Creating Future Female Tech Business Leaders with Jasmine LeFlore

Startups get the party. Startups get the party started. Startups get the party. Startups get the party started. You want tech and tacos, tacos and tech you know we got tacos and tech is on smash border green guacamole keeper countins counting beans Contador quentan frijoles found us trying to raise some queso la vida San Diego school of rappy rapping fire tortillas round jalapenos in these modern times a crappy beer and coffee my coding yoga posse fold the body origami we be surfing coronado eating tacos El gordo, the taco stand in pesto lucha libre and sombrero Got a shout out to cost angels by the ocean watch the sunset la Hoya shores Entrepreneurs trying to get funded when San Diego Startup Week is popping in the summer Oceanside, the Tijuana esti be full of hustlers from couch surfing to penthouses right on the beach Tech leaders who you believe stars are within reach we interview and founders who be shooting for the Moon SDTechOS with your host, Neil Bloom. Startups get the party, startups get the.

Welcome to the Tacos and Tech podcast where we discover cutting edge San Diego technologies and the builders making it happen. I'm your host, Neil Bloom, San Diego's tech ambassador and together you're going to put a face to the name of today's tech leaders with our own blend of local lifestyle. This segment is brought to you by Cox Edge. Our longtime partnership with Cox Business has helped their engineering teams develop new tech products for small businesses and startups. Cox is investing in Edge capabilities and working with developers and engineers across the ecosystem to deliver ultra low latency compute solutions, helping customers to improve application performance and to reduce cloud transport and on premise infrastructure costs. Interested in hearing more about Cox Edge? Please visit coxedge.com and mention Neil Bloom or freshbroodtech.com for our partner discount.

And welcome back to the Tacos and Tech Podcast. I'm your host, Neal Bloom. I am thrilled to have on Jasmine lafleur, co founder of Greater Than Tech. Hey Jasmine, thanks for being on the pod.

Hey Neil, thanks for having me. And I want to shout out the theme song because it is so cool. I love it and I know all the places that I reference, so love the song.

Awesome. Then we're going to start rapping it right now. Ready? I'm just kidding.

Ready.

You know that you know it by heart.

All right, let's get the party started.

I know it well. It is so fun to have a fellow Aerospace professional on here. We don't get to nerd out about aerospace too much, so we'll try to keep it to a minimum. But you know that it's going to come out. But Greater Than Tech. I'm so thrilled to have learned a little bit about this. You recently finished your program. Congrats on that. Do you want to give us a quick overview of what Greater than tech is?

Yeah. So Greater Than Tech is a nonprofit organization designed to create the next technology business leaders of the future by teaching girls of color the intersectionality of engineering and business. And that's so important because when I was growing up, I wanted to be an aerospace engineer, but I only knew one path to do that and that was working for a big aerospace company. So I want students to know that they can go into engineering and they can define their own path in tech. And I just want them to be exposed to the world of business and startups when it comes to STEM programs and that real world applicability.

I love that so much. All right, well then we have to know a little bit more about growing up and your path so that we can see other paths available as well. Where are you from? How did you even know you wanted to be an aerospace engineer?

Yeah. So born and raised from Flint, Michigan and actually used to live by airport when I was a kid. And the way I learned about planes was just having my head up to the sky, asking my mom, this is so cool, how is this big hunk of metal flying? And my mom was an educator, so all she would say is, maybe one day you'll have a job and you'll know how to answer that question. So I really just went on that quest and kind of held that dream in the back of my mind. And I was in this after school program probably from like fifth grade to graduation, where it was designed to help urban youth be able to have exposure to other opportunities. One of the opportunities that we had in that program was a college tour to University of Michigan and we actually visited the aerospace department and that was my aha moment of oh, this is how I can learn about those planes. So that tour was about in the ninth grade and since then it kind of went from I'm going to do everything in my power to actually achieve this goal to be an aerospace engineer, go to University of Michigan, study aerospace engineering. And definitely easier said than done because I actually didn't get into the engineering school. I actually got into the College of Literature, Science and Arts. So my college experience, I always describe it as turbulent because it took a lot of willpower to actually achieve that goal. So that was a cross campus transfer, doing all these prerequisites. I had a lot of personal adversity throughout that time. But nonetheless, I did graduate. In 2015, I got my first job, but even that first job at United Technologies, you know, that's where we both worked. I snuck into the hospitality suite where they were offering interviews. So just being so dedicated to the cause and being in the aerospace community, I kind of did anything in my power to get there. And inevitably me sneaking into that hospitality suite got me my first job. And I started in Connecticut in 2015 as a component project, integrated team lead, where I was the leader of an air cycle machine. So I pretty much managed that product from cradle to grave where I worked with a lot of different disciplines like the manufacturing engineers, supply chain quality, the designers, and just learned about all things that went into making that component, like design to deliver. And I really love that project aspect, seeing all those pieces play a big part to a greater goal. And the programs I worked on for that were Embraer170 and MRJ in Boeing. So in 2017, I actually took a role, same company, but just different business unit. And that's when I moved to San Diego and I was doing a similar role, still component project, but this time managing suppliers. So instead of me being the person that's running the engineering test and doing the qualification and doing all the write ups myself, I was managing other companies to do all that work for me. So a broader scope of, you know, how all of these pieces fit together. And around that time I started a dual degree where I was getting a Master's in interdisciplinary engineering at Purdue and then an MBA at Indiana University. So that further opened my eyes to just all these intersectionalities of engineering and business, how all these components kind of play into this system of, you know, greater designs and greater systems. So just that was when I realized there's a lot of aspects that engineers really play a part in that don't really seem traditional or aren't necessarily the first thing you think about when you hear an engineer totally, I've got to.

