345 | How to Elevate Your Social Mission as Your Company Grows with Wendy Gonzales

Wendy Gonzales is the CEO of Sama, a global leader in data annotation, supervised fine-tuning, and model evaluation for computer vision and generative AI applications. Driven by a mission to expand opportunities through the digital economy, their social business model has helped over 65,000 people lift themselves out of poverty. Sama has worked with companies like Google, Ford, eBay, and Microsoft.

This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of the host, Paul Zelizer. Consider a Strategy Session if you can use support growing your impact business.

Resources mentioned in this episode include:

Elevate Your Social Mission as Your Company Grows: Interview Transcript with Wendy Gonzales

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You can read the full transcript of this episode here



Key Topics on Social Mission as Your Company Grows with Wendy Gonzales

Wendy Gonzales Overview

  • Overview of Sama as a leader in data annotation and AI model evaluation.

  • Mission: Expand opportunities through the digital economy.

  • Impact: Helped 68,000 people lift themselves out of poverty.

  • Notable clients: Google, Ford, eBay, Microsoft.

Wendy Gonzalez’s Advice for Social Entrepreneurs

  • Learn from Friends and Colleagues

    Engage with a network of 30-40 people to understand the entrepreneurial journey and avoid common pitfalls.

  • Work with Supportive Investors

    Partner with investors and funders who support the dual purpose and mission of the business.

SAMA’s Dual Mission

  • Robust tech combined with substantial social impact.

  • Origin as a nonprofit with a primary focus on social mission before pivoting to financial self-sustainability.

  • Emphasis on creating economic independence and solving poverty through job creation.

SAMA’s Business Approach

  • Focus on digital jobs, requiring no degrees or prior experience.

  • Investment in training and digital upskilling for technology sector roles.

  • Emphasis on formal employment with living wages and benefits.

  • Strong focus on women empowerment (53% of workforce).

Challenges and Strategies

  • Balancing financial health with social impact.

  • Sustainability model independent of grants and funders.

  • Need for ongoing skills development to stay ahead in technology.

Client Relationships

  • Clients like Google and Microsoft choose SAMA for their performance.

  • Social mission appreciated but secondary to performance.

  • Social impact increasingly important in RFPs, especially in Europe.

  • Employee models offer better business value compared to crowd models.

Social Impact and Employment Model

  • Yearly living wage assessments.

  • Career advancement opportunities for entry-level employees.

  • Broader community benefits through higher wages and stable employment.

  • Entrepreneurial opportunities and community development stemming from improved financial statuses.

Audience Engagement and Perspectives

  • Addressing the gap between social impact and financial viability.

  • Importance of sustainable economic opportunities over ineffective aid.

  • Emphasis on jobs and financial independence for economic growth.

Wendy Gonzalez on Future Plans and Vision

  • Scaling impact from 68,000 to hundreds of thousands or millions.

  • Tackling evolving technology, particularly generative AI.

  • Identifying and developing future job competencies.

  • Building ecosystems for entrepreneurship in rural areas and partnerships for greater opportunities.

Early Days of SAMA

  • Early focus on transcription services evolving to data pipelines and machine learning.

  • Growth from a small team in San Francisco and East Africa to over 4,000 people.

Training and Upskilling Process

  • Multistep training process from basic digital/AI skills to project-specific training.

  • High motivation and success rates due to the value provided.

Recruitment and Commitment Strategy

  • Evolution from initial recruitment struggles to high training demand.

  • Successful placement and free training model with minimal subsidy.

Employment and Benefits

  • Full-time roles with medical, dental, vision, and mental health support within six weeks of training.

  • A mix of employee and contractor roles with full-time benefits.

Remarkable Outcomes

  • Significant community and family support through formal employment.

  • Life-changing opportunities provided by quick and effective training leading to sustainable careers.

Paul Zelizer