Ep 19 – Andrew Yang, Entrepreneur & Author. Humanity Forward

My guest today is Andrew Yang, the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate and a 2021 candidate for mayor of New York City. Named by President Obama as a Presidential Ambassador of Global Entrepreneurship, he is the founder of Humanity Forward, Venture for America, and the Forward Party. Yang’s New York Times bestselling book The War on Normal People helped introduce the idea of universal basic income into the political mainstream. Andrew shares how through practice, he learned to embody particular rules of power to make effective changes in the world.

In this episode, you will learn about:

The non-profits he started to improve the operation of America’s electoral system
A brief overview of his career and entrepreneurial background
Why he was an accidental presidential candidate
What the Forward Party stands for
How his background as an Asian American inhibited him from embracing specific rules of power
The importance of building a personal brand with a strong social media presence
Learning new behaviors to promote himself, which in turn benefits his causes
Why apologizing is not always the right thing to do
How he re-framed networking to become something enjoyable and rewarding
The idea of acting and speaking with power
The romantic motivation he had to put himself into the public sphere
The athleticism of public speaking
Coaching and practice to become stronger, better, and more comfortable
Taking the world as it is and maximizing your ability to do good things within it

GUEST BIO:

Andrew Yang is an entrepreneur, author, philanthropist, non-profit leader, and former 2020 presidential candidate.

After working as a lawyer and executive at several early-stage technology companies, Andrew eventually became CEO of an education company that became #1 in the country. He then started a national entrepreneurship non-profit, Venture for America, which worked to empower thousands of young entrepreneurs to bring their dynamism to communities across the country, from New Orleans and Baltimore to Denver and Detroit.

Andrew was named a Presidential Ambassador of Entrepreneurship by the White House under the Obama administration and a Champion of Change for his work with Venture for America. Initially dubbed a "longer than long shot" candidate by the New York Times in 2018, Andrew became a top-tier contender for the presidency, raising nearly $40 million in grassroots funding.

With a vision to rewrite the rules of the United States economy through a “Freedom Dividend” of $1,000 a month for every American adult, Andrew became one of the most exciting stories in the 2020 race. Andrew's nationwide support, known as the “Yang Gang,” propelled him to seven Democratic primary debates, outlasting six senators, four governors, three members of Congress, two mayors, and one secretary.

Following this unexpected run for president, Andrew formed the non-profit Humanity Forward, successfully lobbying Congress for direct cash relief for struggling American families during the pandemic while simultaneously distributing over $8 million directly to struggling families.

From his presidential and New York mayoral runs, Andrew has seen first-hand what’s preventing our country from getting things done, and he is now directing his energies towards fixing the machinery of our stagnant democracy. With Forward - Notes on the Future of Our Democracy, Andrew lays out the case for a variety of democracy reform measures that can unclog the pipes of our system and realign the incentives of legislators with the wellbeing of the American people.

Produced by The MunnAvenuePress.com