Your Mark On The World

October 30, 2014 - Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1DzQ0yu. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. At its recent fall conference, the Social Venture Network recognized four entrepreneurs with its Innovation Awards. Among the winners was Alfa Demmellash, CEO of Rising Tide Capital. Alfa shared some of her thinking with us. Explaining what it means to be a social entrepreneur, she said, “Being a social entrepreneur means leveraging business principles and sensibilities to create solutions that combat social issues.” "I am passionate about the possibilities that occur when individuals see the world around them differently, and believe they can actually make a difference," she added. "A lot of people have great vision and ideas but are held back by fear of failure and other people’s opinions. You have to inoculate yourself against those internal and

October 30, 2014 - Read the full GoodCrowd.info article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1qzm67F. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. HalalSky is a new crowdfunding platform that focuses on the Muslim market, providing Sharia compliant services.

October 30, 2014 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1FXzL27. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. As we look closer at where the leaders are in the impact investing world, we’re finding more evidence that high-net-worth families and individuals are among those who have the greatest experience in the space. Matthew Weatherley-White runs The CAPROCK Group, a multi-family office that focuses on impact investing. On Thursday, October 30, 2014 at 5;00 Eastern, Weatherley-White will join us for a live discussion about impact investing. Tune in here then to watch the interview live. In preparation for the interview, Weatherley-White explained, “I find the notion that capital markets should not be morally reflective laughable. Of course they reflect our morals. The question is not whether or not they should reflect our morals. The question is ‘What morals do we want

October 30, 2014 - Read the full GoodCrowd.info article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1uzW7Dn. With the recent adoption of laws allowing for ordinary investors in Texas to invest via online crowdfunding portals, the number of Americans now legally allowed to invest that way has jumped dramatically and may be said to be reaching a critical mass. Danny Kelman is eager to see. Danny is the founder of CrowdBoarders, a new crowdfunding site for equity, debt rewards and donations–a one stop cafeteria for all kinds of crowdfunding. And his timing may be impeccable.

October 23, 2014 - Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/ZNmKY4. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. One of the highlights at this year’s SOCAP was the presentation of the Gratitude Awards from the Gratitude Network; Labor Link from Good World Solutions won the Community Development Award. Heather Franzese, Executive Director of Good World Solutions, explains the underpinnings of Labor Link, “There are nearly 7 billion mobile subscriptions globally. That’s nearly one for every person on the planet. Bangladesh has only 8% internet penetration and 70% mobile penetration, so the most vulnerable workers are not online. Labor Link is trying to reach them directly through their phones, or the phone of a friend or family member.” Key employment opportunities in the developing world can be hazardous. “Manufacturing contributes 15% of economic output in India

October 23, 2014 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1nzAz7q. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. “There is a tendency amongst environmentally minded people to view plastics as evil. But they have revolutionized our lives and are here to stay. What is most important is how we use them and how we reuse them – closing the loop rather than dumping them in the oceans to kill marine life,” says noted conservationist and scientist Dr. Nicholas Hill from the Zoological Society of London. He points out that “Unlikely partnerships can sometimes be the most inspiring and innovative.” Apparently, he was thinking about the Zoo’s partnership with Interface TILE -0.8%, Inc., which claims to be the world’s largest modular carpet manufacturer. Together, they are working in partnership called “Net-Works” to eliminate the global marine hazard of discarded fishing nets. “ The ne

October 24, 2014 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1nzxlk4. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. The Hult Prize, arguably the most prestigious student business competition of any sort, awards student social entrepreneurs with a $1 million prize from the Hult Family presented by President Bill Clinton at the the Clinton Global Initiative. The 2014 winner is Manish Ranjan of NanoHealth, a low cost health care provider for slum dwellers. NanoHealth from the Indian School of Business is the first team from India to reach the finals so one can imagine how exciting it must have been for the team to win, beating teams from some of the world’s finest universities.

