WEBVTT - Jessica O. Matthews: What Does it Take to be an Inventor?

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<v Speaker 1>Pushkin. Hey, y'all, welcome back to the show. I've been

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<v Speaker 1>interviewing so many different people who've clawed their way into

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<v Speaker 1>industries that can seem impossible for someone like them to

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<v Speaker 1>break into. When I met Jisca Matthews, it was clear

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<v Speaker 1>taking up space was something she thrived on. You can

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<v Speaker 1>hear it in the way she talks about being a

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<v Speaker 1>young black woman in a field filled with fifty five

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<v Speaker 1>year old white men. What does Jessica do well? She's

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<v Speaker 1>actually an inventor, and her sophomore year at Harvard, when

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<v Speaker 1>she was just nineteen years old, Jessica invented an energy

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<v Speaker 1>generating soccer ball called the Socket. Her invention got her

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<v Speaker 1>on the radar of folks like Bill Clinton and Barack

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<v Speaker 1>Obama and helped her launch a company called Uncharted Power,

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<v Speaker 1>which is trying to reimagine and reinvent the way a

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<v Speaker 1>city's infrastructure can store power. I mean, super ambitious stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm eager for you all to hear how Jessica thinks

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<v Speaker 1>about her life and her career, which she says is

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<v Speaker 1>the difference between happiness and success. This is started from

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<v Speaker 1>the bottom, hard earned success stories from people like us.

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<v Speaker 1>If you can simply explain what the socket is.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's a soccer ball that generates energy when it rolls.

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<v Speaker 2>When you pass it, it generates energy, stores the power

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<v Speaker 2>inside the ball. You don't have to be an engineer

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<v Speaker 2>to use it. All you have to do is know

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<v Speaker 2>how to play soccer.

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<v Speaker 1>So it doesn't just like glow or something though, right, there's.

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<v Speaker 3>Like a no, you would actually plug things into it?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, amazing.

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<v Speaker 3>And again it was small.

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<v Speaker 2>It was it could never power our house or even

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<v Speaker 2>a room. You know, we're talking about small lights. The

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<v Speaker 2>goal was never to create something that generated a whole

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<v Speaker 2>bunch of energy. The idea was less about the product

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<v Speaker 2>that was created and more about the idea that was

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<v Speaker 2>created and the magic behind it, and the ability to

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<v Speaker 2>get people to feel like you were using science to

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<v Speaker 2>make magic real and to have them attribute that to me.

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<v Speaker 2>All of that happened, you know, from nineteen to twenty four.

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<v Speaker 2>It got me on stages with Bill Clinton where he

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<v Speaker 2>said things like, if ever there was an innovator, she's it.

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<v Speaker 3>You know.

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<v Speaker 2>It got me in rooms with just brilliant people, rooms

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<v Speaker 2>that normally people like me, people who look like me,

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<v Speaker 2>would never be in.

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<v Speaker 1>How do you invent something This is like literally the

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<v Speaker 1>dumbest question about how do you invent something?

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<v Speaker 3>How do you invent something?

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<v Speaker 1>Okay?

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<v Speaker 2>To me, the first step of innovation is the articulation

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<v Speaker 2>of the problem. So what do I mean by that?

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<v Speaker 2>Do not start saying you want to invent something and

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<v Speaker 2>then start thinking about the thing you want to invent.

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<v Speaker 2>Start thinking about the problem you want to solve, and

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<v Speaker 2>detail it.

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<v Speaker 3>Right, So, what's the problem?

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, Now let's do some root cause analysis, Like, let's

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<v Speaker 2>really try for what's the problem?

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<v Speaker 3>Why?

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<v Speaker 2>Why is that a problem? Why is this an issue?

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<v Speaker 2>Where did this come from? Once you have your problem, articularly,

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<v Speaker 2>once you're like, okay, this is the problem I want

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<v Speaker 2>to solve, then you start saying, Okay, what are some

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<v Speaker 2>ways to solve it? You can, you can do a

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<v Speaker 2>brainstorm and just start thinking about things. But what I

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<v Speaker 2>actually recommend is, once you have the problem articulated, step

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<v Speaker 2>away and go and live your life.

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<v Speaker 3>Why.

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<v Speaker 2>The definition of science is the study of life. So

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<v Speaker 2>if you're living, and the more that you live, the

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<v Speaker 2>more that I believe you're a scientist. And so if

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<v Speaker 2>you're trying to come up with something, most likely you're

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<v Speaker 2>going to pull the answer from your life if you

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<v Speaker 2>were if you live a sheltered life, you're gonna come

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<v Speaker 2>up with a sheltered fucking answer. Your invention is gonna

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<v Speaker 2>be some sheltered as shit. But if you want to

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<v Speaker 2>come up with something that's broad, if you want to

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<v Speaker 2>be able to say, you know what, there's this problem

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<v Speaker 2>here with like inspiration and energy, and the answer is

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<v Speaker 2>going to be a soccer ball that can generate energy

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<v Speaker 2>that's going to come from going out and seeing your

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<v Speaker 2>cousins play soccer.

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<v Speaker 3>And it's going to hit you.

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<v Speaker 2>That's gonna come from walking down the street and seeing

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<v Speaker 2>a woman push their kid and be like, oh wait

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<v Speaker 2>a minute, what about this? Like, you have to observe

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<v Speaker 2>and experience as much as possible in your life because

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<v Speaker 2>that's gonna be the bank that you pull your idea from.

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<v Speaker 2>So you articulate your problem so it's there, and then

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<v Speaker 2>you go and live your life and you have a

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<v Speaker 2>notebook and you just jop down ideas as they come

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<v Speaker 2>to you, versus a forced brainstorm. I suggest go and

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<v Speaker 2>put yourselves in put yourself in situations that will inspire you,

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<v Speaker 2>that will engage you, and that will get you thinking

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<v Speaker 2>about different things. Now you got your ideas, you have

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<v Speaker 2>to prototype it, and now you're gonna sit here and

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<v Speaker 2>be like, I can't make this dumb, this thing down

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<v Speaker 2>to the most embarrassing, ridiculous shit that you can make.

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<v Speaker 2>So I'll give you an example. The first prototype of

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<v Speaker 2>the socket. I went to target and I got a

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<v Speaker 2>clear plastic hamster ball. I went to home depot and

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<v Speaker 2>I got a shape the charge flash light. I put

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<v Speaker 2>the shape the charge flashlight inside of the hamster ball.

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<v Speaker 2>I rolled it back and forth. For the concept of

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<v Speaker 2>a ball that could generate energy with motion. That was

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<v Speaker 2>the first prototype. The goal of your prototype is to

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<v Speaker 2>find the simplest thing that you can create that you

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<v Speaker 2>can then get feedback on to make sure your shit

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<v Speaker 2>makes sense. The answer becomes, yes, you make a prototype

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<v Speaker 2>that's just a little bit better, a little bit better,

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<v Speaker 2>a little bit better. Before you know it, I'm in Shenzen, China,

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<v Speaker 2>like you know, telling everyone I'm Serena Williams that they

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<v Speaker 2>make my fucking soccer balls on time like that that

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<v Speaker 2>was a true story.

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<v Speaker 3>We don't have enough time to go for that, So

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<v Speaker 3>there's that, Like what's going on there now?

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<v Speaker 1>To go from the initial prototype looks like feels like

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<v Speaker 1>acts like perhaps, okay, you might need a little bit

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<v Speaker 1>of money. You go from the initial prototype to them.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, the art of the side hustle should not be underestimated,

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<v Speaker 2>you know in the beginning. Again, there's grants you can

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<v Speaker 2>do a friends and family, but you know, if you're oftentimes,

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<v Speaker 2>if you're a minority, friends and family is like here's

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<v Speaker 2>a sandwich.

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, here's a true in kind investment.

