We caught up briefly with Edwin Broni-Mensah, a social entrepreneur and the founder of GiveMe Tap where he shares his key advices for starting up a business and tips for aspiring entrepreneurs.

He talks about:

What GiveMe Tap is about
Some of the key things he’s learnt starting up GiveMe Tap
Advices to aspiring entrepreneurs

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Fresh off finishing his PHD in Mathematic Finance at The University of Manchester, i recently caught up Edwin-Broni Mensah, founder of GiveMeTap to talk about his startup and also his journey so far.

GiveMeTap allows owners of GiveMeTap brand bottles to get free tap water refills from a selected number of cafes and restaurants on the go, allowing owners of the bottles to save money on bottled water and also reduce waste of plastic bottles in the environment.

70% of their profits are used to fund water projects across the world.

Here is the full interview.

How did you get into business – is this your first business?

I first got into business back in 2006 when my flat mate, Alex, asked me to join his new business, Origin Signed. That was my first taste of the entrepreneurial bug and that made me really want to become an entrepreneur. The business was to produce laptop skins and covers that would protect it from scratches and also give it a fresh look.

I was quite taken aback because he took me to a really fancy dinner. I realised that this is how the other side live, the entrepreneurs, because I was quite committed to going into a life of investment banking because I like that environment, but having seen what I saw at the award ceremony, I knew that this could be quite interesting.

Explain to people that still have difficulties understanding what GiveMeTap does as if you were explaining to my grandmother.

GiveMeTap is a scheme where you can buy a GiveMeTap bottle from our website, you can take it to participating cafes and restaurants and they will then re-fill your bottle with tap water. We’re trying to make water easily accessible to everyone around the world by using 70% of our profits to fund water projects across the world. We’re starting in Africa, where our first water project has now been completed.

How has it been going so far? How many bottles have you sold?

The response has been amazing. We’ve had a really successful start in Manchester, which is where I first launched the scheme during my PhD. There we had about 50 different establishments. We’re now operating in London, which we’re trying to expand quickly in time for the 2012 Olympic games. Up to date, we’ve sold around 800 bottles.

Why did you decide to start GiveMeTap? What is the story and inspiration behind it?

I was soon to be turning 25 and I felt that I needed to get into the best physical shape of my life as after 25 it would be more difficult. So I started a program called P90X, which pushed me to drink about 4-5 litres of water a day. When I was out and about I was often caught out and had to purchase bottled water. I didn’t understand why restaurants and cafes wouldn’t just allow me access to their water.

So I tried to go to a few places where there was often a cultural barrier of being refused water and was given weird looks at the fact that I was even asking for water. So this was something that I wanted to remove given that we have some of the best water here in the world and yet there are people who don’t have that same advantage. Both of my parents are from Ghana and they’ve told me about people in Ghana who don’t have water. This is why we give 70% of our profits to funding water projects around the world.

How did you fund your business?

During University I was a maths tutor, so I saved a lot of that money to then invest in the initial stock. I’ve also been fortunate enough to get quite a lot of support and backing from different organisations. The first was the social foundation for entrepreneurs called UnLtd. They were amazing in the support they gave me and they still give me support today.

They gave me initial seed funding in February 2010 and then development manager, which allowed me to shape the business. Off the back of that I got an award with virgin media. I went on to win the Shell Live wire award and The University of Manchester’s venture further business plan competition where I was a runner up. Then in September I won another UnLtd award which was backed by the Arthur Guinness Fund..

How did you manage to convince so many restaurants and cafes to come onboard with the GiveMeTap project?

I was very specific with who I approached first. I approached people with the same view I had. I cared a lot about sustainability and helping people get access to water. The people who I went to felt the same way and wanted to get involved for those reasons. There are a few companies who have also got involved as help them attract more customers into their establishments, which can potentially increase revenue.

What you’re doing with GiveMeTap is amazing. I know 70% of all your profits go towards funding independent water projects. What projects are you currently working on?

