0:00:00.800,0:00:08.240
a black executive perspective look man they
didn't get a chance to play chess they had
0:00:08.240,0:00:15.640
to play Checker Let's talk about it t openly and
honestly there was a lot of smart kids there black
0:00:15.640,0:00:21.680
executive perspective now my story is not unique
there's thousands of Professionals of color who
0:00:21.680,0:00:28.320
have experiences like mine a black executive
perspective whether you're aware of it or not
0:00:28.320,0:00:33.560
it's a topic that is often avoided we'll discuss
race and how it plays a factor and how we didn't
0:00:33.560,0:00:44.320
even talk about this topic cuz we were afraid
a black executive perspective in this episode
0:00:44.320,0:00:52.560
This and That intersectionality 101 Tony titbit
and Les fry welcome special guest Himalaya Ralph
0:00:52.560,0:01:01.200
po laali managing director the EFM fund many of
us have heard the term inter intersectionality
0:01:01.200,0:01:09.840
but do we truly know what it means poined by legal
scholar Dr Kimberly khaw in 1989 intersectionality
0:01:09.840,0:01:17.840
is a term for understanding how various forms of
inequality interlock and play out in our lives
0:01:17.840,0:01:25.240
welcome to a black Executives perspective podcast
a safe space where we discuss all matters related
0:01:25.240,0:01:32.800
to race especially race in Corporate America I'm
your host Tony tidbit and hi I'm your co-host Les
0:01:32.800,0:01:39.080
fry and in this episode we'll be discussing the
true meaning of intersectionality with our guest
0:01:39.080,0:01:44.000
this speaks highly of professional and personal
experiences of intersectionality throughout her
0:01:44.000,0:01:50.760
career yes and we're very excited about it so
our guest today is Himalaya Ral palpali who is
0:01:50.760,0:01:56.200
managing director of blackf Founders matter fund
and she's going to walk us through and give us a
0:01:56.200,0:02:02.880
lot of ideas and thoughts of intersectionality
prior to being FMF Himalaya got an M MBA and
0:02:02.880,0:02:07.880
specialized training in Venture finance
and worked in seven different firms as the
0:02:07.880,0:02:14.560
associate deal lead and eventually fund manager
she was also adject professor at Portland State
0:02:14.560,0:02:20.920
University teaching MBA and msf students about
Venture investing and helping stand up their
0:02:20.920,0:02:28.080
impact Ventures program she also co-launched
Venture Partners an educational nonprofit in
0:02:28.080,0:02:35.240
partnership with Venture lab and mvca Ventures
forward VC University she has been recognized
0:02:35.240,0:02:43.240
as one of the rising stars in Venture Capital
by NC nvca Venture forward and as a 40 under 40
0:02:43.240,0:02:49.880
recipient by the Portland Business Journal she
was invited by Senator widen to present expert
0:02:49.880,0:02:56.240
witness testimony in front of the United States
Senate finance committee on her work with BAC
0:02:56.240,0:03:03.360
Founders Himalaya has a passion for expanding his
accessibility of Entrepreneurship to BAC and Rural
0:03:03.360,0:03:10.720
communities as a pathway for economic development
and generational wealth building Himalaya welcome
0:03:10.720,0:03:18.200
to a black executive perspective podcast thank
you so much for having me that introduction was
0:03:18.200,0:03:23.800
so long and it made me actually feel quite old
um but thank you so much for having me on this
0:03:23.800,0:03:28.920
podcast I'm so excited to talk with both you
and Les about all the topics that are really
0:03:28.920,0:03:33.600
difficult to talk about that is awesome yeah
you know I was going through I was like wow
0:03:33.600,0:03:40.120
she is so accomplished the only thing missing
in your bio is they gave her land and Tito all
0:03:40.120,0:03:47.360
right but I'm pretty sure that's if that hasn't
happened yet it's going to happen soon so but
0:03:47.360,0:03:52.640
welcome to a black executive perspective and
just to be able to so we can set the stage
0:03:52.640,0:03:57.320
with our audience just tell us a little bit little
background about yourself where you're from your
0:03:57.320,0:04:05.080
family uh so hi everyone again my name is Himalaya
um now currently I am the managing director of the
0:04:05.080,0:04:11.040
bfm fund and I'm also the co-executive director of
a nonprofit that trains diverse people and how to
0:04:11.040,0:04:16.520
break into Venture Capital but my background is
actually very different uh most people that are
0:04:16.520,0:04:23.080
in Venture Capital now um who are Associates who
run funds you know they've uh mostly come up from
0:04:23.080,0:04:28.320
Top tier schools and then have filtered into
Investment Banking or top tier Consulting and
0:04:28.320,0:04:32.200
then have made their way through that they're
also maybe like former operators that have had
0:04:32.200,0:04:37.920
exits um usually people that have generational
wealth or even if they don't have generational
0:04:37.920,0:04:44.000
wealth have a lot of wealth in this lifetime um
and so I think that that sets the tone sometimes
0:04:44.000,0:04:50.160
for how policies are created structures are
created for Venture Capital um and so I see
0:04:50.160,0:04:56.720
myself as a little bit of an outlier in that um
my journey started off as a social worker um and
0:04:56.720,0:05:02.680
so that is my my first formal training my first
Masters was I got a master's in social work and
0:05:02.680,0:05:09.360
I was a school social worker in the Bronx um and
that was where I started my career I also am a
0:05:09.360,0:05:16.760
first generation immigrant and uh I think having
like that immigrant uh journey and perspective
0:05:16.760,0:05:22.160
into the United States um and being a woman
of color and also someone that identifies as
0:05:22.160,0:05:27.360
being bipac um has really shaped my reality
and last I'm excited to talk with you about
0:05:27.360,0:05:34.440
what that means um and so you know I think that
has really really my cultural identity uh the
0:05:34.440,0:05:41.280
combination and intersectionality of being both a
woman and a person of color really really has uh
0:05:41.280,0:05:49.520
shaped my reality my upbringing um and then also
then my first career in social work and working
0:05:49.520,0:05:56.200
alongside a lot of black and L and All Families
being a part of the the community I think that
0:05:56.200,0:06:01.720
that really helped me to understand how there can
be different frames of reality so I'll just like
0:06:01.720,0:06:07.040
quickly touch on that because I think sometimes
people don't understand so I think that you know
0:06:07.040,0:06:15.960
being so my parents um being from India I think
that sometimes um Indian culture is really really
0:06:15.960,0:06:24.640
rich and um American culture has its own richness
to it and oftentimes in my household those were at
0:06:24.640,0:06:31.640
odds and oftentimes being a person of color and
the things that you're taught in your home are
0:06:31.640,0:06:37.480
antithesis or anical to the things that you're
seeing in an American perspective but what I
0:06:37.480,0:06:42.240
learned actually from being an immigrant is that
there was like extreme immigrant pride in like
0:06:42.240,0:06:49.760
the country that you came from as well as American
Pride and so then from an early age I started to
0:06:49.760,0:06:54.560
