Beth Kolko is the co-founder and former CEO of Shift Labs, a for-profit company building low-cost medical devices for emerging markets leveraging global innovation networks. She has been the Director of Innovation at the Makerbot Foundation (2013), a Fulbright professor at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan (2000), a Visiting Faculty Researcher at Microsoft Research (2007), and a Fellow (2007-2009) and Faculty Associate (2009-present) at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University.
Beth began her career as a professor in the humanities, studying how diverse communities used a then text-based internet to organize and enact change. Her current work focuses on the potential of non-experts to create disruptive solutions.
In this episode of the Optimistic Design podcast, Beth shares how she became interested in human-centered design and why her initial research took her towards helping people become functional engineers and solve problems in their own communities. She discusses the experiences and organizations that have shaped her approach to design and technology, including The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Beth discusses the strong connective thread of providing the impact that runs through all of the work she has done. She highlights why she felt she should stop critiquing the way technology was designed and the ways in which it was exclusionary and instead make the leap into creating better, more human-centered products. We also dive into the venture capitalism aspect of Beth’s work, and she lists some of the information she likes Start-Up founders to present to her when discussing funding.
In this Episode
02:30 How issues of gender, race, and technology usage patterns brought Beth to human-centered design as an approach
06:02 Why Beth founded Shift Labs in 2012, what their mission is, how it led to the development of life-changing technologies for low-income communities
09:20 How human-centered design shaped Beth’s approach to the operational side of the business as Shift Lab’s founder
13:46 Beth’s experience as a venture capitalist with both the Pioneer Fund and Pack Ventures and the journey of moving from founder to venture capitalist
19:38 The community focus of Beth’s business including mentoring Start-Up founders and why she is so passionate also about diversifying who has access to building a successful company
21:15 How human-centered design and equity centered design align to shape the kind of venture capitalist she is
35:12 How remote working has facilitated diversifying the design space over the last two years and accelerated innovation
Resources and Social
Connect with Substantial - Optimistic Design:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/substantial/
Podcast: https://substantial.com/OptimisticDesign
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/substantial/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/substantial
Website: www.substantial.com
