Hardware Podcasts

308: More Energy

Embedded.fm · 1 Nov 2019 · 48m · Episode 308

What this episode covers

Jacob Martinez, founder and CEO of DigitalNEST, a non-profit workforce development center in Watsonville and Salinas, CA, explains how the organization provides free technology access and career training to youth aged 14-24. Martinez discusses the challenge of Silicon Valley companies recruiting from distant universities rather than local communities, and how DigitalNEST bridges this gap by teaching technical skills alongside essential soft skills like teamwork and confidence. He details the organization's funding model, which relies heavily on individual donors and foundations because the Santa Cruz County location falls outside the eligibility bubble for major tech grants, and outlines plans to scale the model to other 'forgotten' communities.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
DigitalNEST, Driscolls, Martin Aliases, West Marine, Google, Facebook, Apple, Cruise IO, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, Kiva, Vote.org, American Express
Products
Adobe Creative Suite, Plantronics, Logic, NEST Flight, BizzNEST

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