see that like both people are super prideful and
think that they're super right about something and
0:06:54.560,0:07:01.680
so then can two things coexist at the same time
and be equally like right in some capacity and so
0:07:01.680,0:07:06.440
I translated that over to social work and so what
I mean by that is I actually worked as a school
0:07:06.440,0:07:11.200
social worker in Hunts Point which is in the South
Bronx and so when people talk about it's like the
0:07:11.200,0:07:19.520
Bronx of the Bronx right and so it's um an area
that um has is is deemed from one perspective
0:07:19.520,0:07:25.680
high risk so when you think about that on paper
it's high risk because there's low literacy rates
0:07:25.680,0:07:33.280
low graduation rates low socioeconomic status
that is fact accurate and on the other hand
0:07:33.280,0:07:38.960
when you actually are part of that Community when
you live and work in that area you start to see
0:07:38.960,0:07:44.720
that the people of Hunts Point are incredibly
resilient are have all the fundamentals when
0:07:44.720,0:07:49.240
we read Harvard Business reviews like articles
that come out year after year of like who could
0:07:49.240,0:07:55.160
be a successful entrepreneur Capital efficient
market responsive all of these like qualities
0:07:55.160,0:08:00.800
of a successful entrepreneur are seen in Hunts
Point and that's only only seen if you really
0:08:00.800,0:08:06.520
know the community that you're working with right
and so I think that two realities can be true at
0:08:06.520,0:08:12.760
the same time um but oftentimes we're only looking
at something from one perspective and then making
0:08:12.760,0:08:18.640
a judgment on what the trajectory can be based
on our perspective and so I think I I will say
0:08:18.640,0:08:25.200
that as like who I am because that fundamentally
shapes all of the professional decisions I've made
0:08:25.200,0:08:32.760
and certainly shapes the funds trajectory um now
wow I mean we just you want to start all over I
0:08:32.760,0:08:40.320
mean we just got into it you you killing me with
that already we five minutes in I love it I love
0:08:40.320,0:08:46.560
it I love it so listen we're gonna dive deeper
into that because I have a ton of questions um
0:08:46.560,0:08:52.160
real quickly though just based on what you were
saying you know one of the areas that we struggle
0:08:52.160,0:08:59.800
with as human beings is the boxes people put us in
right and we sometimes try to just live live up to
0:08:59.800,0:09:06.960
that box without recognizing all the other things
that we bring to the table right even in our live
0:09:06.960,0:09:12.880
environment that's also outside of that box right
so we definitely want to dive into that but Les's
0:09:12.880,0:09:17.680
has some quick questions because now you're part
of the family so we you know you gave us a good
0:09:17.680,0:09:22.120
background but we're going to dive in a little bit
deeper just in some of some fun stuff to see what
0:09:22.120,0:09:29.320
what what Himalaya likes Les all right so we do
do like a little ice breaker at the beginning um
0:09:29.320,0:09:35.560
I don't want you to think too heavily on this just
come just say whatever comes to the top of mind we
0:09:35.560,0:09:40.800
may you know engage a little bit more about your
whatever it is that you comment about regarding
0:09:40.800,0:09:45.680
some of these little Icebreaker questions but
the first question that I want to ask you is Le
0:09:45.680,0:09:51.720
I hope that none of these things are pop culture
because I know zero things let's go for okay but
0:09:51.720,0:09:58.720
listen what where wherever you are wherever you
are wherever you are in in your knowledge of pop
0:09:58.720,0:10:03.760
culture are not of Pop Culture because you know
I wouldn't say that I am that I don't I'm not
0:10:03.760,0:10:09.800
that a student about pop culture but wherever you
are just let's talk about it and engage it's not
0:10:09.800,0:10:18.320
Jeopardy we good you good you really are all
right so what was the first concert you ever
0:10:18.320,0:10:28.320
went to who was it and how old were you okay this
will definitely show uh my background so being an
0:10:28.320,0:10:35.160
immigrant um I was like deeply entrenched in being
an immigrant and so what that meant was that my
0:10:35.160,0:10:43.320
parents um were really struggling for a lot of
years uh when we moved here and so I was not um
0:10:43.320,0:10:50.600
exposed to a lot of things that most people are
exposed to as a child um and so I actually didn't
0:10:50.600,0:10:56.840
go to my first concert until I was in college um
I actually didn't even start listening to music I
0:10:56.840,0:11:03.400
started like we didn't have access to music music
we didn't have like a a radio or a television that
0:11:03.400,0:11:09.480
had like a cable and so uh when I first started
listening to music was when uh there would be like
0:11:09.480,0:11:15.840
the 17 magazines they'd send like little cassettes
right so I'd like listen to and it'd be like a a
0:11:15.840,0:11:21.440
a one minute one and a half minutes like excerpt
and it's like you know to try and like Prime you
0:11:21.440,0:11:27.640
to buy the CD and that's what I would listen to
is that like one and a half minutes so in some of
0:11:27.640,0:11:33.840
these like pop culture songs I only know left the
track of the first believe it or not that's all
0:11:33.840,0:11:39.760
you really need to know anyway right what was
it though I'm curious now oh my God they they
0:11:39.760,0:11:46.760
sent a few different ones they sent like Shenia
Twain at some point this was like back in the 90s
0:11:46.760,0:11:52.680
right they sent I think they sent a little burtney
Spears one they also sent a brandy one and so like
0:11:52.680,0:11:57.880
you know I just listened to like little tidbits
but actually in college was the first time that
0:11:57.880,0:12:01.800
I went to a concert and it was like you know
sponsored by the college and I was like oh I'm
0:12:01.800,0:12:08.560
so excited to go to a concert you know not really
even knowing what it was um and so it was actually
0:12:08.560,0:12:17.080
a a Drake concert um which is like soent okay
you hit it off the you hit it like at the ballark
0:12:17.080,0:12:23.600
with that one for the first concent the Drake
experienc it was very exciting and I was like
0:12:23.600,0:12:29.040
you know like I don't know I was like imagining
because like I I don't know again I'm sometimes
0:12:29.040,0:12:34.240
the things I say are so immigrant style but like
in my head I thought it was I had seen movies
0:12:34.240,0:12:38.000
of like operas and ballets so I thought we were
all going to be sitting down and then we get to
0:12:38.000,0:12:44.640
the Drake concert you know like very much like the
music and I was like oh W this is very more lively
0:12:44.640,0:12:51.520
than I anticipated like oh we can be free we can
dance and so it was um quite an immigrant shock
0:12:51.520,0:12:58.000
at the ripe age of like 20 years old so yeah you
said like an opera right so you you hear hear in
0:12:58.000,0:13:07.000
the background say kid kill the rapper kill the
rapper or hotline BL did you have a I hope you
0:13:07.000,0:13:12.720
didn't have your heels on either because you know
I I I did I like fully dressed up because this is
0:13:12.720,0:13:19.040
