Young Impact - Survival Entrepreneurship for Youth

Cold-Sweat Thoughts: Entrepreneurship

youngimpact — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:26:17 +0000

Night dreams typically do not propel me into conscious action, largely because I don’t remember dreams. Last night was different: I abruptly awoke in a cold sweat from trying to answer the prompt, “What is entrepreneurship?”

At 3 AM, I frantically blasted the following stream of consciousness (with ~5% morning editing–several lines were completely incoherent):

Entrepreneurship is the process of realization that begins with directed thought and is driven by intended action. It is the mobilization and calculated expenditure of precious, scarce resources—your time, energy, and ambition, inclusive.

When pitching an idea, entrepreneurs weave so powerful a story—with such focus, in such substantial detail, drawing on the accessibility of language and presentation—that their the vision overrides preconceived notions. Entrepreneurs both defy and define: They are the relative-reality physicists who bend space, time, and the conservation of mass and energy to organize chaos into the will of the natural working order.

History shows that an entrepreneur’s personal progress often tracks the successes and failures of the entrepreneurial entity.

Jean de La Fontaine speaks, “Familiarity in this existence makes all things tame.” while
Ani Defranco postures, “Any tool is a weapon if you hold it right.”

Entrepreneurship is an iterative process of angled approach.

What do you dream about?

@YoungImpact

Two CRITICAL Life Lessons from Snoop Dogg – “General Math Money” and “I made it.”

youngimpact — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:09:38 +0000

We were live and direct with Snoop Dogg during Global Entrepreneurship Week event at the NYSE! He explains that if you only make it up to general math, you only make “general math money.”

His second point–”We didn’t make it; I made it.”–hits just as hard. Brilliant!

Listen carefully because sound quality is shaky. Enjoy this gem!

(Big thanks to @AllaChulak for pushing the posting of this video =)

TWITTER @YOUNGIMPACT

A Snapshot of the Elusive Start-Up Wildebeest

youngimpact — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 03:25:32 +0000

www.vcorpservices.com

The first 3 months of Young Impact have largely been dedicated to organizing and developing our business model and partnerships. (P.S. Some people still have no idea what we are cookin’ in the kitchen. That’s okay–we are in stealth mode =) As a start-up company, “progress” often feels elusive. Recognizing milestones keeps us on track.

Last month, I met Marissa Ross of VCorp Services at Ignite NYC (if you don’t know about Ignite, please get familiar!). VCorp Services offers a host of business formation services, such as 501c filings, articles of incorporation, business entity, DBA, tax exempt services and more. Recognizing the need to engage young entrepreneurs, Marissa and I began discussing a potential partnership. After speaking with Shai Stern, Vcorp Services’ CEO, it was clear it makes strategic sense to move forward together to help young entrepreneurs tap the knowledge and support they need to legally organize their businesses and organizations. We are very pleased to announce this partnership and expect a seamless and wonderful relationship going forward.

Website screen shot

Also, we have made significant strides on the Young Impact website. Quality content development and graphic design are the next steps. So, if you know of anyone that may be interested in helping, please send ‘em our way!

Yours in entrepreneurship,
Stephen
Twitter@YoungImpact

Startup Weekend NYC is on!

youngimpact — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:30:40 +0000

Voting at Startup Weekend NYC

This weekend Young Impact is helping the awesome folks at www.StartupWeekend.org organize and run Startup Weekend NYC.

Startup Weekend recruits a highly motivated group of developers, business managers, startup enthusiasts, marketing gurus, graphic artists and more to a 54 hour event that builds communities, companies and projects. The participants that attend a Startup Weekend decide what they want to tackle over the weekend and come out at the end with several developed companies or projects. Attendees are responsible for bringing the same desire and passion to the project and walk out of the room with the task at hand, in a short 54 hours. Sound intense? It is.

Out of 29 ventures pitched, here are the top 10:

CollaborAID – network for developing world aid org’ns – @collaborAIDteam – collaboraid.org
Legal Commons – human-readable legal documents – @legalcommons – commonslaw.org
Vote Reports – accountability for politicians – @votereports – votereports.org
Fixwords – real-time proofreading for foreign-language speakers – @fixwords – fixwords.com
StartUp MatchUp – match making for entrepreneurs – @startupmatchup – thestartupmatchup.com
The Veterans List – craigslist for veterans – @theveteranslist – theveteranslist.org
Viral Noise – writing reviews to write off taxes – viralnoise.com
Trekplan – social itenerary planning – trekplan.com – @trekplan
Eventhash – helping ppl connect at events – @eventhash - eventhash.com
Lilyvest – philanthropic social media gaming – NAME TBD / FINALIZED

My (Phantom) Start-up Team

youngimpact — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:09:04 +0000

This Fall, I will facilitate the “Be A Changemaker Challenge” at several leading universities. In conjunction with Youth Venture and its partners, our goal is to launch 50 student-run entrepreneurial ventures (for-profit or non-profit) that address social problems. There is $70,000 in awards up for stake! Students participating in the Challenge will work through an Action Plan, or an abbreviated business plan, then pitch their companies to a panel of guest judges. I am responsible for guiding student teams throughout this start-up journey and preparing them to build sustainable, meaningful enterprises.

