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Built for Good is for the community builders driving missions that matter. Host Kian Alavi shares real stories, hard-won lessons, and data that challenges assumptions, helping you move with more clarity and less guesswork. Each episode delivers actionable insights to accelerate decisions and make meaningful work less of a solo struggle.
Now… let’s build for good.
Built for Good is brought to you by Mazlo. Mazlo simplifies accounting, banking, compliance, and fundraising—so you can focus on your mission, not your back office.
John Roussel (00:00):
What I've always stick to is when I feel this desire in my heart that it's the right thing to do, I just do it. And I think more people should just trust their intuition that you know yourself and what's best for yourself and it'll all work out. And I think sometimes when you're younger in your career, you take on certain jobs or you do certain things for the brand and for the kind of public perception, but can often feel empty inside.
(00:29):
And I think the most rewarding thing to do for yourself and to do for your career is to do things that are going to fill you up.
Kian Alavi (00:37):
I'm Kian Alavi, and this is Built For Good. This show is for community builders, the ones leading missions that matter. We are here to help you move with more clarity and less guesswork, real stories, hard won lessons, data that challenges assumptions and insights that accelerate decision-making. One of my favorite sayings is, if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. Meaningful work does not have to mean going alone. Now let's build some good together. Welcome John. Thank you for joining us.
John Roussel (01:12):
Thank You for having me.
Kian Alavi (01:13):
So John, what I'd like to start with is bring us to this moment in time. So how did your journey bring you to being the founder and CEO of Color Wave?
John Roussel (01:24):
Sure. I will start with the interesting story of where I was at when the organization was founded. So I was at a large corporate organization, really had got to a point in my career where I was looking to be more entrepreneurial and wanted to do something to help people. And what was happening around me were a lot of different things both in the cultural space but also just personally. So at the time, in 2020, this was the spring of 2020, we went into COVID. So we were on lockdown. The kind of events dealing with George Floyd was happening. There was a lot of microscope on inequality in society. And I was also three or four months from having my first child. So a lot of different things, all the things at once. And what ended up happening is I had a conversation with a close friend and told him some of my ambitions of wanting to be an entrepreneur and a leader and lead an effort. And it just so happened that that person, his name is Lean Andrew Robinson, he's on our board now.
Kian Alavi (02:29):
He Was your co-founder.
John Roussel (02:30):
He is a co-founder in Color Wave and a few other alumni for Berkeley. Were having the same conversation. We see all of this inequality. We see the vast amount of wealth that Silicon Valley and the startup space has created. And when we look at who's largely benefited from that, it does not look like the broad spectrum of the world. It looks like a certain set of communities continue to benefit. So they kind of pulled me into the conversation. We got really far in terms of, okay, we think there's something to do here, a mission and an organization we can start. And essentially we decided to start Color Wave for those who are kind of unfamiliar about what Color Wave is. We're a national nonprofit now. At the time we were just two of us doing this work where we aim to close the wealth gap by connecting underrepresented professionals with opportunities across the venture-backed startup sector.
(03:25):
The reason that is important is because if you look at where wealth has been generated really over the last 20 or 25 years, a large segment of that has been created in the tech industry and more specifically in the Bay Area geographically. And what I saw as an opportunity, so I went to college here in the Bay Area at Berkeley. I knew tons of people who were talented, had all the skills to work at these companies, but simply did not consider them mostly by way of their network. They didn't know someone that was working there. They didn't necessarily understand the transformation that this technology would have and went on to have fulfilling careers in other sectors, but to the detriment in some ways is that they did not experience some of the wealth gains that are accumulated by working in this space. And I think that was the trend that me personally and I think more broadly we were trying to solve is create a space where people have proximity to startups and to the tech industry and then also have the opportunity to work at those companies and fulfilling roles contributing to growth and accelerating their personal career trajectory as well as potentially impacting their wealth trajectory for their families.
Kian Alavi (04:40):
So a huge moment in time including personal and you're having your own awakening of we've got to find a way here to make sure that others have access to wealth creating opportunities, a small community of humans, including your co-founder who's now on the board come together and say, let's do this. Let's do color wave.
John Roussel (05:01):
Okay.
Kian Alavi (05:01):
And so what was V one of Color Wave?
John Roussel (05:04):
So V one, I mean there are some people that I would like to thank in our story. So one is there is an ad agency outside out of New York called Mythology. They work with some of the leading D two C brands, just large brands in particular. They donated their time pro bono to help us come up with the name, the initial pitch decks, just a story behind it. So this was all happening in the fall of 2020. We knew that we were going to do some type of program and needed to start an organization. So we got help with telling the story from them and then we went in to think about, well, what is the vessel that we can deliver our mission? And that became what still exists today, which is a fellowship program. So we started a pilot in January, 2021 where we were working with about 22 individuals mostly sourced through kind of interpersonal networks, really trying to test, did this thing that we had thought about, could it actually be something programmatic and long lasting?