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<v Speaker 2>There are some grants, but they do so oftentimes take

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<v Speaker 2>time to get and you're probably gonna be impatient, and

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<v Speaker 2>you should be. So I would say, like when when

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<v Speaker 2>a charity play got started, I was still working at

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<v Speaker 2>another company. You can't like you you know, you have

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<v Speaker 2>to make sure you separate things.

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<v Speaker 1>Did that risk? Did that risk them owning your IP?

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<v Speaker 2>As long as you do not use any of the

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<v Speaker 2>company's equipment to do it, or any of their ideas

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<v Speaker 2>or anything from there, And then you can prove that

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<v Speaker 2>they actually knew because before I went to go and

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<v Speaker 2>work for that company, they knew that I had invented

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<v Speaker 2>this thing in college. So then you're you're fine, but

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<v Speaker 2>you definitely don't want to sit there and use the

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<v Speaker 2>company's resources. No, don't do that. That's just that's just

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<v Speaker 2>bad karma. But I know a lot of people who

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<v Speaker 2>you know, they're lawyers, their accountants, and then they spend

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<v Speaker 2>two hours on the weekend working on a makeup company

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<v Speaker 2>like it's normally something totally different.

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<v Speaker 1>It's amazing. I'm inspired. I'm going to go invent something today.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna be working on a prototype in the kitchen tonight. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, listen, it should look wild. You should be like this,

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<v Speaker 3>sh'll look crazy.

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<v Speaker 1>That's the most freeing thing I've ever heard, that your

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<v Speaker 1>prototype you make a hamster wheel and a shake flash?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah? Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>Are there any other steps in the invention process we

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<v Speaker 1>left out just to cover our bases here.

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<v Speaker 3>Once you have.

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<v Speaker 2>A prototype that's starting to look a little bit more presentable,

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<v Speaker 2>an invention doesn't matter if you're the only one who

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<v Speaker 2>knows about it. So a really, really key part is

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<v Speaker 2>open up. I know people are afraid. People are gonna say, well,

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<v Speaker 2>what if someone steals my idea. I'm gonna say this

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<v Speaker 2>straight up. It is so hard to do most things.

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<v Speaker 2>It is so hard to do most things. In order

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<v Speaker 2>for someone to steal your idea, the number of things

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<v Speaker 2>they'd have to have on you, right, and so I

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<v Speaker 2>think that oftentimes when you will invent something, they have

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<v Speaker 2>an idea, they keep it to themselves. But by doing that,

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<v Speaker 2>you're not kind of activating that feedback loop that's going

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<v Speaker 2>to do two things. Give you a better understanding of

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<v Speaker 2>how to improve that invention, but also give you the

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<v Speaker 2>confidence to know that this is something that makes sense

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<v Speaker 2>to more people than just you. The more you start

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<v Speaker 2>to tell it to people and tell people, you're also

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<v Speaker 2>going to get two things that are going to happen.

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<v Speaker 2>People are going to either want to give you some money,

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<v Speaker 2>or give you some time, or give you an opportunity.

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<v Speaker 2>And one of those three things are going to be

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<v Speaker 2>a catalyst to getting you from making something in the

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<v Speaker 2>kitchen to you know, being in a room where someone says, Yo,

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<v Speaker 2>we know about you.

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<v Speaker 3>You need to become a business that we can do

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<v Speaker 3>business with you.

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<v Speaker 1>It's amazing. How do you get to a point at

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<v Speaker 1>age nineteen where you invent this thing that opens up

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<v Speaker 1>all these doors for you? How does that happen?

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<v Speaker 3>I remember.

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<v Speaker 2>Very early on telling myself it's not about strategies for success,

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<v Speaker 2>it's about strategies for happiness, and that as soon as

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<v Speaker 2>I understand the role that success plays in my happiness,

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<v Speaker 2>but it's not the only thing that impacts my happiness.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, I'll have a true north that that I

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<v Speaker 2>can count on, and that makes sense, And so that

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<v Speaker 2>means I had to really spend some time, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>in my teenage years even thinking about, well, what actually

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<v Speaker 2>makes me happy?

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<v Speaker 3>And it wasn't until college.

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<v Speaker 2>Though, where where I realized that my life was just

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<v Speaker 2>it was everything I was going to make it and

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<v Speaker 2>everything I wasn't going to make it that I think

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<v Speaker 2>I spent the real time doing that reflection and that, yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>that ended up being a little of my compass. So

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<v Speaker 2>I would actually sit down as I would push in

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<v Speaker 2>anything that I'm doing, any job I have any kind

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<v Speaker 2>of bigger goal, right, So any work that I have

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<v Speaker 2>rather not necessarily a job, but any work that I have.

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<v Speaker 2>Every couple of weeks, I'll ask myself, am I happy?

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<v Speaker 2>And there's really only two answers that are allowed. Yes,

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<v Speaker 2>which is great or no. But this is temporary, right,

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<v Speaker 2>So I might be like, no, I'm not happy because

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<v Speaker 2>I'm I'm stressed about how many hours I'm working. It's like, okay, well,

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<v Speaker 2>is the result of those hours will that make you happy? Yes, okay, okay,

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<v Speaker 2>then listen, push through. You can fight through for that. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>And so I think having that as my true north,

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<v Speaker 2>and then also recognizing like that I'm somewhat of.

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<v Speaker 1>Like a.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm a big believer that luck is an acronym that

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<v Speaker 2>it stands for laboring under correct knowledge.

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<v Speaker 3>And so I think coupled with.

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<v Speaker 2>That, at a relatively early early age, at the age

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<v Speaker 2>of nineteen, I had something lucky happened to me.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's go back to your initial epiphany about happiness versus success.

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<v Speaker 1>What were the circumstances that made that thought occur to you?

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<v Speaker 2>You know, again be Nigerian and having so much family

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<v Speaker 2>in Nigeria, knowing where were comfortable where they weren't, but

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<v Speaker 2>also knowing down the street how many people were living

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<v Speaker 2>with so little. You know, I always tell my my

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<v Speaker 2>husband he was born in Mississippi. I'm like, you want

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<v Speaker 2>to know how Nigerians think about poverty in the United States?

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<v Speaker 2>Only in America can you be overweight? And for do

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<v Speaker 2>you understand? Like no, do you understand like that, like

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<v Speaker 2>the fact that government cheese exists, cheesecat great food?

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<v Speaker 1>We met it? Like no?

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<v Speaker 3>Like what so so like.

0:11:44.836 --> 0:11:48.756
<v Speaker 2>I'm sitting here thinking about like yo, like I'm one

0:11:48.836 --> 0:11:50.036
<v Speaker 2>hundred Nigerian.

0:11:50.436 --> 0:11:55.636
<v Speaker 3>I know I'm saying some while nored percent. I'm not

0:11:55.636 --> 0:12:00.036
<v Speaker 3>trying to like all I'm trying to say.

0:12:01.756 --> 0:12:04.236
<v Speaker 2>I'm just saying like I'm over here like sitting down

0:12:04.356 --> 0:12:08.236
<v Speaker 2>thinking like God, it could have been the easiest thing

0:12:08.236 --> 0:12:11.676
<v Speaker 2>for me to be born in that fucking hut over there, like.

0:12:11.676 --> 0:12:14.436
<v Speaker 3>That would have been the easiest. Like it's not like

0:12:14.476 --> 0:12:16.276
<v Speaker 3>it would have been like I can't have imagined. I

0:12:16.276 --> 0:12:17.116
<v Speaker 3>can imagine it.

0:12:17.436 --> 0:12:20.036
<v Speaker 2>This is where I'm from, this is my village, this

0:12:20.076 --> 0:12:22.116
<v Speaker 2>is where my dad grew up. My dad grew up

0:12:22.156 --> 0:12:25.196
<v Speaker 2>so poor that he only started eating corn five years

0:12:25.196 --> 0:12:27.036
<v Speaker 2>ago because that's all they could afford growing up.

0:12:27.036 --> 0:12:30.556
<v Speaker 3>And he was like, I cannot eat anymore corn, Like

0:12:31.156 --> 0:12:35.836
<v Speaker 3>it could have easily been that. Why why not?