Last year we finished a project in November where we worked in Nama Bay, Namibia. We installed a water bore hole to serve about 1200 people. This year, we’re looking to go to Botswana where we are going to drill a borehole there to supply fresh clean water to a local comunity. We’ll be partnering with Redbush Tea company who we partnered with on the last project. We do have large ambitions to help a million people by 2015.

What has been the hardest part of you starting your business?

When I started my business, I was doing my PhD, so the most challenging thing for me has been making sure I finished my PhD. I loved my business and the challenges it presented so I threw myself into that. The most difficult thing was reminding myself that I still had my PhD to finish.

What would you say to someone that is looking to start up a business? Especially a charitable business like yours benefiting the environment. What advice would you give them?

You’ve got to try and make meaning especially if you’re going to do something social. So make it personal and try and make meaning in what you do. Really understand why you’re doing what you do. That’s crucial when you’re giving away such a large amount of your profits, because it gets challenging and if you don’t know why you actually exist it’s difficult to see why you should carry on.

I really have a sense of understanding about why GiveMeTap exists: to make water easily accessible to everyone, and I keep that message in my mind at all times. The decisions that we make are around that. We’re trying to make meaning rather than just trying to make money.

What have been some of the key lessons you have learnt so far?

Planning is important. You can have a great idea but the way it’s executed is much more important. So really understanding how to be effective with strategic planning and how to execute a plan is one of the key things I’m starting to learn.

Also, how working with other people is really important. I started GiveMeTap alone and I’m currently the only full time employee but there are so many people that have helped me out in different areas, like pr, journalism, bottle manufacturing, logistics, even strategic planning, branding and legal services.

As you said earlier you were formally pursuing a career as an investment banker after your PHD. Are you now looking to settle down with GiveMeTap full time?

Yes, definitely. Banking is an amazing area and I still really like the company that I was previously working at. I had an absolutely phenomenal time. But the love and passion I have every morning when I wake up to go and work for GiveMeTap is where I am at the moment. I love doing what I do. I love the work that I do and I just want to do that for as long as I can.

What has been the most memorable moment on your journey so far?

It has to be when I was in Namibia. Being there was a life changing experience, which really reaffirmed why I wake up every day to push and expand GiveMeTap around the world. I saw firsthand how it had a direct impact, how water changes absolutely everything. The bore hole meant that children didn’t have to walk 15km every day which meant they could go to school and get educated.

Women didn’t have to do that same thing and they could look after their family, get educated, or start a career/business. After installing the water tanks, we then used the water to irrigate the land so that vegetation could grow. Then we gave them a community centre to give them a sense of empowerment so they can manage the resource.

Seeing the resourcefulness and joy that they had when they don’t have much material things was phenomenal. This has effected the way I live and run GiveMeTap and it really reminded me that happiness isn’t found in things, it’s found in living in the moment and that’s something they do really well.

What would we at YHP be expecting from you next?

Expect a lot. We’ve got massive plans and ambitions for London and for the rest of the UK. We want to be national by next year. We’re also looking to expand heavily into London in time for the Olympic games. We’ve got an iPhone application (http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/givemetap/id424838506?mt=8 ) out now where you can find GiveMeTap places when you’re on the go, so if you’ve got an iPhone you can easily tap in and say where you are and it will pinpoint where the nearest taps are for you.

We are going to be releasing one for Android phones too. We’ve got a lot up our sleeves so stay tuned.

Do you think that attending University has been beneficial in getting you to where you are or do you think it doesn’t matter. What value has it added to you starting up a business.

I’d been at University for seven years, so my opinion is bias. I think University is crucial. The amount of resilience you get and having done my PhD, I don’t think many things can phase me now. My viva was six hours, which prepared me mentally for any interview that I am going to have in the future. University is a great time to really explore and discover yourself. So I would recommend it to everyone.

For more info:

http://www.givemetap.co.uk
http://www.facebook.com/givemetap
http://itunes.apple.com/sn/app/givemetap/id424838506?mt=8
http://twitter.com/givemetap

Facebook has raised $500m of an expected $2bn in new funding in a deal valuing the social networking site at about $50bn or £32bn. The social networking site has reportedly landed a cash injection from the investment bank Goldman Sachs and a Russian investor.

