#plugintodevin - Your Mark on the World with Devin Thorpe

Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/22rrzVD.

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Lance Allred played professional basketball for a decade all around the world, including a stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2008. Born legally deaf into a fundamentalist polygamous family, his life experience has been anything but typical. Now, with his playing days behind him, Allred is turning to social entrepreneurship.

Allred is creating a tech company called Manestream that he says will provide radically faster access to internet resources, allowing users to work directly from the web at speeds approaching the time to access a hard drive. The system will be commercially available any day now.

The bandwidth, the website says, comes via a license to what was the MCI fiber optic network. That will be combined with “patented process of enterprise-grade global cloud servers and secure data storage providers.”

The plan is also to make the system compliant with HIPAA and other privacy standards, allowing medical providers and other users with security use the network.

While the system will work with your laptop, the company also plans to sell slimmed-down devices that access the cloud service and don’t require a hard drive.

Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/22rrzVD.

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Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1R1kz75.

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Ben Block, founder and CEO of GozAround, has pivoted his social enterprise startup toward serving businesses large and small that want to track and report their corporate social responsibility or CSR impact. The goal is to help companies increase, following the old management 101 adage that you get what you measure.

Ben notes that most businesses have some form of CSR to track. “From the small business on the corner to multinationals, a majority of businesses maintain some community or social contribution but struggle to efficiently maximize, measure and share their impact. That is what the GozAround for Business platform hopes to remedy.”

“GozAround has developed a cost-effective platform to allow businesses to find, manage, measure and share employee volunteer initiatives,” Ben continues. “Whether they have existing partnerships or are looking for community needs, GozAround allows employers to engage their staff in volunteerism, measure their impact, and share the positive outcomes as they occur.”

The platform, he says, gives businesses a tool for bragging on social media about the good their employees do. He says, “[The platform] allows them to find communities needs, organize staff participation, gather metrics on employee volunteer efforts (independent and company organized) and share those on existing social networks.”

GozAround is a for profit business with a social purpose. “Our current revenue model is a SaaS platform for corporate CSR. Businesses with employee volunteer programs pay a monthly/annual fee to use the GozAround platform,” Ben says.

“Our social purpose and revenue generation are inextricably linked,” he notes.

Ben’s vision is to see the app serve to build and serve communities. “By providing an efficient means of connecting those in need with willing ‘doers,’ all while both measuring and recognizing those contributions, GozAround will encourage closer, more engaged and responsive communities uniting businesses, individuals and non-profits in a community of those who care,” he concludes.

Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1R1kz75.

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Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1XwH8V6.

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When I first heard the story of the Tempest Two, the two Brits who crossed the Atlantic in a row boat, I imagined that they were competitive athletes who had spent years training for the adventure. Instead, they describe themselves as “two ordinary blokes” who founded a company for great adventure and to raise money for causes they care about.

[Jump to page 2 to watch the live interview.]

The founders of The Tempest Two say their motivation for the trip was manifold, but it certainly included social objectives like raising money for the Make-a-Wish foundation and to fund brain tumor research.

Tom Caulfield, one of the two–I’m not sure whether to say “rowers” or “blokes” here–explains his passion for Make-A-Wish, “I am trying to give young, terminally ill children the chance to touch and feel their dreams, like I have been lucky enough to do. Make-A-Wish Foundation makes those dreams come true, so raising money for them is something I care deeply about.”

James Whittle, the other one, says, “The problem is brain tumours. My mum suffered from a severe brain tumour in 2012 and has made a great recovery. I want to raise support to help fund the research further to benefit others.”

Caulfield explains the accomplishment. “James and I have completed a transatlantic row, 3000 miles across The Atlantic, totally unsupported. Neither of us had ever held an oar or sailed a boat, so we hope we have proved that ordinary people can achieve incredible things.”

Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1XwH8V6.

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Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1QMs2qJ.

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AdaPia d’Errico, Chief Marketing Officer for the rapidly growing Patch of Land real estate crowdfunding site that sponsors the Your Mark on the World Center, shared some wisdom about effective marketing.

Mindful marketing, she says, is key to creating an authentic connection with customers. AdaPia offers three specific tips to help you be more effective in your marketing:

Live and act with intent: Living and acting with intent is a powerful practice to be successful, and the same is true for marketing especially with social media. Rather than thinking of crossing off a to-do list, and automating everything for the purpose of being efficient, spend actual time even if that’s a few minutes, adding thought and intent to your posts. This will result in more engaging, authentic and felt posts, which in turn will bring better results than automating.

Put yourself not only into your customer’s shoes, but also their online persona. The way people operate and behave online is different than how they act in real life. We are all multiple personas, so being in tune with this will help to achieve authentic connection and engagement. Act with laser focused intent – which in the online world can simply mean full attention– our full attention to the customer first, which may earn their full attention as a result.

Create value for your audience. The greatest challenge and opportunity we have today is to create enough value for a potential customer, follower and audience member, to spend dedicated time on what we want to share or communicate. With no barriers to entry for vying for attention, it’s imperative that we focus on quality and spend the time and energy to be highly mindful and attentive–to needs, wants, trends, and desire for authentic connection.”

Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1QMs2qJ.

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Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1pkAjuN.

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Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1nHPGMF.

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Twin threats to economic growth and prosperity can both be addressed by increasing employee ownership, according to Camille Kerr, Co-Director, of Workers to Owners at Democracy at Work Institute.

[Jump to page 2 to watch the live interview.]