0:12:36.236 --> 0:12:40.356
<v Speaker 2>And so I think when you have that realization of

0:12:40.516 --> 0:12:46.396
<v Speaker 2>gratitude and that realization of privilege, even despite the systemic

0:12:46.436 --> 0:12:48.636
<v Speaker 2>issues working against you, again, like I have no problem

0:12:48.636 --> 0:12:54.356
<v Speaker 2>saying I have privilege just because of the luck luck

0:12:54.356 --> 0:12:56.196
<v Speaker 2>can be privileged. That's something sometimes I think that white

0:12:56.196 --> 0:13:00.276
<v Speaker 2>people struggle with luck can be privileged. Hard work can

0:13:00.396 --> 0:13:03.556
<v Speaker 2>be privileged. Yes, my dad had to work like hell

0:13:03.956 --> 0:13:05.676
<v Speaker 2>to get out. My mom had to work like hell,

0:13:05.756 --> 0:13:09.276
<v Speaker 2>her dad was a teacher to get out. But still

0:13:09.756 --> 0:13:12.276
<v Speaker 2>I'm the next door neighbor did it, and like I

0:13:12.316 --> 0:13:14.596
<v Speaker 2>could have been born to them. And so I think

0:13:14.636 --> 0:13:19.516
<v Speaker 2>that with that, I remember immediately saying, Okay, whenever I pray,

0:13:19.556 --> 0:13:21.196
<v Speaker 2>I'm never going to ask for anything. I'm just gonna

0:13:21.196 --> 0:13:24.676
<v Speaker 2>say thank you, because like I had this weird thought

0:13:24.676 --> 0:13:28.876
<v Speaker 2>in my mind that all of this stuff that God

0:13:28.916 --> 0:13:31.916
<v Speaker 2>gave me could be taken away unless I give him

0:13:31.916 --> 0:13:33.196
<v Speaker 2>a really strong ROI.

0:13:35.316 --> 0:13:37.076
<v Speaker 3>There's a lot of things at the age of eight

0:13:37.116 --> 0:13:37.516
<v Speaker 3>and nine.

0:13:37.596 --> 0:13:41.636
<v Speaker 2>So that's when I started to realize that this thing

0:13:41.756 --> 0:13:44.996
<v Speaker 2>called life was more than just a push. You had

0:13:45.036 --> 0:13:48.436
<v Speaker 2>to really think about your frame of mind whenever your

0:13:48.516 --> 0:13:49.516
<v Speaker 2>last breath would be.

0:13:50.636 --> 0:13:52.716
<v Speaker 3>And I remembered sitting.

0:13:52.396 --> 0:13:55.196
<v Speaker 1>In so you're eight, your eight, you're young, and you're

0:13:55.196 --> 0:13:58.516
<v Speaker 1>thinking about your last breath on earth. This is These

0:13:58.556 --> 0:14:00.276
<v Speaker 1>are not the thoughts of normal eight year olds.

0:14:00.596 --> 0:14:00.836
<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

0:14:00.916 --> 0:14:03.916
<v Speaker 2>No, the fact that I'm having ROI like return on

0:14:03.956 --> 0:14:06.716
<v Speaker 2>investment prayer sessions with God that I reckon that was

0:14:06.716 --> 0:14:11.236
<v Speaker 2>probably the first weird thing. But then I'm actually eighteen

0:14:11.316 --> 0:14:16.156
<v Speaker 2>years old when I start to realize, yo, like this

0:14:16.276 --> 0:14:19.196
<v Speaker 2>is not just about an ROI thing, Like people are

0:14:19.276 --> 0:14:22.876
<v Speaker 2>out here dying. People my own family are dying, and

0:14:22.956 --> 0:14:27.636
<v Speaker 2>they're dying not with this like gratitude, hope feeling of

0:14:28.436 --> 0:14:30.716
<v Speaker 2>you know that I have, like from the age of eight,

0:14:31.516 --> 0:14:34.236
<v Speaker 2>they're dying kind of feeling like their world is the

0:14:34.236 --> 0:14:36.556
<v Speaker 2>status quo. They can't do anything to change it, They

0:14:36.556 --> 0:14:39.396
<v Speaker 2>have no influence. The only way to solve their problems

0:14:39.436 --> 0:14:41.316
<v Speaker 2>is to pretend like they don't have them and let

0:14:41.356 --> 0:14:45.476
<v Speaker 2>them kill them. Yeah, and so from there, that's when

0:14:45.596 --> 0:14:47.876
<v Speaker 2>my kind of ethos in life got a little bit

0:14:47.876 --> 0:14:51.556
<v Speaker 2>more dynamic. That's when I started to say, all right, well,

0:14:51.916 --> 0:14:53.956
<v Speaker 2>I don't know when my last breath is going to be,

0:14:54.036 --> 0:14:58.156
<v Speaker 2>so strategies for happiness, Vircius, strategies for success. But then

0:14:58.196 --> 0:15:01.956
<v Speaker 2>at the same time, you know, I think I never

0:15:02.036 --> 0:15:08.076
<v Speaker 2>lost this this kind of realization that part of what

0:15:08.156 --> 0:15:11.156
<v Speaker 2>makes me really happen be is trying to solve really

0:15:11.196 --> 0:15:12.476
<v Speaker 2>big fucking problems.

0:15:14.436 --> 0:15:18.236
<v Speaker 1>We'll be back with more from Jessica O Matthews.

0:15:29.036 --> 0:15:31.916
<v Speaker 2>The problem that I found was that my cousins, who

0:15:31.916 --> 0:15:39.076
<v Speaker 2>were trained engineers, chemists and you know, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers,

0:15:40.156 --> 0:15:43.676
<v Speaker 2>they had told themselves that there was no changing the

0:15:43.676 --> 0:15:46.316
<v Speaker 2>status quo in terms of their world, and I wanted

0:15:46.316 --> 0:15:49.196
<v Speaker 2>to create something that inspired them to realize that it

0:15:49.236 --> 0:15:50.876
<v Speaker 2>was a much more accessible.

0:15:50.396 --> 0:15:53.476
<v Speaker 3>Thing to change things. And so that was that was it.

0:15:53.516 --> 0:15:55.716
<v Speaker 2>And I have a degree in psychology and economics. Like

0:15:55.756 --> 0:15:59.236
<v Speaker 2>I this invention came from a whole lot of Google,

0:15:59.436 --> 0:16:00.596
<v Speaker 2>like a lot of googling.

0:16:00.756 --> 0:16:02.276
<v Speaker 3>You'd be surprised what you could google.

0:16:02.356 --> 0:16:06.996
<v Speaker 2>I currently sit on the Department of Energy's Electricity Advisory Committee,

0:16:07.196 --> 0:16:09.756
<v Speaker 2>federally appointed from the Secretary of Energy.

0:16:09.596 --> 0:16:11.916
<v Speaker 3>Of the United States because of.

0:16:11.916 --> 0:16:15.236
<v Speaker 2>A fucking soccer ball, like like like, let me be clear,

0:16:15.836 --> 0:16:20.596
<v Speaker 2>because I googled my way to figuring out the soccer ball,

0:16:20.636 --> 0:16:24.476
<v Speaker 2>and then I never stopped googling, And so now I

0:16:24.476 --> 0:16:27.236
<v Speaker 2>mean what I do now in some ways couldn't be

0:16:27.356 --> 0:16:31.356
<v Speaker 2>farther from a soccer ball. But it's the same, the

0:16:31.436 --> 0:16:35.396
<v Speaker 2>same goal, the same point of how do we make

0:16:35.436 --> 0:16:37.636
<v Speaker 2>sure that people realize that things could be better in

0:16:37.676 --> 0:16:39.716
<v Speaker 2>their infrastructure of their world, and how do we create

0:16:39.756 --> 0:16:43.556
<v Speaker 2>technologies that empower people to be part of that that solution.

