Entrepreneur & Social Entrepreneur Meetup #16 - Issues Breakout

The next Entrepreneur & Social Entrepreneur Meetup will be this coming Thursday, April 24th at 8pm. We’ll be doing an “Issues Forum” this time. The presentations will be on specific issues instead of commercial/social ventures, followed by discussion. The issues will be poverty, energy, and entrepreneurship (descriptions below) plus one TED video. We’ll be starting the presentations right at 8:30pm. You can RSVP at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=17811045319. =======ADDITIONAL INFO====== Instead of the regular commercial/social venture presentation format we’ll be having presentations on issues followed by group discussions. We’ll be starting the presentations at 8:30pm. On tap are issue presentations on: 1. Ending Poverty: How Our Global Generation Can End Poverty in Our Lifetime 2. Sustainable Energy: A Look At Alternative Energy Technologies And What Will Be Used to Power Our World in 30 years 3. Entrepreneurship: Key Lessons Learned Building a Company to 90 Employees We’ll also be watching 1 TED Video and discussing it. Each topic will be presented for 10 minutes, followed by up to 15 minutes of discussion. We have room for one additional topic. Please feel free to propose a topic that you can present on the Facebook Wall or propose a topic you’d like to see presented. All area entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs, and anyone working to or wanting to make a difference, help others, or change the world are welcome! We will have plenty of wine, beer, sushi, snacks, and food for all. Spread the word to your friends who are interested in entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, public policy, public health, education, politics, law, making a difference, and changing the world by inviting them using the Invite People to Come button on the right. DIRECTIONS FROM DOWNTOWN CHAPEL HILL From HW54 (aka Raleigh Road) coming down the hill from Chapel Hill, take a left on a Meadowmont Lane, go to end of road (1.5 miles) then take left onto Park Bluff N. then first cul de sac on right into Millingport Court. House is #102. FROM DURHAM/RALEIGH Take I-40 East to exit 273 toward Chapel Hill. Take right at Meadowmont Lane. Go to end of road (1.5 miles) then take left onto Park Bluff N. then first cul de sac on right into Millingport Court. House is #102. SCHEDULE FOR REST OF YEAR: While the meetup will usually be once per month on a Thursday at 8pm, this may change from time to time due to travel. Here is the schedule for the next few months (all Thursdays unless otherwise noted): May 22 June 26 July 24 August 28 Join the Group at http://unc.facebook.com/group.php?gid=19139128576 for updates

Barack Obama 2008 Chapel Hill Fundraiser

On Thursday May 1 from 7:30pm to 10:30pm, we will be hosting a Barack Obama for President 2008 Chapel Hill Fundraiser at our house in Chapel Hill. All are welcome. Please feel free forward this invite to your friends and colleagues who may be interested. Additional details can be found at the event page on Facebook Additional Information We will have heavy hors d’oeuvres, an open bar, and band entertainment. Representatives and a surrogate (TBA) from the Obama campaign will be attendance. Attire is formal. The event will be in the Meadowmont subdivision at: 102 Millingport Court Chapel Hill, NC Directions DIRECTIONS FROM DOWNTOWN CHAPEL HILL From HW54 (aka Raleigh Road) coming down the hill from Chapel Hill, take a left on a Meadowmont Lane, go to end of road (1.5 miles) then take left onto Park Bluff N. then first cul de sac on right into Millingport Court. House is #102. FROM DURHAM/RALEIGH Take I-40 to exit 273 toward Chapel Hill. Take right at Meadowmont Lane. Go to end of road (1.5 miles) then take left onto Park Bluff N. then first cul de sac on right into Millingport Court. House is #102. PARKING Plenty of parking is available along Park Bluff Road Ten Reasons I Support Barack 1. An Enlightened Foreign Policy: An End to the Us Vs. Them Mentality 2. A Commitment to a Balanced Budget 3. An Understanding of the Importance of Education 4. An Awareness of the Importance of Entrepreneurship 5. A Commitment to Work Toward Reducing Domestic and Global Poverty 6. A Commitment to Ensuring Sustainable Energy 7. A Varied Life Perspective 8. A Commitment to Reducing Climate Change 9. An Understanding That All People In All Countries Are Equal 10. An Ability to Bring Us Together

Under 30 CEO Summit This Weekend in Utah

I’m out in Alta, Utah this weekend near Salt Lake City for the Under 30 CEO Summit being put on by Elliot Bisnow.

We’ve been skiing at Snowbird, heard from Ted Alemayhu from U.S. Doctors for Africa, chatted with Scott Fredrick from Valhalla Partners, and talked a lot about business, entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, and how we can work together to make a difference in the world.

Blake from Tom’s Shoes (which donates 1 pair of shoes to children in developing countries for every pair they sell) debuted his video “No Polo Window” announcing the launch of his leather boots campaign to reduce a foot disease called Podo in Ethiopia. Blake gave us each a pair and I’m quite happy to report they are awesome for breakdancing.

