2023 Fellow Focus: Dr. Peter Watts, Jr. + The Teacher Village Initiative
Educator, change agent, visionary…2023 Fellow Dr. Peter Watts, Jr. of The Teacher Village Initiative shares more about his journey as a social impact entrepreneur.
What life experiences propelled you into the entrepreneurial space and made you decide to be your own boss?
It has been a cumulation of experiences as a classroom teacher for 17 years, founding charter school principal for 5 years, founding director of pilot-blended learning programs for a CMO, and the founding pastor of a church that has been in existence for the past 15 years. It's just part of my DNA to be a "starter" of new things that don’t exist in the world for Black people to flourish.
More directly, it was my experience with my own family and three young adult children who are all in the education space. My son and youngest daughter are both classroom teachers and I have seen first hand the challenges that they have faced from the time they decided that they wanted to become educators. It's been this experience and reality of testing, pay scale, lack of resources, and the challenging opportunities to purchase a home in a city like Los Angeles on a beginning teacher's salary. I knew that I wanted to support others who were coming into the teaching profession - specifically Black men - and I needed to be able to do that with the full flexibility and authority that entrepreneurship provides.
What do you enjoy most about being a founder?
I enjoy seeing my vision and mission come alive in a Black male pre-service teacher when they pass an exam, get accepted into a credential program, and respond to survey questions about financial literacy and home buying in positive ways that express they have learned something new, like how credit works or how to save and reduce debt. I also enjoy achieving goals and milestones that I have set for the year and quarter and seeing those things happen. I enjoy this the most because it helps to demystify what I thought was impossible or only available to dominant culture leaders.
What do you wish someone had told you before you started your entrepreneurial journey?
I wish they had told me that my entrepreneurial efforts and getting access to capital had nothing to do with my ideas or even my academic achievement and skillset, but it was in large part due to access to relationships and those who are gatekeepers in the financial industry. This would have been helpful from the start because I would have been a lot more confident from the beginning knowing what I was up against and how I had to gain knowledge and build relationships in this area rather than thinking I needed to "fix my idea."
Tell us about an experience you had as an entrepreneur or in starting your company that exemplified one of Camelback's core values: "Belief in Mission + Vision"; "Unafraid of Failure"; "Constant Learner"; "Humble + Hungry"; and "Give First."
It was in 2019 when I first submitted an application to Camelback Ventures and was not selected. Then it was in 2021 I tried again and was not selected. But the third time I submitted the application I was accepted into the Camelback Family. This relentless pursuit of a goal is exemplified in Camelback's core value of being "Unafraid of Failure."
I believe this is connected to that value because not being selected was not a "No" but a "Not Yet." I was not yet ready and needed to think through my venture a little more. I garnered feedback from Camelback. I also asked for help from other relationships that I had in the non-profit education space to help me hone my skills in telling my story and refining distinctly what we do as a venture. It was because I wasn't afraid to fail that I believe I am where I am today. To me failure is not final, but an opportunity to learn from the mistake and try again the next time.
How do you stay motivated?
When I wake up in the morning, I often think about the young men who are in college or recently graduated trying to determine what will become of their lives, and how they would like to make an impact and leave a legacy. For them, the value proposition of The Watts of Power Foundation and Teacher Village is that education can be a pathway into the middle class and into homeownership, which can help build wealth and legacy while making a lasting contribution to the lives of Black and Brown families in their community.
Let's talk about your legacy. How do you hope your venture will make the world a better place generations from now?
The legacy I hope to leave behind is to see Black men have opportunities to lead in the transformation of our public school system while also owning homes in the neighborhoods where these schools exist so that they are not impacted by gentrification when it shows up in their communities, but can instead tell a story of "re-intrification" and how they decided to return to the places where they came from after college to transform it from the inside out.
What's your favorite book or podcast that you draw entrepreneurial inspiration from?
I have three favorite books:
Anything else you want to share about yourself and/or your Camelback Fellowship journey?
I’m Dr. Peter Watts, Jr. - an educator, father, husband, entrepreneur, cultural influencer, and author of the book and journal "Prodigal Father." I was born and raised in South Los Angeles. I'm currently the CEO and Co-Founder of the Watts of Power Foundation, where I lead a program called the Teacher Village to recruit, train, and retain more Black male teachers, while providing housing that’s affordable in the neighborhoods where they teach. I've been married for 29 years with young adult children and our whole family is in the education sector creating change - from the school board level creating policy that advances equity in education for Black students, all the way down to the classroom level with Black and Brown kids.
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