my first concert going experience and I was like
really ready for it and you know I really do blame
0:13:19.040,0:13:24.360
my college friends for not like looking at me and
like immediately telling me to dress differently
0:13:24.360,0:13:31.920
but I had a lot of fun it was such a phenomenal
experience and I think um it's so great to like
0:13:31.920,0:13:37.960
I you know for me it felt like the music was in
me and that was amazing you know it's like so I
0:13:37.960,0:13:44.160
love the Concert Experience awesome all right
so the next question I want to ask you is what
0:13:44.160,0:13:51.640
is I'm gonna switch this up a little bit what
is your favorite dish like food dish you know
0:13:51.640,0:13:57.720
like obviously it has to be something that my
wife made naturally um but my wife you know
0:13:57.720,0:14:01.760
every single thing she makes is brilliant and
so you know no matter what I pick I'm going to
0:14:01.760,0:14:08.840
get in trouble here because she's going to hear
this podcast um one of the things actually that
0:14:08.840,0:14:14.000
I really really love it's like a it's simple right
it's not like actually super it's not from any of
0:14:14.000,0:14:22.600
our cultures but um Natasha my wife um started we
started making handmade pasta um at home and so
0:14:22.600,0:14:26.880
you know like and actually realize like when
people say like oh vegan pasta it's actually
0:14:26.880,0:14:30.680
really easy to make it because there's only two
inred inred of like the sembling of flour and
0:14:30.680,0:14:37.200
the water and to be able to like fully make that
ourselves like press it roll it laminate it um I
0:14:37.200,0:14:42.760
think and then to make the sauce from scratch like
we you know like grew tomatoes grew the basil did
0:14:42.760,0:14:48.480
it all ourselves like even figured out like how to
like utilize squash as a way to like you know Beef
0:14:48.480,0:14:54.680
It Up and so I know that seems simple but for us
I think like so much of our lives especially for
0:14:54.680,0:14:59.440
those of us who have grown up in cities you know
like so much of our cultural roots from like an
0:14:59.440,0:15:05.720
agricultural perspective have been taken away
from us and so for us it was like actually our
0:15:05.720,0:15:12.640
first time kind of like reaching back to like
make it something from fully scratch and then
0:15:12.640,0:15:18.400
being able to like appreciate how like our food
is made and being able to do that and connect
0:15:18.400,0:15:23.480
to Our Roots yeah that's quite an accomplishment
too because I've actually watched videos of how
0:15:23.480,0:15:29.400
people make actual pasta chop it up into pieces
and stuff like that it's fascinating still I'm
0:15:29.400,0:15:35.240
still watching so I haven't gotten to the action
side yet but I'm still watching and just you know
0:15:35.240,0:15:41.120
just so people know too pasta did not come from
Italy pasta came from China so people need to know
0:15:41.120,0:15:47.120
that the Chinese were making pasta you know all
these things that we now identify as Italian was
0:15:47.120,0:15:54.400
actually a Chinese an Asian product yes absolutely
this last that like Segway so wonderfully into our
0:15:54.400,0:15:59.840
conversation because there's so many things in
entrepreneurship that we like prioritize a white
0:15:59.840,0:16:05.840
model of success we prioritize white ideas
but when we actually look into it all of our
0:16:05.840,0:16:13.360
unique cultures within the bipox sphere actually
create so many origins of Entrepreneurship value
0:16:13.360,0:16:17.320
I I couldn't agree with you more I couldn't
agree with you more all right and so we're
0:16:17.320,0:16:23.640
gonna do this last question okay all right
here we go Bollywood or Hollywood who does it
0:16:23.640,0:16:36.040
better I'm gonna say Hollywood would because I
am a feminist and I while it's gotten different
0:16:36.040,0:16:42.360
I genuinely enjoy movies that are not just about
a love story and about the like development of
0:16:42.360,0:16:47.880
a character outside of romantic love I think
there's so much love that can be found in our
0:16:47.880,0:16:53.120
lives that doesn't have to do with that and even
like love for yourself and love for your journey
0:16:53.120,0:16:57.920
and your accomplishments and I think Hollywood
does a better job of that yeah it is changing a
0:16:57.920,0:17:05.640
little bit and Bollywood uh during pride month I
did show a film that I think it's the first film
0:17:05.640,0:17:14.400
of the same seex female same-sex relationship that
has been produced out of Bollywood this e Kessa a
0:17:14.400,0:17:19.400
I think that's that's what it's called yeah very
good film I highly recommend it by the way okay
0:17:19.400,0:17:24.400
Les I'll have to I'll have to follow up the also
I was gonna tell both of you Tony Les you'll have
0:17:24.400,0:17:29.960
to meet up with me and Natasha in person so we
can show you how to make past because honestly I
0:17:29.960,0:17:36.200
feel like and this will be my last uh little like
soap box on the food is so much of our culture has
0:17:36.200,0:17:42.320
actually been taken away from us and now we it's
been monetized by white society and we have to pay
0:17:42.320,0:17:47.240
to access that knowledge when it's actually it
belongs to us it's part of our heritage and our
0:17:47.240,0:17:53.240
culture and so for us it's super important that
we like connect back to it and we help give other
0:17:53.240,0:17:59.160
people access to it absolutely for that I'm down
where you can count us in right but you just you
0:17:59.160,0:18:04.880
just spoke about that so we're going to dive into
you know the things you talked about at the top
0:18:04.880,0:18:11.480
you know even in the warmup and intersectionality
and all the aspects that go to it so are you ready
0:18:11.480,0:18:19.560
jump into it all right let's talk about it let's
kick us off all right so I just wanted to ask you
0:18:19.560,0:18:26.520
a lot of people don't know what the terminology
bipo means let's talk about that um how this is
0:18:26.520,0:18:34.800
a new classifier identify of people's identity
explain to me what bipac means to you yes um so
0:18:34.800,0:18:41.080
Les this is actually a great question and I've
actually running right a fund that prioritizes
0:18:41.080,0:18:46.160
black investment I've had a lot of conversations
with other black Founders who say like hey why
0:18:46.160,0:18:53.200
are you talking about bipo Founders when like the
focus and like we feel like we're being lumped in
0:18:53.200,0:19:00.400
to a group that doesn't represent us and actually
that is why bipac was creat so before bip it was
0:19:00.400,0:19:07.840
just P which is people of color and within that
when we think about like organizations adopting
0:19:07.840,0:19:14.280
pocc diversity standards or wanting to have like
diversity in their hiring as well as Recruitment
0:19:14.280,0:19:19.960
and promotion we were thinking about just pocc
since that bucket is huge it's literally anyone
0:19:19.960,0:19:26.440
that's not white correct then inevitably there's
a hierarchy there of like than people were like
0:19:26.440,0:19:32.680
mostly right like Asian uh people were being
promoted in different fields and then it was
0:19:32.680,0:19:38.320
leaving a lot of different groups out that
aren't the lowest hanging fruit within Po
