Business Insider has an article, Why Newly-Released Prisoners Make Great Entrepreneurs.
Jeff Smith, a former Missouri State senator, spent a year in prison for conspiracy and attempt to obstruct the Federal Election Commission during his 2004 campaign.
During that year, he learned that prison is filled with men learning lessons similar to those in a first year MBA class.
Smith spoke about his experience in a TED talk in June. …
… When you are starting a business from the ground up, you don't have many resources, and have to raise money in whatever way you can. If inmates can give haircuts with toenail clippers, as Smith describes, or make meals from stolen scraps at a warehouse, they could be the perfect people to start companies once they are freed.
The only problem, Smith explains, is the lack of training and rehabilitation the men receive while in prison. His talk ends with a call to action to train prisoners that have an innate entrepreneurial spirit.
Below I included Smith's five-minute TED talk, but I wonder if Smith knows of Prison Entrepreneurship Program. The second video is Ryan Mack, author of Living in the Village, talking about PEP.
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