The 92 Report

"Climate change is a matter now of extreme urgency. Our failure to act is a failure of imagination but recent developments suggest the pace is picking up. Within asset management, climate change and specifically carbon emissions are central factors within the broader sustainability/ESG approach.

Finance is a key conduit and asset managers now need to assess the climate risk within their investments. The need to extract this information from the companies in which they invest will not only create greater transparency in terms of disclosing climate risk but it also will force change on companies who are not making the necessary adjustments." Jean-Jacques Barrow

Jean-Jacques Barrow, a member of the Harvard and Radcliffe class of 1992, shares his journey since graduating from Harvard. He began his career as an English major and moved to Paris for a four-month contract as an editorial assistant with the International Herald Tribune, which has since been rebranded the International New York Times. He learned about how journalism functions and how it is required that one serves their time on the periphery and provinces. One of his tasks was transcribing key data from the Bloomberg terminal for the financial section, so he began educating himself about the world of finance. After this position ended, he moved back to Geneva during a recession and took many jobs, including working at a construction work removal company. He eventually secured a job as an editor at Capital International, one of the world's largest asset managers where his job was to take minutes and write reports on investment meetings.

Working in Swiss Private Banking

He was initially impatient to secure an opportunity in the investment industry, but eventually landed a job at Swiss private banking. The Swiss private banking industry was built around tax evasion and tax optimization, but over the last 20-25 years, the industry has changed due to pressures from the European Union and the US following many scandals. The industry has become more regulated, open, and legitimate, with a focus on decoding assets and legitimate tax optimization. He believes that the key driver for change in the industry is the pressure from the US around undeclared funds from people who had not survived the Second World War, particularly Jewish, deposited in Switzerland. This pressure has led to a shift in the industry's focus on decoding assets and legitimate tax optimization.

Jean-Jacques shares what he learned about tax evasion when he moved to the investment desk and started his apprenticeship, knowing very little and learning on the job. He worked for Bankers Trust, which was a pivotal moment in his career, but it ended up collapsing due to the Russia bond crisis and Korea's aggressive approach. He learned the basis of implementation and focused on discretionary portfolio management. His experience in private banking was interesting, and he talks about the many interesting developments he witnessed. He was also involved in the world of events and geopolitical forces. He later moved to the Royal Bank of Canada, where he was assigned to the French Canadian market and North American markets. However, due to the Canadian bank's regulated status, there was limited investment content based in Switzerland.

Investment Management, Social Entrepreneurship, and Microfinance

Jean-Jacques decided to pivot towards investment management and pursued an executive MBA at INSEAD. He became interested in social entrepreneurship and microfinance. After graduating, he found himself in the midst of a potential slowdown in 2008, which was a challenging time for job opportunities. He found a disconnect between what microfinance was supposed to be and the reality. However, the initial concept has evolved, and he was inspired by the business model developed by Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus, who aimed to help the poor with micro loans.

Sustainable Investing as a Growing Trend

JJ talks about sustainable investing as a growing trend in the financial sector. This shift has been driven by the changing regulatory environment in Europe, which is becoming more strict about financial reporting on portfolio content. The screening process has evolved, with companies now actively screening companies within sensitive sectors, such as the extraction industry and energy banking. The process has also been refined, with a global climate 2035 portfolio focused on names and companies related to fighting climate change. This approach is a reaction to the increasing regulatory environment in Europe, which is becoming more strict about financial reporting on portfolio content. He talks about investing in secondary markets and how investing in companies with technology can help support the emergence of technology in the mainstream. However, when investing in secondary markets, the capacity to generate changes may be muted. The regulators are pushing companies to be more explicit about their environmental risks and more detailed about the externalities they generate. This will drive change, if companies are not open about their environmental risk, they may face punishment from shareholders and public challenges in general meetings. In Switzerland, the collapse of a major Swiss bank, Credit Suisse, was a prime example of how minority shareholders pushed companies to exit investment banking to stop funding fossil fuels. This has led to the closure of investment banks and the need for companies to be more transparent about their environmental risks.

ESG Investing and Shareholder Power

Jean-Jacques mentions the importance of ESG investing and its potential to drive change in the energy sector. He explains that ESG investing has outperformed the broader market over the last five years, with a natural quality bias and exposure to tech. However, the recent increase in enthusiasm for this style of investing in 2022 has led to delays in good intentions. He discusses the evolution of ESG investing in Europe, with companies realizing that stricter regulations will require more disclosure of information. This has led to companies realizing they need to be more open or push back. The energy sector is experiencing a shift towards clean energy from companies like Macau and BP, and moving towards electric generation and grid technologies. Despite the pessimistic mood in Europe, he believes there are reasons to be hopeful about the scale of investment and deployment. He points out that banks can add value by engaging and challenging major companies to change their remuneration policies and CEOs. He also emphasizes the importance of shareholder cooperation and the power of shareholders to influence corporate behavior. He cites the example of a company that failed to listen to dissenting shareholders, but he believes that if shareholders work together, they can make a significant difference in the industry.

The ESG Scorecard and How it Works

JJ explains that analysts typically have a scorecard across ESG, with different industries having different weights. For example, in the mining industry, the environmental side is higher, and there are subset segments in terms of water usage, pollution risk, and other externalities. To have an ESG rating, a company must meet a certain score. The industry has a lot of topsy-turvy stuff going on, and some analysts don't consider Tesla to be eligible because of the GE and Tesla, the government side is diabolical, and Exxon has extraordinarily good governance. Companies with good ESG attract good talent, draw upon a broader pool of talented individuals, and have better employer loyalty. The urgency around emissions has led to a sense of urgency in engagement in company response, investment, fairs, exchanges, and industry discussions. He explains that he played his cards differently in his first job at Capitol International by keeping his big mouth shut and being less confrontational. He learned to respect rules and respect rules in the American corporate environment, and he learned to source his views from different areas. He also appreciates that he has a different educational and career route, having attended Harvard and a level of intellectual curiosity. He emphasizes the importance of going off the intellectual print, orthodoxy, and looking beyond traditional sources. He advises interns and juniors to listen to other reports and sources, as it helps him understand viewpoints from classmates in different areas and doing different things.

Influential Courses and Professors at Harvard

JJ discusses his time at Harvard and the two key takeaways he learned from his time there. He highlights the expository writing course he took as a freshman year and the masters swimming course, which he found to be a valuable source of learning. He also highlights the importance of being clear, concise, and succinct in his daily work, especially when dealing with an audience not necessarily in English. These two key takeaways have shaped his future, particularly in terms of his interests and the core curriculum. He mentions the Behavioral Biology and Evolution courses, as well professor Neil Wilson and professor Raymond Siever's class on geology, which exposed him to the world's cycles of physical life and the impact of man on the planet.

