The American Dream with Elias Torres

By Elias Torres

The American Dream – an ideology that drives many of us to take risks, aspire big, and work hard. Why is it so hard to actually achieve?

That’s what Elias Torres (founder, advisor, Henry Crown Fellow)... more

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FAQs about The American Dream with Elias Torres:

How many episodes does The American Dream with Elias Torres have?

The podcast currently has 62 episodes available.

The American Dream with Elias Torres episodes:

June 13, 2024Maria Medrano: Take Advantage of the Opportunities Presented to You
Maria Medrano knows first-hand the value of opportunity: the opportunity to receive an education, the opportunity to pursue higher education, the opportunity to break out of poverty, and the opportunity to start a company that has investors knocking on the door.
In this episode of the American Dream podcast, Maria shares all of those experiences, and explains how they taught her, and now her children, the value of saying “yes.”
(2:00) The Real Maria
(14:02) Why Elias & Maria believe you should say yes to everything
(16:50) Don’t fear new things
(19:23) Why Maria didn’t want to be poor
(21:27) Learning to establish a relationship with money
(22:20) Investing goes beyond the dollar amount
(32:16) Maria paves her way into big tech
(36:54) Why Maria left Google to go all in on her startup
(42:30) Elias and Maria collaborate on AI college advising
(48:38) Maria’s call to action
...more
51min
June 13, 2024Maria Medrano: Take Advantage of the Opportunities Presented to You
Maria Medrano knows first-hand the value of opportunity: the opportunity to receive an education, the opportunity to pursue higher education, the opportunity to break out of poverty, and the opportunity to start a company that has investors knocking on the door.
In this episode of the American Dream podcast, Maria shares all of those experiences, and explains how they taught her, and now her children, the value of saying “yes.”
(2:00) The Real Maria
(14:02) Why Elias & Maria believe you should say yes to everything
(16:50) Don’t fear new things
(19:23) Why Maria didn’t want to be poor
(21:27) Learning to establish a relationship with money
(22:20) Investing goes beyond the dollar amount
(32:16) Maria paves her way into big tech
(36:54) Why Maria left Google to go all in on her startup
(42:30) Elias and Maria collaborate on AI college advising
(48:38) Maria’s call to action
...more
51min
May 23, 2024Deena McKay: The Only Constant in Tech is Change
From thinking she wanted to be an athletic trainer freshman year of college to graduating with a bachelors (and masters) degree in information systems, Deena McKay, scrum master and host of Black Tech Unplugged podcast, is no stranger to the nonlinear trajectory of tech careers. In this episode of The American Dream podcast, Deena and Elias discuss the role of a scrum master, Elias argues if it’s really worthwhile, and the two agree on the need for adaptability and flexibility when paving your way into tech.
Check out Black Tech Unplugged, a podcast focused on telling the stories of Blacks in Tech to assist you with developing your own tech path, on their website anywhere you listen to podcasts.
(01:12) Deena’s backstory
(01:36) Chicago tech scene
(02:21) Deena’s journey through tech
(10:31) What is a scrum master?
(12:30) What’s the difference between a scrum master and a project manager?
(16:45) How a scrum master fits within the rest of the product organization
(17:50) Elias challenges the scrum master position
(23:00) Black Tech Unplugged
(24:40) Deena’s top tip for networking
(28:30) Deena’s parting advice
...more
33min
March 28, 2024Consuelo Rios: A Conversation with Elias' Mom
This episode is a special one.
Elias shares a conversation with his mother, Consuelo Rios. The two stand in the kitchen of the brand new house Elias just bought his mother — his largest purchase since selling Drift. The two discuss their journey to the United States, the early years, and life today. It’s a can’t miss episode.
(1:45) The home Elias grew up in
(3:34) Elias’ mom makes the decision to move to the United States
(6:30) Elias’ family enters the United States
(13:20) Elias buys his mom a house
...more
21min
March 22, 2024Enna Jimenez: La Jefa
We're continuing Women's History Month with La Jefa herself, Enna Jimenez. Emma immigrated from Puerto Rico to Massachusetts with her family as a young girl, became a first-generation college graduate, and paved her way into Vice President positions in quality assurance.
Within the first few minutes of the episode, you'll understand why Emma is La Jefa, but make sure to listen to the end to find out how she fought for her position in corporate America, and learn how you can, too!
(0:41) Enna’s background
(4:15) Enna and her family come to Boston