According to the FT, this means that Facebook is now worth more than either Time Warner or Yahoo.

Facebook which has 500 million active users is expected to use the investment to fund development of new products and possibly make acquisitions, the New York Times said.

Does this now mean that each of the 500million users on Facebook are worth $100?

Facebook has grown rapidly and overtook Google as the most visited website in 2010, according to Experian Hitwise.

Read more about what this means at the full New York Times story.

What are we doing to respect the planet, its biodiversity and the resources in it? I recently spoke with jane burston who runs a social enterprise that provides a more ethical and effective way for companies and individuals to offset their unavoidable emissions.

Jane who spent a few years working in strategy consulting, before becoming a freelance consultant, helping social enterprises and not-for-profits with business planning and market testing.
Before starting her company, she also took a sabbatical year to work in Africa, managing a sustainable technology charity in Zambia.

Check out the full interview, hope you enjoy it and reminds you to keep green!

Hi Jane, welcome to YHP, how are you doing today?

Before we dive into the interview, can you do a brief introduction about yourself and your background so that the YHP readers can get to know you better?

I’m a co-Founder and Director of Carbon Retirement, a social enterprise that provides a more ethical and effective way for companies and individuals to offset their unavoidable emissions.

I spent a few years working in strategy consulting, before becoming a freelance consultant, helping social enterprises and not-for-profits with business planning and market testing.

What does ‘green’ mean to you?

I prefer the word ‘sustainable’ – and what I’d mean by that is living, or doing business, in a way that respects the planet, its biodiversity and resources. We don’t own nature and natural resources – but we do have a responsibility to preserve them for future generations.

So explain to us exactly what carbon retirement does?

Carbon Retirement is transforming carbon offsetting into something that genuinely makes a difference. We give people power to reduce emissions in a simple, transparent, effective way – and in doing so we help them to take responsibility for their unavoidable emissions.

We force industrial companies to pollute less buy buying the permits they need and permanently removing them from the system. So rather than buying permits and continuing to pollute, these companies have to reduce their emissions.

We’ve won quite a few awards for our approach and have been called “the world’s first truly ethical carbon offsetting company”, which is nice! Our clients range from small NGOs to FTSE100 companies, as well as individuals who offset flights and home energy via our website. Recently the Committee on Climate Change offset with us, which is great as they are body of the top UK economists and climate change scientists, so having them as a client is a great way to raise awareness of our approach at the highest levels.

We also produce research into the offsetting and emissions trading markets to make them more transparent and effective. Our last piece of research, which was published by the BBC, found that only 28p in every £1 spent on offsetting projects get to the project the money was intended to fund!

What role do you do play in the company?

I’m a Director, so I set the company strategy, and decide what research we should do and which campaigns would be most effective. I act as a primary contact for a lot of our clients and I also help to raise awareness of what Carbon Retirement does, for example by speaking at conferences.

What made you decide to start a company like this, what is the inspiration behind it?

The idea came out of a conversation with a former colleague about how much money was being spent on carbon offsetting, even though most of the evidence from NGOs and academics was that it wasn’t working very well in reducing emissions or supporting sustainable development in developing countries. We were sure there must be a better way to focus all that goodwill – and cash – so that it would make a bigger difference, and it turned out there was!

How did you raise finance to start the business?

We raised a small amount of money from friends, and then just went for it! Since then we’ve had a grant from Unltd, a charity that funds social enterprises, a grant from The Funding Network, a charity that matches philanthropists with small organisations doing good work, and more recently we have raised finance from business angels to help up scale up.

what would you say was the most difficult thing you encountered whilst starting your business?

The biggest challenge was communicating how the service works more widely than environmental organisations. Many of our initial customers already knew about carbon markets and carbon offsetting, and therefore understood why Carbon Retirement is a robust approach. To take the service to a wider audience, we needed simple and fun communications, so we developed an animation which explains how we work. It’s on our website if you want to have a look (www.carbonretirement.com)

How does your company advice european industrials to pollute less?

