GHP #6 - How to Address Poverty through Technology & Supporting Businesses You Believe in with Jimmy Chen!

Jimmy is the founder and CEO at Propel, Inc., a Brooklyn based company dedicated to helping low income Americans improve their financial health with technology. Their Fresh EBT app helps over 3 million households manage and budget food stamp benefits by providing an integrated platform to check their balance, view transaction history, and receive local deals. The app also provides savings tips and goals in order to improve the financial literacy of their users. The company is backed by the likes of Serena Williams, Kevin Durant, and Andreessen Horowitz.  Poverty is not a particularly new issue; it is estimated that approximately 38 million people live under the poverty line in the USA as of 2019. The intersection of tech and poverty aims to foster technological innovation that will allow people and nations to lift themselves out of poverty. However, many companies do not invest into helping those less fortunate due to monetary motivations and the fact that most founders are not in a position to understand the fundamental drivers of poverty.   We talk to Jimmy about how innovation in tech can continue to help those in need and how his own financial hardships led him to building Propel. Jimmy also explores the capitalist system today and how it can be leveraged to support companies that are aligned with your own personal values.   We hope this conversation inspires you and teaches you more about a topic that tends to get overlooked.