0:16:43.956 --> 0:16:44.716
<v Speaker 3>It's the same thing.

0:16:45.116 --> 0:16:47.636
<v Speaker 1>So what was the status quo for your cousins who

0:16:47.676 --> 0:16:49.476
<v Speaker 1>were engineers in Nigeria.

0:16:50.156 --> 0:16:53.356
<v Speaker 2>In Nigeria, the craziest thing is just it doesn't matter

0:16:53.356 --> 0:16:54.836
<v Speaker 2>if you're in the village or if you're in the

0:16:54.916 --> 0:17:00.316
<v Speaker 2>bustling city of Legos. Energy, reliable energy, just you know,

0:17:00.436 --> 0:17:03.236
<v Speaker 2>it was a massive issue, especially back then. Now, yes,

0:17:03.316 --> 0:17:06.956
<v Speaker 2>you're everyone has generators regardless, but you're just losing power

0:17:07.636 --> 0:17:11.956
<v Speaker 2>every day, several times a day, period, point blank. And

0:17:12.476 --> 0:17:15.876
<v Speaker 2>like I even now, I would say you should expect

0:17:15.876 --> 0:17:20.036
<v Speaker 2>to lose power most days. So that was kind of

0:17:20.076 --> 0:17:23.596
<v Speaker 2>the setup, you know, that that impact, that shift was

0:17:23.636 --> 0:17:26.676
<v Speaker 2>the day to day even a wedding right which I

0:17:26.716 --> 0:17:29.116
<v Speaker 2>was actually really proud. I got married in Nigeria early

0:17:29.236 --> 0:17:31.436
<v Speaker 2>this year and we didn't lose power once. And like,

0:17:31.636 --> 0:17:34.676
<v Speaker 2>to be honest, sometimes I feel like half of this

0:17:34.796 --> 0:17:36.276
<v Speaker 2>work that I've done was just.

0:17:37.236 --> 0:17:39.156
<v Speaker 3>To pull off, to pull off.

0:17:38.996 --> 0:17:43.916
<v Speaker 2>The dynamics of stable energy during all these ceremonies, because

0:17:44.396 --> 0:17:47.876
<v Speaker 2>again were I remember my aunt, you know, losing power

0:17:47.916 --> 0:17:50.556
<v Speaker 2>during her wedding. I remember us bringing in the diesel generator.

0:17:50.556 --> 0:17:52.236
<v Speaker 2>I remember the fuse making me feel like I was

0:17:52.236 --> 0:17:55.476
<v Speaker 2>gonna faint. I remember my cousin saying, don't worry, You'll

0:17:55.516 --> 0:17:56.356
<v Speaker 2>get used to it.

0:17:57.156 --> 0:17:59.036
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I was gonna say when you when when you're

0:17:59.036 --> 0:18:01.276
<v Speaker 1>bringing you're talking about, you know, people having to work

0:18:01.276 --> 0:18:03.556
<v Speaker 1>with kerosene lamps, and then you just mention it now

0:18:03.596 --> 0:18:05.916
<v Speaker 1>bringing in like diesel generators. I mean, these are all like,

0:18:07.756 --> 0:18:10.516
<v Speaker 1>these aren't benign things. I mean, like the fumes from

0:18:10.556 --> 0:18:15.036
<v Speaker 1>a kerosene lamp, the fumes from a diesel generator have

0:18:16.636 --> 0:18:18.916
<v Speaker 1>you know, can have lasting health consequences.

0:18:19.156 --> 0:18:22.036
<v Speaker 2>You know who said that living with a kerosene lamp

0:18:22.276 --> 0:18:25.916
<v Speaker 2>is like smoking two packs of cigarettes to day. So

0:18:25.956 --> 0:18:29.916
<v Speaker 2>it's horrible for you, it's something that's horrible for the environment.

0:18:30.476 --> 0:18:34.436
<v Speaker 2>It's killing every single person in that situation. But I

0:18:34.476 --> 0:18:36.756
<v Speaker 2>think what I also knew at that young age, and

0:18:36.796 --> 0:18:39.596
<v Speaker 2>this is what's kind of funny about what I do

0:18:39.676 --> 0:18:43.076
<v Speaker 2>now compared to how I started. I remember when the

0:18:43.156 --> 0:18:44.996
<v Speaker 2>socket was being formulated and where I was in this

0:18:45.076 --> 0:18:47.036
<v Speaker 2>kind of class with other people also who had kind

0:18:47.036 --> 0:18:48.796
<v Speaker 2>of spent some time in the developing world, and we're

0:18:48.796 --> 0:18:51.716
<v Speaker 2>all kind of throwing in our thoughts, and I remember

0:18:51.796 --> 0:18:56.196
<v Speaker 2>very specifically stating the thing is all of these problems

0:18:56.236 --> 0:19:01.036
<v Speaker 2>are infrastructural. They masquerade a socio economic People think, oh,

0:19:01.076 --> 0:19:04.036
<v Speaker 2>these countries are poor, like actually people are paying more

0:19:04.796 --> 0:19:08.076
<v Speaker 2>for killawat hour in the form of kerosene oil. Then

0:19:08.116 --> 0:19:10.796
<v Speaker 2>we're paying in the United States still even with the

0:19:10.876 --> 0:19:13.676
<v Speaker 2>rise and costs and everything that's going on. But they

0:19:13.676 --> 0:19:17.236
<v Speaker 2>don't have stable infrastructure to pay into. They don't have

0:19:17.276 --> 0:19:20.036
<v Speaker 2>like an overarching system that they can trust to pay into.

0:19:20.116 --> 0:19:22.836
<v Speaker 2>So everybody's like every man for himself or herself or whatever.

0:19:23.236 --> 0:19:24.316
<v Speaker 2>And so that's you have to go and get the

0:19:24.396 --> 0:19:25.916
<v Speaker 2>kerosine lamp and you do what you have to do.

0:19:26.356 --> 0:19:28.156
<v Speaker 2>So there isn't there isn't a grid that you can

0:19:28.196 --> 0:19:30.076
<v Speaker 2>count on. There isn't all of that. But it's not

0:19:30.236 --> 0:19:34.996
<v Speaker 2>a socio economic issue. And so for me, though even

0:19:35.036 --> 0:19:39.476
<v Speaker 2>though I knew it was an infrastructural issue, infrastructure is

0:19:39.516 --> 0:19:41.756
<v Speaker 2>not me. I don't know shit about it. No one

0:19:41.876 --> 0:19:45.156
<v Speaker 2>there looks like me. The average age of someone working

0:19:45.236 --> 0:19:49.116
<v Speaker 2>in energy infrastructure in the United States fifty five. I

0:19:49.116 --> 0:19:51.356
<v Speaker 2>think the average person is a fifty five year old,

0:19:51.396 --> 0:19:52.116
<v Speaker 2>straight white man.

0:19:52.156 --> 0:19:53.756
<v Speaker 3>That's what they said. Clearly.

0:19:53.796 --> 0:19:57.716
<v Speaker 2>I am not a fifty five year old straight white man.

0:19:58.516 --> 0:20:01.796
<v Speaker 2>And so I literally told myself, I got to create

0:20:01.836 --> 0:20:05.916
<v Speaker 2>something that can inspire the right people to solve this problem.

0:20:05.956 --> 0:20:08.556
<v Speaker 2>My cousin's being one you know they're engineers, at least

0:20:08.556 --> 0:20:11.996
<v Speaker 2>they're trained in this space. But this is scary, this

0:20:12.076 --> 0:20:15.076
<v Speaker 2>is big. I don't get it. I don't let me

0:20:15.196 --> 0:20:16.836
<v Speaker 2>just this is what I know I can do. The

0:20:16.916 --> 0:20:19.796
<v Speaker 2>problem is that too many people feel like they can't

0:20:19.836 --> 0:20:23.036
<v Speaker 2>change their surroundings. Let me invent something that will inspire

0:20:23.076 --> 0:20:26.276
<v Speaker 2>them to realize that the world isn't just as it is,

0:20:26.316 --> 0:20:30.316
<v Speaker 2>it can also be what they create. And that's that's

0:20:30.356 --> 0:20:32.716
<v Speaker 2>the socket, you know, That's that's what got me in there.

