Seed to Lead

Seed to Lead

1) bypasses the time, pedigree, and money needed to have an “Ivy-caliber” network 2) cuts through whitewashing and PR statements and gets to the lived experience of POC at work in order make informed and dignified decisions about where to pursue employment 3) emphasizes wage transparency and knowledge about compensation and negotiation, thereby shifting the balance of power 4) provides quasi-on-demand access for talent of color whose schedules don't align with standard career fairs or recruiting due to family obligations, working several jobs, or other social determinants. 

Solution >> Seed to Lead uses technology for quasi-on-demand, "near-peer" mentorship between prospective employees of color and current company employees in order to build professional networks across socio-economic, regional, and institutional divides. Scaled, it will change the future of work by designing for the unique needs of talent of color while companies adapt to the post-COVID, global distributed virtual “office.” 

Historical dis-inclusion from wealth-building for communities of color is so great as to be almost incalculable. Disregarding mental health and intergenerational wealth, from a year-over-year economic standpoint, race-based dis-inclusion points to a $16 Trillion loss over the last 20 years (“The Cost of Racism is Incalculable”). Even people of color who attend elite institutions are often dis-included from the social capital needed for informational interviews, insider information, and informal brokering (“Why are there Still so Few Black CEOs?”).

While an advanced degree is correlated with social capital, the credential itself is not correlated with access to top-tier careers, nor with creating intergenerational stamina (“The Tyranny of Merit”). With Seed to Lead, people of color can tap into and share social capital regardless of institutional pedigree. Workforce programs are also failing because they do not keep pace with changing job markets, skills, and logistics, nor are they centered around the unique needs of talent of color (“Job Training Programs are Rarely Flexible Enough to Succeed”). Additionally, Seed to Lead is anti-racist because it specifically connects people of color to conversations on micro-aggressions, code-switching, and other elements of company culture that are rarely found in standard networking.   

Seed to Lead is a curated, quasi-on-demand, tech-enabled system for talent of color to network with current employees at companies with living wages and robust benefits. Our research shows that, while tech is crucial to connect during “off hours” and over geographic regions, some prospective employees of color do not have reliable access to high-speed internet, while others don't have access to reliable phone--the tech needs to cover a range of options, require as little bandwidth as possible, and be ubiquitous--Seed to Lead uses whatever is common. For example, we've tested: 1) A google form facilitates matchmaking by discipline, tenure at company, skillset, lived experience, age, and identity, 2) A calendly account helps employees offer as many times as possible, 3) Dropbox or google drive are available, if desired, for resumes, 4) Connection type is chosen by prospective employee to accommodate their needs, whether phone because they can't access wifi--or wifi because they can't access phone. In some cases, a library or community college landline might be used. 5) All employee "mentors" are sent information on the research behind Seed to Lead so they are aware of the race-related questions and concerns that may arise during the session. 

From Fall 2020 to Winter 2021, Sara Murdock (via Silicon Valley Leadership Group) and Yajaira Ortega (via CORO Northern California) did a series of interviews with 33 young professional groups in the greater Bay Area. Our research corroborated pre-existing work on the benefits of “near-peer”mentorship, the desire to access relatable professionals from racially, ethnically, and under-represented groups, and the need for access to "elite" style networking and insider information. That “user experience” research resulted in the anti-racism inclusive talent prototype described in the other proportion of this application. In the next iteration of Seed to Lead, we plan to hone in on more specific demographics in order to partner effectively with two community groups -- Lead Filipino and CROP, which not only focus on race, but also on professional development. Specifically, Lead Filipino has a long track record of community engagement and mentorship among recent immigrant communities in California, while CROP focuses specifically on anti-recidivism for people of color through access to employment.   

Using the Filipino experience as an example, while this is great news, one Filipino person getting into multiple ivy-league schools is considered newsworthy. Additionally, Filipinos were one of the first groups removed from Affirmative Action in the 1980s, demonstrating how the Model Minority Myth damages social capital and wealth creation (p.115). Further, Filipino enrollment in top-tier universities (primarily located in the United States and Western Europe) and the elite pedigree that accompanies those brands, is extremely low as compared to demography. 

