# How I Built Resilience: Varshini Prakash of Sunrise Movement

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2020-11-05
- Length: 23m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-11-05-how-i-built-resilience-varshini-prakash-of-sunrise-movement

## Summary

Varshini Prakash, co-founder and executive director of the Sunrise Movement, explains how she and a small group of activists launched the organization in 2017 to force climate change onto the political agenda. Prakash details their strategy of combining direct action, such as the sit-in at Nancy Pelosi’s office, with grassroots organizing to grow from a handful of members to over 400 local chapters. She discusses the movement's reliance on small-dollar donations to maintain independence and their political tactic of challenging incumbent Democrats in primary races to shift the party's center of gravity toward progressive climate policies.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-11-05-how-i-built-resilience-varshini-prakash-of-sunrise-movement#t=0) Introduction: Varshini Prakash and the Sunrise Movement
- [2:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-11-05-how-i-built-resilience-varshini-prakash-of-sunrise-movement#t=131) Founding Strategy: Studying Social Movements and Theory of Change
- [4:41](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-11-05-how-i-built-resilience-varshini-prakash-of-sunrise-movement#t=281) Scaling Tactics: The Pelosi Sit-in and Chapter Growth
- [9:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-11-05-how-i-built-resilience-varshini-prakash-of-sunrise-movement#t=584) Political Strategy: Primary Challenges and Shifting the Center of Gravity
- [15:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-11-05-how-i-built-resilience-varshini-prakash-of-sunrise-movement#t=948) Tactics and Criticism: Civil Disobedience and Media Response
- [20:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-11-05-how-i-built-resilience-varshini-prakash-of-sunrise-movement#t=1227) Fundraising: Grassroots Donations vs. Corporate Money

## Topics

- [Energy & climate tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/energy-and-climate-tech)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Sunrise Movement (other)
- U.S. Bank (other)
- Green New Deal (other)
- IPCC (other)
- Nancy Pelosi (other)
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (other)
- Bernie Sanders (other)
- Donald Trump (other)
- Jamal Bowman (other)
- Eliot Engel (other)

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## Citing this page

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