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Working Hard with Grace Beverley
Ep.19 Gang Leader Turned Venture Capital Investor - Karl Lokko On How He Turned His Back On Crime.
Ep. 19
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Karl Lokko is an ex-gang leader turned activist, campaigner, influencer and entrepreneur. Growing up on a tough estate swarming with gangs, Karl's childhood was far from plain-sailing, witnessing his first shooting when just 12 years old.
Though at the time this had felt shocking, within four years Karl found himself behind the trigger, eventually becoming the ringleader of his own notorious gang. Before he was even 16, Karl had already been shot at, cut on his face, stabbed in the chest and watched one of his best friends get killed.
Karl finally pivoted when he met Pastor Mimi Asher, the mother of a fellow gang member, who showed him a way out. Resulting from Mimi's courageous counselling and mentorship, Karl was able to gain perspective, zoom out on his situation, and turn a life of crime into a life worth living.
Since then, Karl has dedicated his life and career to helping others do the same. Karl also leads the vision for Black Seed, a community and seed fundraiser to exclusively support black-led start-ups. With an embarrassing 0.24% of venture funding reaching black founders, Karl is leading the Black Seed team to tackle the systemic racial disparities in investment, their vision to find the next black unicorn and transform Brixton into Silicon Valley.
Today’s episode will completely blow your mind. As he describes it, Karl’s story reflects the journey of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly - the complete transformation of his life into something utterly unrecognisable.
- Karl's childhood in South London
- Where Karl's involvement in gangs began
- When Karl couldn't join a gang, he created one
- The problems within the system perpetuating gang culture
- How and why Karl eventually turned his back on crime
- The beginnings of Karl's first business - a rehab centre.
- The initial idea for Black Seed
- The horror show that are Black Founder statistics
https://www.instagram.com/blackseedvc/?hl=en
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