Recommended Reads:

Saving the Plant without the Bullshit, Assaad Rarrock. Don't let the title put you off, this is good starting point.

How the World Really Works, Vaclav Smil Makes clear the scope of the transition. Great reality check and myth buster.

Petroleum Papers. Geoff Dembicki The role of energy companies in the current climate debate. I would not be long oil stocks…

Learning to Die in the Anthropocene, Ray Scranton Bleak but an eye opener on the worst case scenario.

Five Times Faster. Simon Sharpe. The author is active within government, policy making and the COP meetings. Very insightful, and great primer on why we are where we are. There is still time but we need to move five times faster.

Useful Sources:

Bloomberg Green, MSCI ESG. In terms of sustainability disclosure, ISSB has launched IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standard (S1 General disclosures, S2 Climate related).

Timestamps:

02:16 The start of his career in finance

09:11 Pursuing a career in social entrepreneurship and micro finance

18:09 The evolution of sustainable investing

21:09 How sustainable investing makes a difference

25:51 ESG reporting requirements

27:42 The current state of the energy sector

30:55 How banks can add value to their shareholders

37:40 The ESG scorecard

CONTACT:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jean-jacques-barrow-710a606/

Show Notes:

Steve Lebowitz discusses his journey since graduating from Harvard and his passion for investing. He graduated from law school at HLS. He practiced law for around seven years but decided it wasn't for him. He developed a passion for investing and joined a private equity group, where he worked for 17 years. Then,four years ago, he launched a private equity firm called Brand Velocity Group. The firm focuses on consumer-focused middle market expertise and marketing. He believes that private equity often overlooks the human side of the equation, which is critical for founders' businesses. He believes that founders should focus on employee well-being and culture, giving 10% of their carried interest to the employees of their portfolio companies, not senior employees. This approach is not only about money but also shows that employees matter and that founders care about people. Steve and his firm wanted to make a difference and align their firm with human nature and what successful businesses do, focusing on the important role employees play and not merely reduce them to a number on a spreadsheet. Steve and his team have been working on various initiatives, such as coaching, training, and acts of kindness, to bring their company closer to human nature. He found the current culture of private equity firms is dated and wanted to change how their company operated.

Building Company Culture and Employee Loyalty

The company is focused on building goodwill and treating their own and their client's employees well, not just financially. They are implementing various strategies, such as coaching, democratizing coaching, and offering discounts to employees. They are also phasing coaching to 20% of their company's employees, which is a significant portion of their company's earnings. Another example is offering gift cards to employees affected by hurricanes. This gesture shows that the company is committed to helping employees during difficult times. They also provide various Disney perks, such as VIP tours and tickets, in partnership with Barbecue Guys. The company's approach to interacting with frontline employees is based on a mix of in-person and virtual interactions, introducing themselves and discussing the company's goals. However, this can be challenging due to the large number of companies and the distance between them. The company's goals depend on the management team, who can help disseminate the company's values and goals. They maintain an open door policy to allow employees to share feedback and questions.

Screening Companies as a Private Equity Firm

Steve talks about his investment process and how he filters companies to determine if they are a good fit for his firm's approach. He starts by looking at companies with at least 10 million earnings minimum, but the firms typically come in at around 20 million. His background as an investor comes from his father's interest in investing. Steve began by focusing on consumer opportunities, sometimes with a sports angle. His partner has spent his career in the world of sports and brings that knowledge to the firm. He looks at companies with a differentiation that gives them a competitive edge, a reasonable growth trajectory, and a decent history, and if they have those characteristics, they are interested in investing in them. The fit with the owners is also important, as is the price. Cultural factors, such as the company's culture, are also considered. His team brings a range of expertise, including financial analytics, business development, marketing expertise, and relationships in the consumer market. Steve talks about the clients his firm serves and what his firm proves in addition to capital, such as additional support advice, services connections, and connections to the portfolio companies. They bring financial analytics, marketing expertise, advice on acquisitions, and a strong network of contacts to help companies succeed in their respective industries.

The Changing Landscape of Private Equity Firms

Steve talks about the changing landscape of the industry and the importance of focusing on attributes other than acquisition price. He explains that sellers now focus on price versus legacy, which is crucial for the success of their business after sale. He envisions private equity to be more human-centric and less focused on numbers and numbers. He hopes that the idea will spread, and that the business model will be successful in terms of financial success and the message it sends. He emphasizes the importance of focusing on attributes other than acquisition price in private equity deals. He believes that the future of private equity will see a more human-centric approach to the industry, with a focus on promoting kindness, common humanity, and financial success.

Influential Courses and Professors at Harvard

He also mentions his time at Harvard, where he took a course called East Asian Studies with Professor Washburn, which was a Japanese literature course. The class was small and interactive, with a personal touch, making it memorable. He also mentioned that he was not the most serious student and often skipped classes.

Timestamps:

01:47 The launch of Brand Velocity Group

06:48 The importance of putting your money where your mouth is

12:27 Sharing the growth and helping employees

15:32 How Brand Velocity Group connects to employees

18:22 How Brand Velocity Group screens companies

25:43 What it takes to compete for deals now

Links:

Company: https://brandvelocitygroup.com/

CONTACT:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-lebowitz-29698/

Email: [email protected]

Show Notes:

Lindsay Sturman, an English major from the Harvard and Radcliffe class of 1992, discusses her advocacy work in Los Angeles. She moved to Los Angeles after college and returned to New York for film school at Columbia and became a TV writer and has been doing that for around 20 years. She has always been interested in public policy, and she became involved with the Ed Reform movement to improve public schools. Lindsay and a group of 3000 people fought the election for the Democrats. After the 2020 election, she became aware of the housing crisis in Los Angeles. The problem was that the city stopped building housing in the 1990s. The city's downtown was built in 1987, but it took decades to catch up, making it difficult and expensive to build. People drove further and further out, leading to a massive increase in rents. Rents are now twice as high as the rest of the country's comparable cities. Lindsay and the group have been working to unpack the issues and find solutions. She talks about what they found in terms of a wide range of issues leading to the housing crisis and best possible solutions to the problems which the group are bringing to city council.

Barriers to Building Houses

Lindsay talks about over regulations and the barriers to building housing. They unpacked the causes of the high cost of construction, which surprisingly leads back to parking. One of the solutions is to allow companies and people to build without parking, which could lead to the construction of three to five-story buildings in under a year or eight months, but this can only be achieved with citizen buy-in, which can be achieved through deep canvassing, where people are trained to listen to NIMBYs and their reasons for building without parking. Other barriers to building include reduction of single family house value, privacy, noise, and visual appeal.