(06:08):
So we started in January, 2021 with the first fellowship. It was about eight weeks long. We were mostly taking people through, this is kind of the foundational terminology of the startup space and what things mean, this is what it may look like to work at a startup. And then this is kind of how you package your story and your skillset to be successful in these environments. So that was the intent of the experience is to kind of give people the wraparound support so they understand and can make a transition. About 70% of that first cohort actually went on to work in the startup space. So it's a huge number. Yeah, a huge number. We knew we had some traction there and after the first program ended in March of that year, we got more demand. So the next couple of cycles were about 50 to 75, they went to a hundred. So they just kind of kept growing over time. And I think after that first year, the first two or three cohorts, we knew we had something special and we knew that we had something we could replicate with more people and build a movement around
Kian Alavi (07:16):
What cohort are you on right now?
John Roussel (07:18):
So we just wrapped up the application cycle for our 11th cohort. So this program has went on to serve just over 600 people across the country, across 130 different cities. So one benefit or a blessing of starting in the pandemic was a lot, all of our programming was remote and virtual.
(07:42):
So this allowed us to scale and reach people quicker than maybe if we started in a normal environment where we may have been more geographically focused here. And surprisingly 50% of the people who have completed our program are in the tri-state area. So it just kind of became something of its own. And I would say the other thing trend that we noticed was about after every cohort there were about five people who were recommended by someone who had a great experience in the program. So a lot of the kind of spread, at least in the initial stages was organic, which is very important when you're kind of getting something off the ground is you want people to say, I had a great experience, somebody else should feel this.
Kian Alavi (08:24):
That's Right. There's so much here that I'd like to unpack. First, did you say the name was Mythology?
John Roussel (08:29):
Yes.
Kian Alavi (08:29):
This is a perfect example of where, and we need corporations to step up in general in our world, they're not giving enough. They need to give enough, I'm not the first person to say this and I'm not saying this is John's view, but time, talent, or treasure. So they gave you time and talent which ended up turning into treasure for you all. Something that you could use, that you could begin, that you can get started now you happen to be on the right path doing the right thing, but it takes a community to support and then there's a disaster that's occurring which opens an opportunity, which means everyone's now comfortable getting on camera, being on Zoom and connecting that way and that helps you find others. And then more importantly, I mean you said 70% is an insane number in terms of like, hey, come do this thing and you're going to find something fruitful at the end of this job in technology for folks who normally wouldn't have access makes total sense that one person's now recommending five more and congrats by the way, 11th cohort, which is amazing. Folks don't know this and I'm going to share this. I know John because an investor in Mazlo said, Hey, you got to talk to John and you got to talk to Color Wave. We were looking for folks and I ended up joining a fellowship, I don't know what number it was.
John Roussel (09:48):
It Was last spring, so that would've been our 10th fellowship.
Kian Alavi (09:52):
And I'm speaking to, I remember I was driving home, I pulled over in Oakland and I went to the Pete's over on Grand.
John Roussel (10:02):
Alright, this is a backstory I didn't Even know
Kian Alavi (10:03):
And I told everybody, I'm like, I'm sorry, I got to get on a call and I got on a call and here's like 50 tiles of people and Trevi, who's amazing facilitated and got me comfortable and got me into this wonderful conversation. And people came on mic and we had this insane rich conversation with so many human beings. And from that call I was like, I want to hire this person. I want to hire this person, want to hire this person. We ended up hiring Stephanie Castro who, and Stephanie Castro embodies this extremely talented human being who can solve any problem and is a magical kind of generalist gap filler for what is needed in the startup space. And Stephanie brought off camera over here, Gabriela. And so 20% of our team of amazing humans is because of John's work. So when the team told me we were going to have this conversation, I was really excited as I shared with you coming in because you brought us amazing humans and we get to come together and we've adhered as a unit on the field delivering an incredible service serving our community that we take Mazlo to.
(11:14):
So I just have to express my gratitude to you
John Roussel (11:18):
And I'm thankful for you pulling over to the side of the road and saying, all right, I'm going to stick to the commitment I made. And it turned out to be magic in the end. I think one thing that you kind of referenced that's really important is this concept of relationships and why relationships are important. They're important in life in general, but in the venture backed startup space in particular, so you called out Westbound Equity partners, who is one of your investors. So for those who may not know, this is a values aligned venture fund who is focused on closing gaps while also investing in some of the leading companies that are transforming the world as a part of their remit. They have a foundation where they try to connect community-based organizations with the companies that they invest in to help close those gaps. And Westbound was one of our first sponsors of our work.