0:20:33.556 --> 0:20:37.236
<v Speaker 2>It's funny because it's I had this moment, this opportunity

0:20:37.276 --> 0:20:43.636
<v Speaker 2>around maybe twenty maybe twenty thirteen, twenty fourteen, where.

0:20:45.156 --> 0:20:46.636
<v Speaker 3>I could I was kind of at a fork in

0:20:46.676 --> 0:20:47.316
<v Speaker 3>the road and I.

0:20:47.236 --> 0:20:50.196
<v Speaker 2>Could have went down the path of trying to see

0:20:50.236 --> 0:20:55.116
<v Speaker 2>if we could just produce a million soccer balls, regardless

0:20:55.116 --> 0:20:58.476
<v Speaker 2>of whether or not that would actually solve any problem,

0:20:58.556 --> 0:21:00.676
<v Speaker 2>right because my current, my first kind of articulation of

0:21:00.716 --> 0:21:03.836
<v Speaker 2>the problem was we're not inspiring enough people to join

0:21:03.916 --> 0:21:07.156
<v Speaker 2>this fight and changing our environment and changing infrastructure, So

0:21:07.236 --> 0:21:10.116
<v Speaker 2>let's inspire them. But if I just put out a

0:21:10.116 --> 0:21:12.716
<v Speaker 2>one million soccer balls, you now have to think about

0:21:13.116 --> 0:21:15.756
<v Speaker 2>plastic and fumes and all these different things are go

0:21:15.796 --> 0:21:19.196
<v Speaker 2>into making them, and I'm like, Okay, is this really

0:21:19.196 --> 0:21:21.516
<v Speaker 2>the way to get to the utopia that we want

0:21:21.516 --> 0:21:23.756
<v Speaker 2>into a world where there's more equitable infrastructure.

0:21:24.116 --> 0:21:24.916
<v Speaker 3>It was part of the.

0:21:24.876 --> 0:21:27.916
<v Speaker 2>Way, and so we still do Uplift programming where we

0:21:27.956 --> 0:21:30.276
<v Speaker 2>actually just we have fewer balls, but we use them

0:21:30.556 --> 0:21:33.196
<v Speaker 2>as an educational tool, and we partner with nonprofits and

0:21:33.236 --> 0:21:37.276
<v Speaker 2>school school districts with the products. So I could have

0:21:37.316 --> 0:21:41.356
<v Speaker 2>gone down that route, or I could pivot and say,

0:21:41.356 --> 0:21:47.516
<v Speaker 2>with what I know right now about infrastructure, what is

0:21:47.556 --> 0:21:50.276
<v Speaker 2>the best way to solve this problem? And so what

0:21:50.676 --> 0:21:54.276
<v Speaker 2>ended up happening over several years really was just kind

0:21:54.316 --> 0:21:57.636
<v Speaker 2>of me one getting closer and closer to getting the

0:21:57.636 --> 0:22:01.436
<v Speaker 2>guts to actually make an infrastructure product and not just

0:22:01.436 --> 0:22:04.036
<v Speaker 2>a product that inspired people to do things in infrastructure,

0:22:04.596 --> 0:22:09.556
<v Speaker 2>and then in some ways inventing quite a few things,

0:22:09.556 --> 0:22:11.916
<v Speaker 2>putting them out in small and small markets to see

0:22:11.916 --> 0:22:14.716
<v Speaker 2>how people were to respond, taking that feedback, and then

0:22:14.756 --> 0:22:16.756
<v Speaker 2>coming back with something else, and coming back with something.

0:22:16.556 --> 0:22:18.116
<v Speaker 1>Else, what else? So what else did you? What else

0:22:18.116 --> 0:22:18.716
<v Speaker 1>did you invent?

0:22:19.356 --> 0:22:22.476
<v Speaker 2>We developed like pavers that you can put fiber optic

0:22:22.596 --> 0:22:25.796
<v Speaker 2>and wire and energy cables in that don't require ripping

0:22:25.836 --> 0:22:30.516
<v Speaker 2>up the ground every single time, developed tools again for

0:22:30.596 --> 0:22:32.796
<v Speaker 2>the different technologies to be able to speak to each other.

0:22:32.876 --> 0:22:35.836
<v Speaker 2>Because a big thing that goes on in infrastructure is

0:22:35.836 --> 0:22:38.156
<v Speaker 2>that of all the technology doesn't speak the same language,

0:22:38.836 --> 0:22:41.276
<v Speaker 2>then you have a lot of redundancies and things don't work.

0:22:41.316 --> 0:22:42.356
<v Speaker 3>So we got deep.

0:22:43.916 --> 0:22:48.116
<v Speaker 1>Where's your understanding of all this coming from? Because again Google,

0:22:49.676 --> 0:22:53.556
<v Speaker 1>Literally you if you Google, you got a degree from

0:22:53.596 --> 0:22:59.556
<v Speaker 1>Harvard in psychology and economics and also an MBA only

0:22:59.596 --> 0:23:00.596
<v Speaker 1>to Google and figure.

0:23:00.356 --> 0:23:02.756
<v Speaker 2>Out how to do Yeah, I mean listen if you

0:23:03.876 --> 0:23:06.996
<v Speaker 2>if you google first of all, if you're like intense, right, So,

0:23:07.076 --> 0:23:10.596
<v Speaker 2>like I do throw myself in to the work because

0:23:10.636 --> 0:23:14.356
<v Speaker 2>it's it's when it's your thing, man, it's like you.

0:23:14.876 --> 0:23:16.596
<v Speaker 3>It becomes something where it's like, hey, why not?

0:23:16.716 --> 0:23:19.796
<v Speaker 1>And I think the more, why not spend the time?

0:23:19.796 --> 0:23:20.716
<v Speaker 1>Why not put why not.

0:23:20.676 --> 0:23:22.756
<v Speaker 3>Spend the time? Why not push it? And I know

0:23:22.796 --> 0:23:23.876
<v Speaker 3>who I'm fighting for?

0:23:24.796 --> 0:23:28.196
<v Speaker 2>And every time we did something, I learned more. So

0:23:28.276 --> 0:23:29.996
<v Speaker 2>you got to think about this world that I'm in

0:23:30.076 --> 0:23:34.356
<v Speaker 2>right now. Like infrastructure is very heady, it's very small.

0:23:34.396 --> 0:23:36.756
<v Speaker 2>A lot of people don't work in infrastructure. There might

0:23:36.796 --> 0:23:38.676
<v Speaker 2>I swear to God, there might be more people who

0:23:38.756 --> 0:23:40.796
<v Speaker 2>are getting like laid off from Twitter than work in

0:23:40.916 --> 0:23:43.236
<v Speaker 2>like the highest parts of infrastructure.

0:23:43.316 --> 0:23:45.956
<v Speaker 1>I gotta say, Pete Buddhajet is maybe the only person

0:23:47.516 --> 0:23:50.316
<v Speaker 1>I know who works in infrastructure, like the only person

0:23:50.316 --> 0:23:52.716
<v Speaker 1>I've ever thought of whose name I might know who

0:23:52.796 --> 0:23:55.036
<v Speaker 1>works in infrastructure. And he just started.

0:23:55.476 --> 0:23:57.396
<v Speaker 2>And here's the thing. He the policy guy. He's not

0:23:57.756 --> 0:24:01.396
<v Speaker 2>working with the engineers. He's not thinking through, you know,

0:24:01.436 --> 0:24:05.716
<v Speaker 2>the technologies that go into everything. And so the more

0:24:05.836 --> 0:24:09.036
<v Speaker 2>time that I spent in this room, right, this proverbial room,

0:24:09.196 --> 0:24:11.316
<v Speaker 2>I refuse to leave. Once the soccer kind of brought

0:24:11.356 --> 0:24:14.276
<v Speaker 2>me in here, the more I just started to listen

0:24:14.556 --> 0:24:18.436
<v Speaker 2>and learn and pick up on things that very few

0:24:18.516 --> 0:24:19.236
<v Speaker 2>black girls my.

