Social Impact in a Service Business with Fearless (Software Developers)
In this episode we talk with Delali Dzirasa and John Foster of Fearless, which is a software development company that specializes in government tech, making civil servants’ jobs easier and helping everyday people access the services they need.
And as you will hear, Fearless is not like other software companies. They didn’t set out to build a giant 9-figure business; they set out to make a difference. And it starts with choosing that name “Fearless,” which embodies their mindset.
Delali was an entrepreneur from a young age - walking dogs, cutting grass, painting to earn a few dollars. But when it came time to start a company, it’s still a scary thing to do. Delali explains:
“I've been prepped for this forever. This is the thing I'm supposed to do. [Yet] even in that moment, when it comes time to quit the job, I was still terrified to do it. And there's something about having a company name that forces you look at that name every day, and it forces you to think ‘I will press through the fear.’ You gotta keep going.
“It was also a very personal reminder to not be scared to be different, to not be scared to push the status quo, to not be scared to think about our business through the lens of impact and not just profits.”
Delali and John share so many other fantastic nuggets of wisdom and stories of how they built this fantastic company with $100M in annual revenue and frequently named a “Best Place to Work” in Baltimore. Listen at VoiceAmerica.com or wherever you get your podcasts, (Spotify, iTunes, etc. are linked from the right side of the page).
Delali Dzirasa is the CEO and founder of Fearless. He’s also the founder and Lead Coach of the Hutch digital services incubator, which aims to nurture, empower, and connect underrepresented entrepreneurs who are working toward the public good. And he’s the CEO and founder of Fearless Sports, an apparel company with a mission to ignite, equip, and uniform the impactful.
In 2023, he was appointed by Maryland Governor Wes Moore as Vice Chair of the Governor’s Workforce Development Board. That same year he was appointed Chair of Baltimore Mayor Scott’s Business Roundtable.
Delali led the creation of the Fearless Impact Fund in partnership with Oak View Group and CFG Bank Arena. The Fearless Fund is the first-of-its-kind community fund to serve BIPOC businesses (Black, Indigenous, and People of color) and BIPOC workforce initiative
John Foster, Chief Impact Officer at Fearless
John Foster is a partner and Chief Impact Officer at Fearless. As one of the company’s first team members, John has been a driving force behind Fearless. He’s responsible for driving impact across the entire Fearless ecosystem. Working to align impact to profit, he rallies every layer of the organization around impact so Fearless can harness the power of business for good. John has 15+ years of experience delivering digital services.
