Your Mark On The World

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin. Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2iBaLWN. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. ---------------------- Ricardo Jose Bueso has a brother named Ricardo Juan Bueso. Really. His parents did that. To some, they are known as the two Ricardos. Perhaps it was this unusual situation that inspired Bueso to look for ways to stand out and apart, to chart a unique course. He's traveled the world, studying business administration in Texas, completing a degree as "Chef de Cuisine" in Guatemala, teaching English in Yemen, and then studying in both Miami, Florida and Shanghai. Two years ago, Bueso and his brother Ricardo Juan, assembled a team and began developing a unique concept in social entrepreneurship. Their model is to sell responsibly-sourced, crafted products like soaps and candles via the web (nothin

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin. Read the full GoodCrowdinfo article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2iaPbIr. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. --------------------- « Support Christopher’s Haven and Escape with Chris EvansVote For Your Favorite NCAA Coach To Raise Money In The “INFINITI Coaches’… » Mother of Quads Faces Cancer; Receives Outpouring of Support Published January 10, 2017 | By Devin Thorpe | Edit Kayla Gaytan, the wife of a soldier, was expecting four healthy babies–conceived naturally–when something went wrong. She began recognizing the symptoms of her Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The doctors confirmed her worst fears and quickly delivered the babies at 30 weeks so she could begin chemo–again. Pegine Echevarria, CEO of Team Pegine, a keynote speaker and mother of two servicemen, quickly recognized that Kayla and her husband Charles, who is s

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin. Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2imaVol. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. ------------------ Robert Frost suggested that taking the road less traveled made all the difference. The Women's Bean Project, a nonprofit in Denver, Colorado, employs only women generally considered unemployable. For nearly 30 years, the social enterprise has worked to help women learn to work by giving them jobs; that is how they make a difference. The "Bean," as insiders know it, was recently selected by REDF, a national organization that supports social enterprises like the Bean, that "provide jobs, support, and training to people who would otherwise have a tough time getting into the workforce," for a growth investment, according to Carla Javits, President and CEO of REDF. The Bean, according to CEO Tamra Rya

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin. Read the full GoodCrowdinfo article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2hPSRTi. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. ---------------------- B Cavello is a key part of the brains and brilliance behind the Exploding Kittens’ $8.8 million success on Kickstarter. Having moved on from that project, B is now working as a crowdfunding consultant through B is for Business. B, who prefers the personal pronoun “they,” will share a bit of their genius with us. According to Fox Business, Exploding Kittens raised $8.8 million on Kickstarter from 219,382 backers. This Wikipedia page ranks Exploding Kittens 15th biggest in the history of crowdfunding. Here are B’s insights: “Don’t even think about crowdfunding without doing these 3 things first.” 1. Know your audience. It’s easy to focus on funding, but to run a successful crowdfunding

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin. Read the full GoodCrowdinfo article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2iQOYf8. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. ---------------------------- Kathleen Minogue is passionate about using crowdfunding for social good. She created her business, Crowdfund Better, to help social entrepreneurs and nonprofits raise more money via crowdfunding. Kathleen is a former teacher. She puts those skills to work today by helping people learn how to crowdfund for their cause or business. Kathleen shared three tips with me that I’m honored to pass along to you. To crowdfund successfully, think about more than money 1. It’s all about the network. Crowdfunding is about the network, not the funding. This is what I find most people get backward. They focus on the funding and they miss the potential of their current crowdfunding efforts to fu

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin. Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2hXDgBW. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. ------------ According to the Washington Post, the U.S. solar industry is expecting to shatter records for new solar power, with 4,143 megawatts of photo-voltaic solar capacity added in the third quarter alone. The Solar Energy Industries Association and market analysis firm GTM Research, just published its “U.S. Solar Market Insight” report. The executive summary is available for free here. The summary notes, “Between Q1 and Q3 2016, solar accounted for 39% of all new electric generating capacity brought on-line in the U.S, ranking second only to natural gas as the largest source of new capacity additions.” Most of the growth, according to the report, is in utility scale projects rather than retai

