I think 0:16:02.400 --> 0:16:06.960 the lessons very applicable, you know, more broadly to two 0:16:06.960 --> 0:16:09.600 adults as well. But the defined age group is ages 0:16:09.640 --> 0:16:13.520 age or twelve, you know, and posting photos you're You're 0:16:13.560 --> 0:16:17.560 exactly right. Such a simple proposition and yet such an 0:16:17.600 --> 0:16:24.760 important lesson in that Seneca has one hundred women to hear. 0:16:24.880 --> 0:16:37.960 We'll be back after the short break now in your 0:16:38.000 --> 0:16:41.440 young life, and we're still talking about a very young Tricia. 0:16:41.600 --> 0:16:46.160 Probably you're also interested in the diversity gap in entrepreneurship, 0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:49.760 which I find fascinating as well. I know that in 0:16:49.840 --> 0:16:53.360 college you were an ambassador for so Gal, a women 0:16:53.520 --> 0:16:57.440 lad next gen venture firm that invests in women and 0:16:57.600 --> 0:17:01.960 diverse entrepreneurs, which is straordinary in so many ways, one 0:17:02.080 --> 0:17:04.080 being the fact that you were so young when you 0:17:04.280 --> 0:17:08.280 undertook this. But also it really the gap in venture 0:17:08.400 --> 0:17:14.359 capital firms that really serve women and other diverse entrepreneurs 0:17:14.480 --> 0:17:20.399 is enormous. So why is diversity so important in entrepreneurship? 0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:24.440 And how did you get interested in this? Yeah? Absolutely, 0:17:24.600 --> 0:17:28.399 I couldn't agree more. UM. I'll start with the second question, 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:30.879 how did I get into this? It was really a 0:17:30.880 --> 0:17:36.520 product of becoming a female CEO so young and realizing 0:17:36.600 --> 0:17:39.800 from the get go, especially in the tech space, that 0:17:39.960 --> 0:17:43.919 I was quite alone in doing that. I did not 0:17:44.119 --> 0:17:46.760 have a lot of fellow female CEOs or fellow women 0:17:46.760 --> 0:17:50.160 of color um sitting you know at you know, board 0:17:50.160 --> 0:17:53.199 tables with me um or you know, in meetings with 0:17:53.280 --> 0:17:55.919 high powered players. UM. I also realized that, you know, 0:17:56.240 --> 0:17:58.320 that was the case that older age groups too, and 0:17:58.359 --> 0:18:00.679 perhaps it was you know exacerbated and even more in 0:18:00.760 --> 0:18:02.919 those groups, I didn't have a lot of role models 0:18:02.920 --> 0:18:06.199 to look up to. And for those you know, female 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:09.000 entrepreneurs and CEOs that I had the chance to connect with, 0:18:09.480 --> 0:18:11.760 you know, the common less you know, common story rather 0:18:11.800 --> 0:18:14.200 that I would hear over and over again is how 0:18:14.240 --> 0:18:17.119 hard it was to explain their products, especially when they 0:18:17.119 --> 0:18:21.359 were geared towards other women, two male vcs that that 0:18:21.400 --> 0:18:24.240 didn't really know what they were talking about, you know, 0:18:24.400 --> 0:18:27.200 didn't trust them unless they had five other men referring 0:18:27.240 --> 0:18:31.639 them and vouching for them. And how frustrating that experience was. Um. 0:18:31.640 --> 0:18:33.680 And So for me that was a huge wake up 0:18:33.680 --> 0:18:35.679 call of of realizing because as a kid, I had 0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:38.560 always been super confident. Um. You know, maybe maybe a 0:18:38.600 --> 0:18:40.639 little too confident for my own good. But but in 0:18:40.640 --> 0:18:42.760 a way that I think ended up helping me in 0:18:42.840 --> 0:18:47.879 that I I really you know, I believed in myself unequivocally. Um. 0:18:47.960 --> 0:18:49.919 And then you know, got into the space and and 0:18:50.040 --> 0:18:55.119 realized that there are so many, so many women who 0:18:55.200 --> 0:18:57.400 get into the space and have no one to rely on, 0:18:57.520 --> 0:19:01.119 you know, no mentors, no support network thing. And I 0:19:01.200 --> 0:19:02.879 found it difficult. You know, for the first time in 0:19:02.920 --> 0:19:07.080 my life, I was struggling because I didn't have you know, 0:19:07.080 --> 0:19:09.159 people vouching for me. In fact, I had people, you 0:19:09.200 --> 0:19:11.760 know that were actively doubting me. So it was that 0:19:11.840 --> 0:19:14.720 experience that then pushed me to say, Okay, this needs 0:19:14.760 --> 0:19:17.720 to change. And you know, as I found my way 0:19:17.720 --> 0:19:22.720 in this space, I have a responsibility uh to try 0:19:22.720 --> 0:19:24.879 and drive some of that change, and so you know, 0:19:24.960 --> 0:19:27.320 part of it was I would teach girls who code 0:19:27.320 --> 0:19:31.480 classes in high school. UM. I graduated nearly a hundred women. UM, 0:19:31.520 --> 0:19:34.160 you know, imparting them with the skill so that they 0:19:34.200 --> 0:19:36.879 could go off and form the sisterhood that we had 0:19:36.920 --> 0:19:39.560 created in our clubs, in tech companies