C3+ Fireside Chat w/ Shomik Dutta

​Shomik Dutta is a co-founder and partner at Higher Ground Labs, an accelerator and venture fund for the Democratic Party. Shomik co-launched Higher Ground Labs in the wake of the 2016 election and has since invested $15 million into 40 technology start-ups that support over 4,000 Democratic campaigns, causes, and labor unions. Shomik began his career in Democratic politics and worked as a longtime political aide to President Obama. In 2008, Shomik served as Mid-Atlantic Finance Director to Obama for America and later served as a special assistant in the White House and as an aide on the Obama Biden re-election campaign. He also served as an Advisor to the Chairman of the Federal Communication Commission. Shomik later worked in renewable energy, overseeing the development, planning, and financing of utility-scale solar projects in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Shomik earned his BA from Williams College and his MBA from Wharton Business School. He has previously served as a Visiting Fellow at the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics and as a Guest Lecturer at Harvard Law School. His work has been featured in Vanity Fair, The Washington Post, and The Financial Times.