The 15-Minute City Solution

Lindsay explains the 15-Minute City concept, developed by Carlos Moreno, a French Colombian scientist who created the idea that everything people need can be reached in 15 minutes. She refers to lower Manhattan, where 80% of people don't own a car. The idea is that housing doesn't need parking, and people can walk or bike to everything they need in 15 minutes. However, there are several hurdles to implementing this solution. One of the main challenges to the adoption of this concept. Lindsay identifies the list of changes that need to be made to green light this movement, including politicians' control. The idea is to take the power away from politicians and set up a system where city streets are allowed to build according to standard plans.

Building Reforms in L.A.

Lindsay explains how the organization is taking practical tactical steps to get reforms passed in LA. They are meeting with city council people one-on-one and attending 99 neighborhood councils. They are networking and telling the story, focusing on pain points. They are also addressing the misinformation that housing can only be built if it is 100% affordable, that developers are evil and greedy, or that there is no housing crisis.

The Livable Communities Initiative

The organization advocates for a few streets in the city to become low-car, bikeable streets with low traffic. They are advocating for a network of these 15-minute communities, which are being implemented all over the world. They are convincing people to use their ideas hand-to-hand, convincing neighbors, skeptics, electeds, and bureaucrats. They are also working with planners to show them the problems in the building codes and make them frictionless. The organization is praying for electeds to join the parade and lead the way in addressing the housing crisis.

The Climate Crisis and Transport Solutions

Lindsay shares what drives her commitment. She talks about people who work with the homeless and how they call them their unhoused neighbors, and it's heartbreaking to see. She explains that housing and transportation are interconnected, and that often 50% of the area of a city is ripped down for surface parking lots. She also highlights the importance of rethinking the inner core of cities. Her passion for this work stems from understanding the tensions in cities and the impact of transportation on climate emissions. She further explains that 20% of the city's climate emissions are from transportation, with cars being the primary source of emissions. She cites the debate over bike lanes and the supply chain issues surrounding electric vehicles (EVs).

During COVID, she became interested in bikes and was interviewed about her tweets on a podcast called Bike Talk. She interviewed a climate scientist who found that EVs cannot scale in time to reach Paris climate goals, which are modest. She believes that climate is far more alarming than the average person. She believes that we need to address the crisis in 15-minute cities and understand how mobility systems work. She believes that we need to advocate for more forceful and existential solutions to address the crisis. She believes that climate is the top priority and that addressing it with 15-minute cities is a crucial step towards climate crises.

Lindsay discusses her conversations with politicians, city officials, planners and developers and the difficulties they encounter in the process of getting building approval. She talks about the solutions for the transit system, mobility, and the importance of building affordable housing units for the homeless.

Addressing Issues to Affordable Housing

She also discusses the need for low and moderate income affordable housing as opposed to building luxury housing and hoping the occupancy will trickle down. She suggests that there are three main issues to address: building the deficit, building affordable housing, and inverting the current model. She believes that building affordable housing should be small and affordable. Lindsay also emphasizes the importance of equity in building housing. She believes that a ton of vacancies at all price points is crucial to prevent 70% of unhoused neighbors from falling into homelessness. She also suggests working with nonprofits to build housing, which can be done through church land donations and construction loans.

Influential Harvard Classes and Professors

Lindsay mentions a class called Rock for Jockeys, ​​changing the surface of the earth, and Rob Moss, a professor of VES 10, and the resources available at Harvard.

Timestamps:

02:45 How the problem of parking became visible

09:06 The issue of NIMBYs

11:46 The 15-minute city concept

17:24 The problem of windshield blindness and car blindness

22:24 The livable communities initiative

25:20 How housing and transportation are interconnected

31:17 Working with city administrators and bureaucrats

37:22 Luxury housing and the missing middle

42:12 How do you build housing that doesn't push longtime residents out?

Links:

Website: LivableCommunitiesInitiative.com

CONTACT:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsay-sturman-168a334/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LindsayJS

Show Notes:

Neil Hendin, a graduate of Harvard, has a diverse career history, including being an undergrad, grad student, teaching assistant, teaching fellow, and staff member. Neil has worked in various engineering departments, including physics, electronics, and computer systems. He has also been involved in campus radio and radio engineering. Neil also completed his master's degree at Harvard. His first job as an engineer was at Maxim Integrated Products, a semiconductor company headquartered in Portland, Oregon. He moved to Hewlett Packard, where he worked in radio engineering. He has been in Silicon Valley since working at Maxim and has also worked at HP, Nvidia, Palm, and Google. Neil currently leads the ChromeOS hardware team at Google and has moved up the engineering management ladder over the past 12 years.

Neil started his career at WHRB after helping a woman set up a stereo for her college. He joined the radio station as a technical staff member and later became chief engineer. He was responsible for maintaining the hardware, including transmitter repair and maintenance. Neil's interest in radio engineering was sparked by the analog nature of circuit building and the ability to analyze and simulate the engineering tools available today. He believes that the field of radio engineering is considered one of the "black magic" fields in electronics, as it requires a lot of skill and experimentation.

Radio Engineering Explained

Radio engineering is the process of transmitting signals over long distances using electromagnetic radiation, such as electromagnetic waves or Morse code. It involves modulation, which involves sending data that is decoded to transmit multiple messages. Radio engineers deal with high frequency circuits, typically ranging from 100 megahertz to 70 gigahertz. The frequency range of these signals depends on the language and technology evolution, with the term "micro" being higher than UHF. Antenna engineering is another subspecialty, involving the antennas that launch signals into free space. Modern smartphones have at least six or eight antennas, which can be divided into lower, mid-range, and high bands. Some phones combine these bands, while others have a pair of antennas for each set of bands. Bluetooth is often combined with Wi-Fi, as they are in the same frequency range and are often done by the same chip in the phone. Radio engineers often gravitate towards the cell phone business due to the challenges of fitting all of this in their pocket and the challenges of running the phone off of batteries. They also worry about the potential interference with aircraft sensors and the plane's avionics. While there were initial fears of interference, radio engineers do not turn off their phones during takeoff or landing to ensure aircraft safety..

From Palm OS Architecture to Chromebooks

Neil talks about the birth of the modern smartphone as a significant milestone in the history of technology. Palm and handspring invented the Palm OS, which was popular among 30 million people. They spun off from Palm and started cellular phones, adding cellular modems into the Palm Pilot type architecture. The Palm Pilot was the first modern smartphone with an app store, replacing paper calendars and address books. Neil talks about the evolution of the Palm Free and how it led to the accelerated development of the iPhone. Neil left Palm and joined the Chrome team, where they piloted a test of Chromebooks.