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin. Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2iRFP69. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. ------------------ London-based ClearlySo is an investment banking firm that helps social enterprises raise capital from impact investors, those who seek a social impact along with a financial return. Last week, ClearlySo announced a new impact measurement service for private equity and venture capital funds. Founder and CEO, Rodney Schwartz, is excited about the new product, which he says will make impact reporting easier. He says, “We launched our impact assessment tool, which, for the first time, specifically addresses the needs of PE/VC firms to measure and report on the impact of their privately held portfolio companies. It does so in a way that is portal-based, efficient, robust, easy-to-use, inexpensive and r

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin. Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2iBFGUo. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. -------------------------- Six women, all undergraduate students at MIT, have invented a text to braille scanner that significantly advances the state of the art for text scanners, most of which convert text to speech. The patent-pending device is not yet available in the marketplace, but the inventors are committed to the project, called Tactile, full time upon graduation in the spring. (Disclosure: My wife owns fewer than 100 shares of Microsoft.) The team comprises three students in Mechanical Engineering, Jialin Shi, Charlene Xia and Grace Li; two students in Electrical Engineering, Tania Yu and Chandani Doshi; and Bonnie Wang, who studies Materials Sciences. A spokesperson for Microsoft points out that women h

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin. Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2hWX2ub. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. -------------------------- Jessie Funk is one of those people that lights up a room by walking into it. She brings a palpable, positive energy to the stage when she speaks or sings. In recent months, I’ve heard her speak and sing to two different audiences, one of youth and another of adults, with equal brilliance. Jessie’s message is as powerful as her personality. She helps people to see bullying through a clear lens and provides simple, easy to execute tools for coping with it. She doesn’t stop there. Jessie is channeling her passion for helping girls into a nonprofit called Ivy Girl Academy. -------------------------- Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: htt

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin. Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2hTjlEg. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. ------------------ Devin Thorpe , CONTRIBUTOR I cover social entrepreneurship and impact investing. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Pause Mute Current Time 0:03 / Duration Time 0:15 Loaded: 0%Progress: 0% Fullscreen In the Spring of 2014, Prudential Financial, Inc., announced a commitment in double its impact investment portfolio from about $500 million to $1 billion by 2020. Half way through that period, the financial giant reports it is making progress, with much of the investment going to redevelopment efforts in Newark. Prudential was founded 140 years ago in Newark, New Jersey and remains there today. Lata Reddy, Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility, says that th

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin. Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2hOZLc9. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. ----------------- Upstart Co-Lab is a nonprofit that has partnered with the Calvert Foundation and Artspace Projects to facilitate impact investments that support artists. Upstart Co-Lab is a startup itself, launching earlier this year. The Calvert Foundation is a leader in impact investing, making such investments accessible to ordinary investors–not just the wealthy. Artspace, also a nonprofit, develops live/work projects for artists around the country. While not seeking to invest directly in works of art, the new partnership is intended to fund businesses that artists often own, being social entrepreneurs by nature. Laura Callanan, Founding Partner of Upstart Co-Lab, says, art is a big part of the economy but n

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin. Read the full GoodCrowdinfo article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2hwsNKp. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. -------------------- Johnson & Johnson, the pharmaceutical behemoth, operates CaringCrowd, a crowdfunding site for global public health initiatives. The platform provides a way for nonprofits and others working in public health to seek funding for their projects. Derek Fetzer, the Director of the program, notes that public health initiatives are chronically underfunded. “A considerable portion of the world does not have access to health care and many local organizations are ideally positioned to help. They possess unique knowledge of the communities they work with, thus understanding which interventions will truly make an impact on the lives of vulnerable populations. However, these organizations face a criti

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin. Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2hxaFjM. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. -------------------- Dr. Paula Fellingham is remarkable for many reasons. Not only has she earned a Doctorate of Education Degree, she did it while she raised eight children and 24 grandchildren. She has also been a talk show host. She is the founder of the Women’s Information Network and of the nonprofit Equity Serve Foundation. She is the author of six books. She seems unstoppable! Never daunted by a challenge, she’s tackled what could be described as the world’s biggest: peace and prosperity. Paula says, “Although hundreds of millions in nations worldwide lack love, prosperity, and peace in their lives, there has never been a better time in history to implement a Global Prosperity and Peace Initi

