Archives / 173 post/s found

New incubator targets, low, middle-income entrepreneurs

by Iyas A
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Incubators *can* be very helpful to get a startup going when done well. This Columbus incubator has taken a slightly different approach and aims to target low to middle income earners and give them a leg up. Really great idea for those who often feel that it’s too expensive for them to be an entrepreneur. Yes, it’s only one part of the cost of starting to do business, but perhaps more could be bundled in? A model to replicate elsewhere? See more here.

Funding Community Workshops with Fashionable, Locally Produced, Sustainable Products

by Iyas A
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Starting with Ecaudor, Project Latitude is sourcing sustainable local materials, employing local staff, and sending all sale proceeds back to the local community that inspired the products to build a local workshop. What a neat model! See more here.

The Egyptian Health Startup Scene – Great Initiative, Little Cash

by Iyas A
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Healthcare in Egypt is a huge issue, and a commensurately large opportunity. There are a number of startups having some early success, but funding is becoming a real issue if they are to continue. See more here.

Can Sean Parker Hack Cancer?

by Iyas A
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He disrupted the music industry with Napster. He was President of Facebook. He helped get Spotify going. And now, Sean Parker is looking to “hack” cancer. By supporting the use of immunotherapy, and finding a model to get 6 titans of cancer immunology research to collaborate, this looks like a pretty heavyweight attempt to get to a cure by alternative means. See more here.

How social entrepreneurs can use lean startup principles for better impact

by Iyas A
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Great to see Social Enterprise getting the Lean treatment. The context is different, but the approach is transferrable. “Making change is different from making money, and startups in the social sector have to worry about far more than revenue” See more at http://snip.ly/kzr9b

Ottawa tea startup gives Syrian refugees a place to work, aims to aid settlement

by Iyas A
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Surai Tea in Ottawa sells Syrian tea, employs Syrian refugees to do so, and donates to their resettlements from profits. What a wonderfully coherent and humane idea! See more at http://snip.ly/rcj1c

Start-up company donates 100% profits to charity

by Iyas A
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Irish company ONE Water donates all profit from selling water in Ireland to providing clean water in Ethiopia. See more at http://snip.ly/3jh3b

Corporate Social Responsibility – An Honest Assessment

by Iyas A
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Although this wonderfully satirical (and uncannily accurate) video is primarily making a point about climate change, it highlights the cause of much of the ill we see from publicly listed companies. The much higher pressure to give shareholder return than to add value. It is eloquently encapsulated in one of the lines, “it ensures solid returns to our shareholders by killing their grandchildren.” It’s the main reason we believe in the power for good and transformation that is the…

“The ONE Thing” by Gary Keller

by Iyas A
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Summary This book makes a simple, and seemingly blindingly obvious, recommendation: To succeed in a meaningful way, find the most important thing to do for your most important mission, then ‘just’ go do that. The real value for me came in three ways: The research and thought-provoking work on what ‘meaningful’ actually is; A practical approach with strategies, questions and tips to move this from being a statement of the blindingly obvious, to something that is eminently…

“The Willpower Instinct” by Kelly McGonigal

by Iyas A
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Summary A fantastic research and science-based book on willpower (i.e. not your usual factless self-help diatribe), with good practical tips and a sober analysis of our pathetic capability. Key takeaways: Our capacity for willpower is very limited, so choose carefully and focus its use where it counts; It is also trainable like a muscle, so you can progressively set it harder challenges; Try to actively notice when it fails, analyse why and what triggers it, then be conscious that you have a choice…