Rob Chesnut, lawyer and author of Intentional Integrity speaks to Y-Lab Teens on how to find a better way to do business
Legendary Legal Titan, Rob Chesnut-Federal and Silicon Valley Lawyer-turned Modern Ethicist Elder and Author traced the arc of his career and sea changes in American Business; while gracefully imparting business and life advice to teen Y-Labs Fellows solving social problems for Silicon Valley non-profits.
Rob Chesnut, author of a new book on the need for ethics Intentional Integrity, guided the Y-Labs teens with the thought that “intelligence and integrity are certainly not limited to adults. Know that wisdom and leadership can come at any age.” Chesnut was impressed with the Y-Labs teen’s 4 week summer projects that solve problems for nonprofits in Silicon Valley.
“If anyone’s left behind, we all fall behind”- Rob Chesnut
Rob Chesnut, like many of the diverse Y-Labs teens, was the first in his family to attend college at The University of Virginia. Rob, claiming proudly to have been a nerd in high school at Princess Anne High School, felt it “was better not to have been in the in-crowd. It taught me humility.”
The Y-Labs teens were more than a little bit jealous that Chesnut’s last year in at UVA was spent in a Senior Honors Program designed to put emphasis on learning for learning’s sake — like this summer’s four week business accelerator. Their jealousy turned into a bit of fear when they learned that Mr. Chestnut had only four classmates during his senior year — one of which joined him at Harvard Law School later. In a sense “…there was no place to hide.”
“Do for others” — Robert Chesnut
The Y-Labs Summer Fellows, a globally and culturally diverse group, taught by Silicon Valley serial entrepreneurs to help Silicon Valley nonprofits, were in violent agreement with Chesnut’s thesis that the internet and our global interconnection and interdependence “impacts us all.” Rob encouraged the group to “get out of our narrow lanes, and solve big problems.” Mr. Chesnut graciously provided advice on differentiation, and encouragement to several of the teen’s projects such as helping Second Harvest improve their food distribution to the homeless in East Palo Alto.
“Integrity and doing good for others is a critical habit for your life” — Rob Chesnut
Perhaps, Rob’s best received line of the afternoon — after a lively discussion of how Hollywood portrays lawyers — was the advice “do your best, to do good, and you’ll be successful.” Y-Labs Fellows promised to integrate their “highest values” into their life.
Y-Labs successfully concludes its first virtual summer accelerator for teens on Friday, August 7th 2020.
The 4-week summer business accelerator to help Silicon Valley’s nonprofits with projects developed by the Y-Labs teens is wrapping up this Friday.
The program concludes August 7th with a “Demo Day” of project demonstrations, with a welcome to the teens delivered by U.S. Congressman Ro Khanna, who represents California’s 17th District, the heart of Silicon Valley.
Y-Labs’ Co-Founder Christina Zhu-Weaver Hosted the Online Event
About Rob Chesnut, Author of Intentional Integrity
Rob Chesnut is the former Chief Ethics Officer of Airbnb Inc., a role he took on after nearly 4 years as Airbnb’s General Counsel. Rob is a graduate of Harvard Law School and the University of Virginia. He worked for 14 years with the U.S. Justice Department, including 10 years as an Assistant United States Attorney in Northern Virginia. Rob has served on a number of advisory boards for internet marketplace startup businesses, including Uber, Upwork, Turo, and Poshmark. He lives in San Francisco, CA, and spends his spare time playing basketball with his son and watching his daughter’s theatre performances.
About Y-Labs
Y-Labs is a licensed 501(c)(3) non profit organization founded by two African-American men (Stanford, Columbia alumni) and one Asian-American woman. Y-Lab’s mission is to empower teens to find fulfillment through entrepreneurship solutions to real-world challenges.
Y-Lab Ventures is a highly selective entrepreneurship, venture design and social innovation program for talented teenagers who have demonstrative potential in STEAMS (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics, and Sports). Y-Labs virtual entrepreneurship program pairs talented teens with experienced mentors to work on projects with a potential for great social impact. Our programs mission is to accelerate the talent and passion of young people for innovation-led entrepreneurship that leads to real social change within their communities.
Our network of experienced Silicon Valley professionals provide mentorship and coaching to Y-Labs Fellows. We are dedicated to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. Learn more about Y-Labs here. The co-founders of Y-Labs are Mahama Nyankamawu, Christina Zhu-Weaver, and Michael Olorunninwo.
Y-Labs Ventures can be found on: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Medium, and our website.
Check our “Silicon Valley Founders Secrets” Podcast led by our founders Christina Zhu-Weaver and Mahama Nyankamawu.
To support our non-profit donate to our GoFundMe campaign.