0:24:19.316 --> 0:24:21.276
<v Speaker 3>Age had the opportunity to.

0:24:22.116 --> 0:24:24.596
<v Speaker 2>And so as I'm sitting there and listening and we're

0:24:24.596 --> 0:24:26.396
<v Speaker 2>trying looking at all these different technologies and all these

0:24:26.396 --> 0:24:29.876
<v Speaker 2>different things, I'm like, okay, okay, okay, okay, and yeah,

0:24:29.916 --> 0:24:31.636
<v Speaker 2>And each time someone says something but I don't know

0:24:31.676 --> 0:24:33.756
<v Speaker 2>what it is, I Google it. So it's kind of

0:24:33.756 --> 0:24:39.356
<v Speaker 2>like this real time Google listen think. And when I'm thinking,

0:24:40.196 --> 0:24:42.236
<v Speaker 2>I'm thinking from the perspective of a black woman. So

0:24:42.276 --> 0:24:45.276
<v Speaker 2>that's what's kind of exciting too, because if the majority

0:24:45.276 --> 0:24:47.676
<v Speaker 2>of the people in this space don't look like me,

0:24:48.196 --> 0:24:51.476
<v Speaker 2>you should also assume that they're pretty much using the

0:24:51.556 --> 0:24:54.916
<v Speaker 2>same solutions to solve these problems and wondering why it's

0:24:54.956 --> 0:24:57.036
<v Speaker 2>not working. Like the definition of insanity is doing the

0:24:57.036 --> 0:25:00.116
<v Speaker 2>same thing over and over and expecting different results. But

0:25:00.196 --> 0:25:03.196
<v Speaker 2>that essentially is what's happening when everybody's the same in

0:25:03.236 --> 0:25:05.316
<v Speaker 2>this room. So I'm coming in there and I'm coming

0:25:05.316 --> 0:25:08.956
<v Speaker 2>from the perspective of like living in Harlem. I'm looking

0:25:08.996 --> 0:25:11.156
<v Speaker 2>up problems and I'm deciding if that's similar to what

0:25:11.196 --> 0:25:13.036
<v Speaker 2>it takes to get a we've done, and if you know,

0:25:13.276 --> 0:25:14.036
<v Speaker 2>can we solve the.

0:25:13.996 --> 0:25:14.796
<v Speaker 3>Problem this way.

0:25:16.156 --> 0:25:18.756
<v Speaker 1>After our last break, you'll hear more from Jessica about

0:25:18.756 --> 0:25:21.516
<v Speaker 1>how going to business school helped her navigate the energy

0:25:21.516 --> 0:25:32.436
<v Speaker 1>industry that's filled with older white men. What's it like

0:25:32.476 --> 0:25:35.876
<v Speaker 1>being in these rooms with fifty five where the average

0:25:35.956 --> 0:25:39.676
<v Speaker 1>person is fifty five white, straight, not you.

0:25:41.516 --> 0:25:43.156
<v Speaker 2>I think that was a big reason why I felt

0:25:43.156 --> 0:25:45.876
<v Speaker 2>the need to go to business school because prior to that,

0:25:45.916 --> 0:25:49.036
<v Speaker 2>when I was in these rooms, I was constantly thinking,

0:25:49.556 --> 0:25:52.236
<v Speaker 2>if they say something I've never heard of, what am

0:25:52.276 --> 0:25:53.796
<v Speaker 2>I going to do? What am I going to say,

0:25:53.836 --> 0:25:55.956
<v Speaker 2>how am I going to keep up with them?

0:25:56.756 --> 0:25:58.196
<v Speaker 3>The main point.

0:25:58.236 --> 0:25:59.716
<v Speaker 2>I know a lot of people go to business school

0:25:59.756 --> 0:26:01.836
<v Speaker 2>to build their networks, but I, whether I should have

0:26:01.916 --> 0:26:03.836
<v Speaker 2>or not, I didn't go for that. I went because

0:26:04.316 --> 0:26:06.636
<v Speaker 2>I wanted to know the parlance like you were talking about,

0:26:06.676 --> 0:26:10.276
<v Speaker 2>like I wanted to know I don't know. Sometimes I

0:26:10.276 --> 0:26:13.036
<v Speaker 2>feel this way about Starbucks, like tall, VINTI, grande, whatever

0:26:13.036 --> 0:26:15.276
<v Speaker 2>the hell, Like I used to have anxiety going to

0:26:15.276 --> 0:26:17.796
<v Speaker 2>Starbucks because I'd be like, yo, I just want to

0:26:17.796 --> 0:26:18.356
<v Speaker 2>say large.

0:26:18.356 --> 0:26:20.716
<v Speaker 3>I don't think I should have to like practice.

0:26:20.716 --> 0:26:23.236
<v Speaker 1>And somebody your confidence up when you're going to Starbucks?

0:26:23.276 --> 0:26:25.876
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, like thinking about yeah, the whole thing.

0:26:26.996 --> 0:26:28.756
<v Speaker 2>And so I kind of went to business school being like,

0:26:28.756 --> 0:26:31.636
<v Speaker 2>all right, what's the parlance tall, VNTI, grande, da da dada.

0:26:31.676 --> 0:26:33.836
<v Speaker 2>So that now if I walk into one of these rooms,

0:26:34.076 --> 0:26:36.596
<v Speaker 2>someone might say something like, oh, do you want to

0:26:36.716 --> 0:26:40.716
<v Speaker 2>like you know, I don't know, chit your own like coffee,

0:26:40.836 --> 0:26:42.876
<v Speaker 2>and I'd be like, yo, first of all, you made

0:26:42.876 --> 0:26:43.436
<v Speaker 2>that shiit up.

0:26:43.556 --> 0:26:45.036
<v Speaker 3>Don't act like I'm supposed to know that ship.

0:26:45.196 --> 0:26:48.156
<v Speaker 2>So that I came in knowing all the frameworks so

0:26:48.196 --> 0:26:50.076
<v Speaker 2>that I can move with the confidence and being like

0:26:50.956 --> 0:26:53.276
<v Speaker 2>I know that I know the basics here.

0:26:53.316 --> 0:26:54.756
<v Speaker 3>So if you say something that doesn't make.

0:26:54.636 --> 0:26:56.996
<v Speaker 2>Sense, I had the balls to say, excuse me, can

0:26:57.036 --> 0:26:58.676
<v Speaker 2>you please explain that, because that don't make no damn

0:26:58.716 --> 0:26:59.196
<v Speaker 2>sense to me.

0:26:59.876 --> 0:27:03.316
<v Speaker 1>Right, So you could remove timid from the equation, like, oh,

0:27:03.356 --> 0:27:05.156
<v Speaker 1>maybe maybe it doesn't make sense just because I don't

0:27:05.236 --> 0:27:06.996
<v Speaker 1>understand it. No, no, no, that don't make sense because it

0:27:06.996 --> 0:27:08.636
<v Speaker 1>doesn't make sense, makes sense.

0:27:08.596 --> 0:27:10.956
<v Speaker 2>Because you made that shit up. They didn't teach us

0:27:10.956 --> 0:27:13.956
<v Speaker 2>that at Harvard Business School. And like again, I had

0:27:13.956 --> 0:27:16.116
<v Speaker 2>to go to Harvard Business School so I could drop

0:27:16.156 --> 0:27:18.316
<v Speaker 2>my you know what in the room and be like,

0:27:18.516 --> 0:27:21.876
<v Speaker 2>first of all, like, don't just start making shit up.

0:27:22.036 --> 0:27:24.156
<v Speaker 3>Don't just start acting like I should know something. And

0:27:24.196 --> 0:27:26.116
<v Speaker 3>so I don't.