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin. Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2gWVb8U. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. ----------------------- You don’t sail across the world’s seven seas and summit the world’s tallest mountains without learning something. Martin Frey, the Guinness World Record holder for being the first person to do it, sums up the key to success in one word: “relentless.” Frey, a highly successful business leader who was an early employee at Cisco, says, “I've been an angel investor but am currently transitioning my time and focus towards projects that drive social innovation, and my portfolio towards investments that have a social impact.” He explained key lessons from his adventures that have meaning for social entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders. Climbing the seven summits, the highest peaks on all seven cont

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin. Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2fPolrW. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. ---------------- Nicholas Kristof is a big deal. He is the winner of two Pulitzer prizes, author of two bestselling books, and is a New York Times columnist. He has almost two million followers on Twitter, putting him on a level of Twitter fame with Hollywood actors. Nick covers politics, with a focus on social issues. Each year, Nick holds a contest to choose a journalism student to travel with him to write stories for the New York Times. This year’s winner is Cassidy McDonald. Winning is a big deal. Now she is a big deal. Last year’s winner, Austin Meyer, was a student at Stanford. Like past winners, Austin and Nick traveled to the developing world. Nick Kristof, Larica Compton and Cassidy McDon

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin. Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the int erview here: http://bit.ly/2fPpIXp. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. --------------- Todd Sylvester overcame addiction to create a successful life. Now as a speaker and mentor he helps others trapped by addiction or other behavioral challenges to overcome them. The lessons could be relevant for anyone seeking to overcome any self-limiting challenge. Todd offers three keys to overcoming the challenges in our lives. First, he says, “You’re OK.” “Understanding that you are OK is one of the most empowering truths we can and should embrace,” he says. People are trapped by their self image, he says. “I have found with my clients that the three most common limiting beliefs they hold onto is that they are powerless, broken or damaged, and they are a victim of their circums

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin. Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2giv1Qm. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. ---------------------- Former model Traci Lynn Johnson, wife of Tiki Barber, is making a difference for the autism nonprofit KultureCity. She’s leading the new campaign to help everyone understand that even though those with autism may struggle to use words to express love, they still do. Traci says, “KC is launching a new national campaign called Love Without Words. This campaign is designed to show that while people with autism sometimes have difficulty demonstrating love verbally, it does not mean that they are not capable of love.” Traci Johnson, courtesy of Kulture City Traci Johnson, courtesy of Kulture City “We have launched this campaign with different celebrities, influencers and companies,

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin. Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2g02rAN. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. --------------------- Social entrepreneur Erik Melang is excited about opportunities in renewable energy and his attitude is not dampened by the election of a President who has not been friendly to the environment. Erik is the founder of Distributive Solar and is partnering with Solar Site Design to accelerate growth in the renewable energy industry. Erik is excited to share “the phenomenal opportunity to participate in the new energy economy.” He says, “This transition [to renewable energy] is providing a ground floor opportunity to participate in one of the fastest growing sectors on the globe.” He shares some numbers to make his point: “In fact solar, wind and [energy efficiency] has provided 1 o

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin. Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2fJuB4u. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. ------------------- Per L. Saxegaard of Norway recognized years ago that there was no Nobel Prize for Business. The closest that one comes is the prize for Economics. Saxegaard decided not only to create a prize modeled on the Nobel Prizes, but to focus it on social responsibility, what he calls being “businessworthy.” (Disclosure: I recently wrote an unrelated piece for the Rotarian Magazine, affiliated with Rotary International, which is mentioned in this article.) A former investment banker, Saxegaard founded the Business for Peace Foundation and assembled a team of past Nobel Laureates in Peace and Economics to serve as a the panel of judges. Ten years and dozens of winners later, the Business for Peace Awards a

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin. Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2fhLTp8. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. --------------- When you hear the stories of some people, you are simply impressed. Other times, you hear a story of someone doing something good and you are torn between being amazed and feeling guilty for not having done more. Stephanie Woollard, a Rotarian from Melbourne Australia will receive the Rotary Responsible Business Award at the United Nations on Saturday, November 12, 2016. A Rotary statement says, “In the last 10 years, Seven Women has trained and employed more than 1,000 disadvantaged women in Kathmandu and remote villages of Nepal and impacted 5,000 women through outreach programs.” To better understand how this came about, I asked her how she got started. “As a young girl touring