Derrick Thomas on Building Inclusive Innovation in Tech

Fueling Diversity in Web3 through authentic conversations with changemakers

In our latest Storj Institute interview series, we had the privilege of sitting down with Derrick Thomas (DT), Vice President of Innovation Economy Startup Banking at JPMorgan Chase. His journey from the basketball courts of Harlem to the cutting-edge world of AI and emerging technologies offers powerful insights into how diverse perspectives drive innovation—and why inclusion isn’t just morally right, but essential for business success.

The Foundation: Sports, Engineering, and Early Innovation

Derrick’s story begins in Harlem, where he was recruited at 14 to play basketball at a Massachusetts boarding school before completing his education in DC. At Drexel University, while balancing the demands of being a student-athlete, he found himself building alongside future founders of companies like Scali (acquired by Sallie Mae) and GoPuff, with mentorship from leaders like the CEO of Splunk.

“I was on the road probably three times a week,” Derrick recalls of his college basketball days. “Missing class provided me what I considered a weak point. So the way I made up for that was I had incredible professors that would make sure that the times I was there, we were building really incredible technology.”

This challenge led to his first major innovation: ProShark, a “Glassdoor for sports athletes and agents” that he built as a junior. The platform addressed a real problem he experienced—meeting with agents who had no quantitative information available about their track record or credibility.

From Tesla to Private Equity: Learning the Innovation Economy

After hanging up his jersey, Derrick joined Tesla in its early days, helping spearhead the Tesla Owners Club community. “We couldn’t figure out how to advertise this vehicle to the public in a way that made sense,” he explains. “So I actually supported the development, strategy, and implementation of this Tesla owners club that now spans a global audience.”

The goal was revolutionary for its time: “to prove that community-led product growth is a viable solution to advertising.” This work caught the attention of Elon Musk himself and established Derrick’s expertise in community-driven growth strategies.

After Tesla’s acquisition of SolarCity brought more corporate structure, Derrick moved to private equity, where he learned about the buy-side of mature tech companies and was first exposed to cryptocurrency and emerging technologies.

The Web3 Pivot: Tech Runs Down and Building Bridges

In 2018, Derrick made the leap to entrepreneurship, recognizing the transformative potential of blockchain technology. But he also saw a critical gap: “The folks that had access to the technology were folks that lived in one sector of the cultural zeitgeist. Where I come from, I didn’t grow up in that space.”

This observation led to Tech Runs Down, an innovative platform that created on-ramps to Web3 for sports enthusiasts. Rather than forcing people to learn complex blockchain concepts, Derrick’s approach was elegant: “How do I bring Web3 down to the masses by doing things that we natively understand and embed the infrastructure of blockchain technology into those native activities?”

Tech Runs Down grew to include chapters in Miami, LA, San Francisco, and New York, each operating semi-autonomously while building a collective community around shared values and emerging technology education.

Today: Empowering the Innovation Economy at JPMorgan

Now at JPMorgan, Derrick leads the Innovation Economy Startup Banking division, focusing on high-growth, venture-backable entrepreneurs in technology, internet, healthcare, and commerce sectors. His team uniquely combines traditional banking expertise with founder, investor, and ecosystem builder backgrounds.

“Think of us as that early banking partner that is all about taking that plane, which is that founder and its company, and helping them accelerate as fast as they possibly can before the runway runs out,” Derrick explains. “My job is to focus on the speed bumps that come along the way when building a company and lower them as best as possible.”

The division supports companies from inception through Series A and beyond, providing not just banking solutions but also connections to investors and customers, plus advisory support without taking equity.

The AI Revolution: Learning from Web3’s Lessons

Derrick sees significant differences between the current AI boom and the early Web3 era. “AI has the difference from Web3 in its early stage technology—when people approached it, they approached it from a position of power and guard-railed the technology in the early days,” he observes. “Whereas AI is more of an overlay into current technologies versus trying to be a standalone technology.”

This integration approach makes AI more approachable and palatable, leading to more equitable participation across diverse communities.

The Business Case for Diversity and Inclusion

When asked about the value of increasing inclusion and diversity in tech startups, Derrick’s response is both passionate and practical:

“We think about diversity—diversity of thoughts, diversity of culture and experience, diversity of how someone experiences a product or service. In order for that to happen, we have to consider others. And when we think of consumption and who’s consuming, there’s a diverse collective of people that are consuming at the highest rates—in some places higher than other GDPs of countries. So how do you leave that group out and not have a mandate to support that? If you don’t, on a business tip, you’re missing out on billions, trillions.”

Looking Ahead: Healthcare, Social Networks, and Quantum Computing

Derrick is particularly excited about AI applications in healthcare and social networking. He envisions “super apps for healthcare” that provide quantitative health information in real-time, and AI-powered social networks that create more curated, authentic connections based on aligned values and interests.

“I’m excited to see companies that are building super apps for healthcare, allowing someone like myself to have access to all the quantitative information and data sets that it requires for me to function in day-to-day life,” he explains.

Advice for Aspiring Founders

For aspiring founders from underrepresented backgrounds, Derrick’s advice is direct and actionable:

Be a part of the solution. “Connect with folks that are either building something that you find to be particularly interesting. No one really has the answers. We’re still zero to one here.”

Join collectives and hackathons. “Sometimes you don’t even have to be a hacker. You don’t have to be a developer. You can come there and just say, ‘I’m going to pay attention and follow suit.'”

Be curious. “Curiosity is your genius at that early stage.”

Reach out directly. “People are easily accessible today. They’re not as distant as they once were. You can actually email or LinkedIn anyone at this particular point.”

Start building. “Now more than ever, you have the information to actually build. You can go and build with ChatGPT – websites, your brand identity, you can even generate the code to launch an early stage platform.”

Empowering Equity in Web3 and Beyond

Derrick Thomas’s journey exemplifies the power of diverse perspectives in driving innovation. From creating community-driven growth strategies at Tesla to building Web3 on-ramps for underrepresented communities, to now empowering the next generation of AI and deep tech founders at JPMorgan, his work demonstrates that inclusion isn’t just about doing what’s right—it’s about building better, more successful technologies and businesses.

As the innovation economy continues to evolve at breakneck speed, leaders like Derrick are ensuring that the future of technology reflects the diversity of the communities it serves. His message is clear: the most transformative innovations happen when we expand who gets to participate in building the future.