Transforming the Hustle with Catherine Hoke and Defy Ventures
What if there was a pool of proven but untapped entrepreneurial talent and hustle that no investor had yet leveraged?
What if $500 was the only seed money needed to give one of these entrepreneurs their start?
What if that $500 investment generated a social return on investment of 294x?
And finally … what if you were only known for the worst thing you had ever done?
All of these questions, and so many more, were posed at the Upfront Summit by Catherine Hoke, the founder and CEO of Defy Ventures.
Defy Ventures works with currently and formerly incarcerated men and women to transform their innate entrepreneurial talents and drive into legal, successful businesses. Since 2012, Defy graduates have incubated more than 165 businesses including New York’s ConBody fitness and Prison Bars snack bars (“They’re criminally delicious!”)
See Catherine’s inspiring presentation at the Summit here:
To learn more about Defy Ventures:
- Read ’s blog about spending a day in prison with Defy
- Visit Defy Ventures to learn about getting involved