Managing a Group of Engineers at Google

Neil transitioned from being an individual contributor to managing a group of engineers. He realized that team dynamics, collaboration, communication quality, and trust were crucial for everyone's individual abilities. He realized that having a diverse mix of backgrounds and experience levels made teams more productive.

At Google he noticed how well-run teams were, even if not everyone was equally experienced. He decided to manage a small team of engineers, allowing him to have more impact. He asked people if they wanted to try new roles and gave them organizational flexibility. He managed a group of 75 engineers, which is currently in the low 40s due to a recent layoff. Managing a group of engineers is different depending on the type of roles they have in their organization. His current team size is around 44 engineers. Neil shares stories of engineering challenges that may bubble up to managers, such as the down economy and the decline in the personal computer market.

The Process of Designing and Interacting with Manufacturers

Neil discusses the process of designing and interacting with manufacturers, such as OEMs like Dells, HP, Lenovo, Acer, Samsung, and LG. These OEMs, often based in Taiwan, have access to China's resources for high-volume manufacturing and have factories in various parts of China. Neil has a team of around 28 to 22 people, based in the Taipei office and two engineers in Sydney, Australia. They work with manufacturing companies (ODMs) to design a reference design and tweak it to ensure it stays agile and cost-effective in the current landscape. The team works closely with OEMs to build prototypes, and a lead OEM, such as Dell or HP or Lenovo, implements a lead product on one at the same ODM. The learnings from this build are then shared with another OEM.

Influential Courses and Professors at Harvard

Neil shares his experiences at Harvard, mentioning two professors who have influenced his career, his electrical engineering professor, Al Pandiscio, was a mentor, friend, and instructor, while Victor Jones, a professor of electromagnetics, taught the electromagnetics class and cellular communications.

Timestamps:

07:57 How Neil got into radio engineering

25:16 Leaving Palm and joining ChromeBook

27:30 Testing ChromeBook

27:52 Transition from individual contributor to managing a small team

35:10 Managing as an engineer

39:28 Managing a team of new managers

45:51 How Neil works with manufacturers?

CONTACT:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nhendin

Email: [email protected]

Show Notes:

David Block, a graduate of Harvard, had always been interested in cities since he was a child. He decided to explore his interest in cities and their physical aspects, rather than people or economics. But since Harvard does not offer undergraduate architecture major, so he took a year off from Harvard to study at Columbia University's program, "The Shape of Two Cities," which offered a comprehensive introduction to architecture, urban planning, and urban history. The program was divided into two parts and took place in both New York and Paris. He decided to apply to architecture, so upon graduating, he applied to architecture schools. He went to Princeton for one semester, but dropped out due to the program's focus on post-structuralist or literary thinking. He eventually returned to the Midwest and transferred to Washington University, where he enjoyed a more pragmatic and focused program. David's journey to becoming an architect was marked by a shift in focus from making cities and buildings to power dynamics and the influence they can have on society.

David was hired as a graduate student staff for the Mayor's Institute on City Design Midwest, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts, designed to bring mayors of cities of all sizes around the country together. They covered 12 states and worked with city planners, council people, and economic development specialists to identify key economic development and urban development challenges facing midsize cities. The program was held at Washington University each fall and brought together nationally recognized experts in architecture, urban planning, and economic development. David graduated from the School of Architecture and later returned to Boston, where he worked for several firms.

Working for an Affordable Housing Developer

In 2000, David moved to Providence, where he could afford a house. He was hired at the Providence office of the nonprofit affordable housing developer, Community Builders. He spent five years working at the Providence office and worked on several projects around New England, including the Hope Six redevelopment, Dutch Pointe complex, Mill Village revitalization project, and a new library. In 2006, David moved to Chicago, where he joined the growing Chicago office of Community Builders. He was hired at TCB where he was involved in several of the phases of projects, including the development of a rec center and many mixed-use urban developments. He worked there for 12 and half years before he was offered the opportunity to really help build a new, national, affordable housing development practice at Evergreen Real Estate in Chicago

He became involved in adaptive reuse projects, converted old ice cream factories into loft housing, and converted former Art Deco hospital buildings into senior housing. One of the most exciting projects is the one that created the biggest splash for Evergreen in terms of national growth. David's department was selected by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to do buildings that combined a new Chicago Public Library neighborhood branch with affordable senior housing on prominent sites in several neighborhoods in Chicago. He worked with talented architects, including John Ronan, who was the only Chicago-based architect to be a finalist for the Obama Library. He also worked with Perkins and Will, an international firm based in Chicago, on a small neighborhood project in his hometown. David believes that his projects have had an important impact on cities and neighborhoods, providing much-needed affordable housing opportunities in markets where there is a growing need for affordable housing.

Barriers to Building Affordable Housing

Barriers to building affordable housing include the involvement of minority groups (NIMBYs) and the "not in my backyard" backlash. Some states, like St. Paul, Minnesota, and California, are considering creating opportunities for developers to override local zoning concerns to get affordable housing done, however, David is a big proponent of working with local communities to find a solution that everyone wants to see. However, sometimes, people's concerns are not rational and cannot be rationally argued. In such cases, additional tools involving state involvement in local zoning may be needed. He also talks about the impact of COVID on the supply chains and labor shortages that impact construction.

Barriers to Single-Use Occupancy Buildings

David explores the concept of single room occupancy (SRO) buildings as they were once viable for people who were homeless or unstable. However, zoning restrictions have made it difficult to build such buildings, making them more expensive. The current thinking is that housing for a homeless or near homeless population should include services to address underlying issues, such as mental health or drug addiction. The challenge is to find funding and staff for these services in an incredibly resource-constrained environment. National statistics show a $3-7 million dollar shortfall in housing units nationally, and the vulnerable, homeless, mentally ill, or drug addicted population are the ones who are least able to compete for housing. This leads to a massive societal crisis.

Cost of Construction and Development of a Housing Unit

The primary system for building affordable housing dates back to the Reagan tax reform of 1986 and the creation of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit. Back then, a housing unit could be built for under $100,000, and the tax credit functioned well in that model.

However, today, construction and development of a housing unit is approaching a million dollars, even in Chicago. The financing model for affordable housing is at a crisis point, with regulatory requirements, union and prevailing wage requirements, and the sheer layers of financing involved. The question of whether the government should follow the old public housing model of the 1930s and 1940s is a question that has been answered by the better-maintained housing built with tax credits, market exposure, and oversight by banks and regulatory agencies. In conclusion, the current model for affordable housing is at a critical point, and it is unclear where to go from here. While the intentions are right, the financing model may be at a breaking point, and there is no definitive answer to where to go from here.