(12:12):
So we met Sean and some of his teammates as we were getting it off the ground in the first year. They saw the vision, they saw this as very important to not only what their values were, but also just broadening access to people that they cared about and have been on board since. And I think those relationships continue to compound because if we did not know Westbound, we would not have known Mazlo and Keon, right? That's right. You would not have known Stephanie and Gabriela. So it's the kind of concept of things compound over time and that relationships really matter in this space, which is really key
Kian Alavi (12:49):
Networks are. So the thing about breaking into startups, and I come from a nonprofit space, so I spent almost two decades working in nonprofits before following this problem out the door. And by the time I got out the door and in motion, I found it was hard. And even with me with my network in the Bay Area, I found it hard to get in front of VCs or in front of people who can unlock the resources or unlock the network. And that is extremely hard for people who are not in the Bay or who don't go to Stanford or MIT or have found themselves inside of the network. And there's really an inside and outside to this network. And whether we like it or not, it's about bringing the network, broadening the network and stopping this inside outside thing and letting the most talented people come together and run together,
John Roussel (13:44):
Thats Right,
Kian Alavi (13:44):
Not just the people you know
John Roussel (13:45):
Yes.
(13:47):
And I think that's really where I see us being a gap closer is in the relationship making, both from building relationships with funds. So we've had the opportunity to work with Westbound Insight partners, union Square Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz's, cultural Leadership Fund, spectrum Equity, just a lot of different funds who have over the times found what we do valuable and wanted to sponsor or support our work. And I think that's the thing that where we try to be, I think that's where we're kind of leading in our mission is breaking down those bridges that exist in society. And I don't think they're always intentional, they're just how our society is structured. If you went to Stanford, there's a certain amount of people that you're going to know when you start a company, it's likely you're going to call on some of those same people.
(14:36):
It's a pattern of natural behavior that people have. But I think the implications of that, we always don't think about, well, how do we go beyond our networks? What might we be missing? And I think that's where our program is trying to build a bridge of maybe you can consider more people than, and you may find some rock stars like you found here to really help you power your growth in the future. So it is that relationship closing the gap, closing around relationships where we pride ourselves on being that for the people that we serve.
Kian Alavi (15:07):
Let's Get into how a fellowship is kind of constructed in terms of, so you're looking at John right now, you're like, this could be for me. What does one get when they join Color Wave in terms of support, guidance, network?
John Roussel (15:22):
So in terms of the experience, so we typically look for people across a variety of experience or background. So we take people who may be transitioning from a non-technical background and looking to get into startups for the first time. We take people who may work in corporate America but have no context. You'll be surprised about how many people who work in tech or in big companies and have no network experience in the startup space. We also take individuals who may be in the startup space but are looking to level up or find their next opportunity. So we take a broad swath of individuals across various functions. So you don't have to be technical, you can be non-technical. And I think what we're trying to do is kind of give you all of the context and support to make whatever your transition is possible. So some people come to our program and they want their first job, but they may have worked in nonprofits for example.
(16:25):
What we're doing to that person is giving you the language of what does it mean when somebody says, I'm a series a startup. I'm a series a FinTech. That's like coded language that you may not have experienced or heard before. And then we layer on top of that. All right, so you kind of have the terminology. Well, let's hear from leaders in the space. So we bring in people like yourself. We've brought in the CEO of Kickstarter, Everett, we brought in Tom Chavez who is a serial entrepreneur. We brought in a lot of individuals who have had journey from various backgrounds to talk about these are the expectations, this is what it looks like to work at a startup. This is how you may think about your career and navigating it over time. So that's kind of a key component. And then really in the second half of the experience, kind of in the latter half, well, how do you tell your story?
(17:20):
So if you came from nonprofit, what are transferable skills or ways to talk about your experience that may land? Maybe you've had experiences that you don't think are transferable, but when you put them in the right terminology, people can see that the applicability to what they're doing in their business. Maybe there's an opportunity to talk about resiliency and why that's important or how you show up as an entrepreneur and have autonomy or leadership in what you do. So some of it is about storytelling, and I would say the last element is in building the actual connection to opportunity. So our model, the reason why we work with funds is because a fund typically invests in dozens to hundreds to thousands of startups. So they are a center of various ecosystems that they've created, and what they allow us to do is connect our community to all of the companies that they invest in.