(11:07) Enna’s journey through corporate America
(22:17) Enna is La Jefa
...more
34min
March 07, 2024Freada Kapor Klein: None of Us Are Free Until All of Us Are Free
To kick off Women's History Month, we're highlighting one of Elias Torres' role models: Freada Kapor Klein.
Freada has considered herself an activist since high school, and since then, she's founded SMASH — an organization that helps low-income students get into STEM, co-founded Kapor Capital, which invests in early-stage startups focused on closing the equity gap, and even wrote a book all about what it takes for companies to actually close the equity gap.
In this episode of The American Dream podcast, Freada and Elias discuss how technology and activism can (and should) co-exist, the problems prohibiting equality today, and debate if we really are making progress closing the equity gap.
(1:35) Who is Freada Klein?
(8:55) Can activism, tech, and money all mix together?
(11:45) The swing of the progress pendulum
(17:18) Kapor Capital’s different approach to talent
(23:13) How do we close the privilege gap?
(26:58) The disadvantages minority founders have in trying to make their startup successful
(29:48) How can we help underrepresented founders get up to speed faster?
Learn more about SMASH
Learn more about Kapor Capital
Buy Closing the Equity Gap
...more
36min
February 08, 2024Hannah Zhou & Rhea Acharya: Harvard WeCode Conference
Today, Harvard University juniors Hannah Zhou and Rhea Acharya join Elias on the show to discuss the upcoming Harvard WeCode Conference happening on February 17 and 18.
Register for the conference or learn about sponsorship opportunities here: https://www.harvardwecode.com/
(2:26) Hannah’s backstory
(4:24) There are so many more technology careers than software engineering
(5:43) Rhea’s backstory
(7:51) We need to break out of the male paradigm of computer science
(8:57) The details of Harvard WeCode
(17:34) Elias’ advice on mentorship
...more
28min
January 25, 2024Guillermo Diaz Jr.: Look for Your Ships
Growing up in Colorado, Guillermo Diaz Jr. always dreamed of having palm trees in his backyard. Now, after many years of hard work and diligence, he has more palm trees than he knows what to do with, which is why he created Conectado.
Conectado aims to leverage technology to bring individuals and institutions together to increase equality from the classroom to the boardroom.
In this episode of The American Dream podcast, Guillermo explains how he worked to achieve his palm tree dream, why he believes so strongly in "ships," and why he shifted his focus from Cisco to Conectado.
(0:49) The American Dream can be incremental
(3:26) Guillermo’s early days
(8:52) The value of education and alternative paths
(18:15) Guillermo becomes the CIO of Cisco
(25:45) Guillermo’s “ships”
(28:00) Finding the person that delivers is rare, so don’t let them down
(33:19) Guillermo leaves Cisco
...more
50min
January 25, 2024Guillermo Diaz Jr.: Look for Your Ships
Growing up in Colorado, Guillermo Diaz Jr. always dreamed of having palm trees in his backyard. Now, after many years of hard work and diligence, he has more palm trees than he knows what to do with, which is why he created Conectado.
Conectado aims to leverage technology to bring individuals and institutions together to increase equality from the classroom to the boardroom.
In this episode of The American Dream podcast, Guillermo explains how he worked to achieve his palm tree dream, why he believes so strongly in "ships," and why he shifted his focus from Cisco to Conectado.
(0:49) The American Dream can be incremental
(3:26) Guillermo’s early days
(8:52) The value of education and alternative paths
(18:15) Guillermo becomes the CIO of Cisco
(25:45) Guillermo’s “ships”
(28:00) Finding the person that delivers is rare, so don’t let them down
(33:19) Guillermo leaves Cisco
...more
50min
January 11, 2024Erik Cardenas: Being You is a Superpower
Do you need to go to college? How do you find the career path right for you? These are the types of questions Elias and his guest, Erik Cardenas, discuss on today's episode.
Growing up in Texas, Erik was the first in his family to go to college. He was also the first to get kicked out. Nevertheless, Erik entered the corporate world, got a degree, and then pivoted towards entrepreneurship.
This episode covers how to figure out what path is right for you, and why our backgrounds shape so much of who become.
(0:24) Who is Erik Cardenas?
(4:17) Erik’s college journey
(9:13) Latino dads
(11:59) Erik enters med tech
(25:38) the mission of Zócalo Health
(30:35) Why Zócalo Health is focusing its work in California
...more
38min

FAQs about The American Dream with Elias Torres:

How many episodes does The American Dream with Elias Torres have?

The podcast currently has 62 episodes available.