Rather than advising them – we force them! We buy up the ‘pollution permits’ they need so that they can’t be used. As there are a fixed number of permits, it means the industrial companies need to reduce their emissions instead of buying the permits and carrying on polluting. Many industrial companies have a lot of projects they could implement or processes they could adapt to reduce emissions. What we do makes them start doing this sooner rather than later!

Can small businesses compete with large corporations when it comes to Green products?

Definitely. Small businesses have the ability to adapt quickly to a changing landscape for doing business – and historically new markets have always been opened up by small businesses.

Going back a bit, where you always involved in entrepreneurship as a child or is it something you picked along the way?

Not as a child, but while I was in strategy consulting, I took a sabbatical year to work in Africa, managing a sustainable technology charity in Zambia. I think that was what got me well and truly bitten by the enterprise bug; since then I knew for sure I wanted to set up my own business.

Are you getting any support from any Green organizations or from the legislation?

Not directly. There is an increasing amount of green regulation and schemes to encourage businesses to reduce their emissions, so that is good news for us as it helps our clients, who are usually CSR Managers in large organisations, to get profile and budget for their projects, as it’s something Boards and CEOs are starting to pay attention to.

I want to move into your experience as an entrepreneur and I’m sure you have tons to share. What do you think is the most important lesson that you learned as an entrepreneur?

Bring yourself to your work. It’s hard to bring your values to bear on everything that you do – it takes extra energy and time, which is what people always wish they had more of – but it’s worth it. It gives you the satisfaction that you are not only forging a path in your chosen sector but that you’re doing it in a way you’ll always be proud of.

What did you want to be when you were younger? Is there a connection to what you are doing now?

I think I wanted to be a professional swimmer – I remember always wanting to swim the channel. So no connection there! Apart from possibly a love of being in nature. I’ve always been concerned about the environment – I was the ‘Green Officer’ at University and spent a lot of time making life-size cardboard cut-outs of The Wombles to encourage people to recycle!

I believe that most green businesses are always looking for opportunities to become more sustainable, whether it is by introducing more green features into the business or by taking up initiatives such as tree planting. Can you share with us some of your plans to make Carbon retirement a more sustainable company?

We build environmental and social practices into the way we work – we cycle to meetings wherever possible and otherwise use public transport, we very rarely print anything, we source office equipment carefully to ensure that we are buying the most environmentally friendly products available, from the most ethical retailers, lots of small things that add up!

Happily for us, these practices line neatly up with our strategy of keeping overheads low, and enable us to build our brand by practicing what we preach.

What advices do you have for entrepreneurs who are planning to start an environmental-friendly business?

Take time to consult with your potential clients as you develop your idea – people in this sector are very generous with their time and you’ll end up with not only a better offering but you’ll have made some allies along the way.

Thanks for your time jane

Today i interview Michael Furdyk the co-founder of TakingITGlobal,A global online community for young people, engaging hundreds of thousands of youth in over 200 countries and territories.

Michael has shared his opinions about Youth Engagement and experiences as a member of the Net Generation by speaking at dozens of events, including the World Congress on IT, the US Government’s National Youth Summit, Microsoft’s Anytime, Anywhere Learning Summits, The Business Council, and TED. He has made numerous media appearances, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, Time Magazine, Fast Company, BusinessWeek, CNN, MSNBC, and USA Today.

Today Michael speaks to us about his journey as an entrepreneur.

• Making a Millionaire at 17, what he spent it on.
• Why he started TakingITGlobal and how he is planning to change the world with it.

• His Views on personal development.
• Managing your resources during the recession.

• Advices for young entrepreneurs.

Hello Michael, How are you? Can you give us some background information about yourself?

Sure. I grew up using technology from a very young age – my first computer at 2 years old was a Commodore 64. As the Internet exploded in popularity, I had started a technology magazine online with a group of friends that became quite popular. After selling that company in 1999, at age 17, I realized that many young people didn’t have the support (family, friends, school) for their ideas and ambitions that I did, and so I co-founded TakingITGlobal.org as a charitable organization. It’s an online community to network and support young people to get involved in global issues and realize their potential.