(18:15):
So often we're working through the platform team or somebody at the portfolio level to tell us this company is in growth mode. I think these candidates should go look at this company or consider this. Or when we have Knight that we host, they'll bring certain representatives to talk about their companies, whether it be founders, recruiters, et cetera. So building those relationships that allow people to get into interview processes and ultimately get a role. And historically what we found is that when people do transition, they experience some level of economic mobility. On average, people have achieved a $45,000 increase in their total comp, which also now includes equity, which is a concept that people aren't necessarily used to experiencing, whether they work at a big corporate organization or even in nonprofit. So it's kind of opening the universe for those individuals.
Kian Alavi (19:11):
Amazing. Tom Chavez is also an investor in Mazlo through Superset, and he's an incredible startup entrepreneur
John Roussel (19:18):
Yes
Kian Alavi (19:18):
Someone That we're grateful, including with Sean to have in our corner. So let's talk about the story because being able to tell your story and connect. So I think about with startups, you're moving so fast and there is no, sure, there hopefully is some kind of onboarding and getting folks tucked in, but really it's like, okay, grab the ore that's your side of the boat today and start rowing and maybe you're going to come over here and steer tomorrow and the next day. So it's this high risk, high reward, rapidly moving space. And so I know you know this, and for those who don't know this, the reason why networks become the default, because you're trusting somebody to basically say, Hey, you know what? I know this person's durable and a problem solver and they can hang in there. We know what you're up against. And so you may come from a nonprofit background or a big corp background and maybe you are that person, but your resume may not say that or tell that story. And so a founder's looking at this resume, they have no idea what they're seeing. So really if you can get the resume at least to crack the door open, then you have a moment to tell the founder or the team how you can contribute, not just take tickets, but contribute and build. So let's go there for a second.
John Roussel (20:43):
Yeah, so I mean, storytelling is critical across the startup space. As a founder, you have to be able to tell a great story to get people to buy your product, to get people to invest. You're doing storytelling in this element right now. So I think we impress upon people the importance of getting that story both by repetition, by coded language, making sure you understand the language that you should be communicating in. And then I think the other piece is helping people see what may be hidden in your background. I think what often happens in, we often call it pattern matching in this space, like, oh, you've done sales at a series B company, come do that over here. And sometimes that can work for a company and sometimes
(21:32):
That is not the greatest way to approach things because you miss certain hidden gems or people that will are eager to contribute, have skills. And I think that's I the differentiator between some people who come through our program is just that both humility and eagerness to contribute. Whereas I feel like sometimes when you get really deep into the startup space, you're seeing people leave companies every year because they didn't meet my salary. There's all these superficial things of like, oh, maybe they weren't really committed. So we have a lot of people I think, who are hungry to prove themselves and often stay 2, 3, 4 or five years in terms of supporting the company's growth. But a lot of what we're doing in our program is helping them craft that story, but also understanding these are going to be the expectations of working in a startup. And there is one thing that we do in the program that I think is helpful for evaluating a risk tolerance.
(22:30):
So towards the beginning of the program, we have people not only go through their haves and have nots, but also think about, well what stage of company does it feel like I'm actually ready to step into? Do I want a company that's early stage and I get to have more autonomy control, support, I get to see what I'm doing every day in action, or do I want to join a later stage company where I may be learning more or part of a bigger team or maybe I don't have as much impact. And understanding the trade-offs between both from a career mobility perspective, but also from a financial perspective. If you go to an earlier stage company, you likely are going to have more responsibility, but the upside is not clearly determined yet. If you go to a later stage company, there may be more of a financially attractive package, but you might be a middle level manager and are you going to at some point get fed up with that? So it's like helping them understand where you are going to position yourself, both on your skillset, your storytelling, and then also I will say your risk tolerance. What is your risk level at this point in your career?
Kian Alavi (23:39):
Not only are we going to show you what the startup world looks like, gets you acquainted, gets you understanding how the different stages work, but then we're going to turn you in and talk about your risk tolerance and figure out what's best for you because what's best for you, maybe you have a family and you need more of a more stable environment versus early stage, which is a little rougher and Tumblr. And so knowing where you're going to thrive matters
John Roussel (24:02):
For Sure.
(24:03):
I mean, I think sometimes if you just kind of come into the startup space without all of this context, you'll take a job. You may have a poor experience, but some of it is because you didn't do that work internally or research to know really where you fit and where does this experience fit within your longer career journey. And I think that's one of the reasons we have a speaker series pretty much every week of the cohort, and that is one of the reasons we like to bring in veteran startup operators to talk about this was the decision making process. When I left corporate to go into a startup, I had to talk to my wife that things were going to be a little bit different, I may be working longer. There are all these elements that you may have in a conversation if you're really close with somebody, but if you've never worked in this space, it's hard to get access to that context to know what really works for you.
