# How I Built Resilience: Beverly Leon of Local Civics

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2021-02-18
- Length: 27m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-02-18-how-i-built-resilience-beverly-leon-of-local-civics

## Summary

Beverly Leon, founder and CEO of Local Civics, explains how she transitioned from a professional soccer career to building an ed-tech startup that uses a goal-based platform to help middle and high school students engage with local civic life. She details the company's enterprise SaaS business model, which generates revenue through per-student subscriptions, professional development for educators, and corporate sponsorships, allowing the company to bootstrap its growth into six-figure revenues without outside capital. Leon discusses the critical need for early civic education to address low youth turnout and the root causes of democratic disengagement, emphasizing that democracy is not broken but historically exclusive.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-02-18-how-i-built-resilience-beverly-leon-of-local-civics#t=0) Introduction: Beverly Leon and Local Civics
- [2:15](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-02-18-how-i-built-resilience-beverly-leon-of-local-civics#t=135) How the Local Civics Platform Works
- [7:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-02-18-how-i-built-resilience-beverly-leon-of-local-civics#t=429) From Professional Soccer to Civic Engagement
- [11:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-02-18-how-i-built-resilience-beverly-leon-of-local-civics#t=666) Addressing the Civic Knowledge Crisis
- [17:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-02-18-how-i-built-resilience-beverly-leon-of-local-civics#t=1023) Building a Sustainable Business Model
- [24:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-02-18-how-i-built-resilience-beverly-leon-of-local-civics#t=1451) Democracy, Inclusivity, and Future Opportunities

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Local Civics (company)
- U.S. Bank (company)
- Columbia University (other)
- Oxford (other)

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- [The Pilot: Unveiling the Blueprint of "The Builder Circle"](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-builder-circle/2023-05-13-the-pilot-unveiling-the-blueprint-of-the-builder-circle) (The Builder Circle)
- [159: Build a Community to Sell Your New Product Invention](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-01-18-159-build-a-community-to-sell-your-new-product-invention) (Product Startup)
- [308: More Energy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2019-11-01-308-more-energy) (Embedded.fm)
- [#024 - How to increase your own productivity and that of your garden’s, with Mattias Lepp of Click & Grow, Estonia](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-05-03-024-how-to-increase-your-own-productivity-and-that-of-your-gardens-with-mattias) (The Hardware Entrepreneur)

## Citing this page

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