0:19:38.320,0:19:44.760
and there's a lot of like you know different class
and socioeconomic issues um and historical context
0:19:44.760,0:19:50.320
that make it so that even within the POC space
there are some groups that need to make sure that
0:19:50.320,0:19:56.600
are represented within the broader sphere that's
actually why bipac was created so bipac means
0:19:56.600,0:20:03.360
black indigenous people of color to literally
call out that black and Indigenous communities
0:20:03.360,0:20:10.160
historically economically have not have the same
treatment in this country or globally as other
0:20:10.160,0:20:15.400
people of color and therefore need a separate
distinction so when you are saying that you
0:20:15.400,0:20:21.760
your company policy or your hiring practices
are addressing bipac standards you are not just
0:20:21.760,0:20:26.800
including the PC part but you are also paying
attention to how you are supporting black and
0:20:26.800,0:20:33.040
Indigenous communities I love that explanation
I really do and that gives you that gives you
0:20:33.040,0:20:40.720
an idea of what that means because so many people
here in America are of a mixed race and we have
0:20:40.720,0:20:46.960
been forced by American Standards to identify as
one and not relate to the other and that's what
0:20:46.960,0:20:52.320
makes what you were talking about the richness
of people of color that's what makes us so rich
0:20:52.320,0:21:00.120
by denying or or disregarding the ancestor the
indigenous ancestor you're basically saying that
0:21:00.120,0:21:04.160
that person doesn't exist and then therefore any
of the gifts that you receive from that any of
0:21:04.160,0:21:09.240
the of the the differences any of the things
that make you such a unique individual you're
0:21:09.240,0:21:16.040
actually denying that by not promoting that side
of yourself so thank you so much for explaining
0:21:16.040,0:21:23.640
that for us and and based on that how how broad
is bipac because you know to be honest I'm just
0:21:23.640,0:21:28.480
and and excuse my ignorance you know I'm just
hearing of it I've probably seen it somewhere
0:21:28.480,0:21:35.320
before you know when you hear people talk about
you know poc's you know they're not saying bipac
0:21:35.320,0:21:42.280
and and you're 100% right right um there is a
hierarchy and it is a checker box well we have
0:21:42.280,0:21:48.400
a PC right we have an Asian or we have somebody
Hispanic you know blah blah blah blah blah right
0:21:48.400,0:21:53.760
and so so talk a little bit in terms of you
know where we are in terms of that the the
0:21:53.760,0:22:00.120
the the definition um and how we can we broaden
it and then more importantly when we when it is
0:22:00.120,0:22:08.320
broaden what is the push back that you get when
you talk bipac yeah great question so in general
0:22:08.320,0:22:14.360
I will say I believe that the bipo sphere the
umbrella is already pretty large because it
0:22:14.360,0:22:20.560
still encompasses the same people as p and that
it's like literally everyone that's not what
0:22:20.560,0:22:26.520
correct but now because it has distinctions of
black indigenous people of color then there can
0:22:26.520,0:22:34.640
be more Focus on how there's like two different
or rather three different groups within the bipo
0:22:34.640,0:22:40.360
sphere that need to be incorporated so that you
can't just focus on the lowest hanging fruit that
0:22:40.360,0:22:46.040
being said I will say like I am constantly
challenging myself to figure out like how I
0:22:46.040,0:22:50.960
personally can do better and how like thinking
about like the the challenges we have and for
0:22:50.960,0:22:58.920
me I will say the term bipac helped more companies
Orient around how are they supporting particularly
0:22:58.920,0:23:07.360
black individuals and that was great and what
we saw was then when we saw especially in 2020
0:23:07.360,0:23:12.040
I'll talk about venture capital A lot of venture
capital firms were like okay we want to invest
0:23:12.040,0:23:17.560
more in Black Founders we want to hire black
individuals to work at our funds but the result
0:23:17.560,0:23:24.400
of that was that yes like from demographically
you can say you invested in uh black Founders or
0:23:24.400,0:23:29.920
hired black individuals but they were also all
from Stanford or Harvard so then there's also
0:23:29.920,0:23:35.920
like a class link to it right there's a there's
an established socioeconomic link between access
0:23:35.920,0:23:42.400
to higher education and particularly access to IV
League education from the undergrad or you know
0:23:42.400,0:23:48.320
like you know Masters or Beyond there there's
like a a true established datadriven link and
0:23:48.320,0:23:54.840
so when we say like we will invest we will now
focus on black and Indigenous individuals but
0:23:54.840,0:24:01.120
actually you have to meet a certain class standard
in order to be considered then it still is leaving
0:24:01.120,0:24:07.720
out a huge majority of people who identify as
black and Indigenous who because of historical
0:24:07.720,0:24:14.440
wealth gaps policies that were discriminatory
zoning issues all of these like fundamental
0:24:14.440,0:24:21.120
core things that are still happening today then
you're still leaving out a huge percentage and
0:24:21.120,0:24:25.840
I think we always try and figure out a way like
no matter how much we segment it we're like okay
0:24:25.840,0:24:30.880
what's the lowest hanging fruit in each of those
segments and I think my challenge to myself and
0:24:30.880,0:24:37.720
to like others is to like really think about the
intersectionality between race gender and class
0:24:37.720,0:24:44.120
and like if you really are looking at those three
intersections then I think it will challenge us
0:24:44.120,0:24:50.840
to make more holistic decisions Around The Way We
structure programs the way we hire individuals the
0:24:50.840,0:24:56.400
types of people we decide to invest and support in
and so that's like more so where I'm like focused
0:24:56.400,0:25:03.320
on to like even increase um Beyond just B and
then number one thanks for explaining that so
0:25:03.320,0:25:09.040
what what is some of the push back that you get
because now you're being specific right versus
0:25:09.040,0:25:14.800
just Po's which is Broad and you're saying black
and Indigenous right which for whatever reason
0:25:14.800,0:25:19.440
people's back of their hair start curling up
when you hear those two those two phrases so
0:25:19.440,0:25:28.760
what's some of the push back do um you know I
would say that originally um when I first had
0:25:28.760,0:25:35.560
started with the fund and this was back in 2020
I I will say like well let me back up for a quick
0:25:35.560,0:25:43.080
second I think that um when we first moved to
this country we lived in the Bronx and then at
0:25:43.080,0:25:49.080
for some period of my time I lived in Connecticut
and I was um we were the one of the first or maybe
0:25:49.080,0:25:57.040
the first nonwhite family that lived in that town
so I think growing up I was so used to convincing
0:25:57.040,0:26:03.880
people who didn't think like me to think like me
and so and I think a lot of people who are bipo
0:26:03.880,0:26:09.160
have that experience particularly if they move
away from their community and go towards like