Kian Alavi (24:58):
So this is built for good. It's about those who are building things for good and for the good of others. And Color Wave is clearly doing that and it's very successful at that. And we were talking earlier before the show started about we're in a different period now from where you started and things have changed, drastically changed. So technology is drastically changing. With the introduction of ai, the jury's out whether it's going to eat all the jobs or create a whole bunch of new jobs, and we're also facing an insane funding environment that has changed and is likely not going to ever go back to the way it used to be. So what is Color Wave working on in light of all this? Or how is color Wave adapting, and evolving?
John Roussel (25:41):
Yeah, so I think to kind of address some of the headwinds, we talked about a few before the podcast started, but I think obviously because we serve certain communities, the kind of roll back and backlash against DEI has had some level of impact on some sponsorships that we have. Mostly some organizations have totally done away with some of the teams that we're working on this or cut back the budgets. So that has impacted some of what we do. That's a reality. One of the other things that we face is kind of these cycles within technology really in the last five to six years I share, we started at the height of exuberance, funding exuberance. So when we started startups were overvalued. Some people will say overvalued growing really fast, and I think we've had to adjust to the changes of staff sizes and different things like that.
(26:37):
And then I think this third element of AI has thrown another wrench of, well, how large will an organization be? What efficiencies will you gain from ai? What skills do you need to have in terms of being ready to work at a company, whether they work in AI or not? I think a lot of those have forced us to, to look inward and think about, well, how do we do this work with the resources available? So we have leaned into our community. So this current fellowship is one that will be led mostly by our alumni, which speaks to their allegiance to the work that we do, but also their desire to give back to others, which is also a compelling element of our community, is people feel a really strong affinity to the work that we do and how we do it. So I was proud to see some of our alumni kind of leaning in and supporting the organization.
(27:30):
The other thing that we're kind of navigating is how do we show up as, I wouldn't say necessarily a thought leader, but someone who's in the conversation of helping those we serve, understand how they thrive in the environment of ai. So we're having some conversations about whether we can be a convener about to discuss solutions within ai. I think what we're often hearing in this current environment is you're going to be displaced. There is not a clear pathway to leadership for certain people who may be junior in their career. You think about software engineers, right? They're saying there will be less and less people who are junior software engineers because of the technology. So I think we're thinking about how do we move the conversation into one of more agency for people of how do you use the technology to create value for yourself? How may you use it to start your own businesses?
(28:26):
And then what are the expectations of using the technology when you get on the job that may be different from a few years ago. So situating the conversation about the future more than the doom and gloom that we hear in the headlines. I think those are some areas I think leaning into our community has been really important in these times. And then I think the piece around thinking about what is the next iteration of Color wave and how do we survive in a rapidly changing technological environment is kind of where we're at as an organization right now.
Kian Alavi (28:57):
Amazing. Can we just zoom in a little bit on, so it sounds like instead of the doom and gloom, you can see that the shift is occurring. So you're trying to get out in front of it or go out ahead. And so how does that look in practice? What are you actually doing at Color Wave around? Okay, let's forget about the doom and gloom. Let's figure out what opportunities are still available to us and what new opportunities are available to us with ai.
John Roussel (29:22):
Yeah, so I think we have, well last, this was in 2024, we actually led a program to upskill people in ai. It was sponsored by Google's tech Equity collective. We worked with about 25 individuals to both help them get trained up in certain areas of ai, but then also connect them to projects as startups to get experience kind of using the technology or working around the technology. It was a residency program, so it was a program that basically gave them the skills and the experience together. Where we are thinking about now is how do we maybe work with certain larger leaders in AI technology? So can we work with the Anthropics Open, ais, Databricks, those type of companies to get more access and exposure to their technology, but then also kind of orient the communities we serve about This is how you can adapt the technology to create value for yourself.
(30:22):
So this is how you can use it in a way that might get you a job, or this is a way that you may think about structuring a side business that brings in revenue. So thinking about those ways of personal value creation beyond just exposure to prompting, which I think is where just prompting lovable and all these different tools is not enough. I think you have to think more strategically about how you can leverage those to actually survive in this environment. So we are actively, we've been applying to a lot of grants, actively seeking AI partners to do this work at scale, both for the people we serve, but even more people in the future. And I think the other thing that's important is as we work with more investors, bringing them to the table to help inform how they're thinking about the tech stack, I think that's a hidden element of our work is like they're investing in all of the future tech stack. How do we have more conversations with them that guide us to where we may be guiding people in the future? So I think those are some of the things that we're kind of thinking about on the AI forefront, that we're kind going through that process right now of getting what programming may exist and how we may approach those problems in the future.
