Whether they started with a brilliant idea that they sensed could help people or were inspired by a problem caused by current events, every startup founder is changed by the journey.
Sasha Seletsky, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of SummerBio, and Ainsley Braun, Co-Founder and CEO of Tinfoil Security, are no exceptions. Both have dealt with challenges and have pivoted when faced with failure. They’ve experienced loneliness after success, and politely tolerated unsolicited advice. But both also leaned on colleagues and experienced unexpected support from people in their networks, learning valuable lessons and skills every step of the way.
In a recent discussion moderated by Jason Baker, SVP of Transportation, Health and Housing Policy at SVLG, Seletsky and Braun spoke candidly about what it’s like to be an entrepreneur, sharing wild stories, useful insights, and inspiring ideas.
Great achievements often start small.
In the case of Annamarie Huerta Franc, Managing Director of SAP Labs US, she can trace it back to her five-year-old self having a conversation with her father about what she wanted to do when she grew up. She told him she wanted to be a nurse, because boys were doctors and girls were nurses.
WASHINGTON, DC (Dec. 2, 2021)—UNCF – the nation’s most effective minority education organization – and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG) – California’s most dynamic business association, representing more than 350 leading companies in Silicon Valley – today announced a partnership and initiative that will connect HBCU students to internship and career opportunities within the Silicon Valley tech companies, and address longstanding tech-workforce diversity issues.
SAN JOSÉ, CA (December 1, 2021) — Federal officials from the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services will join an important conversation around mental health challenges among the nation’s youth stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The conversation comes on the heels of a recent report issued by SVLG examining how Bay Area schools are addressing the underlying stressors and concerns facing local youth during the pandemic. The summit will also include an important announcement around establishing new career pathways between Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Silicon Valley’s innovation ecosystem.
San Jose, CA (Nov. 30, 2021) — The Silicon Valley Leadership Group today unveiled its new Launch Circuit Initiative, a startup support network in which a dynamic and diverse selection of founders will gain access to training, networks, events, access to capital, and mentoring curated to propel them toward success. SVLG CEO Ahmad Thomas emphasized the importance of supporting entrepreneurs in a highly competitive business environment.
As we near the end of 2021, we are celebrating a year of legislative wins for our members and our region. Our policy work on behalf of our members embodies the overarching values and principles of our community, which include accountability, equity, inclusion, and environmental stewardship. We are working hard to reinvest in our community and its livability, to ensure that we continue to attract and retain the world’s best tech talent. As part of our efforts to foster business competitiveness and create shared value together, we engaged on a significant number of bills during the 2021 Legislative Session in Sacramento. We supported many measures that were ultimately signed by the Governor, and we helped to shape policy discussions around proposed legislation that could have curtailed innovation. Here are some examples of our work on behalf of our members in 2021.
SAN JOSÉ, CA (November 19, 2021) — Leading diverse chief executives Mellody Hobson, Co-CEO and President of Ariel Investments, and Enrique Lores, President and CEO of HP Inc., today urged their peers in Silicon Valley to establish clear, measurable and accountable business goals to drive the overdue progress on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Their comments were offered earlier today during the Innovating Equity Summit, hosted by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and sponsored by Genentech, the San Francisco 49ers and Blue Shield of California.
SVLG CEO Ahmad Thomas releases a statement on the verdict of Kyle Rittenhouse.
SAN JOSÉ,CA (Nov 17, 2021) — The Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG) today announced several new speakers will join the ‘Innovating Equity’ Summit on November 19, including a closing spotlight Q&A with John Rice, Founder and CEO of Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), and SVLG CEO Ahmad Thomas. SVLG also announced the addition of an ‘Inclusive Conversation’ dialogue with California legislators Senator Sydney Kamlager and Assemblymembers Cristina Garcia and Evan Low.
Join us for the first in a series of fireside chats planned by SVLG’s Racial Justice and Equity portfolio on Police Accountability and Public Safety. These conversations will be rooted in the recent passage of SB2, a bill focused on police accountability, and focus on how the local governments are approaching public safety as people …
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