On this episode of Invested, Michael hosts Roland Fryer, a Professor of Economics at Harvard University and a co-founder of Equal Opportunity Ventures, an early stage seed fund, and several start-ups.
Roland sits on several boards with an emphasis on business analytics, talent management, and product strategy. His research combines economic theory, big data, AI, and randomized social experiments to help design policies that can increase social mobility in America. Roland was awarded a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship, the John Bates Clark Medal (given by the American
Economic Association to the best American Economist under age 40), the Presidential
Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, among others. He was a member of the
2009 Time 100 (most influential people in the world) and has been twice featured in
Esquire "Genius issue." Roland earned a Bachelor of the Arts degree in economics from
the University of Texas at Arlington and a Doctor of Philosophy in Economics from Penn
State University.
Please rate this episode 5 stars wherever you stream your podcasts!
KEY TOPICS
[00:00:00] Intro
[00:02:50] How Did You Meet Your Wife?
[00:05:50] What if the Data and Anecdotes Don’t Match?
[00:07:40] Roland’s Bombshell Paper on Police Brutality
[00:14:22] The Need for Firsthand Experience
[00:17:15] Roland’s Guiding Principle for Truth
[00:20:22] Data And Truth in an Era of AI
[00:23:08] Can Data Cause Change?
[00:25:20] How Harvard Students Have Changed
[00:28:17] Working Odd Jobs as a Kid
[00:31:46] Speaking Out on Harvard Antisemitism
[00:33:55] Is There Still Value in Higher Education?
[00:40:52] How to Incentivize Faculty to be Truthtellers
[00:42:53] The Misapplication of DEI & the Need for Meritocracy
[00:49:50] Is Harvard Safe for Jews and Israelis?
[00:51:20] Why Become a Venture Capitalist?
[00:57:18] Use of AI for Hiring
[01:05:50] Increasing Social Mobility with Forage
[01:14:00] What is the Biggest Problem You Want to Solve?
[01:16:40] What’s Changed in Your Worldview Since Visiting Israel?
RESOURCES
Follow Roland on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roland-fryer-9889b7183
Subscribe to Invested here: https://content.aleph.vc/invested
Learn more about Aleph: aleph.vc
Sign up for Aleph’s monthly email newsletter:https://newsletter.aleph.vc/
For the transcript of this episode, go to: content.aleph.vc/podcast-episodes/roland-fryer---episode-34
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aleph-vc/
Follow Michael on Twitter: twitter.com/mikeeisenberg
Follow Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mieisenberg/
Follow Aleph on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikeeisenberg
Follow Aleph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aleph-vc/
Follow Aleph on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleph.vc/
CREDITS
Executive Producer: Erica Marom
Producer: Yoni Mayer
Video and Editing: Ron Baranov
Music and Art: Uri Ar
Design: Rony Karadi
