May 2013
1 post
6 tags
April 2013
3 posts
9 tags
March 2013
4 posts
December 2012
1 post
July 2012
2 posts
Cheese-making Extraordinaire, Foodie Entrepreneur...
I had the opportunity yesterday afternoon to speak with Tasia Malakasis, head of a highly successful creamery in rural Alabama. Tasia uses her entrepreneurial spirit to bring value to her community and drive passion among her employees. Her diverse background and advice brings inspiration for anyone ready to ‘run the show’. Let me share with you her story:
After nine years of working with top...
A Call for Optimists and Skeptics
I am one of 40 Fellows in the inaugural Venture for America program with the mission: 1) to create opportunities for myself/others, 2) to restore the culture of achievement to include value creation, risk and reward, and the common good and 3) to revitalize our struggling U.S. cities. In the pursuit of this mission, the Fellows received profound advice last week during our leadership training from...
June 2012
6 posts
Safe sex: It's not just for people!
Dogs need birth control too, which is why the Humane Society recommends that you spay and neuter your pets! An estimated three to four million stray dogs are euthanized each year, which is why we are asking for your help to save these dogs!
One of our VFA challenges is to leverage Teespring’s fundraising platform to raise money towards a cause we believe in. With your help, we can raise...
“If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for everything”
– John Kobara
Wise words from David Tisch of TechStars, NYC
The VFA Fellows had a much appreciated frank discussion with D.Tisch of TechStars. Below is a recap of his wise advice for the mental dashboards:
Four (or five) aspects to assess before investing in a start-up:
Idea
Product
Market
Team
And fifth, which was not made explicit at first, product-founder fit
These aspects are ranked from easiest to change (and therefore less important) to hardest...
A Team "Enlightened Trial and Error": Moving from...
This post is a reflection of my past week at the VFA training camp and the title is an amalgamation of my two important learning outcomes, which will hopefully make more sense by the end.
We kicked off camp with a grueling website challenge, and we are now onto our next big challenge with Teespring, a phenomenal start-up in Providence. In addition, each day we also have a set of other daily/weekly...
The Team
I chose VFA because it is a training ground unique from all others. It is a courageous organization that stands apart from the mined professional pathway and aligns directly with my creative appetite, personal values, and boundless curiosities. Like my 39 fellow fellows, the mission and values of VFA drove us to its doorstep. While I never doubted Yang’s search for high-performing...