How has your business changed to keep pace with the new technology?

We continually improve and develop new features and ideas to support young people in using their social media networks and tools to grow their impact. We developed technology to allow our members to act as volunteers and translate the web site into an infinite number of languages, which now provides an engaging community for youth across 12 languages.

How did you manage your money? You were a millionaire at 17

It was a good learning experience. I bought some of the things I’d always wanted, a car and a boat to enjoy while camping and relaxing in Canada’s great outdoors! But ultimately, I used some of it to help start TakingITGlobal as a charity, and the rest to help purchase my home. Beyond that, after taxes, there’s not much left! Of course, at one point the theoretical value of all the stock options we had was pretty impressive, but I never really thought about it too much. I knew how fragile the markets were, and didn’t count on too much more ever coming my way. I was just happy to have my basic needs met. After travelling in West Africa in 2002, and seeing how happy people were with the basics they had, I realized that I wasn’t too interested in focusing my time on creating another commercial venture, but saw a bigger opportunity for impact in the non-profit sector.

You sold two of your businesses to a big company? Why did you decide to sell them?

We only sold MyDesktop – our second venture raised venture capital, but was not sold. We decided to sell MyDesktop because we could only go so far without more experience and exposure. Imagine me at 16, my business partner Michael at 18 – trying to raise venture capital to scale and grow our business! It’s too bad we didn’t, because we could have been a force to be reckoned with in the sector… but I’m happy with how things turned out and what I’m working on now!

What are your takes on personal development?

I think the amount of knowledge and resources on the Internet provides a huge opportunity for people to take control of their own personal development. Connecting with mentors, developing new skills, collaborating on an idea. It’s all possible now in ways we couldn’t imagine just a few decades ago.

What would you do if there was no internet?

I have quite an entrepreneurial spirit, so I’m sure I would be running some kind of creative venture related to technology in some way, even if the Internet didn’t exist

What are the best ways for businesses especially start-up to manage their finances during tough times especially in this financial downturn?

I think that it’s quite important to preserve resources and find creative ways to get things done with less. In the non-profit sector, we’re definitely very used to this kind of creativity with managing costs. One great thing about recent improvements in technology is that they enable travel and meetings without travel costs, which is saving lots of many for many organizations!

What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?

At TakingITGlobal, we strive to create a culture that grows leadership, and provides a democratic opportunity for decision making and influence at every level. We’re quite proud to have won the WorldBlu Most Democratic Workplaces award for the last three years – http://www.worldblu.com/scorecard/list2008.php – which highlights our culture’s commitment to the principles of organizational democracy, including decentralization, fairness and dignity, transparency, and integrity.

How do you find people to bring into your organization that truly care about the organization the way you do?

First of all, we have many more active volunteers than paid staff, so to start with, typically someone willing to support your vision and work on a volunteer basis is doing so because they do truly care about making a difference. Without the critical contributions of our volunteers, we’d never be able to do as much as we do! When we do have a paid position available, we often hire people who started with us as volunteers, showcasing their commitment to our work through offering their services as volunteers. However, ultimately I believe that all of us want to have a job that’s not just financially sustainable, but that provides a connection to a meaningful contribution. The opportunity we offer our team, both staff and volunteers, is a unique one – to run and support educational and cultural programs that reach over 4 million users every year!

Where do you see in yourself and your business in the next 5 years?

I’m particularly excited about the opportunity to help teachers and schools use our learning and community platform to support and enhance global education. We’ll do this by connecting them with schools all over the world, to participate in collaborative programs on pressing global issues. This has been referred to in recent research as “Challenge-based Learning” – and we’re proud to have helped to pioneered this type of learning for students. One recent program we launched, Tread Lightly (http://www.treadlightly.me) provides this engagement for schools on climate change, and included a live video conference with youth attending the COP15 Climate Change summit in Copenhagen, connecting over a dozen schools around the world with those actually at the event.