The Issue of Empty Commercial Real Estate Post-COVID

Post-COVID, many cities are experimenting with various opportunities for redevelopment. In Chicago, the city's Planning Department has put out an RFP for the redevelopment of several buildings along LaSalle Street, which is known for its historic 1920s and 30s Art Deco buildings. These buildings need significant work to adapt to residential use, particularly the newer ones. Cities are offering varying degrees of funding to address these problems, with the city of Chicago offering significant TIF tax increment financing. San Francisco is struggling with this issue, with a giant shopping mall in the middle of the city that the owners have just handed back to their lender. David talks about ways to follow a career path in urban development, however, he states that it is crucial for individuals with an extremely broad range of interests to understand the challenges and opportunities in repurposing these buildings for residential use.

Influential Courses and Professors at Harvard

David, an English major at Harvard, credits his English classes with inspiring insights into English literature and poetry. He took three classes with Helen Vendler, an expert on Yeats. These classes opened his eyes to the importance of artistic and creative matters in advancing meaningful conversations. Another professor was Derek Pearsalll, who taught Chaucer. David's passion for great design for housing and working with talented architects has led to the creation of beautiful buildings that can be part of urban neighborhoods. He believes that the ultimate test of his work is whether it will stand the test of time, as he believes that buildings that stand the test of time are a work of art.

Timestamps:

08:45 Working as an architect in Boston

14:43 Working at TCB.Inc in Louisville, Kentucky

24:44 The impact of zoning restrictions on development

30:00 Permanent supportive housing

33:10 Why affordable housing is so expensive

36:08 On empty commercial real estate post COVID

38:57 The difference between older buildings and newer buildings

39:34 Architectural code rules on light and air

Links:

Website: https://www.evergreenreg.com/

Show Notes:

Carolyn Gibson, a graduate of Harvard and Radcliffe, has had a diverse and different path since graduating from the university. She initially wanted to be an ambassador, but realized that she wouldn't be a great ambassador to the United States due to her Dutch passport and not agreeing with the U.S. foreign policy. Instead, she decided to go into international aid and development. She tapped into the Harvard network to find information about Europe and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. She worked as a speechwriter for the High Commissioner herself, Madame Agata, and later landed a three-month internship with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

Carolyn was encouraged to work in the field. She had been working with two Italian men from Napoli who had received funding from George Soros to start a reunification program in the former Yugoslavia. She took up the offer to start a program using CD ROMs to record the names and photographs of children displaced during the war and make them available in UNHCR offices in the war zone for parents to find their children's homes. She talks about the importance of International laws for protecting and helping refugees, and how the Harvard network can help alumni find positions.

Working in Yugoslavia during the War

Carole recounts her experience in former Yugoslavia, where she helped reunite children with their parents. She experienced disillusionment with the war and the profiteering surrounding it, which led to loss of life and inappropriate media coverage. She talks about smuggling and how the role of the UN. Carolyn met her future husband, Trevor Gibson, who worked for the UN Fire and Rescue Service in Syria, which was a cowboy unit that was on the front lines, running ambulances and stopping fighting. Carolyn talks about the bias in the media and how a lack of willingness to understand and inappropriate media coverage contributed to her disillusionment. They decided to leave Yugoslavia, and Carolyn was offered a post in East Africa helping reunite parents and their children after the Rwandan genocide. She and her husband eventually decided to return to the States in 1995, but decided to move to Scotland where her husband decided to pursue a law degree in Birmingham, UK. They found themselves in a city that was similar to the Detroit of the UK, with car manufacturers and coal mining where Carolyn worked as a copywriter for nonprofit organizations before she earned a scholarship to an MBA program from Warwick University.

Working in Consulting at Deloitte

Carolyn talks about her experience of working in the management consulting practice of Deloitte. She started with Deloitte's program leadership practice and later worked with a child support agency. Carolyng and her husband decided to stay in Birmingham to settle down and have children. She then moved to a local government practice with Deloitte. They set up the first contact center for multiple local governments in one spot, and she became a specialist in setting up cross-governmental contact centers. However, the local government practice and Deloitte's public sector practice merged, which involved a lot more travel, so Carolyn decided to become a stay-at-home mom.

Writing a Book on Teaching Languages

She had been home for 10 years, running the PTA and serving on the Board of Governors for a school, and she wrote a book on teaching other languages. She shares three key tips from the book: make fun, set aside time, give children exposure as much as possible to the language they find fun. She discusses her experiences teaching their children French and moving to France for a year. They eventually moved back to Birmingham, which she has found to be a friendly city and a great place to raise a family.

She moved out of the stay-at-home mom phase and started working in a startup tech company in Coventry, which focused on strategy execution software. She worked with top Fortune 500 companies, such as Nestle, Pratt Whitney, Societe Generale, Philips, L3, and energy companies and eventually became head of consulting. However, the company struggled to translate their investment into a working financial model, and she missed the opportunity to work with public sector organizations, but she gained their support to pursue a master's degree at Oxford, which had links to the UK Government.

Working for the U.K. Defense Ministry

After completing her master's, she worked for the Cabinet Office, particularly in the Ministry of Defense. She is in their strategic supplier program, which aims to align strategic suppliers with the UK Government's goals and vice versa. She works with Rolls Royce, a company that makes engines and E power plants for their nuclear submarines, and Babcock, helping them work at a strategic level, aligning across government, and identifying problems and improving them. Carolyn talks about her accomplishments at the Ministry of Defense and her work as a consultant, where she can make specific nudges that make a big difference. She has helped resolve major contracts and ensured that the government's goals are met. Carolyn explains the culture of a military environment, and how an open door and willingness to share information is crucial, as it allows for a more open and diverse workforce. She found that the defense industry is highly meritocratic and open to new ideas, which is important for women in the industry. Carolyn is now considering pivoting back into the nonprofit world, particularly in the area of unconditional cash transfers, which she believes is a growing area in the United States.

Influential Courses and Professors at Harvard

Carolyn shares the courses and professors at Harvard that resonated with her, including a course with Stanley Hoffmann about war, and a seminar with Rena Fonseca on India-China relations. She also shares her experiences with Stanley Hoffmann, who taught her the importance of holding onto convictions and ideas, and Rena Fonseca, who taught her the importance of perseverance and adaptability in the face of challenges.