0:26:09.160,0:26:13.240
the colleges or jobs that have like a lot of
white people they're always trying to convince
0:26:13.240,0:26:18.400
other people that don't think like them to think
like that like like essentially have validity of
0:26:18.400,0:26:24.800
their ideas right and so I think within that we
create a trauma-formed response that like marginal
0:26:24.800,0:26:31.360
agreement is like success and we feel like elated
about that like we've somehow like you know helped
0:26:31.360,0:26:37.040
to push something forward and I think I felt that
way growing up I felt that way even when I started
0:26:37.040,0:26:42.120
the fund you know I felt like okay I'm like gonna
convince everyone that like investing in Black
0:26:42.120,0:26:47.000
Founders is the thing to do and what I realized
actually Tony to your point to your question
0:26:47.000,0:26:55.440
is people who are fundamentally not seeing why
investment into black Founders is critical from
0:26:55.440,0:27:02.240
not only a societal perspective but an EC economic
perspective right those are not individuals that I
0:27:02.240,0:27:08.360
as one person can convince right I don't have have
the the ssy cap over them I'm not their family
0:27:08.360,0:27:13.360
member I don't have all of that history with
them to be able to convince them of that their
0:27:13.360,0:27:17.920
realities might have shaped their perspective
in a way that like one person will not be able
0:27:17.920,0:27:24.240
to convince them and so actually yes I have
received pushback but I've also started to like
0:27:24.240,0:27:30.320
train myself not to respond to the to the push
back like if you actually don't think that black
0:27:30.320,0:27:37.600
and Indigenous people should be focused on outside
of PC okay that's your perspective but we're not
0:27:37.600,0:27:43.080
like aligned on that we're not aligned on the base
set of facts and I'm not going to waste my time
0:27:43.080,0:27:50.000
trying to like trying to convince you essentially
that black and Indigenous people matter and that
0:27:50.000,0:27:56.320
the starting points of black and Indigenous people
is vastly different because of the way that we've
0:27:56.320,0:28:03.720
structured our society I love that I I love that
attitude that mindset in terms of you know what
0:28:03.720,0:28:08.760
I'm this ain't you know can't beat them join
them all right it's more of hey this is what
0:28:08.760,0:28:12.720
we're going to do this is what I believe if you're
not there then you know what more power to you I'm
0:28:12.720,0:28:18.040
still going to love you but we still G to move
forward love it love it yeah it's their Journey
0:28:18.040,0:28:23.880
because honestly like what is there like to argue
about when you say black and Indigenous people
0:28:23.880,0:28:29.280
need to like we need to have clarification around
that to ensure that those groups are supported
0:28:29.280,0:28:35.600
what push back could you have that isn't rooted
in racism and white supremacy exactly exactly
0:28:35.600,0:28:41.520
let me ask you this in term I'm sorry Les go ahead
I'm sorry about that I I am curious though I know
0:28:41.520,0:28:46.320
that you personally didn't get any push back but
have you had anybody come to you that is black and
0:28:46.320,0:28:52.280
Indigenous or one of the other identify as one
of the other telling you there's no such thing
0:28:52.280,0:28:59.280
as that or you know uh that doesn't exist right uh
because we we are so conditioned to believe that
0:28:59.280,0:29:06.320
we are of one ethnicity even though we are fully
aware of our mixed Heritage um you know have you
0:29:06.320,0:29:14.360
ever gotten any feed any Flack over that I have
so yes I think that uh I have actually gotten a
0:29:14.360,0:29:23.360
lot of push back on it from those that are not
bipo um I tend to not necessarily um entertain
0:29:23.360,0:29:28.600
that um and I think that most folks that are
in the bipo sphere that have push back are
0:29:28.600,0:29:34.880
doing it from a trauma informed place I think that
sometimes the different ethnic and cultural groups
0:29:34.880,0:29:40.840
within the bipo sphere have been hurt right every
single group within the bipox sphere has been
0:29:40.840,0:29:47.080
discriminated and oppressed and sometimes we can
only focus on our own hurt and pain that we can't
0:29:47.080,0:29:52.720
see that other people in the bipo sphere also
experience pain and so I think that sometimes we
0:29:52.720,0:29:59.480
build as a a different trauma informed response
a lack of empathy and so I think one one I do I
0:29:59.480,0:30:06.040
do think just education around like actually bipac
what came from you know like what I was mentioning
0:30:06.040,0:30:11.080
before Les of like a lot of black individuals
don't even know that the term bipo was made so
0:30:11.080,0:30:15.400
that black individuals could be focused on that
was like number one and a lot of black Founders
0:30:15.400,0:30:20.960
are like oh that makes sense right but then two I
think that their other push back is from a lack of
0:30:20.960,0:30:28.760
empathy around like supporting other communities
so like if it's black uh individuals not seeing
0:30:28.760,0:30:33.840
like how other individuals are supported or
even in the Latino or Asian sphere of being
0:30:33.840,0:30:38.600
like well we're working hard so shouldn't we
also be represented everyone's working hard
0:30:38.600,0:30:43.920
everyone's oppressed but that doesn't mean that
there's not historical um factors that make it so
0:30:43.920,0:30:49.880
that different people start out in different ways
and continue to be received in different ways and
0:30:49.880,0:30:55.680
that's the point that's the important point that
you made there historical oppression historical
0:30:55.680,0:31:02.560
oppression you know know people who come from that
kind of a trauma you know colon colonization and
0:31:02.560,0:31:07.200
and such so definitely thanks for making that
point I'm sorry Tony go ahead no no no no no it
0:31:07.200,0:31:17.560
excellent the thing is intersectionality you know
it's um again three four five years ago I didn't
0:31:17.560,0:31:24.960
hear a lot of intersectionality right so tell us
a little bit how has it evolved how has it you
0:31:24.960,0:31:30.960
know changed society and then more importantly you
know just in your own professional personal life
0:31:30.960,0:31:38.000
intersectionality it was actually um something
that started to gain like popularity in the
0:31:38.000,0:31:43.960
mental health space a little like about 10 years
ago and then has started to come into like the
0:31:43.960,0:31:49.840
mainstream media um only less than five years ago
and so it's actually really critically important
0:31:49.840,0:31:54.600
that we understand that because oftentimes so as
an example I told you that I was a social worker
0:31:54.600,0:32:00.240
right and I would be especially when I'm talking
about bipac issues there's always one person in
0:32:00.240,0:32:06.920
the room who's white who says yeah but I was poor
right I grew up with nothing and now like you know
0:32:06.920,0:32:12.360
or like I was a foster child like I didn't even
have like you know adequate housing or safety or
0:32:12.360,0:32:17.120
Security in that way but now look at me I'm in
college especially when I used to do college uh
0:32:17.120,0:32:22.280