Kian Alavi (31:37):
I just want to zoom in on the fact that there is no social change without collaboration. So you're calling on others to collaborate, you're working with others to learn what they're thinking, and you're synthesizing that into better opportunities at Color Wave.
John Roussel (31:51):
That's right.
Kian Alavi (31:51):
Yeah. The funding environment for nonprofits has changed drastically. What are y'all doing to combat that? And also don't toss 'em under the bus, but are the investors that you work with, are they still stepping up and funding the work?
John Roussel (32:07):
Yes, there's been some investors that have kind of shut down some of their initiatives, but there's a core set of partners like Westbound Equity Partners and a few other funds, Andreessen Horowitz's Cultural Leadership Fund. They've continued to support this work and continue to support ecosystem work more broadly. So I think we're still seeing kind of those partners that planted a flag in the beginning and were mission aligned. They're still doing the work in terms of us as an organization. We've had to get a little more creative in both how we resource the organization, staffing and different things like that. So we found some new partners in how we do our work. So we've been supporting some other nonprofits that do work beyond what we have traditionally worked with. So this will be working with college students, so being almost like a subcontractor or partner to some of the programs that they're doing.
(33:02):
Leveraging this kind of experience and skillset. We now developed in program management, program execution. So we've gotten creative in terms of service providing. We've also kind of explored new partnerships. So last fall we led a pitch competition in collaboration with Amplitude and Braze to support founders at the earliest stages in getting access to capital and exposure to investors. And some of those efforts have kind of continued throughout this year. So I think in this moment, a lot of nonprofits are thinking about alternative ways to support themselves in this moment. And I think we've leaned into that. In addition to kind of bringing in some of our alumni to help with some of the staffing is like I may not be able to have a robust program team maybe as much as I could have, but I know that we have the processes in place that enable my alumni to step in and probably do a pretty good job with the programs that we offer.
(34:05):
So I think we've got creative in those ways, but I think where there's area for opportunity is as companies amass enormous wealth from AI and other technology that's being developed, and even foundations as they see their coffers grow from donor-advised funds in different places, I think these entities having a perspective on where they want to make an impact in the world and finding organizations that are maybe a little bit smaller like us and investing in them, whether it be through their staff, through actual dollars. I think there's often this gap in the foundation world, but also in the kind of corporate giving world where if you're not a United Way or these big entities, it's hard to take up space and get attention when you're doing really great work. And I think I would encourage more large foundations, corporate giving, corporate responsibility to really identify where they want to have an impact and then search for organizations that are outside the norm. That's almost like what we do in our program. It's like there's a parallel there of finding this. I consider us a Stephanie. So finding the Stephanie's, which I think is a colorway, which is doing awesome work, but often aren't on their radar maybe because of size or maybe because of network. So I think that's where I would see an opportunity within this space to fund organizations like us.
Kian Alavi (35:37):
So if you are a philanthropist running a foundation and you're watching this podcast, there's going to be a link in the show notes, go to Color Wave. I mean philanthropy needs to write the check and send the check. And if you have a daf, you need to spend it down. I mean, this is a big problem that we have in general, but we need those dollars to start moving towards organizations that are making a difference. One of the things that I think matters here is there's this narrative where, oh, I don't know if there's going to be a return on investment or whatever, but there's nothing more powerful than a human who has raw talent or has amazing talent getting locked into a great network, getting a good job, and getting support and then building wealth for themselves and their community. I mean, if we're going to talk about transformation and not being dependent on a philanthropic model to help those who don't have access, we're going to talk about resourcing individuals to break in so they can break out.
John Roussel (36:34):
And that's very important in terms of, we talked about alternative ways to support our organization. Our alumni are giving back now because they see the value we've had in their personal lives, in their careers, but also I think there's this kind of opportunity where there was a nonprofit last week that shut its doors and almost brought tears to my eyes because the current environment has kind of squeezed a lot of nonprofits and how they support themselves. So I think there's this kind of space right now where nonprofits are kind of adapting to this existing reality, maybe don't see themselves in the next five years. And I think it's really critical for the supporters and even some of the people that have come through various programs to find ways to give back. And that might not always be monetarily. That could be by giving time, by making connections, but it feels like if we want these organizations to exist in the long term, this is an area where more people can step up, including foundations, individuals, etc.
