Ep 83: Meet the Entrepreneur Training the Next Generation of Startup Founders
Side Hustle Pro
Nicaila Matthews Okome | Side Hustle Pro Media
4.8 • 1.8K Ratings
🗓️ 14 February 2018
⏱️ 50 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today in the guest chair, we have Mandela SH Dixon. She is one of the only black women who has navigated the tech space as a VC-backed tech startup founder, global startup ecosystem builder, and VC portfolio services director.
Mandela began her career in Silicon Valley in 2011 as a startup founder backed by Kapor Capital, 500 Startups, and Imagine K12 (acquired by Y Combinator). Thereafter, she led a global entrepreneurial program called Startup Weekend Education (acquired by Techstars) that spanned six continents and empowered thousands of entrepreneurs to launch edtech startups.
Most recently, Mandela worked at venture capital firm Kapor Capital, where she supported the success of over 120 tech startups and launched the Founders' Commitment, a first-of-its kind initiative teaching founders how to bake diversity and inclusion into the DNA of their early stage startups.
To-date, Mandela has shared her frameworks for success on over 65 stages, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Google, and Facebook. She has also received several recognitions, including being named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 List, LinkedIn's Top 10 Voices in Venture Capital and Startups, and Medium's Top 10% of Writers. Most recently, Mandela co-founded Founder Gym, an online training center that teaches underrepresented founders how to build successful tech startups (applications for Cohort 2 are now open).
On this episode, we get into:
- What it was like to walk away from her first company
- Why it’s so important to her to democratize access to information in Silicon Valley
- Why there needs to be more transparency among founders
- How seeing both sides of the table and all aspects of the startup ecosystem has shaped her experience
- The start of Founder Gym and more!
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher and Google Play
Links mentioned on this episode
Click here to subscribe via RSS feed (non-iTunes feed): http://sidehustlepro.libsyn.com/rss
Announcements
Side Hustle Pro is now over 5600 members strong. If you’re looking for a community of supportive side hustlers who are all working to take our businesses to the next level, join us here: http://sidehustlepro.co/facebook
This episode is brought to you by FreshBooks. FreshBooks is offering an unrestricted 30 day free trial for all my listeners. No credit card required. Visit FreshBooks.com/SIDEHUSTLEPRO and enter SIDE HUSTLE PRO in the how did you hear about us section.
This episode is brought to you by Skillshare. Skillshare has a special offer just for my listeners: Get two months of Skillshare for just 99 cents. To sign up, go to Skillshare.com/hustlepro to start your two months now.
Social Media Info
Connect on Instagram:
Mandela - @mandelaSH
Side Hustle Pro – @sidehustlepro
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | That's when I really started writing on medium, just like telling people what's really going on because I feel like so much of it is a facade. |
| 0:09.5 | Oh yeah, things are great, you know, up into the right. |
| 0:12.0 | And I'm like, no, hom homie I know what's really going on |
| 0:16.7 | you need to tell the story so people feel less alone I personally believe about bringing the |
| 0:22.4 | humanity back to this space. |
| 0:24.3 | If I know you're having a hard time, I can at least help you, right? |
| 0:27.4 | And so many people are hiding their hard times. |
| 0:29.8 | You're listening to Side Hustle Pro, the podcast that teaches you to build and grow your Side Hustle, |
| 0:36.5 | from Passion Project to profitable business. |
| 0:39.4 | And I'm your host, Nakela Matthew Zokome. |
| 0:42.3 | So let's get started. |
| 0:46.0 | Hey, hey guys, welcome back to the show. |
| 0:48.0 | Today in the guest chair, we have Mandella S.H. Dixon Dixon. Mandela continues our theme of being an |
| 0:56.0 | entrepreneur on your own terms. As a six-year startup veteran she |
| 1:01.3 | specializes in helping anyone from part-time hustlers to |
| 1:05.2 | full-time founders, accelerate their business, and achieve their dreams. |
| 1:10.2 | As a |
| 1:15.0 | Division I soccer player and professional educator, Mandela began her career in Silicon Valley in 2011 |
| 1:18.0 | as a startup founder backed by K-Pore Capital, |
| 1:21.0 | 500 startups, and Imagine K-12, which was acquired by Y-combinator. |
| 1:26.3 | After that, she led a global entrepreneurial program called Start-Up Weekend Education, which was acquired |
| 1:32.3 | by Tech Stars, that spans six continents |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Nicaila Matthews Okome | Side Hustle Pro Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Nicaila Matthews Okome | Side Hustle Pro Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.