Giving and Getting Engaged: Just Do It

Not all people have access to the tremendous resources we have in Silicon Valley, but entrepreneurship and small businesses are vital to the economic development and social fabric of every community. So how do we help close this gap?

I previously wrote about the importance of second chances for ex-prisoners and on- ramp programs to close the opportunity gap. In this final chapter of this series, I share the story of where my passion for active philanthropy began, and perhaps, help inspire another generation of future philanthropreneurs.

Creating a Philanthropic Start Up

In the wake of current racial protests and the Black Lives Matter Movement, some may not remember how big a deal the Rodney King Los Angeles Riots of 1992 were. They ranged over a week and caused an estimated $1 billion in property damage, left 55 dead, over 2,000 injured and ended only after members of the National Guard were called in. Feeling like we couldn’t just stand by and do nothing when our neighbors in East Palo Alto had the highest murder rate in the country,¹ five Stanford business school classmates and I (Lee Zimmerman, Mike Zimmerman, Steve Kessel, Greg Waldorf and Kris Hagerman) decided to start a micro-enterprise program called Start Up, modeled after the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. The idea was to help entrepreneurs with limited access to resources start businesses of their own and create greater economic opportunity for an underserved community. For about 18 months, it was a half-time job for us before we were able to hire a full-time executive director. It went on to serve hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs in East Palo Alto and was also the most active club at the Stanford GSB. We always had the vision of growing into a region-wide program; so 15 years later, we joined forces with the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center, a larger organization based in San Francisco.

Today, Renaissance provides training and technical assistance for entrepreneurs and small business people in underserved communities like San Francisco’s Bayview Hunters Point, Richmond and East Palo Alto. It has helped thousands of people achieve success starting and managing small businesses that in turn also employ thousands. In its 32 years of existence, it has helped open more businesses than any other non-profit in the Bay Area and returns $8 to the community for every $1 it spends. The organization shares our values of supporting small business as an engine for personal, financial and social transformation.

What Giving Can Give to You

We are all busy with heavy demands from both our work and personal lives. Philanthropy can feel like a big idea and daunting, but I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to be. In every aspect of my life as a social entrepreneur, I’ve received much more back than I’ve ever given, in time, energy and money. Here are just a few of the things I’ve gained:

• Empathy. Silicon Valley is a bubble. Palo Alto is a bubble. Frankly, white collar, professional, well-educated America is a bubble. It’s easy to lose touch with the struggles so many Americans face and how hard it can be to overcome them. But regardless of where you live in Silicon Valley, someone who is struggling lives just a few minutes away. Being a part of the solution involves having more context, and getting involved with organizations in service of others helps with that. Giving continuously reminds me not to take anything for granted. It has also deepened my understanding of the rest of the world — as well as the opportunity to help others right here in my backyard.
• Community engagement. I often have friends talk to me about why we don’t know our neighbors, wondering how to get more involved. I feel deeply engaged with not just our local Palo Alto community (much of which came from local schools) but with the broader Bay Area because of the local philanthropies with whom I work. Even if you think and act locally, and you’ll be surprised by your global impact.
• Lifelong friendships. The five Start Up co-founders are among my best friends. Not only did we go through the (non profit) start up journey together, but we also all have a deep commitment to improving society in various ways. From weddings, to kids, to investing in each other’s businesses, and innumerable hours hiking or biking together (or playing graceless basketball), our lifelong commitment to keeping each other engaged in philanthropy has helped all of us grow our ability to contribute as we’ve gone on through the years.

Open Invitation to You

Renaissance is headquartered in SOMA in San Francisco, the epicenter of Silicon Valley entrepreneurship these days, and yet it remains fairly disconnected from the technology, venture capital and entrepreneurial communities based there.

So I’d like to introduce the ‘heart’ of Silicon Valley to it’s next door neighbor. The first five entrepreneurs or venture capitalists who are willing to do at least one session of office hours are invited to join Costanoa’s table at The Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center’s Annual “Small Business Big Impact Dinner” on October 6 at 6pm at the San Francisco Design Center Galleria. The event is a heart-warming celebration where Renaissance awards its three Entrepreneurs of the Year and showcases many of the the entrepreneurs’ products. We’ve already paid for your ticket — we just hope seeing these amazing entrepreneurs will inspire you as much as it has us. Send your RSVP to events@costanoavc.com.

You can read the first of the three part series on giving in its different forms here: “The Importance of Second Chances and Why They Matter to Everyone” and the second here: “What You Can Do to Close the Opportunity Gap and Why It’s Bigger Than You Think.”

¹ “E. Palo Alto Murder Rate Worst in U.S.; Drug Wars Blamed” Jenifer Warren http://articles.latimes.com/1993-01-05/local/me-833_1_east-palo-alto