The first problem, she explains, is the aging baby boomer generation of entrepreneurs and business owners. “Right now, the United States is in an ownership crisis. As business owners in the baby boomer generation retire, an estimated $10 trillion in assets will be for sale. Because of the flood of businesses on the market, many will not find buyers. The jobs, wealth potential, and services they provided to their community will be lost, and their value will be liquidated. Even those that are sold are often downsized or relocated.”

The second problem is a workforce struggling to get back on the economic track. She says, “Much of the workforce still has not recovered from the Great Recession. In a larger trend that started over 30 years ago, wages have remained stagnant and many Americans are in jobs that lack security and benefits. Their income fails to pay the bills, let alone allow them to own a home or a business.”

Kerr says the answer is clear. “The solution to both sides of this ownership crisis is democratic employee ownership. With employee ownership, selling owners can structure a flexible exit from the business and receive a fair value for their shares, while giving workers the opportunity to accumulate wealth and have a more meaningful work life.”

Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1nHPGMF.

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Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1WdGawI.

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By some measures, the world is awash in cash, much of it available to be invested in emerging markets with a social purpose. For instance, the world’s largest bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, has assets of $3.3 trillion. The constraint on impact investing may be expertise rather than capital.

[Jump to page 2 to watch the live interview.]

According to Dave Richards, cofounder and Managing Director of Capria Ventures an affiliate of Unitus, explains the constraint. There are, he says, “lots of great entrepreneurs in high-growth emerging markets in Africa, Latin America and Asia and very little early-stage risk capital available, so their businesses aren’t realizing their potential in areas such as agriculture, healthcare, education and technology.”

The cause, he asserts, isn’t the lack of capital. He says, “What’s needed are on-the-ground, knowledgeable, capable fund managers who can provide smart capital and support to the best entrepreneurs.”

To address this problem, Richards says, “We have launched Capria Accelerator, the first global business accelerator for impact fund managers. We are taking our experience of building the leading impact seed fund in India along with Unitus’ experience over a decade of launching multiple fund managers to invest in, support and help capitalize new fund managers backing early-stage startups primarily in markets including Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.”

Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1WdGawI.

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Qualtrics, a 2002 startup that since raised a total of $220 million in venture capital in 2012 and 2014 and considered by many to be a unicorn, recently made a $1 million donation to the Huntsman HUN -8.47% Cancer Institute.

While Qualtrics isn’t a social venture, it is interesting to see such an entrepreneurial company embrace corporate social responsibility so enthusiastically.

CEO and cofounder, Ryan Smith, says, “Everyone has been impacted by cancer in one way or another – whether they have fought it or they have a friend or loved one who is fighting. Our goal is to eradicate cancer from the face of the earth. We are honored to partner with Huntsman Cancer Institute to raise funds for cancer research — research that is changing the way cancer is treated, diagnosed, and fought.”

The company didn’t stop with its $1 million donation; that is just the beginning, Smith explains.

Qualtrics and Huntsman Cancer Institute partnered to launch Five for the Fight, a campaign inviting everyone, everywhere to give $5 to the fight against cancer and then to invite five of their friends to do the same. People write on their hand the name of someone who has fought cancer and pledge their $5 to the fight in honor of that person. They then post a photo or video to social media using the hashtag #fiveforthefight, tagging the five friends they are challenging to join the fight against cancer. They then head to fiveforthefight.com to donate.

Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here:http://onforb.es/1R6Aqa1.

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Dr. Dean Ornish, a social entrepreneur at heart, has spent his entire career working improve health through lifestyle changes. Now, he’s partnered with Healthways to implement a program to reverse heart disease without surgery or medication. This radical approach to cardiac treatment is proving the value of collaboration for social entrepreneurs.

Dr. Ornish, who is a familiar name and face in the media, highlights some of the problems with the American health care system. He notes:

Most of the $3.0 trillion spent annually on health care in the U.S. is spent on sick care

A shocking 25 percent of the adult population, 60 million people, are taking cholesterol-lowering drugs

“My colleagues and I have partnered with Healthways to help create a new paradigm of real health care by addressing the personal lifestyle choices we make that are often an underlying cause of many chronic diseases,” Dr. Ornish notes.

Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/21ilncO.

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Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1KKOCTB.

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As baby boomers age, they will need increasing amounts of health care. They are likely to want much of that care to be in home. Most in home care is not covered by Medicare, however. This leaves families looking to contract directly with caregivers.

LeanOnWe is a new online platform that places individual caregivers in homes on a anything from an hourly basis to live-in arrangements.

Founder Ron Gold explains the problem, “Our home care system in the US is broken. Everyone knows the demographics of people living longer and choosing to age at home. Unfortunately the agency system is expensive and restrictive when someone is paying out of pocket. Most people would prefer to hire a caregiver privately but there is no good way to screen these caregivers. It is usually a word of recommendation but little else. No transparency on experience, references, background check, etc.”

Ron says he has the solution. “I’m bridging the gap between the agency and word of mouth models. We are matchmakers. At LeanOnWe.com we have a network of caregivers for families to hire privately. We have met each caregiver and verified their experience and references. Then we give them an FBI fingerprint, help them put together a bio and shoot a video.”

“A family still has the advantage of paying less for a caregiver, is able to choose who comes into their home, is able to control the care without a middleman and therefore the caregiver keeps the money and earns 50% more than through an agency,” Ron adds. “But we will also provide the vetting and backup that people go to an agency for.”

“There is so much change going on today in health care. One of the big demands from consumers is the ability to take greater control of ones own home health and wellness. We view home care in that same vein,” Ron concludes.

Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1KKOCTB.

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