like group therapy sessions and I would say okay
this is exactly where intersectionality comes
0:32:22.280,0:32:30.800
into play right being in poverty is definitely
a disad Advantage being white is a significant
0:32:30.800,0:32:36.520
advantage and so when you couple those things
together because you are white and therefore
0:32:36.520,0:32:43.520
and and poverty is just like being queer is can
be a hidden identity then you have the ability
0:32:43.520,0:32:50.480
to utilize the advantages of being white to
be able to still access your way into moving
0:32:50.480,0:32:57.640
up in a capitalistic Society right and the same
thing is true I think a lot of times with within
0:32:57.640,0:33:05.160
the bipo sphere around men is like we are not
experiencing the world in the same way right
0:33:05.160,0:33:10.920
even think about black men and black women are
not experiencing the world in the same way that's
0:33:10.920,0:33:15.360
not to say that either of those groups are not
experiencing struggles it's saying that there is
0:33:15.360,0:33:24.000
an intersectionality that needs to be recognized
that when you are black and a man being a man has
0:33:24.000,0:33:31.400
certain levels of Privileges and being black has
certain levels of disadvantage in this particular
0:33:31.400,0:33:38.000
country right and being a woman has certain levels
of disadvantages right and and those are different
0:33:38.000,0:33:43.880
right in different scenarios particularly when you
compound the complex identity being black right
0:33:43.880,0:33:49.080
when when we talk about like police brutality
being a black man actually disadvantages you
0:33:49.080,0:33:56.000
more than being a black woman but when it comes
to sexual uh safety being a black woman it is
0:33:56.000,0:34:01.240
far less safe to be a black woman than it is
to be a black man right and that's and also
0:34:01.240,0:34:06.280
dependent on age right and dependent on your
circumstances so a lot of like queer homeless
0:34:06.280,0:34:11.600
youth are actually more prone to violence because
they are homeless and they are young and they are
0:34:11.600,0:34:17.360
bip poop right so like there are different like
levels to this and I think actually from like a
0:34:17.360,0:34:25.240
a listener's perspective what I've taken away
from it is to understand where your where your
0:34:25.240,0:34:33.160
intersectionality gives you both the ability and
to empathize as well as like trying to understand
0:34:33.160,0:34:39.400
your own privilege like and and and especially
when we think about like we can think about gender
0:34:39.400,0:34:44.200
privilege when we can think about class privilege
we can think about race privilege and so this is
0:34:44.200,0:34:49.080
something that I especially like to talk about
within Asian communities right Asian communities
0:34:49.080,0:34:54.760
historically have come to this country only
because they are wealthy in their country right
0:34:54.760,0:34:59.680
in in their respective countries and so while
they are absolutely being discriminated against
0:34:59.680,0:35:07.000
in this country you still have historical wealth
and like the mindset of what that means and access
0:35:07.000,0:35:12.320
to education in a prior country and so you're
coming to this country and still able to access
0:35:12.320,0:35:17.520
some opportunities that people in this country
are not able to access if they're black or Latino
0:35:17.520,0:35:23.000
living in poverty go ahead sorry so basically
what you're speaking to is the model minority
0:35:23.000,0:35:28.680
myth that applied here in the United States cor
correct correct whereas you obviously you know
0:35:28.680,0:35:34.960
coming from Southeast Asia you phenotypically
are brown complexion but yet and still you have
0:35:34.960,0:35:41.400
an advantage because the historical um abuse
that has happened to people of color in this
0:35:41.400,0:35:46.880
country does not actually touch you um and we
have to demystify that because a lot of people
0:35:46.880,0:35:51.360
don't know where that word came from I mean it was
started with Ronald Reagan and he's the one that
0:35:51.360,0:35:59.640
initiated that it gave people of Asian Heritage
um you know know a a leg up in this country mind
0:35:59.640,0:36:05.200
you prior to him even making that statement the
Chinese that were here uh during the the building
0:36:05.200,0:36:12.280
of the railroad they were you know subjugated to
a lot of things just people of color anybody that
0:36:12.280,0:36:18.960
comes here that is of a different uh ethnicity or
if different background but how do we change that
0:36:18.960,0:36:24.200
mentality because I believe that sometimes what
happens is that a lot of my brothers and sisters
0:36:24.200,0:36:31.200
that come from Southeast Asia they don't see
this is they can't understand a lot of my my
0:36:31.200,0:36:37.040
African brothers and sisters too can't understand
why it is necessary to have this space this safe
0:36:37.040,0:36:45.760
space for people corre that are bipo correct yeah
I I think it's a really large complex question um
0:36:45.760,0:36:52.160
because I think and I will say like fundamentally
I think that the solution starts with empathy and
0:36:52.160,0:36:58.120
recognizing that even when you share the same
skin or the same culture that doesn't mean that
0:36:58.120,0:37:03.680
you have the exact same experience as someone
else and being able to recognize that someone
0:37:03.680,0:37:10.480
else in your culture in your like like complexion
has had a different experience and letting that be
0:37:10.480,0:37:16.080
valid going back to our first point which is two
realities can be the same right I can be a black
0:37:16.080,0:37:22.000
or a brown person and have one experience and
someone who looks exactly like me maybe because
0:37:22.000,0:37:27.880
of like having an immigrant status or having
a different socioeconomic class might have
0:37:27.880,0:37:33.880
a completely different experience and both of
those things are valid I think can lead to some
0:37:33.880,0:37:41.440
of that solution I think oftentimes too often
we generalize our own reality on other people
0:37:41.440,0:37:50.400
and so too often I hear many people from the black
indigenous and I I haven't heard it as much in the
0:37:50.400,0:37:57.320
Indigenous Community but I will say that across
the black Latino and Asian communities we are
0:37:57.320,0:38:05.440
all guilty of this is individuals in our various
communities who are successful will then say well
0:38:05.440,0:38:10.920
look at me I've been socioeconomically successful
I've been able to go to a college I've been able
0:38:10.920,0:38:17.360
to get a job so it is possible it is possible
for you that doesn't mean that it is actually
0:38:17.360,0:38:24.280
physically possible for someone else because there
are a whole set of other factors that even if a
0:38:24.280,0:38:29.800
person looks exactly like you comes from your same
culture because of intersectionality they might
0:38:29.800,0:38:35.200
have so many other factors that impede them from
achieving that same goal even if they work just
0:38:35.200,0:38:41.200
as hard as you and so I think that's like the
fundamental takeaway from intersectionality is
0:38:41.200,0:38:46.880
to stop generalizing your experience and putting
that on other people and rather trying to figure
