Marcus Bullock: An app that helps incarcerated people stay connected to their families
Marcus Bullock builds tools to help incarcerated people stay connected to their families and communities. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
with my then five-year-old son,
I would have a ton of time to answer.
typically came at eight or nine years old,
while I was tucking him in,
thought about this moment.
I had a question to answer.
how I ended up going to prison
when I was 14 years old.
that's my niece.
I think about how old I'm getting.
the worst decision of my life.
in front of a judge,
standing just a few feet behind me,
maximum security prison.
that I took with my mom.
in the prison visiting room.
in the background fool you.
times of my life.
I battled depression
about my prison sentence.
to my mom like,
going to keep us here through Christmas."
that I was drowning in those cells,
that we could breathe again
to teach me a hard lesson.
the prison rec yard
have you been here?"
already served 31 years.
all eight of my years.
to prison as a teenager
that had happened in our lives.
on Christmas morning
with my friends.
security in prisons,
like prom night or college graduation
that you and I digest every day
sibling or best friend in prison.
they disappeared.
clanking shut every night
about the violent cards of prison
to the collect calls
for the one-hour visits,
coming into the prison visiting room.
here know tonight,
in a prison visiting room.
until I came home.
crumbling around us,
like I'm in summer camp,
a bunch of pictures.
that saved my life.
of a cheeseburger
to me along with a letter
I would enjoy a fat, juicy burger
that there was life after prison.
began living vicariously
into what was happening in the world.
of prison never ending,
down the prison walkway in body bags,
that cold morning in February.
were finally in front of us,
behind bars was behind us.
are coming home one day.
during and after incarceration that I had.
when I came home.
to fashion retail --
convicted of a felony?"
that I built while going through prison.
and things would start looking up.
when I was a 15-year-old kid
even up until that moment.
that asked the question,
a little differently.
within the last seven years?"
prison sentence --
was over seven years ago.
with an honest "no,"
at the paint store.
would come into the store,
to paint my kitchen?"
we don't paint kitchens,
so you can paint your own kitchen."
and I launched a painting company
between the customers in the paint store
who needed consistent work.
tons of other returning citizens.
around the country
that represents felony,
that there was still life after prison.
that I was living on a cloud.
I grew up with in those cells,
pictures of this new life I was living.
or the bandwidth to sit and write a letter
my life would be so much easier."
for a solution to this problem
the prison phone business
how to disrupt this space.
to take a picture, add some quick text,
on a real, tangible postcard
in any cell, anywhere in the country.
that are becoming torn apart,
the time to write a letter,
a photo from their phone,
a box of envelopes
to go buy stamps.
in my office overflowing my desk
15 postcards last night
and just say thank you."
with so much love ...
of love has come from."
to their incarcerated parents.
go to the White House
the need for criminal justice reform.
because this wasn't always my life.
in a six-foot-by-nine-foot cell
and there to serve life plus 43 years,
while I'm sitting in that bunk
would die in those cells.
of mass incarceration
dealing with people going to prison
to band together to help solve.
about building family connections
they're needed the most,
in the right direction.
I'm standing right now.
way more fun than me at this stage?
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Marcus Bullock - Entrepreneur, justice reform advocateMarcus Bullock builds tools to help incarcerated people stay connected to their families and communities.
Why you should listen
Following his 2004 release from prison, Marcus Bullock launched a construction business that grew to employ other returning citizens. Bullock is also founder and CEO of Flikshop, Inc., a software company that builds tools to help incarcerated people stay connected to their families and build community. The Flikshop mobile app enables families and nonprofit organizations to send personalized postcards to any person in any cell in the United States, with the mission of using social connections to decrease recidivism. Forbes calls the app "Instagram for prisons."
Bullock also founded the Flikshop School of Business, a program that teaches returning citizens life skills and entrepreneurship via computer coding and software development. He is an inaugural cohort member of Techstars Anywhere 2018 and John Legend’s
Unlocked Futures business accelerators. He is also a member of the Justice Policy Institute's board of directors and serves as an advisor to the Aspen Institute’s Opportunity Youth Incentive Fund.
Marcus Bullock | Speaker | TED.com