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Prisoners Become Entrepreneurs: A Second Chance
20 Feb
Summary
- Nonprofit Defy Ventures trains incarcerated individuals as entrepreneurs.
- Entrepreneurial skills learned are transferable to legal businesses.
- Program boasts high employment and low recidivism rates for grads.
Defy Ventures is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that provides entrepreneurship training programs within prisons in eight U.S. states. The organization views entrepreneurship as a humanizing force, transforming individuals from 'inmate numbers' to 'entrepreneurs-in-training' (EITs).
This program highlights that core business skills like cash management, marketing, and operations are shared between legal and illegal enterprises. Defy aims to repurpose this inherent 'hustle' into legitimate business acumen, emphasizing problem-solving, viable products, and scalability in EITs' pitches.
For individuals returning home from incarceration, entrepreneurship offers a compelling path to economic independence, circumventing difficulties in traditional employment. Glazier notes that the program's success is evidenced by 85% of released graduates securing employment within six months and a recidivism rate under 10%.
The underlying principle is that entrepreneurship is an inherently human endeavor, allowing individuals to envision and build a future. This process is seen as an expression of freedom, offering a pathway to personal transformation and societal reintegration.
