In 2016, three pals — Tom Tullie, Mark Bowles and Taner Halicioglu — and I were introduced to an entrepreneurship program designed for inmates in state prisons in California. It was called Defy Ventures, and it already had a successful track record operating in a few other California prisons.
We decided to try to bring it to Donovan State Prison at the border in San Diego. We wrote some checks personally and ultimately raised a total of $125,000 from local foundations and individuals to fund a three-year program in entrepreneurship at the prison.
The program had a simple goal: Help inmates think differently about themselves, teach the possibilities of thinking in an entrepreneurial way, and, in the final analysis, offer them a window to understanding some of the structure and financial principles needed in starting a business. In essence, the program tagline was “Become the CEO of Your New Life.”
Defy is similar to incubators on the outside. Just inside. One of my favorite themes is that many of these guys have already been entrepreneurs. They understand product, market, pricing, gross margin, distribution, scale – just not always on the legal side of the ledger.
I can’t help but comment that lots of us on the outside may have bumped up against that word legal in our own business dealings as well. You know, there but for the grace of God go I.
I have been involved in the program since the beginning, and I recently attended another pitch competition and graduation at Donovan. There were 35 EITs – they are not called felons or inmates or prisoners, they are called Entrepreneurs In Training. The Defy SoCal program operates in eight prisons today and has served over 8,000 participants. Many of the graduates have gotten out and started their own businesses.
The executive director of Defy SoCal is a unique individual, Quan Huynh. He did 22 years inside, got out and then like the classic entrepreneur, he changed the world. Read his book, “Sparrow in the Razor Wire,” which has been distributed free on tablets to over 850,000 incarcerated men and women. It will shake your world. Prison values authenticity. You’ve got to walk the walk.
I concede that none of the business plans I heard this time will get venture investment, but they were well thought out, and they represented the human spirit and its desire to do better, to make a difference, to create value.
I have talked to hundreds of “my favorite felons,” and most have a desire to give back. Not just legal restitution, but to participate in society and employ others who have experienced similar history and trauma.
Their ideas are simple. Dog trainer, mobile barber, mobile detailing. One in particular was fascinating. The EIT makes jewelry lockets that you can wear around your neck or arm, and inside you can put the cremation remains of your loved ones.
Some stats. The cost to house an inmate in the state of California is $132,860 per year. The cost to run the Defy program is $2,000 per participant.
The recidivism rate for individuals released from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation was 39.1% in the period 2019-2020. The rate of recidivism for Defy graduates after three years out is 14.3%.
At this point in my pitch deck, I can demonstrate a clear ROI, return on investment. This is a no-brainer.
I am not going to lecture about the incarceration system in America. Much has been written, more will be written, and far more eloquently than I can.
I am going for some low-hanging fruit. I spent some time with “Al” (not his real name) who asked me some questions.
Why is there no coding program at Donovan, when there are already four California prisons that offer this training? Huh, why not teach a skill that is in high demand when you get out? Those programs are run in partnership with “The Last Mile,” and the most famous original one started in San Quentin has been going for 10 years.
Al asked me about jobs. The system inside is a bit byzantine. There are more inmates than jobs, and the jobs that are available are mostly menial and pay around 15 cents per hour. Al wonders if companies on the outside could employ inmates to do some work for them. There is a program Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program. Why not at Donovan?
One of my mentors in this area is Alan Mobley, a criminal justice professor at San Diego State University, who teaches classes in restorative justice. (He did 10 years inside, so he knows whereof he speaks). He is also one of the leaders of “Project Rebound.”
He says, “It is changes in the behavior of the system that decreases recidivism. When you provide for felons to go to college, recidivism rates drop through the floor.”
I know very little about the prison industrial complex and the arcane legal system of criminal justice, but what I do know is that Defy Ventures changes lives. And to quote Winston Churchill, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.”
Defy recently lost $150,000 funding from a bank. Its annual budget is $1.1 million. Look, I get it. During the Trump istration, lots of good causes and nonprofits are going to be challenged financially. And there is no shortage of good causes.
But being an entrepreneur myself, I look at the cost benefit analysis of Defy Ventures and it clearly creates what is called the “positive leverage” of human capital.
I am wondering if an organization or an individual reading this might be inclined to, as they say, get involved.
If you are interested, please send an email to [email protected].
Rule No. 792: “I believe there is justice in our hearts,” Paul Newman, “The Verdict”
Senturia is a serial entrepreneur who invests in startups. Please email ideas to [email protected] .