Know like, you know, we both had our own paths into engineering. Unfortunately, we didn't cross paths at United Technologies. I left in 2013, so a little before you got there, but I hope we left it nice and warm and the door open for you. You sounded like you really have persevered to really make sure you got there to where you wanted and could have been really easy at times to Take the other path, especially studying in school. It sounded like you were, you glommed on to like after school programs which were great. Did you do like projects in college or even internships or like engineering clubs? That kind of kept you focused and say, yeah, I have to stay on the path?

Yes, great question. So in the midst of all the things that had to happen for me to get into engineering, I did do a robotics program when I was in high school. I was a part of the Knight Riders Team 397 at Flint Southwestern Academy. First Robotics, First Robotics. Yep.

Oh yeah, I was Team599. See RoboDocs.

Love it. So yeah, that was a big piece of me learning more about engineering. And then I also did a pre college program in my 11th grade year where I actually stayed on a college campus. It was called AIM and it was through Kettering University. And they only picked 30 students from around the world to be a part of that program. And we did four weeks of like hardcore engineering classes, coding classes. And it really was that, that feel of this is what it would be like to be an actual engineering student. So anything like that I could get my hands on as well as I did an internship. My. I think it was also 11th grade where I actually was an intern at a civil engineering firm called Wade Trim. And I was doing some drafting there. So I took any opportunity that was there for me to actually learn about engineering. And that was really just through, you know, a community program that I was a part of.

I think you must have known and seen like your mom being a teacher probably really helped expose to even know those programs exist. God, imagine that helped inspire you to start the program you did now. But kind of in between your path from engineering to business. You know, like some engineers get an MBA because they have to check a box that they need a master's. Right? I saw that all the time. Like, why did you feel like you really like needed to learn the master's? I mean the business side of being an engineer?

Yeah, no, great question too. The role I had after the supplier management role, I actually was the chief of staff to the VP of engineering out here at Collins Aerospace now. And one of the things that he saw as a struggle for him was that he felt like engineers didn't understand business, they didn't understand cost. And me working with him on all these different initiatives, it was a point of our business where our internal systems and processes have to be well oiled machine to actually, you know, kind of win more business. So I saw the aspects of engineering that he was referring to when it came to like, you know, what were his pain points. And I thought about my own experience on, you know, if I knew about business or startup at an earlier age, you know, what other opportunities would I have gone after if I knew this? Maybe in the 11th grade. So I saw a need in my current role. But then I also thought about what would have helped me maybe propel into that entrepreneurial journey. I didn't really learn about startup or venture until maybe a year and a half ago. So just thinking about the wealth of knowledge I have now, and, you know, how that would have helped me, you know, to further my career, I think was really that point of these things go together very well. You know, the dual degree obviously validated that. But just seeing those real world experiences play out just motivated me to want to make a program like this.

Yeah, so take us through that a little bit, because what you've done is you've started a nonprofit, which is a business, just has a different classification. Like, why was that your path? Why did you feel like you needed to start a nonprofit?

Yeah, so when it comes to why I wanted to start it, I was a robotics instructor for a nonprofit, and we were preparing for a robotics competition, and it was for middle school girls. So something that I saw was that there were a lot of girls in the class who were confident and already had coding experience, Already had, you know, like a raspberry PI kid or had parents who. Or engineers or whatever who motivated them to be in that path. But the girls of color who were in that program, I didn't really see them engage as much. It seemed like they didn't necessarily have confidence to start that code or, you know, actually tinker with the robot. So I felt like I was not able to support them in the way that I would like because I had to keep with the pace of all the other girls who had it and were ready to go because we were preparing for a robotics competition. So the girls who weren't necessarily as engaged looked like me. And I just felt like, you know, there needs to be a way to further engage them to want to be a part of this. And that thing I felt like that they didn't have was confidence. So one of the things that greater than tech is all about is also self efficacy, where we are pretty much celebrating successes and goals achieved in all the programs to get them more comfortable with as they do a tech project and finish something, we're celebrating it. So they feel like, okay, I can do this. I am Motivated. I know I can do it because I did this small piece of it before. So that was pretty much the motivation for actually doing it.

