Jan 2, 2019 · 19m · a16z
a16z Podcast | Modernizing Government Services, From Food Stamps to Foster Care
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In this episode of the a16z Podcast, U.S. Senator Todd Young and Propel CEO Jimmy Chen discuss how private tech innovation, public policy reform, and cross-sector collaboration can modernize government safety-net programs like food stamps and foster care.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. How this is scored →
The host as informed peer 2.4 Guest teaching 3.4 Guest disagreement 0.6 The host pushing back 1.0
speaking balance: gold is the host, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 4:59 Jimmy Chen rejects fear of public sector engagement
Jimmy Chen directly rejects the view that private tech companies should avoid public sector involvement, calling it the wrong approach.
Hardest push from the host ▶ 11:34 Host challenges profit-linked evidence neutralitySteph Smith pushes back on the assumption that evidence is neutral, asking how rigorous evaluations can be guaranteed when commercial gain is involved.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 9:30 Senator Young outlines federal evaluation deficitsSenator Young informs the host that out of roughly 80 federal social support programs, only 10 have been rigorously evaluated and only one met its primary goal.
The host holds their own ▶ 10:26 Host demonstrates knowledge of Senate co-sponsorsSteph Smith shows strong topic familiarity by bringing up Senator Young's specific evidence-based assessment bill and naming its co-sponsors.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | The host as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | The host pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jimmy Chen's Journey and Founding Propel | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Steph Smith prompts Jimmy Chen on choosing a private startup over government service, leading Chen and Senator Young to discuss multi-sector collaboration. The interaction is supportive and conversational without friction. | |
| Fresh EBT App and Digital Financial Management | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | Host asks a simple clarifying question about EBT card balance checks, prompting Jimmy Chen to describe the friction low-income users experience and how Fresh EBT solves it. The dynamic is purely informative and cooperative. | |
| Evidence-Based Policy and Social Impact Partnerships | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | Host demonstrates knowledge by referencing Senator Young's bipartisan bill with Senators Booker and Bennett. Senator Young educates the host on the lack of rigorous evaluation across federal social programs. | |
| Sustainable Business Models and Transparency in Public-Private Tech | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | Host presents a key challenge regarding potential bias when commercial profits are tied to social impact evidence. Jimmy Chen and Senator Young outline their business models and independent evaluation safeguards in response. | |
| Entrepreneurship, Empathy, and Empowering Underserved Communities | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | Host asks how to inspire founders from low-income communities to build solutions. Jimmy Chen explains demographic biases in Silicon Valley and the importance of empathy and tooling for underserved entrepreneurs. |
Statements from this episode (11)
Senator Young: Opioid crisis overloaded Indiana's foster care system
“This is ground zero for the opioid crisis, and what has happened is so many children of opiate addicts find themselves in our foster care system. It's overloaded Indiana's foster care system”
Senator Young: Interstate foster care system is slow, paper-based, and opaque
“Some of the problems, just to very quickly itemize them, it's a paper-based system, so it's really slow. Extra costs are associated with looking through the paperwork for staffing, and then for equipment, and supplies, and maintenance of all the records. And t…”
Jimmy Chen: 44 million Americans rely on SNAP food stamp benefits
“It's used by about forty-four million Americans currently, so about one in seven families in the United States is currently relying on these benefits to purchase food.”
Young: Government programs track inputs rather than human outcomes
“And our government programs, typically they don't measure outcomes. They may measure inputs.”
Chen: Propel aims to be TurboTax for food stamps
“We think about ourselves a little bit like how TurboTax works for the tax process, and that here's a private sector company that's able to take the UI of a particular program and make it significantly better such that people save time and money, and I think th…”
Jimmy Chen: $70B is spent annually through food stamps at grocery stores
“There's about seventy billion dollars spent each year through the food stamp program at grocery stores.”
Senator Young: Only 10 of 80 federal social programs rigorously studied
“There are roughly, depending upon one, how one counts the different social support programs, 80 federal social support programs. Only 10 have ever been rigorously studied using the gold standard, randomized controlled trials across multiple sites. Can you imag…”
Propel monetizes its free EBT app via grocery store advertising
“Our business is selling advertising to grocery retailers and grocery brands who want to attract the business of our shoppers at their stores, often by providing coupons and discounts directly to our users.”
Chen: Silicon Valley founders mostly solve problems for young urban men
“I think people start companies that solve the problems they understand, and I think that's why so many of the startups that come out of Places like Silicon Valley are addressing the issues of twenty-something males who live in cities because those are the type…”
Sen. Young: Government should embed private sector predictive analytics into welfare programs
“I think that the private sector can help government better understand its own problems by embedding predictive analytics into some of our programs. We could do that in our social programs. And then on the back end of it is rapid cycle evaluation to determine w…”