Today I have with me Alfredo Mathew III—a social entrepreneur, educator, and systems thinker who has spent more than 25 years at the intersection of education, workforce development, and entrepreneurship.

Alfredo began as a public school teacher in the South Bronx, Oakland, and Pasadena—so dedicated to his students that he was named Teacher of the Year back in 2003. From there, he moved into building bridges between classrooms and careers, leading the Bay Area office of the Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship and connecting thousands of young people to Silicon Valley pathways.

He went on to co-found ESO Ventures, an organization that didn’t just support entrepreneurs but actually changed state law in California to fund inclusive entrepreneurship. In just four years, ESO helped incubate over 500 Black and Brown-owned businesses and secured tens of millions in investment for community-rooted enterprises.

Today, Alfredo is the Founder and CEO of SPCC.1—the world’s first Shared Prosperity Community Corporation. His vision is bold: to create a new kind of economic infrastructure where communities can consolidate small businesses, access growth capital, and build their own engines of shared prosperity.

He’s also a TEDx speaker, where he calls for nothing less than sovereign wealth for the people and an economy that is truly owned by the communities it serves.

I’m excited to dive into this conversation with Alfredo, because it’s not just about entrepreneurship—it’s about rewriting the rules of who gets to participate and who gets to own the future.