October 24, 2014 - Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1uxdbVf. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Hult Prize finalist Bee Healthy is looking to revolutionize medical diagnostics by training bees to smell chemical indicators of disease. Founder Tobias Hortsmann explains that “Every disease leaves a unique “footprint” of chemical biomarkers on a persons breath.” He adds, “Bees are 10,000 times more sensitive to chemicals in the air than humans.” He notes that, “Bees can be trained to react to certain biomarkers that are indicative for a disease. They would stick out their tongue when they identify a certain biomarker on a persons breath.” More remarkable, perhaps, than that bees’ sense of smell is that, according to Tobias, "Training a bee takes around 10 minutes and works like the typical classical conditioning (pavlovian conditioning)."

October 24, 2014 - Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1nzw50A. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Todd Schobel heard about the tragic suicide of a young girl who committed suicide after being bullied and decided that he was going to do something about it. He created STOPit, an app to help kids protect themselves from bullying, especially cyber bullying. Todd explains, "There are countless online platforms that give children the opportunity to hide behind their smart phones and computers to victimize others." "My goal is to empower children with an outlet in which they feel safe to stop it. Children will go so far as to take their own lives when dealing with the emotional consequences of cyberbullying and I want to put an end to it," he concludes.

October 24, 2014 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1yZNtzB. 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 Abigail Noble , head of impact investing at the World Economic Forum, “While impact investing has entered the mainstream mindset, it has not become part of the strategy, operations and business culture of mainstream investment institutions. For most investors today, impact investing still needs to be translated from a compelling concept into a sound strategy.” “We are optimistic about the impact investing sector –while it has been hard to do impact investing it doesn’t necessarily need to be,” she added. In order to address this concern, the World Economic Forum has released a new report called “Charting the Course” that provides a series of roadmaps or frameworks that will help investors actually begin to invest for impact. The report, Noble says, o

October 23, 2014 - Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1w6qAJP. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. One of the highlights at this year’s SOCAP was the presentation of the Gratitude Awards from the Gratitude Network; DrinkWell won the award for Health. DrinkWell founder and CEO Mihaj Chowdhury explained why he established the company in Bangladesh, “In water, the more your value chain relies on out-of-country parties, the less likely your product will succeed. By creating a value chain that enables locals to make a margin each step of the way, you can ensure a cash-efficient, scalable business. Minhaj continued, “The best way to crack the problem of distribution in rural regions is to co-opt existing distribution channels. When locals see an immediate opportunity to radically improve their earning ability and standard of living by adopting your pro

October 23, 2014 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/ZNk7FF. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Minda Dentler is a Director of Operations at AIG Multinational. She is also an elite athlete who competes in Ironman triathlons of 140.6 miles. And she’s a polio survivor and spokesperson for Rotary International. Nearly 30 years ago, Rotary began its effort to immunize every child in the world against polio. Its goal to eradicate polio is well within sight. Dentler tells me that, “On World Polio Day, Rotary is streaming a live, worldwide event that begins at 6:30 p.m. CT on October 24th. Tune in at endpolionow.org. The event will feature a global status update on the fight to end polio, the challenges that remain, and how private citizens, corporations, and non-profits can join in the historic final push.” “I’ll be sharing my polio story and viewers will learn ho

October 22, 2014 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1w68VC0. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Infrastructure to support global impact investing is maturing, improving the viability of the model. The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Federal Government’s development finance institution, and Global Partnerships, a nonprofit investing in Latin America for over twenty years, are two examples of mature players in the impact investing space. Elizabeth L. Littlefield, CEO and President of OPIC explains that, “Private capital is essential in development, and business can serve as a force for good in having a positive impact.” She adds, “OPIC has worked to create tools to address market gaps and support impact investors. These include established partnerships with private lenders, risk-mitigation for private investors to enter emerging sect

November 25, 2013 Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Visit Tubestart.com to learn more.

