Morning Thoughts

Richard Branson Interview

Someone I truly admire, one of the most humble you will find. Taken from TED.

Social Entrepreneur: Kjerstin Erickson

A while back I was trying to launch a non-profit that would help build schools and clean up communities in poverty stricken Indonesia. I was full of ambition and determination to meet my goal, but soon realized the sheer magnitude of such a project was overwhelming. I was also struggling to find supporters to help launch the project, "too big and ambitious" became a phrase I now hate to hear. Frustrated with empty promises of help and support, I finally gave up. I saw an opportunity to help people, but I quit because I "lacked the resources" necessary.

I'm a very ambitious person, but am not afraid to fall. While morally devastating, there are benefits from every failure. I actually learned that successfully trying is just as important as achieving your goal. For example, I may not be helping people in Indonesia (yet), but I learned how to network and ask powerful people for things you want, which isn't as easy it seems.

The Defining of Hyperlocal, Part 1

The other day, after I finished preparing for a meeting with potential partners, I asked a colleague of mine to review the material and give me his thoughts. The last couple of months have been full of 120-130 hour weeks researching, planning, and calculating for my new "hyperlocal" startup. Everyday, in addition to looking like I woke up and did a few lines of coke out off of my bathroom sink, I've also learned that time becomes more valuable than nutrition and exercise. passion has eagerly replaced them both.

After reading through the document, there was one question I've been asked numerous times before, "What does Hyperlocal mean?" I have found the term to be rather ambiguous. Many people have varying opinions on what it means, but for the majority, it is centered around local news and events. A good start, but I believe the term connotes a deeper meaning within the realm of economics, specifically at the local and community level.

A True Humanitarian Entrepreneur

I would like everyone to meet Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen, world traveler, hitchhiker, future Nobel Prize winner. At 19, this guy went to Africa and began importing trucks to Lagos. That was around 1991, and it only lasted about two years. Thank God.

His family owned a textile company, and Mikkel made enough money in Africa to buy out other family members in 1997, giving him the reins as president and CEO of Vestergaard Frandsen. He has turned those textiles into a company that designs products to change the world. In fact, I think they should change their mission statement to, "We change the world."