There are over 18 million people of color in the United States, with specifically 2 million Filipino Americans. Of those, between 30-50 percent (with variations among immigration status) have received a BA, which is one of the key pathways to a robust professional network with the social capital required for top-tier career trajectories and wealth building. Inherently, 50-70 percent of the Filipino population is left out. Further, Filipino representation in innovation companies is disproportionately in lower-wage, gig, and contract work according to the Kapor Center’s Silicon Valley Rising research. 

The Seed to Lead model was designed in response to listening sessions with 33 young BIPOC leadership groups in order to accommodate the specific needs of emerging talent of color in the post-COVID future of work. The model responds to changes in company culture and talent lifecycle in a highly globalized economy and geographically distributed office. The model also transcends "upskilling" and "recruiting" because it is based on human-centered relationships and addresses the research-backed needs specific to emerging professionals of color. Our systems thinking design increases economic inclusion and intergenerational wealth through vocational dignity.  

Seed to Lead is between a prototype and a pilot. We have experimented with several prototypes linking about 25 companies in Silicon Valley with about 2500 community college-based emerging professionals of color throughout the Bay Area, resulting in some success. However, the trade organizations currently overseeing (and funding) the project are pushing against the human-centered design and reverting to standard career fair and recruiting models, thereby completely defeat the purpose and undercutting the anti-racist potential. Fortunately, in subsequent meetings with Lead Filipino, CROP, and the former Mayor of East Palo Alto, we have significant buy-in and organizational backing to transfer the prototype into a more robust pilot program. We have the potential to incorporate over 350 companies and the entire state of California in our next iteration--if we receive mentorship, funding, and support from SOLVE.

Seed to Lead harnesses the power of several pre-existing technologies and techniques, yet it has unprecedented impact: 1) mentorship is common, but "near-peer" mentorship is rare--our research and prototyping shows that job emerging professionals of color want to have real and raw conversations with relatable current employees who are just a little further down their career path; 2) standard recruiting, workforce programs, and career fairs don't take the logistical and scheduling needs of people of color into consideration--by using a more on-demand approach, single parents, people working several jobs, and people with inconsistent access to wifi can all participate; 3) racial micro-aggressions and code-switching are exhausting and people of color don't wat to sacrifice emotional wellbeing for a paycheck--this approach isn't about getting jobs, but about creating sustainable and dignified careers for longer-term wealth creation; 4) there are many great workforce programs, such as YearUp and Brave, and we see ourselves as adding to rather than competing with them--still, we are unique because we are intentionally not proprietary and instead use the most accessible and free technology possible in order to minimize barrier to entry. In short, the main element that makes Seed to Lead unique is that it centers the specific needs of people of color above any other programmatic consideration. In paradox, because our research and prototyping have shown that job seekers of color want the easiest access information and effective mentorship, the project is easy and inexpensive to scale very quickly. 

We've reached about 2,500 people so far. With support, we anticipate Seed to lead can 10x in about 1 year and 100x within a few years. Over time, we expect participation to hover around 1 million, conservatively. We also believe this model can scale around the globe and have a list of over 15,000 global executives eager to learn more. This is our motivation for applying for support. 

Seed to Lead began as a project of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, but it's changing to better accommodate the people of color it aims to serve. We are now partnering with CROP and Lead Filipino, with buy-in from their leads and larger institutional networks. 

There were 3 people, 2 full-time and one contractor, including myself. However, the project is morphing and will include support from CROP and Lead Filipino, both on a part-time basis. This change is part of the reason we decided to apply here as additional funding, support, and guidance will help with the transition and in the potential to scale 10x in a year.

The leaders committed to Seed to Lead include formerly incarcerated people, queer people, ethnic minorities, and people of color exclusively. Over time, the objective is to train people of color going through CROP's leadership program to be the entire staff.