PTF Parent Up Distinguished Speaker, Jessica Jackley, Discusses Person-to-Person Philanthropy through Entrepreneurship

By Greg Collins
Ms. Jackley explored the intersection of entrepreneurship and philanthropy with her successful start-up as an example. 
Jessica Jackley, the third speaker in the PTF Parent Up Distinguished Speaker series, addressed parents and community members last Friday in Hurlbut Theater. Ms. Jackley is best known as the co-founder of Kiva, a revolutionary peer-to-peer, micro-lending platform that merges individual loans with entrepreneurs worldwide. What began in 2005 as a scrappy startup that no one quite knew could work is on schedule to surpass $1 billion in loans given in 2017.
 
Ms. Jackley shared her story of receiving an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and being offered a dream job with McKinsey & Company. Instead, she turned to an unpaid internship collecting “impact stories” from recipients of grants from non-governmental organizations in West Africa. As a young adult, hearing personal stories in Kenya and Uganda changed everything.
 
Patrick’s was the first story Ms. Jackley shared. After rebel groups brutally attacked his home, he lost everything. He fled barefoot with his only surviving brother until they reached a neighboring village three hours away. Living in a mud hut, he had to rebuild a life. Patrick literally rolled up his sleeves and began digging in the mud outside his hut. He formed clay bricks by hand and sold them for less than a penny a piece. Soon he saved money to buy a brick mold and could sell each brick for slightly more. With more saved, he went to the next village to use their kiln to make even better bricks. At this point, Patrick received a $100 grant from an organization and was able to elevate his business to the point that he built a brick house for himself and his brother. The story is the inspiration for the title of her latest book, Clay, Water, Brick: Finding Inspiration From Entrepreneurs Who Do the Most With the Least.
 
Stories such as Patrick’s reshaped Ms. Jackley’s perspective on those in need. The stories she heard were not stories of desperation, but rather stories of people in desperate circumstances but bounding with hope, grit and resilience. Ms. Jackley continued gathering stories and thought if only she could help spread them, others might be inspired to connect directly, and help with small loans. A small “social experiment” among family and friends back in San Francisco proved to Ms. Jackley that this model could work and Kiva was officially launched. The first year, Kiva took in $500,000; the second year $15 million; and today the organization is scheduled to hit $1 billion in peer-to-peer loans.
 
Ms. Jackley recited her favorite definition of entrepreneurship taken from Howard Stevenson at Harvard Business School. Entrepreneurship is the “pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled.” For Ms. Jackley this means running with abandon to embrace a vision for a better future. She told the audience to listen to others to tell you what they need. Have the vision and courage to say no to good options, like that dream job at McKinsey & Company, and instead follow your heart. Disregard the inner and outer voices that tell you you’re not prepared or not good enough. Find your own path.
 
Ms. Jackley finished the morning but talking with the Middle and Upper School Students in the Pasternack Field House.
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