What advice can you give to young entrepreneurs out there?

I feel like both one of the most important qualities and pieces of advice I can share is to not be disappointed by failure – but instead to quickly learn from it and move on to your next challenge or product. We’re constantly learning from trying new ideas at TakingITGlobal, and I think that’s key for any new entrepreneur. Here’s one of my favourite quotes on this topic from Jeff Bezos: “If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate”

How important have good employees been to your success?

We’re so lucky at TakingITGlobal to have so many amazing team members – staff, volunteers, and even members, that are essential to our innovation and success. From the beginning, many of the best ideas that have led to new programs have come from our members or volunteers. Giving everyone the opportunity to contribute their suggestions to every aspect of our work has led to continuous improvements over the years! We’re also lucky to have the support of UserVoice, providing us with an online idea sharing forum for our members, letting them submit and vote on improvement ideas.

Thanks Michael for being so open and giving us some much information about your entrepreneurial journey, We wish you the best in the future.

Connec with Michael on Twitter
Take a look on the TakingITGlobal Website.

YHP had the opportunity of interviewing a young, exciting and a future leader in the world, Elliott Bisnow.

A young entrepreneur, only 23 years old and already creating a scene in the entrepreneurial world, Co-founder of Bisnow Media- a niche publishing business with about 30 employees, also Founder of Summit Series- Summit Series, A company he created to connect and inspire the world’s most influential young innovators, company founders.

Elliott is not all about making money, spending his time raising money for charities across the world with the likes of The United Nations Foundation, Clinton Foundation, Grassroots Soccer, Charity: Water, Invisible Children.

He also spends time travelling around the world (Already visited 44 countries), playing tennis and creating new businesses.
Definitely someone to look out for in the future or now really!!

Hello Elliot, it’s so nice to finally speak to you, welcome to YHP and how are you doing?

What could you be doing if you weren’t doing this interview?

I’m living in Central America right now. I’m here from August until November and have been surfing every morning before I jump on conference calls and start working. It’s 7:53 AM and I’m just back from a 90 minute surfing session in Costa Rica.   I’m pretty happy to be relaxing now and answering questions.

Can you give us some background information about yourself?

I grew up in Washington DC and my focus growing up was on tennis. I would practice for 3 – 4 hours every day after school.  I was ranked as high as 37^th in the United States and was able to get a tennis scholarship to the University of Wisconsin.  Now I’m 23 years old and focus on traveling, adventure sports and running two businesses.

Elliot, Can you give us some insight on what you do?

I co-own two companies. The first is called Bisnow Media and is a niche publishing business with about 30 employees. The goal of the company is to pick local business industries in different cities, which have no daily news- For example, the legal industry in Washington DC or commercial real estate in Chicago.  In each industry we bring on a reporter and send out free daily emails all about that industry. We also host tons of events/market conferences/etc. The business makes money from advertising, tickets to events and event sponsorships. I started this business with my dad 3 years ago when I was in my college dorm room.

The second company is called Summit Series. The goal of Summit Series is to create a community of the most amazing young people in the world.  There are so many young company founders, entrepreneurs, non-profit founders and well known figures and there is no home for these people. They generally don’t join most groups or go to traditional conferences which have an older demographic.  We’ve had hundreds of attendees in the past year including the co-founders, founders, presidents or Chief Executives of companies like Twitter, Zappos, CollegeHumor, Facebook, Youtube, Virgin Records, Mint.com, CAA, MTV, and Blackboard.

Elliot, what project are you working on at the moment,Can you give the YHP Readers some insight on this?

Summit Series just finished a Summit in NYC with President Clinton, which Russell Simmons hosted at his residence in the Financial District. We were able to raise $265,000 for the Clinton Foundation, and this money will be used to fight a number of global epidemics such as aids in Africa and childhood obesity in the United States.