In July of 2009, before I accepted the offer to lead the Challenge, I decided to quit my job and combine my professional experience and personal passions to launch Young Impact. One of the first things I did was share my decision with two top-caliber business entrepreneurs, Joe and Tom—two of my closest mentors, former bosses, and phantom start-up team members.

Joe had raised $150 million to launch his own telecommunications company before the telecom nuclear winter of the early 2000’s. He is a hands-on Managing Director who pushes people to perform. We constantly kicked start-up ideas back and forth. He made sure I played an active role in every stage of the M&A deal process. My first day on the job, Joe summoned me into his office. “Stephen, what is the difference between accuracy and precision?” As a military academy graduate, he did what came natural: Joe sketched a bullseye on a sheet of paper, proceeded to tell me that he can disassemble a standard military-issue hand-gun in 30+ seconds, and explained his expectations for me amidst drawing a distribution of simulated bullet holes around the target. Interacting with C-level executives was a bit unnerving at first, but I internalized Joe’s points about precision and accuracy and took ownership of my work. With experience comes confidence and it wasn’t long before I had the opportunity to serve as the main point of contact with many of our clients.

Whether we were in the thick of tense tactical negotiations in a merger or raising $30 million of expansion capital for a company, Joe taught me how to stress test financial models, flesh out memoranda and business plans, strategically build a business, and most importantly, to read people based on their incentives and motivations. We provided advisory services for some of the country’s leading entrepreneurs. Here I honed my ability to ask pointed questions, crunch numbers, and keep our clients mission-focused. I made less money than a teacher (per hour), but the early mornings and long nights were well worth it. Joe continues to be a friend and mentor. He now sits on several public company boards and will likely take an executive leadership role with a large company in the near future.

Tom is an Operating Partner at a private equity firm that invests in distressed companies (“I catch falling knives.”), as well as an entrepreneur. His Special Operations Delta Force Marine (he is unable to go into any level of detail re: specifics) background epitomizes his focus and determination. He makes hearts beat out of peoples chests (and not in the teeny-bopper boy band way, though he bares a slight resemblance Donnie Wahlberg from New Kids On The Block) with a stare that can only be likened to Chuck Norris…when Chuck is pissed. Without knowing this man, my next comment may sound ridiculous: In stressful situations, I have asked myself WWTD (“What Would Tom Do”). After my first instinct passes–driving my forehead into something/someone–I opt for the next, often much more rational, decision. The volume of knowledge Tom crammed into my skull while working together was astounding. Simply observing Tom in action was like absorbing a tsunami through osmosis (imagine the size of the sponge). His each move is carefully calibrated, crafted around calculated risks and a healthy fear of complacency and inaction. His 90-day turnaround plans read like mission-critical battle strategies sent from angels of commerce. Every contingency is ALWAYS covered, always. No surprises. Tom hates surprises (Sidestory: When Tom’s wife tried to throw him a surprise Birthday party, he intercepted the invitations and re-sent out invitations — perfectly forging his wife’s signature – to every guest asking that they stay home for his birthday celebration. It happened to fall on the eve of December 24th. That night Tom and some of his Marine buddies secured a Blackhawk chopper and delivered presents to the entire Judeo-Christian and Muslim worlds. Yes, everyone was invited to Tom’s Birthday Gala.).

Though we innately have very different management styles, it is clear Tom is an action-oriented visionary with the ability to implement seemingly impossible objectives. He is a true leader—someone you would proudly follow into proverbial (or otherwise) war. His personal creed to which he lives life: “There are two seat options on the Tom train—on it or under it.”

We all have mentors in our lives. How does someone become a mentor? Joe and Tom never made me feel like I worked FOR them, rather I always worked WITH them. Their advice is at the helm of my mind, almost like a phantom consultant perpetually pushing me to execute, focus, work with precision and accuracy, and build the most progressive and mission-driven company possible. Many other mentors on my phantom start-up team play pivotal roles–Carla, John, Josh, and my family and friends (of course). Who is on your phantom team? The take-home is this: Recognize the people who made you who you were, make you who you are, and will make you who you will become.

~Stephen
CEO and Founder
Young Impact

Ashoka’s Youth Venture/Young Impact Partnership to Launch 50 Student-Run Ventures!

youngimpact — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:48:21 +0000

A big announcement (and great partnership) for Young Impact and Ashoka’s Youth Venture…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“Start-Up Star” to Teach Entrepreneurship, Launch 50 Student-Run Ventures

Arlington, Virginia – September 23, 2009 – This fall, college students at four universities will compete for $70,000 in seed funding and awards to launch youth-led community-serving ventures through the Be A Changemaker Challenge over the next seven months.

“Training the next generation of youth entrepreneurs is the key to securing our country’s competitive advantage in the global economy,” according to Stephen Douglass, the CEO and Founder of Young Impact, a leading youth entrepreneurship education and investment company.

