From social work to social entrepreneurship and starting an inner-city boarding school :: The Ryan Banks Academy story, with Valerie Groth

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Valerie Groth (https://www.ryanbanksacademy.org/) and I discuss the Ryan Banks Academy story, her background in social work and in Chicago Public Schools, resiliency when starting a school and nonprofit, and life for students in a pandemic. With social entrepreneurship gaining increasing attention globally, in this conversation we dive into a number of topics to help founders think about relevant issues to address with new ventures.

Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-28 for detailed notes and links to resources (videos, articles, etc…) mentioned. 

You can watch this episode via video here. 

In this episode we cover the following:  

2:47 - Val intro, background, and journey into starting Ryan Banks Academy. 

6:11 - What is social work? What career paths are available?  

8:22 - What do social workers learn in school? What tracks are common?

12:08 - What is the work that Val was doing day in and day out during her time working with Chicago public schools? 

16:40 - What started the kernel of the idea for Ryan Banks Academy?

20:43 - Comment about entrepreneurs who can’t stop thinking about an idea :) 

21:18 - What steps did Val start taking initially to make RBA a reality?

23:33 - Comment about Madeleine Albright and what she’s had to go through in her career.

23:51 - How and when Val left her day job to start her new venture.

25:45 - What is Ryan Banks Academy? What stage is the school at in its growth?  

28:09 - Fundraising, rallying a team, and establishing a board for a nonprofit.

32:29 - What has life been like during the pandemic for RBA? 

35:38 - What kind of lessons is Val learning about entrepreneurship in general in this season? 

37:09 - From Val’s perspective of inner city dynamics, what social problems can (and should) entrepreneurs be thinking about? What would be her call to action to fellow founders?

40:29 - What is Val learning about the conversation around race and racism? How does she think about the conversation? 

44:18 - What are the ways in which people can help out with Ryan Banks Academy? 

46:43 - What is Val’s vision for RBA in the next 5/10/15 years?  

48:05 - Final words for the entrepreneurs, investors, and other listeners curious about RBA. 

Special thanks to our sponsors: https://mybirdbuddy.com, https://www.startuprocket.com, and https://satchel.works