The people that are here include Dan Melinger (Socialight), Cristina Miller (Store Adore),
Sean Belnick (Bizchairs.com), Ben Lerer (Thrillist), Blake Mycoskie (Tom’s Shoes), Cameron Johnson (The Big Give), Ben Kauffman, (Kluster), Josh Abramson (CollegeHumor/BustedTees), Rob Jewell (Gratis Internet), Joel Holland (Footage Firm),
Lin Miao (Tatto Media), Ricky Van Veen (CollegeHumor/BustedTees), Jud Bowman (Motricity), Sam Altman (Loopt), Anthony Adams (CreditCovers), Nathan Stevens (Yodle), and Jeff Fissel (KZO Networks).

Yesterday I skied for the second time and went from extreme beginner to beginner. It’s been a great time so far and I’m looking forward to tonight.

Slides for Presentation: Insider Secrets to Email Marketing

Today I was in Los Angeles presenting at Derek Gehl’s Internet Entrepreneurs Club seminar on email marketing. I had the chance to give a 90 minute presentation on the value of and best practices for opt-in email marketing to the more than 400 attendees. I mentioned I’d put the deck on the blog, so here are the slides.

Presentation: “The Insider Secrets to The Most Effective Form of Online Communication”
Date: April 12, 2008
Location: Internet Marketing Center Seminar,
Hyatt Regency Orange County
Size: 12.4MB
Download: Download Here (uploading, should be available by 6pm ET)

Cheers,
Ryan

Who Are YOUR Role Models?

Who Are Your Role Models?

I’ve given some thought to the people I follow, read about, and try to learn from. While we all have faults, secrets, and imperfections, there are a good two dozen people that I consider today to be my role models in a few different fields.

The question I want to know is who are YOUR role models? Who should I consider starting to follow and learn more about that isn’t on this list? Would you leave the names of your role models in the comments?

Here’s to all the solemn souls who have cared for humanity that have come before and all those blessed brothers and sisters who come after. Here are my current role models.

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR/ACTIVIST ROLE MODELS
Mahatma Gandhi (The non-violent revolutionary)
Mother Theresa (The lady who cared for the sick and poor)
Martin Luther King, Jr. (The Man with a Dream)
Susan B. Anthony (Civil rights and suffrage leader)
Paul Farmer (Doctor for the Poor, Mountains Beyond Mountains)
Mohammed Yunus (Banker to the Poor)
Dennis Whittle (Founder of Global Giving)
Bill Drayton (Founder of Ashoka)
Matt Flannery (Founder of Kiva)
Jessica Jackley Flannery (Founder of Kiva)
Dan West (Founder of Heifer International)
Bernard Kouchner (Co-Founder of Doctors Without Borders)
Kerry Kennedy (Human rights activist)
Laura Arrillaga (Venture philanthropist)

BUSINESS ROLE MODELS
Bill Gates (the innovator and hard-line businessman)
Jeffrey Skoll (the eBay founder and social entrepreneur innovator)
Warren Buffet (the smartest fundamentalist around)
Marc Benioff (the SaaS phenomenom-maker)
Marc Andreessen (keeps hitting home runs)
Steve Jobs (he comeback kid)
Larry Page (the technologist and business innovator)
Sergey Brin (the dynamic duo part deux)
Richard Branson (loses his virginity every day)
Thomas Edison (succeeded by failing 3,635 times)
Steve Jurvetson (the VC gadget-lover)
Andrew Carnegie (the library funder)
J.P. Morgan (the financial system saver)
John D. Rockefeller (the competitor)
John D. MacArthur (the PBS funder)
Sam Walton (the great retailer, scaler, and SIFE founder)
Henry Ford (his ability to scale, not him per say)
Larry Ellison (his ability to sell, not him per se)
Tom Perkins (his ability to put together venture deals, not him per se)
Jimmy Wales (the maker of ubiquitous information)

ECONOMIST ROLE MODELS
Jeffrey Sachs (End of Poverty, Common Wealth)
Hernando De Soto (The Mystery of Capital)
George Soros (Open Society)
Milton Friedman (Capitalism and Freedom)
John Maynard Keynes (The General Theory)

JOURNALIST/AUTHOR ROLE MODELS
Tom Friedman (Lexus and The Olive Tree)
John Perkins (Confessions of An Economic Hitman)
Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad Poor Dad)
Napoleon Hill (Think and Grow Rich)
Jim Collins (Good to Great)

POLITICAL ROLE MODELS
Abraham Lincoln (The Uniter)
Benjamin Franklin
(The Inventor)
John F. Kennedy (The Dreamer)
Benazir Bhutto (The Fighter)
John McCain (The Fighter)
Barack Obama (The Changer & Inspirer)
Al Gore (The Authentic)
Bill Clinton (The World Changer)
Jimmy Carter (The Carer)

Hillary Rodham Clinton (The Courageous)
Mario Cuomo (The Speaker)

…And anyone who worked or is currently working to increase human prosperity, ensure an economically prosperous and sustainable world, and reduce human suffering, poverty, disease, warfare, and genocide.

Who do I need to know about??? Who’s doing amazing things??? Leave a comment…