0:27:26.956 --> 0:27:31.156
<v Speaker 2>I don't have imposter syndrome anymore, because you get in

0:27:31.276 --> 0:27:31.956
<v Speaker 2>enough rooms you.

0:27:31.916 --> 0:27:32.956
<v Speaker 3>Start to realize.

0:27:34.676 --> 0:27:36.836
<v Speaker 2>One you get into some rooms and you start to realize, like,

0:27:36.876 --> 0:27:39.116
<v Speaker 2>wait a minute, you know, like in the movie Don't

0:27:39.116 --> 0:27:40.956
<v Speaker 2>Look Up, where everyone just assumed there was some a

0:27:40.996 --> 0:27:42.796
<v Speaker 2>group of smart people that are gonna save the world

0:27:42.876 --> 0:27:46.276
<v Speaker 2>and like they're I started to get into those rooms

0:27:46.276 --> 0:27:50.036
<v Speaker 2>and being like hoh, the this, this, Oh my god,

0:27:50.356 --> 0:27:53.956
<v Speaker 2>Jesus helped me. So one is like I started to

0:27:54.076 --> 0:27:57.396
<v Speaker 2>just see kind of time and time again, the proof

0:27:57.436 --> 0:28:01.556
<v Speaker 2>and the pudding that people with more money, more degrees,

0:28:02.316 --> 0:28:04.636
<v Speaker 2>all these different things that like they can't come up

0:28:04.676 --> 0:28:06.356
<v Speaker 2>with the stuff that we can come up with that

0:28:06.476 --> 0:28:09.236
<v Speaker 2>uncharted to help save the world. And when it's it's

0:28:09.276 --> 0:28:11.996
<v Speaker 2>time to make the impossible possible, like I'm not talking

0:28:12.036 --> 0:28:14.676
<v Speaker 2>about when there are things that are stable and settled

0:28:14.676 --> 0:28:16.876
<v Speaker 2>and on growth side of things, you want to have

0:28:16.956 --> 0:28:19.836
<v Speaker 2>certain people there. From an experience perspective, But if you

0:28:19.916 --> 0:28:22.396
<v Speaker 2>are the head of your if you are the CEO

0:28:22.476 --> 0:28:25.236
<v Speaker 2>of your life and the CEO of your career of

0:28:25.236 --> 0:28:27.156
<v Speaker 2>whatever it is that you're trying to do your your job,

0:28:27.236 --> 0:28:35.396
<v Speaker 2>your your business, passion and vision, and an unwillingness to

0:28:35.556 --> 0:28:44.676
<v Speaker 2>quit will trump experience every single time, like every single time.

0:28:45.476 --> 0:28:49.676
<v Speaker 1>In other words, the willingness to go to page page

0:28:49.716 --> 0:28:51.396
<v Speaker 1>seventy six on Google Google.

0:28:51.676 --> 0:28:54.676
<v Speaker 2>Yes, yes, the willingness to be like, you know what,

0:28:54.756 --> 0:28:57.636
<v Speaker 2>I'm going to keep learning and keep How else could

0:28:57.676 --> 0:29:01.916
<v Speaker 2>I sit here if you asked me to explain the

0:29:02.516 --> 0:29:06.236
<v Speaker 2>knowledge graph architecture and data taxonomies and the role that

0:29:06.316 --> 0:29:11.676
<v Speaker 2>it's playing and driving efficiency for how governments make infrastructure decisions.

0:29:11.836 --> 0:29:13.236
<v Speaker 2>How in the hell else would I be able to

0:29:13.236 --> 0:29:15.236
<v Speaker 2>do that if it wasn't that I didn't go to

0:29:15.236 --> 0:29:17.996
<v Speaker 2>school for that. But I definitely can explain it, and

0:29:17.996 --> 0:29:19.516
<v Speaker 2>in fact, I can architect it.

0:29:20.996 --> 0:29:22.996
<v Speaker 1>Right now, how much is your company worth?

0:29:24.436 --> 0:29:29.236
<v Speaker 2>Our on paper valuations, so the closest thing that we

0:29:29.276 --> 0:29:33.276
<v Speaker 2>would have to evaluation would put us at one hundred

0:29:33.316 --> 0:29:37.716
<v Speaker 2>million dollars. That's but it's primarily due to kind of

0:29:37.756 --> 0:29:40.756
<v Speaker 2>the IP and technology and the things that we've done

0:29:40.796 --> 0:29:42.396
<v Speaker 2>to kind of build up from there. That is like

0:29:42.436 --> 0:29:46.916
<v Speaker 2>our current our current fundraising.

0:29:46.436 --> 0:29:47.716
<v Speaker 3>Vehicle, what we have on there.

0:29:47.916 --> 0:29:50.756
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, but that's not like you know, like a market

0:29:50.796 --> 0:29:53.196
<v Speaker 2>IPO or anything. And with this market, who the fuck knows,

0:29:53.236 --> 0:29:56.756
<v Speaker 2>Like things are kind of everyone's stuff is kind of

0:29:56.756 --> 0:29:59.756
<v Speaker 2>going crazy. But that's the last, the last. The documentation

0:29:59.796 --> 0:30:02.916
<v Speaker 2>that we have has like an evaluation cap at about

0:30:02.916 --> 0:30:03.636
<v Speaker 2>one hundred million.

0:30:04.036 --> 0:30:05.196
<v Speaker 1>That is staggering to me.

0:30:05.956 --> 0:30:08.436
<v Speaker 2>It's not I don't I don't have that money, and

0:30:08.516 --> 0:30:11.036
<v Speaker 2>like it's it's all it's all for the birds, right

0:30:11.076 --> 0:30:12.956
<v Speaker 2>If it's not, it's not in bank accounts or anything.

0:30:13.036 --> 0:30:17.476
<v Speaker 1>But you are managing, you have built and are managing

0:30:19.316 --> 0:30:23.836
<v Speaker 1>organization that's important enough to be I mean that is, yes,

0:30:24.516 --> 0:30:27.116
<v Speaker 1>how do you how do you handle the pressure of

0:30:27.156 --> 0:30:29.236
<v Speaker 1>that or do you just not think about that part

0:30:29.276 --> 0:30:29.556
<v Speaker 1>of it?

0:30:30.276 --> 0:30:31.916
<v Speaker 2>I used to think about it a lot, like I

0:30:32.036 --> 0:30:36.836
<v Speaker 2>used to tell people, because in twenty sixteen, we raised

0:30:36.836 --> 0:30:38.556
<v Speaker 2>what was at the time, according to a least what

0:30:38.596 --> 0:30:41.076
<v Speaker 2>was reported the largest Series A that a black woman

0:30:41.076 --> 0:30:43.236
<v Speaker 2>had ever raised in history. We raised and it was

0:30:43.236 --> 0:30:46.036
<v Speaker 2>only seven million dollars. And what was crazy is that

0:30:46.036 --> 0:30:48.676
<v Speaker 2>that was the year that it was Actually I think

0:30:48.676 --> 0:30:51.636
<v Speaker 2>the average amount that any founder had raised for a

0:30:51.636 --> 0:30:54.236
<v Speaker 2>Series A was seven million, but the largest at the

0:30:54.236 --> 0:30:57.796
<v Speaker 2>time that a blackman ever raised was seven million. And

0:30:57.836 --> 0:30:59.636
<v Speaker 2>now that I know people who have done so much

0:30:59.636 --> 0:31:01.876
<v Speaker 2>better than their series as, thank god. And so I

0:31:01.916 --> 0:31:04.676
<v Speaker 2>remembered being like, whoa like having the moment that you're

0:31:04.716 --> 0:31:05.996
<v Speaker 2>kind of talking about right now, just like.

0:31:05.916 --> 0:31:10.676
<v Speaker 3>Oh shit, this is this is much more ya okay.