Timestamps:

05:11 How Carolyn's involvement with the Harvard network helped her find work

10:30 Smuggling and profiteering in war-torn Yugoslavia

13:35 Media coverage of the war that was inappropriate

21:46 Working at Deloitte

24:00 Carolyn's book on teaching kids languages

28:07 Working in strategy execution software at a tech startup

31:06 Impressions at the Ministry of Defense

CONTACT:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolyn-gibson-2579295/

Facebook: Harvard/Radcliffe Class of 1992

Show Notes:

Seth Hilton graduated from Harvard and later went on to law school at UC Davis, started working as a litigation associate at a law firm before joining a large firm in the Bay Area. During the California energy crisis, he was tasked with monitoring regulatory developments and participating at regulatory agencies when needed. He eventually shifted his practice from energy litigation and energy-regulated regulatory work to almost exclusively regulatory work, although occasionally doing a little bit of litigation.

Seth's interest in law stemmed from his father's law practice and his father's enjoyment of the law practice. He took a constitutional law course at Harvard, which inspired him to explore the field further.

Seth is currently a partner in the law firm of Stole Rives, focusing on California energy regulatory work. He works with companies in the energy sector in California, many of which are regulated by various state agencies or entities. He advises them on current regulations and assists them in adapting or changing those regulations to better suit their clients or their customers. Seth's clients range from electric to natural gas, oil and gas, and more recently, hydrogen.

Seth talks about how the California Public Utilities Commission regulates utilities and other entities providing electric and natural gas service to retail customers. They dictate what resources and types of energy are procured to serve retail customers. The commission is concerned about the near term, the next five years, and the transition to more electrification. They have directed utilities and other load-serving entities to procure renewable resources, such as solar or wind, and sometimes specify energy storage that might assist with bringing in more renewable sources of energy.

Blending Hydrogen and Natural Gas

Seth talks about exploring the potential of blending hydrogen with natural gas to reduce carbon intensity. This could involve blending hydrogen with natural gas or using hydrogen instead of natural gas. The California Public Utilities Commission is currently evaluating the role of hydrogen in its overall GHG reduction strategy. They are considering whether to use pure hydrogen or blend it with natural gas for retail customers, or if to use pure hydrogen and convert retail appliances to use blended hydrogen.

Seth explains what the two flavors of hydrogen are and the challenges in determining the appropriate regulations for hydrogen use, such as whether to require it to be solely produced by renewable energy or if to relax regulations to make hydrogen more cost-effective. He also mentions the debates around the methodology for calculating greenhouse gas emissions, including accounting for the entire lifecycle of energy sources.

Seth talks about how he originally wanted to study engineering but decided it wasn't for him. He explains why enjoys working in the energy sector, particularly in response to climate change, which has had significant impacts on California, such as heat, wildfires, drought, and increased rainfall. He believes that a specific regulation or detail would be beneficial in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing the existing challenges faced by California.

Nuclear Power in California

Seth discusses the problems with the California grid, which is outdated and requires upgrading. The grid's old distribution system has caused wildfires and caused significant damage. The state is also trying to connect new generation resources, such as solar and offshore wind, to the grid, which requires planning and upgrading the transmission system. However, concerns about timing, cost, and retail customer satisfaction arise.

Seth explains that the future of nuclear power in California is uncertain, despite the significant advantages to nuclear power, such as GHG emission-free generation and the ability to provide consistent power. However, there are also concerns about waste management and waste disposal.

Currently, there is little hope for nuclear power in California, but there are potential technical developments that could change the situation, such as smaller generators. However, it would require significant technical breakthroughs to see nuclear power again in California.

Stability of the Grid and Energy Storage Facilities

Seth talks about the stability of a grid, and how, in California, a grid with a high percentage of solar and wind power can be unstable due to technical challenges. He explains that regulatory agencies are aware of these challenges and are creating regulations to address them, such as requiring procurement of additional energy storage. California has procured a vast amount of energy storage, primarily lithium ion batteries, which are large utility-scale batteries that store energy and discharge it when needed. Most of the storage resources in California consist of battery storage facilities, which can be either out in the field or in a large warehouse. Seth talks about storage facilities and how many homes can be served by one megawatt.

The Development of Charging Stations for EV's

Seth discusses the development of charging stations for electric and hydrogen vehicles, as well as the need for them in the transportation sector. The California Energy Commission is working towards creating additional hydrogen fueling stations across the state, which will provide the fueling stations for fuel cell hydrogen fuel cell cars. Hydrogen is also a good solution for larger vehicles like truck transport, as it provides the energy infrastructure to provide the energy for those vehicles.

His contact information is available on his website, and he would be happy to hear from people interested in his work.

Influential Courses at Harvard

Seth took a Constitutional Law course which interested him as a potential profession and led him to law school.

Timestamps:

05:50 How you create a market for renewable energy

11:22 The difference between clean good hydrogen and dirty hydrogen

14:16 Why Seth likes working in the energy sector

18:17 Information about the grid in California

22:26 Nuclear Power in California

24:22 How energy storage works at utility scale

29:51 How many homes could be served by a megawatt battery

33:59 How Seth ended up in the world of energy regulatory policy

Links:

https://www.stoel.com/

CONTACT:

Email: [email protected]

Show Notes:

Lauren Galit began her career as a magazine editor for about a decade before transitioning into editing and agency work. She started with Gentleman's Quarterly, she worked for advertisers, and later worked for Mode magazine, a plus size women's magazine. She eventually landed her last job at Good Housekeeping.

Lauren was a deputy editor at a magazine, where she was responsible for managing the entire content and was in charge of every word that went into the magazine. She worked with a team of writers, editors, and editors and was able to bring her ideas to life. However, Her passion for connecting authors to audiences and helping them craft their voices led her to switch from magazines to books. She realized that going longer form was a better way to nurture these relationships and nurture the writers' voices. She went to an agency where she took a major pay and title cut and became an assistant.

Working as a Literary Agent

Lauren's journey from magazines to books has been a journey of connecting authors to audiences and helping them craft their voices. She has learned to adapt her approach to different publications and agencies, focusing on building relationships and fostering a supportive environment for authors.

Agency work involves generating book ideas, seeking out authors, and working with them to shape their proposals and sell the books to publishers. The agent works with the author to execute the book, executing contracts, shepherding covers, production schedules, and timelines. Lauren started working for John Boswell Associates, a company known for creating 365 Ways to Cook Chicken, and later worked on other projects such as What Not to Wear. The success of this book led her to start her own agency in 2006 and has since worked on various projects in categories such as parenting, diet, exercise, and fitness.

What a Literary Agency Does

As an agent, Lauren used to work with authors to shape and create their proposals, ensuring that they were well-researched and well-written. I also helped them navigate the publication process, including negotiating deals and addressing issues with the editor. The role of the editor in publishing houses, particularly for nonfiction books, is crucial, as the author may have a vision of what the book should be, and the editor may have a different version of what will appeal to the market.

