Bio
Joseph Okleberry is an entrepreneur, investor, advisor, and philanthropist who is passionate
about helping humankind. He is the founder of NIA, a start-up which combines cutting edge technology with the world's collective wisdom to bring out the best in humankind.
Joseph led the Exploration team at Naspers (from 2011 to 2017), a company that invests in
emerging technology companies in high-growth markets. His team researched dozens of mobile
and web-based business models (classifieds, e-Commerce, etc.) to identify those with the most
potential so that Naspers could thoughtfully deploy its financial capital.
Before Naspers, Joseph worked on Wall Street (Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan) as a research
analyst covering companies like Google, Amazon, Netflix and LinkedIn. Joseph also co-founded
Trefis.com, an investing website that aims to democratize investing for retail investors.
Joseph holds a Master’s degree in Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) from the University of Pennsylvania and an Undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of
Washington. He wrote his Master’s thesis on Gandhi’s Be The Change wisdom. He surfaced the
abundance of research that supports the idea that our behaviors have ripple effects
on those in our families and communities.
Joseph is an avid traveler, having visited 60+ countries during his 3+ years of solo backpacking adventures.