October 20, 2014 - Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/10RrDQD. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Francesca’s Startups for Social Impact: Startups For Social Impact and its sister company, Innovation Lab, equip entrepreneurs who fight disease and poverty. SSI promotes success stories from the field, and creates community for social entrepreneurs. Innovation Lab provides coaching and mentoring to help these businesses achieve sustainability and scale their impact. We focus on heart-based yet measurable metrics, cost management, and scaling. Francesca’s bio: Francesca was born and raised in the Dominican Republic, in between poverty and affluence, in a country where government corruption made generational entrepreneurship the tool for family sustainability. Knowing what it was like to go without, but with a taste for having it all, Francesca came

October 9, 2014 - Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/ZRqmZx. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. The Social Venture Network recently recognized four social entrepreneurs with its annual Innovation Awards. Your Mark on the World will profile each of the four in the coming weeks. Sustaintech makes stoves for Indian street vendors that use less firewood for cooking, thereby emitting less smoke and reducing carbon emissions and deforestation. Founder Svati Bhogle explains, “Sustaintech has improved the financial situation of 2000 food vendors while saving 470 hectares of forest (or 63 million kcals) while growing at 126 % p.a in sales and 81 % p.a in volumes during 2010-13.” She adds, “Each stove in its lifetime will save 2-3 hectares of forests, 230 million Indians derive their sustenance from forests.” She further noted, “Sustaintech enables positi

October 9, 2014 - Read the full GoodCrowd.info article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1xqQ0PQ. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Sean Nasiri is creating an equity crowdfunding platform for his own generation, GenY, and he’s appropriately calling it, “GenYrator.” To explain why he’s focusing on millennials, he said, “More young people are becoming entrepreneurial or electing to join startups, so there needs to be more done to support them. Also, because we are the most powerful generation on the planet.” He’s not only interested in tapping into their entrepreneurial nature, but also wants to tap into their focus on social good, by creating a “mission-driven portal that wants to make investing about more than just returns. We are combining real investments with real positive social impact, but this is NOT a philanthropy, though it can still give you the same good feeling.”

October 9, 2014 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1xqejxo. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Jane Wales, CEO of the Global Philanthropy Forum, is leading an effort to apply the Silicon Valley model of venture philanthropy and impact investing to developing markets, especially Africa and Brazil. Wales explained, “The new generation of North American philanthropists made their wealth at a young age. They are known for their combination of risk appetite and business acumen. These knowledge-hungry change agents are often emblematic of the Silicon Valley culture, where young billionaires like Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, eBay’s Jeff Skoll, Paypal’s Peter Thiel have been as focused, engaged and results-oriented in their philanthropy and they were in building their tech-based businesses. Many, including eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and Google cofounder Larry Page, e

October 9, 2014 - Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/ZRp54J. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. The Hult Prize, arguably the most prestigious student business competition of any sort, awards student social entrepreneurs with a $1 million prize from the Hult Family presented by President Bill Clinton at the the Clinton Global Initiative. There were six finalists named, including WiCare, which develops affordable medical devices for use worldwide. The final judges for the prize included Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus and CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta. WiCare founder Danielle Zurovcik of MIT explained, "Truly global medical devices are hard-to-find. WiCare aims to change that." She went on to say, "We feel that WiCare has a competitive advantage as a start-up focused in the global marketplace. We do not have to change our long-standing corporate c

October 9, 2014 - Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/10RN9og. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. The Social Venture Network recently recognized four social entrepreneurs with its annual Innovation Awards. Your Mark on the World will profile each of the four in the coming weeks. Craig Wichner doesn’t mince words, “The current agricultural system in the US is like the dead parrot from the Monty Python skit: It’s obviously not working. That big ag practices are causing social and environmental harm is well known, yet we continue to plow money into it anyway. It’s time for a new model.” Craig is the cofounder and Managing Director of Farmland LP, one of the four companies winning the SVN Innovation Awards. Farmland LP buys conventional farmland and converts it to organic farmland. In the process, the company says, the land becomes more productive and