An Entrepreneur And His Ex-Cons: Meet The Former Gang Member Who Created A $10M Packaging Startup That Hires Former Inmates

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Meet the former gang member who created a $10 million packaging startup that hires former inmates:

arrell Jobe had a rough start in life. Raised in Richmond, California, Jobe dropped out of school in eighth grade, joined a gang, and was in and out of juvenile detention as a teenager. At age 14 he was incarcerated for stealing cars, he says, and later did time for possession of a stolen gun. By 23, he promised himself that he would turn his life around and be a better father to his kids than his absentee dad had been for him.

Companies are generally loath to hire former prisoners and gang members, and Jobe struggled to find a job. Eventually, he made his way to the packaging industry, helped by the father of a friend, a willingness to take a lengthy personality test, and his own persistence. Then, in 2015, Jobe, now 39, founded his own business,to make sustainable, environmentally friendly packaging that can replace Styrofoam and other expanded polystyrene foam packaging for shipments that need to stay cool.

It’s not easy to make an environmentally friendly insulated cooler at a viable price point, and Jobe tried a variety of materials, including starch, coconut husks, bamboo and hay, before settling on postconsumer plant fiber that is recyclable or compostable. A self-taught engineer, he filed 30 patents on his creations, five of which have been awarded. “I build everything in my head. If I wrote it down, that would mess me up,” he says.

 

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Great example!

thx amyfeldman 4 this As one who trains the chuurces to provide support for Formerly Incarcerated individuals, I welcome every exposure to their success. One thing: the use of terms like “ex-con” perpetuates defining people by their past, a practice critiqued in your article.

Now that's gangster, in a great way. Reaching back and moving forward. Humanity's siiiiddeee! 🙌

That's awesome

Wow Conclusion : Gang members are humans too We need more former gang members

These are the times when you wish you were an inmate. I guess....

That’s awesome 😎

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An Entrepreneur And His Ex-Cons: Meet The Former Gang Member Who Created A $10M Packaging Startup That Hires Former InmatesDarrell Jobe dropped out of school, joined a gang and spent time in jail. Now, as founder of sustainable-packaging company Vericool, he's giving back by hiring employees who have been incarcerated. This is a fantastic, inspiring story, but imagine how many others might be able to shine and contribute brilliantly if barriers to post-incarceration employment such as bans on getting work licenses or requirements to check a criminal history box were removed nationwide. Kudos to him in helping the environment and making impact on hiring inmates The story is all I need to continue believing in myself and pushing forward. We need to create more enabling environments for all to thrive.
Source: Forbes - 🏆 394. / 53 Read more »

An Entrepreneur And His Ex-Cons: Meet The Former Gang Member Who Created A $10 Million Packaging Startup That Hires Former InmatesDarrell Jobe dropped out of school, joined a gang and spent time in jail. Now, as founder of sustainable-packaging company Vericool, he's giving back by hiring employees who have been incarcerated. if one is a psychopath, one's past is one's future… He said 'he lost his friend when he was 17' thn right after saying that he said he went toJail? Eh guys. Balance me here Ha!
Source: Forbes - 🏆 394. / 53 Read more »

An Entrepreneur And His Ex-Cons: Meet The Former Gang Member Who Created A $10 Million Packaging Startup That Hires Former InmatesDarrell Jobe dropped out of school, joined a gang and spent time in jail. Now, as founder of sustainable-packaging company Vericool, he's giving back by hiring employees who have been incarcerated. One thing about Forbes if you making that bread 🍞 they’ll salute you I like this story it should you can do it right if you put your mind to it
Source: Forbes - 🏆 394. / 53 Read more »

An Entrepreneur And His Ex-Cons: Meet The Former Gang Member Who Created A $10 Million Packaging Startup That Hires Former InmatesDarrell Jobe dropped out of school, joined a gang and spent time in jail. Now, as founder of sustainable-packaging company Vericool, he's giving back by hiring employees who have been incarcerated.
Source: Forbes - 🏆 394. / 53 Read more »

An Entrepreneur And His Ex-Cons: Meet The Former Gang Member Who Created A $10 Million Packaging Startup That Hires Former InmatesDarrell Jobe dropped out of school, joined a gang and spent time in jail. Now, as founder of sustainable-packaging company Vericool, he's giving back by hiring employees who have been incarcerated. Because he's successful doesn't mean what ever he is saying applies to everyone 😑✊ Yeah 💪
Source: Forbes - 🏆 394. / 53 Read more »