0:38:46.880,0:38:52.280
out like and listening to other people like oh
so you weren't able to access my same level of
0:38:52.280,0:38:58.520
wealth or education tell me more about your story
let's build a road map of all the barriers that
0:38:58.520,0:39:05.280
you've had how do we then systemically and like
collectively as a community start to figure out
0:39:05.280,0:39:09.640
how we can remove some of those barriers it
starts with empathy it starts with listening
0:39:09.640,0:39:16.800
to other people because each person's journey is
going to be unique to their intersectionality oh
0:39:16.800,0:39:26.120
my God I mean this is very educational So based
on that Himalaya how do we you know take this
0:39:26.120,0:39:33.400
from being something that just you know from a
mainstream standpoint started 5 years ago and then
0:39:33.400,0:39:38.200
broaden it out where it becomes mainstream I mean
where would you start I mean it seems like first
0:39:38.200,0:39:42.240
you saying you're starting with yourself from
an empathy standpoint so I guess that would be
0:39:42.240,0:39:48.840
the first part but how do we how do we strengthen
this where the everyday person and May and look
0:39:48.840,0:39:54.960
we may not reach everybody but at least more
individuals will be able to stop and instead
0:39:54.960,0:39:59.760
of putting everybody in boxes and saying well you
did this and I didn't or I did it and you should
0:39:59.760,0:40:07.240
be able to do it a zero sum game how can we take
it to the next level really really great question
0:40:07.240,0:40:13.280
I will always say it starts with yourself because
I think that often too often we look at societal
0:40:13.280,0:40:18.520
changes and we're like oh like a government
or a corporation needs to change their thing
0:40:18.520,0:40:23.360
whether it's like around climate change whether
it's around racism but also like how are you
0:40:23.360,0:40:27.880
embodying white supremacy how are you embodying
the things accelerate climate change right and
0:40:27.880,0:40:35.280
like our policies and our you know like you know
governing corporations only respond to the things
0:40:35.280,0:40:41.840
that we as individuals want and you know push up
and so it it does start for me at the individual
0:40:41.840,0:40:48.760
level of ensuring that we are also uh examining
how each of our practices and philosophies are
0:40:48.760,0:40:54.480
aligning or not aligning with what our eventual
goals are that being said this is why I'm actually
0:40:54.480,0:40:59.040
really really passionate about entrepreneurs
ship because I think that entrepreneurship can
0:40:59.040,0:41:05.520
not only be a pathway to economic development but
it also can be an opportunity to be able to allow
0:41:05.520,0:41:11.920
different individuals to showcase the things
that they are strong in and be able to bring
0:41:11.920,0:41:17.600
that into creating economic Agency for themselves
and their families and their communities without
0:41:17.600,0:41:23.400
having all of the same like parameters that a
normal corporate job would be right because like
0:41:23.400,0:41:28.640
if you think about a corporate job first you
have to have a good primary and grade school
0:41:28.640,0:41:34.480
education to be able to access a really great IV
League education or just a regular great education
0:41:34.480,0:41:39.240
you also have to be able to pay for that then
you have to be able to access a corporate job
0:41:39.240,0:41:43.880
then once you access a corporate job you have
to assimilate to the culture the very white
0:41:43.880,0:41:50.800
dominant culture of communication of dressing of
how you present yourself of how you like you know
0:41:50.800,0:41:55.680
engage with your peers how you engage with your
supervisor there's so many levels Where You Lose
0:41:55.680,0:42:02.320
Yourself and also like socioeconomically you may
not be able to achieve that and for me I feel like
0:42:02.320,0:42:08.920
entrepreneurship gives a pathway for many more
people to actually start where they're at and to
0:42:08.920,0:42:13.920
be able to utilize the things they're already good
at the things that they their culture is already
0:42:13.920,0:42:19.360
really good at to be able to help almost reclaim
some of the things that were lost and to be able
0:42:19.360,0:42:28.200
to utilize that to achieve economic independence
and agency but then also be able to prioritize
0:42:28.200,0:42:31.920
the things that their culture is really good
at the things that they and their family are
0:42:31.920,0:42:37.360
really good at and so that for me is like one of
the biggest things that I'm always talking about
0:42:37.360,0:42:44.440
is like there's not a lot of resources going into
Hunts Point but Hunts Point the individuals there
0:42:44.440,0:42:51.160
are so brilliant and so able to do so much with
so less what if that turned they're already doing
0:42:51.160,0:42:54.760
small business ownership they're just not thinking
they're small business owners because it's all
0:42:54.760,0:43:00.280
about the hustle right that's what we do in bipod
communities right is like especially in like the
0:43:00.280,0:43:06.160
in the city like every day I'm hustling hustling
hustling it's just a hustle right it's just like
0:43:06.160,0:43:09.680
I'm gonna go from one hustle to make money to
make rent and I'm gonna figure out how to make
0:43:09.680,0:43:14.200
money the next day I'm gonna figure out and like
from an outside perspective sometimes that could
0:43:14.200,0:43:20.200
look like a little bit of a scam but internally
I believe it also shows the fundamentals of
0:43:20.200,0:43:25.520
Entrepreneurship the fundamentals of business
ownership you're already really good at knowing
0:43:25.520,0:43:31.000
how to run business how to sell how to like do
all the things to be able to create a profitable
0:43:31.000,0:43:38.040
business if that was transformed and honed into
entrepreneurship think of how many families in
0:43:38.040,0:43:45.480
Hunts Point could be super successful and free of
the need of external resources that are not coming
0:43:45.480,0:43:52.920
wow well said very well said right and and listen
we also live in a capitalist Society we live in a
0:43:52.920,0:43:59.880
country that entrepreneurship is encouraged right
it's it's the backbone in terms of our foundation
0:43:59.880,0:44:04.280
so I love what you said and I started crying
a little bit when you talked about how you you
0:44:04.280,0:44:08.000
know you start working in Corporate America and
you have to assimilate and then you had to you
0:44:08.000,0:44:13.680
know I'm sitting here just seeing my life flash
in front of my eyes all right but all that being
0:44:13.680,0:44:19.640
said though this I be honest with you I love your
passion I love everything that you're doing all
0:44:19.640,0:44:24.640
everything that you're bringing to the table let
me ask you this outside of the entrepreneurship
0:44:24.640,0:44:29.640
well I don't say outside the entrepreneurship
how can we help you take this to the next level
0:44:29.640,0:44:36.320
it's a great question I think that um one of the
things that we do in our fund so we have a main
0:44:36.320,0:44:42.800
Venture fund but then we also have two nonprofits
one is focused on Founder representation one is
0:44:42.800,0:44:49.440
focused on funer representation and so the founder