How long did you work on it before you took the leap? You know, it's really easy to have an idea, it's next level to execute on the idea. Like what'd you do to validate it and then do it?

That part came in with. I've had experience doing STEM programs altogether. I normally would represent Collins Zero space in the community for a variety of different like STEM programs. So I felt like I knew what I was doing. What really took me to execution was this program called Seed Spot where they help entrepreneurs launch social impact businesses. And I really only knew about Seed Spot because I entered this tech startup competition with my co founder and we actually, we were semifinalists. And then that was like our, our prize. We got a two day, a two day launch camp, see at C Spot. So this was in 2019 and we went through this launch camp and we really started working out, you know, what is our business model, who are our customers, who do we serve? And we talked about the mvp. So that MVP is what really took us to, you know, from fruition to actual launch. And that MVP was a one day workshop that we had. And this was actually the day before the shutdown in 2020. So this is like March 14, 2020, we did a one day workshop where we were combining that engineering and business together. And that framework was basically asking the girls to use the current technology to innovating new technology. So we literally gave them a remote control and said, hey, it only turns the TV on and only uses the volume. What would you do to make it better? So we had them design things onto this remote like with pipe cleaners and cardboard and clips and things like that. And they pretty much went through that engineering design process. And we did some engineering tests. And then when they finished what they wanted their remote to be, we said, okay, now who wants this? Who does this remote help? And there were great ideas that came from that project. And then at the end of the day, they pitched their new remote control to their family members, AKA their investors. And that was kind of the model that started it all. And I mean the ideas were like one team did one call a multimode and you know, we have Amazon Alexa now. But these middle schoolers thought about it in 2020 where it would turn on the TV, it would turn off the TV, it would turn on the lights, it will order food for you and it would charge your cell phone like their Ideas and their creativity was endless. And that was just like a aha moment of okay, they're having fun, they're learning engineering and we're talking about business. They're doing a business pitch. This is something great. And I want to keep doing this.

I love it. Tell me a little bit how you met your co founder.

So we were actually both engineers at Collins Aerospace. We still work there. Both women engineers and we both were employee resource group leaders. So both a part of the African American Forum at the time. She was the advisor to the African American Forum and I was the chair. So we worked very closely just on diversity and inclusion initiatives, which eventually became those STEM enrichment type of programs that we would go to. So we were very involved with nsbe, National Society of Black Engineers. We would go out to universities and help with college resume writing and we would recruit at the conferences, we would do workshops at the conferences. So we just worked together on all things DEI as well as the robotics program that we did. So it kind of was easy to correlate all the things that we were already doing to greater than tech.

Okay, awesome. So you're both in San Diego, which is awesome. Is the nonprofit San Diego Focus or is there kind of a larger. And maybe this has happened during the pandemic, like is there a larger audience that's engaging with this now?

So in terms of who we're serving now, it is the local San Diego community, but we do want to further engage as many youth as we can. The thing that we had to pivot on or we're still in the midst of learning, is that our workshops were primarily meant to be hands on. With the pandemic, it was difficult for us to try to still be hands on, but you know, be online. So now that we're kind of still like kind of out of the pandemic, we're back to in person programs. But I mean, we're partnering and talking to a lot of different companies that have STEM kits where we can do a STEM program online using their kits. So it's definitely a goal in the future.

Okay, awesome. So take us through the program that just happened over the last four weeks or so. Love to hear like a little wrap up and then, and then what's next?

Yeah, so what just happened was girl meets drone. So that was a four session program where we were introducing 12 to 16 year old girls into the world of drone technology. And what that looked like was we had a drone pilot come out and talk about all the great things that you can do with drones. There's like, 10 industries where drones can be used for sanitation. They could be used for chemical inspection, they could be used for, you know, environmental forestry there. It could be used for so many things that I, as an adult, didn't even know about. She also talked about the requirements and, you know, what it takes to actually become a drone pilot. So that first session was really about the exposure of the landscape of, like, this is what it's all about in the drone world. And, you know, what really inspired us to do this program was just the lack of women in the drone industry, and especially women of color. So we just wanted to put something together that would expose them to what a life with drones could be. We used an educational drone to kind of like be that vehicle of them learning that drone technology. And it was the rise telo drone, where we had them, quote, unquote, design or update their drone to whatever industry that they wanted to. So we had them in groups. The girls picked what drone industry they were interested in, and we literally had them use stickers to represent what sensors, what buttons, what new features that they wanted to have on their own personal drones. The thing is, we always add that cost factor into it, which is that, like, you know, engineering and business working together, where, you know, we're saying, hey, These drones cost $1,000. In theory, you have up to $5,000 to spend on your features. Which features do you want? So everyone picked, you know, certain features that we already had as available, but then everybody came up with their own special unique feature. So there's like stars and stickers on all these drones. It was really cute. And then after that, we were taking them through how to code the drone, how to test the drone, and then soon after that, just like that business aspect of, like, okay, who are the customers for the drones? Where are you going to sell it? Where are you going to market it? And that final week was our showcase of these are their drone businesses, these are their drone demonstrations. We had drone pilots and drone experts a part of this program, such as Jamar Williams, CEO of Promodrone. We had Samantha Scully, who is also a drone pilot, who has a drone staffing company. And then our sponsor of that program, Collins Aerospace, where I work, we also had one of our leaders come out and support there, as well as council member Monica Montgomery. And it just was a really great way to demonstrate this intersectionality of technology, drones and business and community all together. So it wrapped up very nicely. And it's something that I'm being asked to do in other places. So I think even that component of greater than tech alone is just very valuable to a lot of people. And I'm excited to see where it goes.

