A Conversation with Tristan Walker

At just 30 years old, Tristan Walker’s meteoric career in Silicon Valley has made him one to watch. Raised in Queens, NY, Walker earned a scholarship to one of the city’s prestigious boarding schools and later went on to graduate with an MBA from Stanford. From there, Walker landed the role as Director of Business Development at Foursquare before becoming the entrepreneur-in-residence at the tech venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. And last year, Walker founded and is now CEO of his own startup, Walker & Company Brands, which aims to transform the health and beauty industry for people of color. In addition to his achievements in business, Walker has been a vocal advocate for increasing diversity in the tech industry, where minorities are dramatically underrepresented. He helped co-found Code2040, a not-for-profit that helps black and Latino engineering students land internships at large tech firms. In this session, Walker discusses his remarkable career, the role education has played in his own life, as well as his thoughts on how to close the diversity gap in Silicon Valley. Footage from KIPP School Summit 2015. http://on.kipp.org/2015kss