Our next major Summit is in Miami from November 5^th -8^th.  We’ll have 250 of the leading company founders in the world. The average age of our attendees is 29 years old. There is some cool information on it here: http://summitseries.com/events/

Bisnow Media currently publishes in DC, NYC, NJ and CHI. We’re in the process of adding a few more cities in 2009.

Elliot, you’ve met some really cool people, Who has been your favourite so far?

We did a Summit at the White House in March and met a number of amazing young people working there.  One of them was Yosi Sergeant who worked with Shepard Fairey to create the Obama Hope Posters/Pins.  In less than a year, these two guys, Yosi and Shepard, created a global movement without any outside help and played a major role in the election of the President of the United States- that’s pretty awesome.

What has been your most memorable moment so far?

In 2009 there have been a lot: The White House Summit, going to China with my family and experiencing a new culture, presenting President Clinton with the Summit Series Catalyst Award, learning a new sport (surfing) in Costa Rica, moving to the West Village in NYC for three months and learning all about a new city, finally getting an Apple computer, and watching my brother try out for American Idol.

What are your hobbies away from work?

Traveling and adventure sports are a huge hobby. I’ve been to 44 countries. I’m currently traveling for three months all around Central and South America, staying in a different country for 3 weeks at a time. I travel with 4 of my closest friends who all work with me. One person is our head of online, one person is our head of strategy, etc.

What inspired you to start a business?

When I was a freshman in college my Resident Advisor in my dorm, Anthony David Adams was printing  t-shirts.  I will take this moment to give Anthony a thank you and shout out! This was the first time I’d ever seen a young person have their own business. My mind was blown. From this moment on, I knew I had to start businesses.

How do you motivate yourself when things aren’t going so well?

As soon as you realize things aren’t going well you take a step back. You figure out what went wrong, what mistake did I make, why aren’t people buying my product, why is this person mad at me, etc. You figure out what went wrong and you dive back in.  You put aside your ego and you apologize if you are wrong. If people don’t buy your product then you and all your sales staff wake up two hours earlier and sell harder. Or you make the necessary changes to your product.

I would say that I make a couple small mistakes every day and a major mistake every week or two.  The world is a good place. People are good.  When you make a mistake and you realize it and you apologize second chances are given.

Where do you see yourself in the next 5-10 years?

I would like to create a large media company which publishes in the United States and Europe.  I’d like for Summit Series to host events on each major continent. But it’s hard for me to see out more than one year. Even 6 months is hard.   Things move so quickly. We did the White House event in less than a week. So to dream about years away is really hard for me.

Is it true you’re currently on course to raise more than $1 million for non profits in 2009?

We are on pace to directly raise more than $1 million this year for non profits.   It’s pretty amazing when I step back and think about this.  We’ve worked with great organizations like The United Nations Foundation, Clinton Foundation, Grassroots Soccer, Charity: Water, Invisible Children.

What was your reason for starting the summit series?

Summit Series started 18 months ago as a trip for young company founders. As soon as we realized there were thousands of young people who wanted to be part of something, we created a real organization. Our goal is to connect and inspire leading young people.

Not too long, you were invited to the white house, how was the experience?

It was humbling. The opportunity came up quickly. And, to be given the chance to host a Summit at the White House was thrilling.  We had 35 attendees, each of whom ran large businesses: Tony Hsieh the CEO of Zappos, Jared Kushner the Owner/Publisher of the New York Observer, Evan Williams the CEO of Twitter, Ivanka Trump who runs Development and Acquisitions for the Trump Organization, Rob Speyer the Co-CEO of Tishman Speyer, Catherine Levene the COO of Daily Candy, Jessica Jackley the co-founder of Kiva.org.

You are only 23 years old, you’ve achieved so much. How did you become this successful?

Instead of writing business plans and day dreaming ideas, I just use the “Ready, Fire, Aim” technique. I put my ego aside and I just go. And, I have a tentative plan. But I accept that I’ll make mistakes along the way.  Mistakes are ok as long as you don’t make the same one twice.  The only way to build a big company is to move quickly and keep moving forward.  Learn by doing. And have fun. Don’t go to the office from 8AM- 8PM and put in a 50% effort all day because you’re wasting time.  When I work I go at 100% efficiency. And, we make it rain.