That's awesome. Well, congrats on that. It sounds so cool. I hope I can participate in the future. But it also sounds like we need to get you connected to Qualcomm, who has put out this new drone package, the RB5 and modal AI, which is a local tech startup that is kind of the launch partner of Qualcomm. So let's make sure that we make that connection happen. Chad, if you're hearing this, let's make sure we connect with you with Jasmine for sure. So what's next where you take all that success from this program, like you're going to just repeat it and do it monthly, quarterly, yearly, or what else you building?

It is definitely something that I want to take to a lot of different organizations. An avenue to do that would be licensing the curriculum. So there are a lot of people who just want the information to run the program themselves and I think that is a great idea. Another aspect is I worked with another organization this summer and it was all boys. So they did the pilot program to Girl Meets Drone. You know, as entrepreneurs we gotta do our pilots, do our MVPs. So I want to be able to work with any organization that's interested in having their students learn about tech entrepreneurship. So much to the fact that that next level goal is to create this robotics competition meets Shark Tank, where I'm having a variety of nonprofits all compete in this competition called Demo Day, where they are learning a similar curriculum. They're all using the same tech and they're competing with their. And it's not necessarily competition, but they're demonstrating their technology and then they're doing their business pitch. And I could just see that being a really great linkage to, you know, our urban communities, our underserved communities and the startup world. And I could see people like you and Al being judges or being hosts and something like that, where now we're kind of, you know, verging into that startup world where there are startup leaders who can be mentors or be a guide for the students that want to continue and actually build those tech companies. So I think it's a really great way to engage a lot of different communities altogether and just that startup ecosystem.

Absolutely. Consider us in. We are in no matter where we can help there. So that's fantastic. I gotta imagine it makes your juices turning for some other startup ideas. So hope to see more out of you for that. But we won't hit you too hard. Put you on the shark tank right here.

Yeah.

You've moved to San Diego. You've built now a nonprofit to help San Diegans. Gotta know, do you have a favorite San Diego taco spot?

So I do, and there's two of them. So I have to go with the OG Tacos El Gordo. That's where I always take my family. That's where I take, you know, customers or whoever is not San Diego native. That's kind of that like, okay, this is what it's all about. But for fish tacos, I gotta go with Oscars. And there used to be one downtown. Now I have to go to the one in Hillcrest. But Oscar's Seafood is the best, so I got two different places for you.

I hear that Oscar's ceviche too.

Yes.

Yep, yep. They used to be all over, but yeah, I think they're just Hillcrest and PB now. They were. They had Encinitas in downtown too. Hopefully they're back everywhere we need it. But great, great additions. We don't actually hear Tacos Del Gordo as much as you think, but it is the classic experience, so thanks for that. Well, Jasmine, thanks so much for being on the podcast, but also for, you know, taking your story and turning it into something that's infectious and will grow and scale to help so many others. It's a really big deal. Many could have just gone on your path and said, look, I made it, you know, but you say, I want to bring others along with me, so keep doing it. And thank you so much for sharing.

That and thanks for having me. I appreciate that.

Absolutely. Well, we look forward to doing events with you and having an impact alongside you as well. So thanks, Jasmine.

Likewise.

Thanks for joining us on the Tacos and Tech podcast with Neil Bloom. Thanks again to Cox Business for helping make this possible by expanding the reach of the San Diego tech ecosystem.

Big shout out to School of Rap for our rad intro music.

And this podcast is edited and mixed by Patrick Norden@citizenrecording.com youm can find Neil Bloom on Twitter eelbloom and on LinkedIn.

As well as well as Fresh Brewed.

Tech and the Tacos in Tech pod on Twitter too.

Want tech and tacos? Tacos in Tech. You know, we got it.

Hey.

Sam.