Meet Savinay Chandrasekhar | CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Savinay Chandrasekhar and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Savinay, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I actually didn’t start this non-profit (but I’ve started other organizations), but I certainly treat it as my boot-strapped start-up baby. 🙂

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Minds Matter Colorado connects driven and determined students from low-income families with the people, preparation, and possibilities to succeed in college, create their future, and change the world.

Colorado has an incredible economy — unemployment is low, economic growth is high, and we’re getting more and more folks who decide to make it their home every week.

But this is nutty, because we’re one of the most educated states in the country, but we’re one of the *worst* states at educating our students in the country. Three out of 4 of jobs require a higher education degree, but right now only 1/3 of 9th graders can expect to earn that degree. So of course we need to import talent from around the country.

And if you’re from a low-income family? Forget it. Only 1 in 4 low-income kids will even *enroll* in 4-year college or university, let alone graduate with a degree.

I appreciate of a lot of things our team does, but nothing is more important than the fact that 100% of our graduates get into college *with* scholarships. And the way we do it is by building a vision that allows volunteers and supporters to be the heroes in this journey, and trying to improve 1% (compounded) every day.

That last part is important. I watched a video with former Facebook exec/VC investor Chamath Palihapitiya who talked about fast growth vs slow growth and he made a good point. The time it takes an organization to grow to the max is the half-life for its demise. The orgs that are longest lasting are the ones who aren’t flashes in the pans, but are the ones that took a while to get there — learned the tough lessons, had the tough failures, weathered the tough storms, and got better because of it.

We have an ambitious goal: to provide access to every eligible student, corner-to-corner across Colorado. But we want to do it the right way.

So for us while we have big successes every now and then, I hope that it’s because those are the results of consistent effort, equanimity, and growth over time. Just like an earthquake is the result of years of built-up consistent pressure that eventually breaks in a huge shift, I’d like for the step functions in our growth to be the result of continual effort on the part of our team.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Obviously Colorado has some incredible outdoors spots. So we’d probably head to the Mountains first, depending on the time likely a hike/ski in Vail, with aprés/dinner in Vail Village.

The next day we’d head down to Breckenridge and hit up a restaurant on Main Street in Breck (probably Mi Casa) and if the person is interested in beer at Breckenridge Brewery (I don’t drink, but it’s still a great place to check out).

The following day we’d head through the south side of town with a beautiful drive along US-285 to Red Rocks where we’d see a concert. Then if there’s still time and we’re not exhausted, head down to Denver (maybe El Noa Noa for more Mexican food).

The rest of the week might be other visits to National Parks, hikes, Ft Collins, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Durango, all the lovely cities around the state that have unique vibes and great culture. Lots to see in this incredible state!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My spiritual journey is the most important part of my growth, so most importantly the higher power who makes all we know and will know. Gloria in excelsis Deo!

But in life, so many books and mentors both live and in-person and distant and deceased. I lean heavily on those who have gone before me — I’m re-reading Team of Rivals because I think so highly of Abraham Lincoln’s self-awareness and determination, I recently finished Mandela’s Prison Letters to start to get a little bit of an understanding of his ability to overcome obstacles, and I’m always poring over the works of Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in addition to soaking up the Scriptures of Jesus, Gautama the Buddha, Muhammad, Krishna, and other great contemplatives.

Website: www.mindsmatterco.org

Instagram: @mindsmattercolorado

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/minds-matter-colorado

Facebook: www.facebook.com/mindsmattercolorado

Image Credits
Zachary Domes and Elle Wildhagen