The agency provides services based on the category and interventionist approach. For nonfiction, the agency shapes a proposal, which includes a table of contents, advice, tips, and anecdotes. The proposal, along with marketing and publicity sections, goes to the publisher to entice the publisher to buy the book. In fiction, the book is sold on a full manuscript, while in nonfiction, the book is sold on a proposal.

Lauren explains the business side of the agreement between agent and author, the services provided, percentage of the deal, and what the publishing house covers.

The Role of the Editor and Relationship with the Author

Lauren explains that the agent, editor and author often have a phone call to discuss the concept, and if there are conflicts, the editor expects the author to deliver a different version of the book. There are various options for rewrites, and if they cannot come to terms, the contract can be dissolved.

Lauren has represented the authors of many books around exercise, diet, and fitness, including books about eating fruits and vegetables, exercising, and getting fit. She has shifted her focus to children's literature and middle grade literature for the last decade. She explains the importance of developing a hook and offers a few examples to illustrate how the hook works.

Lauren discusses her experiences in the middle grade and YA fiction space, focusing on magical realism and contemporary books with hints of magic. She highlights the importance of casting a lens on children's emotional lives and making them more consequential.

Exploring What Editors Want

Lauren also discusses approaching publishers and the Rolodex process, which involves researching what editors are looking for and aligning interests appropriately. She suggests that there is a need for more middle grade fiction, as dystopian fiction is being burned out. Lauren also discusses the gender imbalance in middle grade, with boys reading children's books up until a certain age. They often switch to genre fiction, mysteries, adventure novels, and fantasy, but not YA books. She explains why editors don't want to invest too heavily in YA books with male protagonists.

Lauren's advice for other authors in the middle grade and YA fiction space is to focus on matching interests and aligning interests appropriately, and to be patient with the process.

The Landscape of the Book Industry

Lauren explains how the book industry works and how it has been broken down into imprints, with each house having different rules. Lauren touches on the decline of children's imprints, such as Razorbill, which was decommissioned and merged into a single imprint. This has led to a significant downturn in the children's market, with the famous imprint Ink Yard at HarperCollins being discontinued. As a result, the number of outlets and opportunities for book deals decreases.

The shift in the book industry is driven by specialization, specialization, and the need for a diverse range of genres and formats. The book industry is a complex and evolving landscape, with authors often being upset about their intellectual property being trained by AI. This can lead to a lack of understanding of what people know or think about book publishing.

Lauren talks about the role of publishing houses in the future, the importance of an agent, and offers insight on advances for writers. For both fiction and nonfiction, there may be apps that can help authors create books for themselves, such as AI tools that can write books for specific topics or provide personalized advice. However, Lauren states that AI is flawed in its current state, as it is repetitive, clunky, and introduces falsehoods.

Influential Courses or Professors at Harvard

Lauren mentions Marjorie Garber as an influential professor.

Timestamps:

04:13 Bringing out an author's own voice

09:39 How Lauren started her own publishing company

16:03 The role of the editor at the publishing house

22:17 How Lauren got into parenting books

27:34 How to approach publishers for manuscripts

32:56 Boys and girls and YA?

37:08 Selling books with fewer and fewer big buyers.

41:23 The importance of having an editor who loves your book

45:47 Advice for aspiring writers

Links:

Website: LKGAgency

CONTACT:

X (Formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/LKGagency

Show Notes:

After Greg Lisi graduated from Harvard, he spent nine years in the military before working in the medical device space for several companies. He then transitioned to a small company called Prep MD, which does medical device training. After graduation, he took his officer basic course and received an active reserve commission in the military. He spent six months at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, learning about military intelligence and officer training. He served three years as an Intel officer at Fort Hood, Texas, and attended Airborne School, Ranger School. Greg also worked as a scout platoon leader, providing forward reconnaissance for a tank battalion.

Life as a Military Intel Officer

Greg describes the military experience of an Intel officer. He requested a special assignment from his advanced course to attend the Armor Maneuver School. He spent six months at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and had the opportunity to go to Germany and learn about the Battle of the Bulge and the German armor officer school with his German counterparts.

Upon returning, he was invited to spend his captain years in Europe, spending a year in Bonn, Germany, working for a Military Intelligence Battalion. The unit was mostly electronic, flying RC 12 airplanes and collecting electronic intelligence while supporting peace operations in Bosnia. Greg was tasked with collecting electronic intelligence.

One day, he was contacted by Colonel Dragon, a battalion commander, who asked about his transfer to a new unit. Greg was transferred to his unit, which was preparing to deploy to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to monitor and stabilize the border between Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The mission was to monitor and stabilize the border while ensuring the conflict in Kosovo didn't spill over into the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Greg talks about his post serving on the UN mission to monitor and stabilize the border between Albania and Macedonia. The unit had outposts along the border, and Greg describes the drills that were different from military training, including how to respond to a sniper.

Greg describes his experience as an Intel Officer in a military unit, specifically an infantry battalion, and how the officer is responsible for reporting to the brigade commander and providing advice and counsel. He talks about his experience with the largest foreign deployed operation in Europe today.

Greg highlights the importance of intelligence in ensuring a stable geopolitical environment and addressing potential resistance from Serbs.

Life after a Career in the Military

Greg talks about his decision to leave the military after nine years. He worked with a company called Cameron Brooks, which helped junior military officers find opportunities with different organizations in corporate America. He eventually took a job in the medical device space at a company called Guidance Corporation, which was later bought by Boston Scientific. He initially worked as a field clinical representative in cardiac rhythm management, where he was the point person between the physician, patients, and the technology.

Working as a Clinical Representative

He fell in love with the medical device space and the patient care and technology. He served as a clinical rep for about 18 months and later took his own sales territory. He explains what he enjoyed about this job, as his livelihood was driven by the need to create relationships and create value around the technology he was working with.

Greg discusses the role of a clinical representative in the healthcare industry, which is often overlooked and/or unknown. He explains that a clinical representative serves as a bridge between technology and the physician, helping bridge the gap between the two. A clinical representative can help ensure the correct things are being done for the device they represent on a given day.

Greg explains how they help a physician with technology and during procedures. He discusses the importance of being quiet, good listeners, and being three steps ahead of the physician when dealing with senior attending physicians. He also discusses the importance of checklists. He learned the efficacy of checklists from his military experiences and believes that checklists are good for training people in working through procedures early in their training.