and in other 0:19:39.640 --> 0:19:43.119 spaces and invite more women to join. I also, you know, 0:19:43.240 --> 0:19:45.639 was a part of you know, the Sogal initiative, UM 0:19:45.720 --> 0:19:49.240 inspiring the next generation of of of female leaders. And 0:19:49.280 --> 0:19:51.440 what I've learned in doing that work is the reason 0:19:51.680 --> 0:19:55.879 diversity and entrepreneurship is so so important is because of 0:19:55.960 --> 0:20:00.600 female perspectives. UM. You know, perspectives of people of color 0:20:01.240 --> 0:20:05.720 UM help you to both see products that you otherwise 0:20:05.720 --> 0:20:08.600 wouldn't see, but also, especially in my line of work, 0:20:09.000 --> 0:20:13.280 see problems where you wouldn't otherwise see them. You know. 0:20:13.400 --> 0:20:15.480 I think back to the example that we always talk 0:20:15.560 --> 0:20:18.840 about in the space, which is, uh, seat belts in cars. 0:20:19.200 --> 0:20:22.560 You know, seat belts and cars were historically only ever tested. 0:20:22.600 --> 0:20:25.000 The seat belts and air bags were only ever tested 0:20:25.000 --> 0:20:28.159 on mails. And so you know, statistically, if you look 0:20:28.200 --> 0:20:30.199 at the statistics of who is dying when people were 0:20:30.200 --> 0:20:34.000 getting into car crashes. Um, it was women because these 0:20:34.040 --> 0:20:36.639 air bags and the seat belts were not designed for women. 0:20:37.200 --> 0:20:39.480 And what I've come to realize in this work is 0:20:39.600 --> 0:20:42.080 it's the same thing more broadly in the business space, 0:20:42.240 --> 0:20:45.320 right is you know, you have products that are created 0:20:45.359 --> 0:20:49.400 that have all these externalities, um, you know, on our society, 0:20:49.600 --> 0:20:52.600 and when you don't have women at the table helping 0:20:52.600 --> 0:20:55.560 create those products, helping inform those products or create products 0:20:55.600 --> 0:20:58.160 of their own, um, a lot of those products don't 0:20:58.160 --> 0:21:00.680 work for women, or don't work for people of color 0:21:00.760 --> 0:21:03.760 or other marginalized groups. You know. I think, for instance, 0:21:03.800 --> 0:21:06.320 of a young woman who I met at Sogel who 0:21:06.400 --> 0:21:09.720 was trying to create a product and are product that 0:21:10.400 --> 0:21:12.959 allows people to see what makeup would look like on 0:21:13.040 --> 0:21:17.080 them that actually works for every skin color, because existing 0:21:17.119 --> 0:21:20.160 products only work for people with lighter skin. And she 0:21:20.200 --> 0:21:22.880 realized this when she tried to use these products, um, 0:21:22.880 --> 0:21:25.399 and big shock, or the people creating those products didn't 0:21:25.400 --> 0:21:28.800 really include you know, many people of color. So that's 0:21:28.840 --> 0:21:31.879 you know, one huge takeaway, um. And then you know, 0:21:32.119 --> 0:21:35.800 the other thing I've noticed is diversity and entrepreneurship inspires 0:21:35.840 --> 0:21:38.920 more diversity and entrepreneurship, Right That that is the way 0:21:38.960 --> 0:21:42.119 we create a reinforcing cycle. Um. And so you know 0:21:42.560 --> 0:21:45.880 that's the reason I'm so passionate about it, because if 0:21:45.880 --> 0:21:48.280 we want more diversity and entrepreneurship, we need to push 0:21:48.280 --> 0:21:51.280 forward now, uh, you know, to set the foundation for 0:21:51.680 --> 0:21:54.680 you know, generations of diversity of you know, more young 0:21:54.680 --> 0:21:58.360 women and more people of color, you know, realizing this 0:21:58.440 --> 0:22:00.159 is an opport you know, an option for them, this 0:22:00.280 --> 0:22:02.639 is something that they can do. So that's that's a 0:22:02.760 --> 0:22:05.880 very long winded answer. But all that's to say, Um, 0:22:05.920 --> 0:22:08.959 it really couldn't be more important, And I I wish, 0:22:09.440 --> 0:22:11.400 even with all the work that I've done, that there 0:22:11.840 --> 0:22:14.159 was more of a focus, was more of an emphasis, 0:22:14.200 --> 0:22:18.080 and was even more work towards addressing that problem. Well, 0:22:18.119 --> 0:22:20.800 it really isn't a long winded, uh answer, it's such 0:22:20.840 --> 0:22:25.320 an important answer, And as someone who has herself advocated 0:22:25.359 --> 0:22:28.439 for diversity and entrepreneurship, I don't think I could have 0:22:28.560 --> 0:22:32.400 done a better job than you. Just didn't describing why 0:22:32.440 --> 0:22:35.880 it is so critically important, uh, and why that perspective 0:22:36.000 --> 0:22:40.600 is so important to incorporate into design and other innovations. 0:22:41.200 --> 0:22:44.320 I wonder, as you were talking about the importance of 0:22:45.440 --> 0:22:47.920 venture capital, did you have to go out and raise 0:22:48.520 --> 0:22:54.639 capital for your own creations, for your inventions, whether for 0:22:54.800 --> 0:22:59.000 the technology or for the book. Did you need to 0:22:59.080 --> 0:23:03.040 do that? I considered it UM for the technology and 0:23:03.240 --> 0:23:07.879