Dare to Defy

Dare to Defy is an organization that seeks to help former convicts. While touring a prison, Catherine Hoke, who worked in a New York venture capital firm at the time, suddenly noticed “the similarities between Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and incarcerated people – relentless drive, resourcefulness, and extraordinary hustle.” She began to learn more about the incredibly tall barriers that prevent many ex-cons from finding meaningful employment after their prison sentences. As many as 60 to 75 percent of former criminals remain unemployed. Hoke wanted to change the narrative, so she worked to found Defy Ventures. The people in her program are called “Entrepreneurs in Training” or EiTs, and the results speak for themselves. According to Defy, the organization has “engaged thousands of volunteers and EITs with impressive results, including a <5% recidivism rate.”

As a devout Christian, Hoke founded the organization on Christian principles of faith and redemption. Her organization seeks to invest in people, not convicts. She firmly believes that everyone deserves a second chancesat life. She instills nine principles into the EiTs:

1. Bring Justice
2. Partner (Not Pity)
3. Love Hard
4. Transform Legacies
5. Challenge Perceptions
6. Grow Courageously
7. Honor Commitments
8. Own Mistakes
9. Stay Scrappy

She encourages the EiTs to learn from their mistakes and grow as people, but she also encourages them to always “embody the hustler spirit” that helped them survive. Her motto is “transform your hustle.” She believes it is incredibly important to guide and shape the entrepreneurial spirit that lies in every person. She has an amazing perspective on redemptive entrepreneurship, and she has taken practical steps to spread the Kingdom of God and practically improve the lives of hurting people.

(Photo credit: Unsplash – Yoav Aziz)