0:31:11.916 --> 0:31:16.196
<v Speaker 2>And so I remember looking out the window of my

0:31:16.236 --> 0:31:19.236
<v Speaker 2>apartment right when we did it, knowing how hard it was,

0:31:20.316 --> 0:31:25.436
<v Speaker 2>and I remember telling myself, my goal here is not

0:31:25.556 --> 0:31:27.956
<v Speaker 2>just to succeed with this company, because that's not going

0:31:28.036 --> 0:31:29.036
<v Speaker 2>to make me happy.

0:31:29.756 --> 0:31:31.596
<v Speaker 3>My goal would be twofold.

0:31:31.676 --> 0:31:35.356
<v Speaker 2>I have to succeed without losing who I am, because

0:31:35.396 --> 0:31:37.956
<v Speaker 2>I need my daughters to not have to have worked

0:31:37.996 --> 0:31:40.996
<v Speaker 2>so hard to get to the same point. I don't

0:31:40.996 --> 0:31:42.876
<v Speaker 2>have daughters yet, but I thought about them. I was like,

0:31:42.916 --> 0:31:44.716
<v Speaker 2>this has to be something where I do this in

0:31:44.716 --> 0:31:48.316
<v Speaker 2>the way where people can say I can do this

0:31:48.436 --> 0:31:51.316
<v Speaker 2>because I see her. She is someone who reminds me

0:31:51.396 --> 0:31:54.476
<v Speaker 2>of me. And then on the other side, I said,

0:31:54.556 --> 0:31:56.316
<v Speaker 2>all of these people who took a chance on this

0:31:56.356 --> 0:31:58.756
<v Speaker 2>black girl, I need to make sure that they do

0:31:58.916 --> 0:32:02.316
<v Speaker 2>so well, that they make so much money from this,

0:32:02.676 --> 0:32:04.876
<v Speaker 2>because the next time a black girl says, can you

0:32:04.916 --> 0:32:06.156
<v Speaker 2>give me some money, I have an idea.

0:32:06.196 --> 0:32:07.276
<v Speaker 3>I need them to not even think.

0:32:07.476 --> 0:32:09.676
<v Speaker 1>But that's even more pressure. In a way, what you did,

0:32:09.916 --> 0:32:12.156
<v Speaker 1>you just added more pressure to it.

0:32:12.156 --> 0:32:14.956
<v Speaker 2>It is more pressure. But I think that you have

0:32:15.036 --> 0:32:17.596
<v Speaker 2>different moments of the pressure, right, like you have different moments.

0:32:17.636 --> 0:32:19.836
<v Speaker 2>I feel like I'm gonna am I gonna fail these people,

0:32:19.836 --> 0:32:24.236
<v Speaker 2>I'm gonna fail my investors and what's going on. But again,

0:32:24.356 --> 0:32:27.996
<v Speaker 2>it's hard not to feel despite all the way, it's

0:32:27.996 --> 0:32:31.076
<v Speaker 2>hard not to feel a little lucky, like I get

0:32:31.116 --> 0:32:36.156
<v Speaker 2>to stand here, the daughter of immigrants, blacketing black, like

0:32:36.196 --> 0:32:38.396
<v Speaker 2>I took a DNA test and straight up, I'm ninety

0:32:38.476 --> 0:32:42.556
<v Speaker 2>nine point nine percent black, like I am, just like

0:32:42.716 --> 0:32:44.836
<v Speaker 2>does he like list don't get blacker?

0:32:45.156 --> 0:32:48.316
<v Speaker 3>I walk into these rooms where no one, no one

0:32:48.356 --> 0:32:48.996
<v Speaker 3>looks like me.

0:32:49.236 --> 0:32:54.476
<v Speaker 2>And yes, it's so it's the work is so hard,

0:32:55.556 --> 0:33:00.476
<v Speaker 2>but it also feels like it's almost like the flip side,

0:33:00.556 --> 0:33:02.196
<v Speaker 2>like if you're a person of color, if you're just

0:33:02.236 --> 0:33:04.996
<v Speaker 2>anyone who's underestimated, the flip side, it's almost like every

0:33:05.036 --> 0:33:09.876
<v Speaker 2>day that you survive, you're building your superpowers, and it's almost.

0:33:09.516 --> 0:33:11.556
<v Speaker 3>Like they're creating a monster they don't even know.

0:33:13.156 --> 0:33:16.396
<v Speaker 2>I think that the number of years I've had to

0:33:16.476 --> 0:33:18.836
<v Speaker 2>grow in this industry, the amount of time I spent

0:33:18.876 --> 0:33:20.756
<v Speaker 2>in this room, the fact that I'm still in it,

0:33:20.836 --> 0:33:25.836
<v Speaker 2>still standing, still pushing. Now, I think the next decade

0:33:26.036 --> 0:33:32.156
<v Speaker 2>will be about building in a different way, but building

0:33:32.196 --> 0:33:35.196
<v Speaker 2>on top of this incredibly lucky experience.

0:33:35.676 --> 0:33:38.796
<v Speaker 3>Like how many people get to do something that.

0:33:38.756 --> 0:33:40.716
<v Speaker 2>They love, do something that engages them, do something that

0:33:40.716 --> 0:33:44.236
<v Speaker 2>they're passionate about, that pushes them, that makes them grow

0:33:45.436 --> 0:33:48.796
<v Speaker 2>in a space that few people look like them. But

0:33:49.076 --> 0:33:51.316
<v Speaker 2>by virtue of the fact that I look different and

0:33:51.356 --> 0:33:55.036
<v Speaker 2>I'm existing in this space, I can innovate in my sleep.

0:33:57.196 --> 0:33:58.596
<v Speaker 3>That feels lucky.

0:33:59.436 --> 0:34:00.996
<v Speaker 1>It's amazing, Jessica.

0:34:01.276 --> 0:34:01.916
<v Speaker 3>This was fun.

0:34:02.436 --> 0:34:03.396
<v Speaker 1>Thank you so much.

0:34:03.716 --> 0:34:04.116
<v Speaker 3>Thank you.

0:34:06.556 --> 0:34:10.716
<v Speaker 1>Jessica's energy is so infectious. I literally left this interview

0:34:10.756 --> 0:34:13.236
<v Speaker 1>thinking I was gonna come up with the next great invention,

0:34:13.556 --> 0:34:16.276
<v Speaker 1>which clearly hasn't happened, or I wouldn't be your talking

0:34:16.356 --> 0:34:19.076
<v Speaker 1>to you. But I'm still working on it and we're

0:34:19.116 --> 0:34:25.436
<v Speaker 1>gonna keep this show going. Started from the Bottom is

0:34:25.476 --> 0:34:29.716
<v Speaker 1>produced by David Jah, edited by keyshow Williams, engineered by

0:34:29.756 --> 0:34:33.636
<v Speaker 1>Ben Holliday, booked by Laura Morgan with production help from

0:34:33.716 --> 0:34:37.636
<v Speaker 1>Lea Rose. The show is executive produced by Jacob Goldstein,

0:34:37.676 --> 0:34:40.876
<v Speaker 1>who's not all of in the videos for Pushkin Industries.

0:34:41.556 --> 0:34:44.476
<v Speaker 1>Our theme music's by Bent Holliday and David Jaw featuring

0:34:44.516 --> 0:34:48.116
<v Speaker 1>Anthony Yaggs and Savanta Joe Lack. Listen to Started from

0:34:48.156 --> 0:34:50.996
<v Speaker 1>the Bottom. Wherever you get your podcasts and if you

0:34:50.996 --> 0:34:54.156
<v Speaker 1>want add free episodes available one week early sign up

0:34:54.156 --> 0:34:57.836
<v Speaker 1>for Pushkin Plus. Check out Pushkin dot fm or the

0:34:57.876 --> 0:35:01.476
<v Speaker 1>Apple show page for more information. If you like our show,

0:35:01.516 --> 0:35:03.356
<v Speaker 1>please remember to share, rate, and review us on your

0:35:03.396 --> 0:35:06.156
<v Speaker 1>podcast app. I'm justin Richmond.