Founding Prep MD

Greg talks about his company, Prep MD, founded in 2009, which aims to teach, inspire, and connect talented individuals with the medical device industry. The company initially had five members, who designed a six-week program that partnered with local medical institutions in Boston. The program included hands-on didactics, simulation equipment, and a mock catheterization and electrophysiology lab. The program prepared participants for clinical rotation and observation rounds, and helped place them with companies or healthcare providers in clinical specialist roles.

Today, his company trains people to become clinical representatives and helps place them with companies or healthcare providers around the country. This role serves as a bridge between the technology and the physician, making it easier for physicians to keep up with the latest innovations.

The company has three different companies under the Prep MD umbrella: the initial training company, a staffing entity, and a third LLC called prep MD RMS for remote monitoring solutions. The monitoring space is growing, with wearables becoming more prevalent. Greg talks about how the company has expanded its training and development side, and how it is now looking to expand into wearables and other areas.

Working with the Non-Profit Med Tech Vets

Greg discusses his experience working with Med Tech Vets, a nonprofit organization that provides mentoring for veterans transitioning from the military. They recently established a scholarship program for individuals who complete their online training program, which is currently at $35,000 for the six-month program. The cost of the program is not cheap, but employers appreciate the commitment to professional development and the ability to find pre-qualified candidates who can learn and master technology. Greg talks about the entry requirements, financial aid packages available, and the high placement rate post graduation.

Greg talks about the monitoring business, which involves reconnection of devices or monitoring patients' health. He explains that some healthcare providers prefer to have their staff handle patient outreach, while others outsource this task to third-party providers. Lisi also discusses the shift towards app-based technology, where everything becomes app-based, and how it is transforming the way healthcare providers work.

Timestamps:

08:20 The UN's mission to monitor the border with Macedonia

11:15 How to avoid conflict spilling over

16:22 How Greg became an intel officer

19:19 The decision to leave the army

25:11 How Greg became a clinical representative

28:15 The role of a clinical rep in guiding the physician

33:58 How Greg founded Prep MD

43:14 The entry requirements for students coming to the program

47:34 App-based medical monitoring devices

Links:

Website: PrepMD.com

CONTACT: [email protected].

Show Notes:

Reggie Williams, a Harvard graduate, had a great experience in his four-year period at Harvard College. After graduating, he went to Harvard Law School, which was a much more difficult and a lesser social experience. He was disillusioned with the law, finding that it was influenced by politics and was more subjective than objective. He decided law was not a profession he wanted to pursue.

Moving into the Entertainment Industry

While in law school, Reggie was inspired by the notion that he could pursue entertainment and started asking people around campus for advice. His goal was to eventually become a senior executive at a multimedia entertainment company or run his own company. He did not achieve his best grades in law school, but he did pass and he wrote a thesis about Tupac Shakur and the music industry needing to regulate itself with a voluntary rating system.

Reggie took a negotiation class with Bruce Patton and Roger Friedman, which was the greatest course he took in any stage of academics. He applied to 27 law firms in New York and LA, and only one firm accepted him. He had a great interview with a man who became his mentor. He was invited to New York City to work for Paul Hastings, an entertainment litigation practice, which represented stars like Madonna and CBS Records.

However, when he got there, they didn't have a place for him in the entertainment litigation department. Reggie learned that sometimes life doesn't give you what you expect, but it's what you need. He found himself doing business law, which was more aligned with his interests in entertainment, learning contracts and IP. As a business law associate interested in entertainment, he was the first person to give deals in the entertainment industry, which helped him navigate the challenges and opportunities in the entertainment industry.

Starting a Digital Lifestyle Entertainment Company

He realized he didn't want to stay in corporate law for too long, and Reggie shares how he gained experience and made connections that helped him move forward in his career and land his dream job. He talks about having three dream jobs on the table but how negotiations fell apart and he lost all three. However, he finally landed one of them and found he was moving full speed ahead negotiating and closing deals with artists he loved. After two years, the partner came to him and asked him to write business plans for a couple of clients, which he did, and then decided that the next one he wanted to write was for his own business. So, in 1999 he launched his first business and built a digital lifestyle entertainment experience, based around hip hop which was to become the next 25 years of his career.

Founding Ambrosia for Heads

After a rollercoaster ride of financial and relationship difficulties, Reggie was navigating the economic downturn in 2008, and his second wife was pregnant. In 2009, Williams realized that hip hop was growing and needed a platform that targeted people 25 and older. He created Ambrosia, a curated service for hip hop fans, and branded it Ambrosia for Heads (AFH), which would eventually become a streaming platform. He aimed to be a concierge through hip hop culture for people, starting as an editorial platform and building an audience around it. When Reggie founded AFH and was initially unsure of the role technology would play in the entertainment industry. However, he realized that technology is sovereign and that content is king. He had a dream of creating a hip hop lifestyle that encompassed TV, film, music, and other forms of entertainment. He set out to build a sustainable platform, similar to Netflix or Rolling Stone, but with a focus on adults.

As social media exploded, Reggie used Facebook to build a community focused around hip hop culture. He aimed to make it like a Rolling Stone, with roughly 75% of the content being about music, 60% entertainment lifestyle, 15% politics, and 10% dark corners of the world.

Merging Technology and Entertainment

In 2017, Williams launched a subscription video service like Netflix on several different platforms, with over 300 hours of programming. Despite a successful launch, AFH was unable to raise capital, although having built an audience of 15 million a month. He listens to 20,000 hours of music last year and has a son and three sons who all have the same favorite artist, Kendrick Lamar.

Reggie shares stories of meeting and working with artists, revealing that they are often very different from their appearance on stage or in public interviews. Most artists are incredibly smart, but this is not always welcomed in certain genres. They can be both introverted and magnetic on stage, but when they work with them, they start to get to know them as real humans.

Influential Professors and Courses at Harvard

Reggie mentioned being impressed with Derek Parfit, a philosopher who taught at Oxford but later came to Harvard. Parfit's book, Reasons in Persons, explores personal identity and the concept of the Star Trek transfer transformer analogy, which suggests that everything is created in the next place.

He took a course called Moral Reasoning in his freshman year taught by Harvey Mansfield. He also took feminism courses, which he found fascinating, and he also mentions film courses, which he had taken in his freshman year.

Timestamps:

03:12 Going to law school as an entertainment lawyer

09:07 A job offer from an entertainment law firm

15:51 The turning point in his life

18:31 The opportunity to work for Bbt

24:22 What has surprised Reggie about the industry

30:54 Taking a stand on social media

39:10 The unwritten rules of meeting celebrities

42:44 Reggie reflects on fatherhood

Links:

Website: AmbrosiaforHeads.com

CONTACT:

Email: [email protected]