WEBVTT FILE 1 00:00:00.735 --> 00:00:03.271 [music playing] 2 00:00:03.311 --> 00:00:06.418 This school was once considered New York City's worst. 3 00:00:06.458 --> 00:00:09.012 Lowest reading scores in the state. 4 00:00:09.052 --> 00:00:12.055 Kids assaulted teachers more than once a week. 5 00:00:12.095 --> 00:00:14.204 One teacher's hair was set on fire. 6 00:00:14.244 --> 00:00:16.329 It was around then that Steve Mariotti 7 00:00:16.369 --> 00:00:18.791 left his import-export business to teach here. 8 00:00:18.831 --> 00:00:20.234 -What's 40 plus 20? 9 00:00:20.274 --> 00:00:23.043 At first, he says, he was a horrible teacher. 10 00:00:23.083 --> 00:00:24.844 I lost control in the classes. 11 00:00:24.884 --> 00:00:28.257 A kid got me in a headlock, rubbing my head. 12 00:00:28.297 --> 00:00:31.961 -In desperation, he asked the kids, why are you doing this to me? 13 00:00:32.001 --> 00:00:35.157 -One kid said, 'we did it because we just can't stand you. 14 00:00:35.197 --> 00:00:37.689 You are boring.’ 15 00:00:37.729 --> 00:00:40.075 And I said, well, was there ever a time when I was a good teacher, 16 00:00:40.115 --> 00:00:43.425 when I touched you or taught you something that had any value? 17 00:00:43.465 --> 00:00:45.602 And the same young man said 18 00:00:45.642 --> 00:00:49.102 that the only time you really had value to me 19 00:00:49.142 --> 00:00:52.027 was when you told us about your import-export business 20 00:00:52.067 --> 00:00:56.793 and how you bring in ladies shoes at $5 from Agra, India, 21 00:00:56.833 --> 00:00:59.378 add a dollar on for insurance and freight, 22 00:00:59.418 --> 00:01:01.876 take 'em down to the Lower East Side and sell them for $7 23 00:01:01.916 --> 00:01:04.644 and your income statement would be $126,000. 24 00:01:04.684 --> 00:01:07.654 -He'd remembered all this from the beginning of the term? 25 00:01:07.694 --> 00:01:09.961 -He remembered. And here was a guy that had been defined as 26 00:01:10.001 --> 00:01:15.116 brain damaged, emotionally upset. People were afraid of him. 27 00:01:15.156 --> 00:01:17.998 And he'd re-created in total 28 00:01:18.038 --> 00:01:20.640 a Harvard business school income statement. 29 00:01:20.680 --> 00:01:23.543 Does anybody have any ideas for a small business 30 00:01:23.583 --> 00:01:25.591 that you could start right now as a kid? 31 00:01:25.631 --> 00:01:27.502 -Mariotti changed his way of teaching. 32 00:01:27.542 --> 00:01:29.502 -And you can trade with anybody in the world... 33 00:01:29.542 --> 00:01:31.558 -He started talking about making money 34 00:01:31.598 --> 00:01:33.993 and suddenly the kids were different. 35 00:01:34.033 --> 00:01:37.472 -When you hear people complaining, that's where the big money is. 36 00:01:37.512 --> 00:01:39.545 They're suddenly interested in learning 37 00:01:39.585 --> 00:01:41.545 and they come to life in the classroom. 38 00:01:41.585 --> 00:01:43.545 -His teaching changed lives. 39 00:01:43.585 --> 00:01:45.087 -You found my Dagda jersey? 40 00:01:45.127 --> 00:01:47.532 -In high school, Frank Alameda was floundering 41 00:01:47.572 --> 00:01:49.532 until he took Mariotti's course. 42 00:01:49.572 --> 00:01:51.258 He graduated and went on to open 43 00:01:51.298 --> 00:01:53.627 a sporting goods manufacturing company. 44 00:01:53.667 --> 00:01:56.592 Now he employs people from his old neighborhood. 45 00:01:56.632 --> 00:01:58.535 -I'm probably the biggest thing that happened to my family 46 00:01:58.575 --> 00:02:00.535 because I got people looking up to me, 47 00:02:00.575 --> 00:02:03.719 people that I grew up with just will pat me on my back, 48 00:02:03.759 --> 00:02:05.140 will say, "Frank, keep it up. 49 00:02:05.180 --> 00:02:07.140 You're the only guy that got something going for you out here." 50 00:02:07.180 --> 00:02:09.836 [singing] -Will there be better days.. 51 00:02:09.876 --> 00:02:11.723 -Jimmy McNeil started a music business 52 00:02:11.763 --> 00:02:13.474 that was worth a million dollars. 53 00:02:13.514 --> 00:02:15.190 -...then we got to something new for... 54 00:02:15.230 --> 00:02:18.890 -Now he runs Bulldog Bicycles, a high-performance bike company. 55 00:02:18.930 --> 00:02:21.803 -How's the back end on that? It's good? -It's perfect. 56 00:02:21.843 --> 00:02:24.354 -Here he is on the cover of "Black Enterprise" magazine. 57 00:02:24.394 --> 00:02:26.459 -It still gets down to machining cost... 58 00:02:26.499 --> 00:02:27.759 -He says he owes all this 59 00:02:27.799 --> 00:02:31.057 to what Steve Mariotti taught him in high school. 60 00:02:31.097 --> 00:02:33.057 -Children that are born into poverty 61 00:02:33.097 --> 00:02:37.588 have very unique abilities in business and entrepreneurship. 62 00:02:37.628 --> 00:02:40.072 They've got chutzpa. They're street smart. 63 00:02:40.112 --> 00:02:42.631 They're comfortable with risk and ambiguity. 64 00:02:42.671 --> 00:02:44.889 They have many of the natural characteristics 65 00:02:44.929 --> 00:02:46.557 of the great business people. 66 00:02:46.597 --> 00:02:49.338 -We think of capitalism as something the privileged practice, 67 00:02:49.378 --> 00:02:53.237 but in some ways, capitalism is the big equalizer. 68 00:02:53.277 --> 00:02:57.028 Money doesn't care if you're black or white or green. 69 00:02:57.068 --> 00:03:01.427 -It's the people at the bottom who need capitalism most, 70 00:03:01.467 --> 00:03:06.023 who need the system in which everyone is free to trade 71 00:03:06.063 --> 00:03:07.629 and free to pursue money. 72 00:03:07.669 --> 00:03:11.148 Because capitalism opens up opportunities 73 00:03:11.188 --> 00:03:12.718 to climb up that economic ladder. 74 00:03:12.758 --> 00:03:16.123 -Somewhere along the lines, Bill Gates started off with zero. 75 00:03:16.163 --> 00:03:20.024 Somewhere along the lines, Quincy Jones started off with zero. 76 00:03:20.064 --> 00:03:21.306 -My rule for kids... 77 00:03:21.346 --> 00:03:24.721 It's not a color thing. You know, it's an opportunity thing.