What advices would you give to young entrepreneurs out there?

Make it rain. No one will make things happen for you. Pick up the phone and make the hard phone calls, close deals yourself.  No one else makes it rain. You need to make the rain.

Thanks Elliott for your time.

Contact info:
Elliott Bisnow

Bisnow.wordpress.com
www.bisnow.com
summitseries.com

Vicky Mariano is the brains behind the SH (Spiritual Haze).

Spiritual Haze is a SOCIAL ENTERPRISE (meaning it has a social mission rather than profit mission) was created by four Clark University students for their Entrepreneurship class project. After a year and a half of hard work, struggles, and problems trying to open while maintaining its social mission base, they finally opened to the public November 8th, 2007.

Vicky, how you doing? Thank you for the opportunity.Welcome to YHP.

What made you start SH?

- I’m a social entrepreneur! But the story is, SH was formed in a class at Clark University in the Entrepreneurship program. I came with an idea for SH, and it evolved in the class as a project with other classmates. I presented my concept of SH, which essentially is a community venue/social enterprise, in which is always available for people to feel comfortable and de-stress. The products and services of SH are purely to sustain itself and to fill the social mission. I got the idea because I was sick of people not having a space consistently available to de-stress. I saw so many people turn to drugs and alcohol abuse just to de-stress or socialize due to no other options, and it ended up having lots of negative effects on themselves and the community.

Briefly give us some background information about yourself?

- I grew up in Colonie(Albany), NY, and got my bachelors at Clark University in Management with an Entrepreneurship track in 2008. I’ve had a number of different jobs, anywhere from Customer Service to Business Development. I’ve always been a social entrepreneur, I’ve had my own money making projects since I was 10.

I know some people are still curious about what SH is about?

- I guess I answered this in the first question! But I consider it a community venue, a grassroots approach to strengthening the community. We help people truly feel good and de-stress from life troubles, with hopes this will help them lead productive and happy lives, at least at that time. Our main products we sell are hookah (flavoured tobacco) and food and drinks from our cafe, selling these products both sustains us economically, and helps to create an atmosphere that’s social and comfortable. Daily/weekly/monthly entertainment, benefit/organization/private or public events, and the art gallery is decided on by our employees or customers (we call hazers). 4 out of 7 days a week something is planned, whether it’s an open mic, benefit show, art gallery opening, college orientation party, and lots more.

How did you market your business?

-Word of mouth primarily, also Clark Universities Entrepreneur program helped us with getting the word out through articles and such, flyering, and of course the internet!

How did you get funds to run the business?

- Friends and family

How has the journey been so far?

- Lots of ups and downs. It’s amazing just to think about how much SH has positively changed people’s lives in the community. Nothing feels better than when a hazer will sincerely tell me how happy they are I created SH, which happens all the time. Not to mention how much it’s positively changed my life, and how much fun I’ve had running it the past almost 2 years. Although I think there has been much more good than bad, I’ve dealt with a lot of bad things, mainly involving stealing and being harassed (which is common in the area SH is located).

Do you have anyone you model yourself around?

- I wouldn’t say I model myself around anyone, but two of my professors, George Gendron and David Jordan, and my dad were very inspiring.

What is your definition of an entrepreneur?

- Someone who inherently can see trends in their surroundings which leads them to a business concept that they take a financial risk to create and operate.

Do you have any books/audios you read that you would like to advice to the readers?

- Not really a book reader, but one book I really liked was “Growing a Business” by Paul Hawken

What advice can you share to our readers, especially young entrepreneurs starting their business?

Make sure you do the most preparing you possibly can before beginning to act on your business idea. By preparing I mean; get advice specifically on your idea from professionals, do as much research as possible on all topics of business.

“Do good for yourself, by doing good for others!” Shape your idea not just around making money, but around what people actually need and want, this way you’re helping your community and making money off it (social enterprise).

Thanks for the time.

Contact Vicky Mariano
www.spiritualhaze.com