representation creates a a business on ramp into
0:44:49.440,0:44:54.240
many people who don't even like consider being an
entrepreneur how do you actually take what you're
0:44:54.240,0:44:58.960
doing as a side housle and make or main hustle
if that's like how would explain it to the two
0:44:58.960,0:45:04.400
of you that's how I would say it's like like in
very like short terms is we're taking a bunch of
0:45:04.400,0:45:09.320
people who have side hustles making it their main
hustle so that they can like start to transform
0:45:09.320,0:45:15.840
their idea of how entrepreneurship can transform
their lives and their community and their family's
0:45:15.840,0:45:21.960
lives um and so one of the things that would
be really helpful is um I'm that like nonprofit
0:45:21.960,0:45:28.720
and a Founder representation if you are a current
business owner owner it's really great to be able
0:45:28.720,0:45:34.760
to access the knowledge that you've utilized to
be able to then help other people who are still
0:45:34.760,0:45:39.960
in that mindset of like well I kind of need this
corporate job I don't want to let go of this even
0:45:39.960,0:45:45.720
if it's not a corporate job even if it's a minimum
wage job I I need it I this gives me security and
0:45:45.720,0:45:51.680
Entrepreneurship doesn't being able to see one of
the factors of why entrepreneurship is successful
0:45:51.680,0:45:57.680
in some regions is actually being able to see
models of other people and being able to see it as
0:45:57.680,0:46:03.080
like a reality if you can't see it sometimes you
can't Envision it and so being able to have access
0:46:03.080,0:46:10.280
to more people who particularly in the black and
Indigenous communities who are business owners I'd
0:46:10.280,0:46:16.080
love to connect with them I'd love to be able to
help them help other individuals who are also in
0:46:16.080,0:46:20.240
the black and Indigenous communities be able
to figure out a pathway for entrepreneurship
0:46:20.240,0:46:26.520
that works for them the other part is definitely
an The Venture fund if if either you are wanting
0:46:26.520,0:46:32.360
to go into entrepreneurship if you are wanting
to figure out particularly how to utilize your
0:46:32.360,0:46:38.200
dollar to facilitate societal change I would
love to chat about that because there are so
0:46:38.200,0:46:43.080
many different ways and that's not saying
like our fund is the way our fund is one
0:46:43.080,0:46:49.120
of many many ways but especially Tony what you
were saying we live in a capitalistic Society
0:46:49.120,0:46:54.400
but we can utilize our dollars to be able to
facilitate the changes we want to see and so
0:46:54.400,0:47:00.080
for for everyone on a on the varying ends of the
socioeconomic Spectrum there are things that you
0:47:00.080,0:47:06.000
can do monetarily or non-m monetarily to be able
to facilitate that outcome so that many more of
0:47:06.000,0:47:12.560
us tomorrow our small business owner many more
of us are utilizing our dollars for consumption
0:47:12.560,0:47:17.880
of small business owners that are in the bipox
sphere and we're utilizing our dollars to invest
0:47:17.880,0:47:23.800
in many more startup companies that are led by
bipac individuals that we want to see that is
0:47:23.800,0:47:28.520
awesome that is awes count us in we're going to
get together out after this right and we're going
0:47:28.520,0:47:32.520
to sit down we're going to connect our networks
and we're going to definitely do something because
0:47:32.520,0:47:37.240
I totally believe in the entrepreneurship and
if people can have you know charge of their own
0:47:37.240,0:47:43.360
destiny right then to that point it erases a lot
of the things that you talked about earlier in
0:47:43.360,0:47:49.160
terms of lack of opportunities based on you know
bipac individuals or just people people of color
0:47:49.160,0:47:53.600
regardless so number one we want to thank you for
joining but however I don't know if you know this
0:47:53.600,0:48:00.920
or not so I have an alra ego you know Tony tidbit
so I send out a motivational quote every day
0:48:00.920,0:48:06.960
called Tony's tidbits right so today I created one
based on our talk and I want to get your feedback
0:48:06.960,0:48:12.880
and see if this fits what we talked about today
okay so today's tidbit is by Audrey Lord and it
0:48:12.880,0:48:20.560
says there is no such thing as a single issue
struggle because we do not live single issue
0:48:20.560,0:48:30.440
lives that was perfect would you agree with that I
I would agree with that systemic problems require
0:48:30.440,0:48:37.520
systemic Solutions well you know what and you came
here today and gave us a lot of solutions so we
0:48:37.520,0:48:43.240
really appreciate it Himalaya it's been great
for you to be able to join a black executive
0:48:43.240,0:48:48.400
perspective podcast we would love to have you
come back at some other time right we can talk
0:48:48.400,0:48:52.720
about progress we can talk about some other ideas
I know there's a million questions that Les didn't
0:48:52.720,0:48:57.880
get a chance to ask that we want to dive into and
then look we're going to get together to do the uh
0:48:57.880,0:49:02.920
the pasta anyway and we can come back and and I'll
and more importantly I just won't watch I'll get
0:49:02.920,0:49:09.600
involved this time okay you you'll definitely have
to get involved Tony Natasha and I are formally
0:49:09.600,0:49:17.200
inviting you you and L to come over to reclaim
your roots to eat amazing pasta and we'll continue
0:49:17.200,0:49:23.640
this conversation okay great great great so
everyone Thanks for tuning in to you know a black
0:49:23.640,0:49:31.080
Executives perspective about intersectionality
with our guest Himalaya R po laali she was
0:49:31.080,0:49:36.680
awesome stuff to that nature we really enjoyed
her feedback her passion the whole n yards so
0:49:36.680,0:49:43.960
please continue to tune in for season one of a
black executive perspective podcast you can find
0:49:43.960,0:49:50.840
a black Executives perspective podcast wherever
you get your podcast and visit our website at www
0:49:50.840,0:49:59.520
ablack Executives perspective.com or follow us on
Instagram YouTube and Linkedin okay for my guest
0:49:59.520,0:50:05.120
Himalaya my co-host the legendary and it's her
birthday today so we got to say happy birthday
0:50:05.120,0:50:13.520
Les fry happy birthday Les happy birthday Les
all right thank you I'm Tony tidbit we talked
0:50:13.520,0:50:19.320
about it we'll see you next time love you a lot
we're out thank you for tuning in to this episode
0:50:19.320,0:50:26.600
of Tony tidbit a black executive perspective
and for joining in today's conversation with
0:50:26.600,0:50:33.800
every story We Share every conversation we Foster
and every barrier we address we can ignite the
0:50:33.800,0:50:40.280
Sparks that bring about lasting change and this
carries us one step closer to transforming the
0:50:40.280,0:50:46.040
face of corporate America if today's episode
resonated with you consider subscribing and
0:50:46.040,0:50:53.640
leaving us a reading or review on Apple podcast
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0:50:53.640,0:50:58.840
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0:50:58.840,0:51:02.320
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