Kian Alavi (37:43):
Most people don't know, but 85% of Americans benefit from the nonprofit sector. It could be the place where your children are safe in the morning before school or healthcare or someone supporting your family or veterans or young folks who are looking to get economic mobility in a job. So if you're listening to this because John are you found your way here and you benefited from a nonprofit at some point in your life, maybe think about that nonprofit definitely and call on that nonprofit. And again, time, talent, treasure, you have one of those things that you can give and give it. I mean, the thing about this space is people commit arm in arm to building work together,
John Roussel (37:43):
Kian Alavi (38:24):
Working On things that we care about across the country. It doesn't matter what state you're in, what city you're in. So somewhere somebody has benefited. So turn and help especially right now.
John Roussel (38:34):
Absolutely.
Kian Alavi (38:34):
Yeah. John, let's talk a little bit about John's done the thing, he's still doing the thing, he's a leader now. He's helped many, he's caring, raising his family. What would you tell younger John now that you got here?
John Roussel (38:50):
I mean, I think one of the things that I always have followed and one that I would just continue to impress upon myself if I were younger, is to follow your intuition and your heart. I feel like there were a lot of times people directed me, you should go work in investment banking, consulting, and all of these spaces. And I built a relatively fulfilling and rewarding career helping other people. So I was a core member and teach for America. When I graduated from college, I was an education pioneer for some time when I was in grad school. I spent the first eight years of my career helping to grow schools across America in a back office position. So in places where you don't get seen, but you're having an impact. And even in this decision, I didn't share this at the beginning, but one of the things that I struggle with, and I brought this up last year at our fifth year anniversary is I kind of took on this role not necessarily telling my wife that I was going to do this, I had already made the decision one, I will never do that again.
Kian Alavi (39:59):
So wifey, if you're listening, I'm sure you've already heard him say this,
John Roussel (40:03):
But I think what I've always stick to is when I feel this desire in my heart that it's the right thing to do, I just do it. And I think more people should just trust their intuition that you know yourself and what's best for yourself and it'll all work out. And I think sometimes when you're younger in your career, you take on certain jobs or you do certain things for the brand and for the kind of public perception, but can often feel empty inside.
Kian Alavi (40:33):
That's Right.
John Roussel (40:33):
And I think the most rewarding thing to do for yourself and to do for your career is to do things that are going to fill you up. Because when it is two, three in the morning, you can always go back to this is why I am doing this. You have this conviction in why you're doing it. It's almost like it is being a founder, right? Yeah. Hundred. It's like you are making this conscious decision to do this crazy thing that nobody necessarily believes in or sees the vision, but the thing that kind of keeps you coming back is that passion or that kind of thing that's in your heart and in your gut that tells you, this is what I need to be doing. So I think the more that I could have told myself, you're making the right decision by trusting your gut is what I would tell myself and what I would tell people who are listening.
Kian Alavi (41:20):
I love that. There's a term that my friend Madison Holland shared with me, which is heart led. And I think a lot of people think if you're heart led, you're weak or you're not strong. But I think it's actually much stronger to be able to think, have logic, have all of this power cognitively, but also to be emotionally centered and heart led. Does this matter to me and will this fill my cup? Because that's what you'll draw on when it gets really hard. And folks who don't stick to things and they jump around a lot, and that's okay. I did that a bunch in my early days until I hit that moment where I said to myself, no more, if it's not also ringing in here, I'm not going to do it. Which meant a lot of nos and also taking much harder roads, but that became much more fulfilling. I love that advice. Okay. John's a leader, and leaders know it's lonely at the top, and right now it's especially hard in this world everywhere. Where do you find your optimism? What do you do to stay positive in light of all the crazy pressures which can feel overwhelming right now?
John Roussel (42:33):
Yeah, I think everybody has some level of overwhelm, whether it being technology, what you're reading in the headlines, it feels like a tumultuous time that we're navigating. I think there's kind of two areas where I think I find peace optimism, and there are kind of on two separate sides. So on the professional side, I think I get the most joy, the most reward when the people that come through our program, the people that we support tell us all of the different things that they're doing after they leave our program. So whether that be they got their first job at a startup, we got some news last fall that one of our earlier alumni from when we first started was he was awarded Forbes 30 under 30. And when you trace his pathway back, it was like, okay, we helped you get the startup job. You leveraged the startup job to get this key investor job, and now you're on this list.
(43:33):
So I think the more that we see our life come to work, it just makes you want to continue to do what we feel is So I think that's kind of every time I hear a good update from our alumni, that really gives me a lot of encouragement and optimism to keep doing the work. I think on the personal front, it's really seeing the development of my children. So I have a five-year-old and a three-year-old, and Sean at Westbound was teasing me. My parents would never do this, but our son is really into lizards. He had a birthday party last fall where we had the Berkeley vivarium come and show all of the animals that they have. And then he used that opportunity to basically, I would say, convince us that he needed a lizard. So about three weeks ago, my wife adopted a dragon lizard.