Mr. Douglass, 26, has been tapped to lead Ashoka’s Youth Venture Be A Changemaker Challenge at the partner universities. He is tasked with coaching students to launch 50 youth-operated ventures. The Challenge is sponsored by Learn and Serve America and will kick off at New York University in September.

“The Be A Changemaker Challenge, with support from Learn and Serve America and in partnership with leading changemakers like Stephen Douglass and his organization Young Impact, will ensure this generation of young people has the resources and tools to change the world,” stated Gretchen Zucker, the Executive Director of Ashoka’s Youth Venture.

Mr. Douglass worked in investment banking and private equity in Washington D.C. and has run several profitable start-up companies. “It’s all about harnessing the entrepreneurial energy of youth and channeling it into addressing real community issues,” says Mr. Douglass. He looks forward to sharing his experience with young entrepreneurs throughout the country.

About Young Impact

Young Impact LLC (“Young Impact”) is a youth entrepreneurship education and investment company. Young Impact hosts Start-Up Scrambles (TM) (“Scrambles”), a weekend-long start-up event where youth, ages 12-22 years old, work to launch a company that addresses a uniquely local issue affecting their community—all in 52 hours. Young Impact also oversees the Micro-Venture Phund (MVP), which invests in youth-owned businesses through microfinance loans. For more information, please contact info@youngimpact.com and follow us on Twitter @YoungImpact.

About Youth Venture

Ashoka’s Youth Venture leads an international community of young people who are powerful changemakers. Youth Venture inspires and invests in teams of young people to create and launch their own sustainable, community-benefiting Ventures and then connects them into a global network of young changemakers who are together redefining the youth years as a time of leadership and positive social change. For more information, please visit www.genv.net.

Contact:

Stephen Douglass

stephen[at]youngimpact[dot]com

http://www.YoungImpact.com

http://twitter.com/YoungImpact

Ph: 570.362.3529

Re-Writing Your Community’s History

youngimpact — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:26:16 +0000

When survival is on the line, we instinctually focus on our immediate needs – food, shelter, and family. Survival is the least common denominator of life: It is a necessary condition in a sufficient world. Across the evolutionary continuum of human survival, humankind realized the benefits of working together. Thus, hierarchies emerged, governments formed, and modern communities arose. The survival of a community is dependent upon its ability to evolve. Community survival happens in three ways: Leadership adapts to new realities, leadership relocates/disbands, or leadership becomes extinct. Adapt, move, or die. Looking within our communities, local leaders are confused as how best to overcome challenges such as mounting debt and divisive viewpoints. Though we’re dealing with the age old social problems – education gaps, healthcare deficiencies, and lagging local industry prospects – standard tools of yester-year have evolved and the current generation of community leaders seems thoroughly unprepared, perhaps even unwilling, to adapt, which leaves us with limited alternatives.

Resource-starved communities struggling to service month-to-month debt obligations mimic the everyday plight of American families. In both cases, survival is at stake and it makes me think that, much like a failing business, our communities need to be restructured; they are hemorrhaging human and financial capital. The short-run buckshot solution (“Here, sprinkle some stimulus money on it.”) is not enough and the needle-nose rifles of policy-wonk-snipers are not loaded with long-range silver bullets to adequately put pertinent issues to “rest” anytime soon. How does survival happen?

Well, what fixes have your fellow community leaders proposed? Are they band-aid solutions or long-term recovery strategies? Scattered analogies aside, it boils down to this: The future of communities heavily depend upon the next generation of youth. Local youth are affected most by community leaders’ decisions. Dovetailing school budgets, dilapidated educational facilities, and diminishing teacher resources are only a few of the glaring red flags. Youth are consistently marginalized. Adult leaders hand down decisions that dictate the trajectory of opportunities for community youth. But you do not need world-class school buildings or the best teachers to overcome extinction. Communities need vision-driven leadership with which youth can identify.

I urge community leaders to ignore U.S. News World Report rankings and truly invest in youth. What scarce resources remain; channel them toward high-impact youth programming and development. Find a competent leader with a plan that youth can and will rally around. If you need help, reach out for help. Cultivate and support a generation of innovative and practical problem solvers, because the history of the future of your community must be re-written. Return back to the basics. Your community’s survival, the fundamental building block of progress, depends on it.

~Young Impact

Twitter @youngimpact

Ambitions & Survival-Mode

youngimpact — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 03:03:45 +0000

At some point in your life, someone – probably a high school guidance counselor, a teacher, a mentor of sorts – has probably asked you, “If money wasn’t an issue, what would you do with your life?” And you most likely responded, become “an astronaut,” or “a firefighter,” or, “a dinosaur.”

A yahoo snake-oil salesman in the late 18^th century pushing potion from the back of his Conestoga opened-up crowds with this line. Today, your answer to this question rarely sheds insight into your career calling or life ambitions.

Here’s a better way to think about it: Without a penny to your name, how would you put food on the dinner table tomorrow night? Now, let’s have an honest conversation about your life goals.

~Young Impact