(44:25):
So I have a huge dragon lizard and an extra room in my house. My mom was there when we got the dragon lizard, and she was looking at me really crazy. I would've never allowed this, but this is new age parenting. So I think leaning into their development and their interest is something that when you look back on it, it's like, oh, he's going to always remember that It's an educational opportunity. So I think that those type of scenarios are always funny. To live as a dad and then also just continue to fill me up, and also knowing that I'm going to have a lot more variety than I had growing up is great. It gives me a sense of optimism As a dad.
Kian Alavi (45:09):
I love that. I'm a dad too, and I have a similar scenario, a six and three, almost four, and yeah, all day, every day, these moments of joy and innocence and also parenting's, not for everyone, and that's cool, but for those who are doing it, you get to really invest in someone's future directly, which is a really incredible and Humbling
John Roussel (45:31):
Yeah
Kian Alavi (45:31):
Experience.
John Roussel (45:33):
You realize the weight being a parent of like, yes, I'm sculpting somebody who's going to go out into the world, and I feel like as a child, you may not have thought about it. You're approaching it from a different perspective now. So you see how your influence, what you do is going to impact how they show up in the world.
Kian Alavi (45:50):
Yeah. I'm going to say this because it's on my heart. The most important lesson I have come to learn about parenting is it's not so much about parenting. It's about are you going to slay that demon from your past when it comes up, or are you just going to say, I'm passing it on. And that's just the way it is, kid. And the hardest part is to say, okay, you know what? Maybe I don't really want to be that person. I'm experiencing this frustration, this anger, this impatience. I'm going to find the gap here. I'm going to slow it down, and I'm going to change the parts of me who I don't want to be anymore to ensure that I'm not passing that on. And that's hard, That's Hard.
John Roussel (46:29):
That is so challenging as a parent is not to kind of bring what you experienced to their lives and try to set a different path in certain ways where you felt like you may have been misguided or felt like you didn't get the support. And parenting is hard. I mean, parenting in addition to being, and you could put maybe a test is like in addition to being a founder, parenting can be a full-time job, and it's very difficult balancing in this environment. Whereas I feel like growing up, maybe my parents had a little more help. I feel like now I'm taking on a lot of responsibility. So that's also another area where it becomes a job almost sometimes.
Kian Alavi (47:13):
Yeah, My dad, God rest his soul, he used to use this term bell to bell. The first bell in the morning to the last bell at night was work. Absolutely. And you worked in the restaurant business, but that's the way it is to be a founder and you're working past the bell and you're working before the bell, and you're trying to hold all of it together and build all the worlds at the same time. Yeah. John, what do people need to know about color wave and why color wave matters?
John Roussel (47:40):
Yeah, so well, one, I want to thank you for the opportunity to share a little bit more about our organization. I think we are committed to making sure that those that we serve have access to the full opportunity in the venture-backed startup space. And I think in our work, we've proven that out and it's just a movement that we want to continue to grow from here. I think as we think about the future, there are opportunities for people to potentially support our work, whether it be, like you said, time, talent, treasure. There are opportunities for you to contribute even though you may not realize it. So I would just encourage people to think about how are you creating access in your own life and where you can open doors, because I think that's a critical part of what we do, and really impress upon people finding, whether it be color, wave or elsewhere, opportunities to support where you see people doing great work. I think, like I mentioned earlier, there are nonprofits that are under threat, and this is the perfect opportunity for people to really give back and get involved. So I think that's the thing that I would lead people with is making sure that you know about our organization. If you're in the startup space, and feel free to contact us, but if you are outside of this space, make sure you're finding an opportunity to give back in this moment.
Kian Alavi (49:05):
Yeah. If you believe in the promise of being here and being an American, you Believe That all groups,
John Roussel (49:14):
Absolutely
Kian Alavi (49:15):
Everyone deserves an opportunity and we can all come together around that. And I thank you for joining us, John. You've made my life better. Alright, a hundred percent. Thank you for the work you're committed to. If you're a vc, find color, wave. If you're a foundation, find color wave. I promise you, you're going to be putting resources behind some of the best we have to offer. You're here and if you are interested in getting into technology and you have been previously not networked in or given opportunities to get in there, you should check out Color Wave.
John Roussel (49:50):
Absolutely.
Kian Alavi (49:50):
Yeah. We'll put all the links in the show notes. John, I appreciate you, man. Thank you for Joining us.
John Roussel (49:55):
Thank you. Thanks for having me.
Kian Alavi (49:56):
All right.