Friday, January 14, 2011
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
What Does A CEO Do?
I have often pondered this early in my university years. In one of my business classes the professor pulled out the graph to demonstrate the hierarchy and with it role descriptions were so long I could hardly understand. That is also one of the reasons why when we started The Network Hub our business cards did not bear any titles. We figured since we didn’t know what they really mean or what it all entail – we didn’t bother with it.
Fred Wilson a respected investor wrote a great simple post on “What a CEO does” and I had to make sure I share it because I’m not even certain all CEOs know what their job entails.
A CEO does only three things. Sets the overall vision and strategy of the company and communicates it to all stakeholders. Recruits, hires, and retains the very best talent for the company. Makes sure there is always enough cash in the bank.
Read the full entry here, “What a CEO does”
GUEST BLOG POST: The Case For Going To School Yesterday And The Case For Not Going To School Today (Not!)
This is Bobby himself!
Robert Park is a very good friend of mine who is always very opinionated and his latest blog post is fantastic one that I thought I should share.
You can visit his blog at http://www.pakg1.net/
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Seeing that Mark Zuckerberg is the latest billionaire darling of the tech world who dropped out of school (who the heck has multiple books AND a movie made about them while they’re still in their mid-20s?), you have more and more people saying that
; Bill Gates attended riches and glory without finishing school, so can you! Now it’s Mark Zuckerberg. College dropout failure to worldwide fame! So goes the kool aid, ad nauseum.Let’s put this into context, OK?
1. School:
The school that Gates and Zuckerberg quit wasn’t your average Joe Schmoe community college. It was Harvard. It’s hard to get into Harvard. You have to be in the 99th percentile of something, or 95th percentile of everything, to be able to get in. Gates and Zuckerberg were that smart, maybe more. If you’re that smart, you might still make it if you drop out. Most people are sadly not that smart. People like Gates and Zuckerberg are 1 in a hundred million.
2. Field of Expertise:
Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg were programmers. But they were hardcore programmers. According to Outliers
3. Background:
These were privileged kids. Gates’ dad was a lawyer. Zuckerberg’s dad was a dentist. They went to private schools. They got opportunity to develop and learn special things that normal kids don’t. Again, Gates got access to a computer when nobody else even had one. These guys weren’t your average Joe Schmoe kids complaining about homework, trying to get girls, and wasting their lives away. If you read about their lives, you see that they were driven, even as teenagers. They had a type of discipline that the average kid (and average adult) does not have. Heck, Zuckerberg didn’t sell Synapse to Microsoft for $1 million because he cared about what he created. He didn’t sell Facebook for $15 billion to Microsoft when he had the chance for the same reason. These guys were about creating, innovating, and changing the world; they refused to let their visions be compromised. Anybody else would care more about making the quick buck. And changing the world they are because they had the guts to stick to their guns in the face of adversity, the intelligence to architect true innovation and disruption, the drive to pull their audacious visions off, and the creativity to actually see those visions in the first place. These people who are telling kids to drop out of university often have no idea which of those kids will have these attributes; fact is, most kids will not. Again, these guys are 1 in a hundred million. Maybe 1 in a billion. And if you don’t have the discipline to even aspire to get that, you have to really wonder if you’re a contender or a pretender. Because pretenders won’t make even 1 dollar, let alone billions.
I was originally going to post on this subject when I first saw that Washington Post article, but unfortunately lacked time. Well, it’s come on my radar again due to this post. And ironically enough, one point in the Washington Post makes me very worried that there is a certain rationality to quitting school (or not even entering in the first place). This comment from the Techcrunch post is the seed:
Most of the people responding are as much in denial as those kids who think they can all be Michael Jordan. Sure, if you are a clueless idiot who has a good idea, and the social skills to get other people to give you money and build it, you can still succeed, it worked for George W Bush.
But you know, sometimes, we as a society need *REAL INNOVATION*, not the 20th dweeb putting up a hacked up PHP website and blowing through investor money like no tomorrow. We need people doing real research, real engineering, producing things which actually make a difference in the world.
The TechCrunch readership is full of wannabees who of course, don’t care about an education, because their idea of entrepreneurship is a half-ass idea, $15k of capital, and 3 months hacking up a prototype. Are you inventing new battery technology? You think you’re going to do that without formal training in Chemistry? Are you devising a new cancer drug? Think you’re going to do that without an education in molecular biology? Was Craig Venter a guy who didn’t attend college? How about a new class of power efficient 3D rendering, or a new power efficient, high yielding WEBM hardware codec for mobile? How many of you are going to build THAT business?
This reminds me of all the people who say they never use algebra. The purpose of teaching you algebra and calculus is to teach you critical thinking, problem solving, and abstraction, not create a new Fields Medal winner. College does not exist to teach you a trade skill, that’s what vocational skills are for, it’s to expose you to a wide array of knowledge, and teach you learning and thinking skills that will help you in every endeavor.
What’s happening here, is smug self-importance of people who fancy themselves entrepreneurs, who create trivial and mundane products, blowing investor money, and most of whom fail, blowing their level of success out of proportion.
With the exception of some lucky few, and some outright thieves and bandits like Marc Pincus, real success and real innovation come from hard work. We need people to go to school to invent the next great product, and not the next great web 2.0 junk site.
Here’s my worry. The cost of post-secondary education is rising, giving rise to the question whether ROI for post-secondary education is worth the cost. Normally, I’d say yes. But I am increasingly worried that society is more and more short-sighted about what education is and what a job is. And as is normal for free markets, where there is demand, there will eventually be supply. I worry that society no longer cares for giving its children knowledge and the ability to think; rather, they only demand the ability to earn money quickly. I believe that can have severe unintended consequences as the demand for shallow-earning-potential-first education gets fulfilled. I wrote those posts in 2004 and 2005. My perception of education is even worse now than it was back then. Even university may not be able to provide that amazing foundation in chemistry required to develop a new battery anymore, if things keep declining.
Yes, university is supposed to be about learning how to think, not about getting job skills. Heck, after developing my career some odd number of years, I can see how this is even more true. I see even people with MBAs fail at work because they don’t know the first thing about real work, about getting stuff done, about adding value that matters. It’s the attitude, not the pedigree, that’s the most important, especially if the pedigree is garbage. And unfortunately, education may actually be more akin to garbage now than not these days. If you’re going to learn nothing, then why go? My own experience at university gave me a total of four courses that made me feel like I developed:
PHIL 001 – taught me the basics of logic and reasoning
BUS 437 – taught me about complex decision making
POL 241 – gave me a framework for understanding world events
BUS 468 – ignited my interest in information asymmetry (an unintended consequent, as this was an IT case study course)
BUEC 495 – taught me about transaction costs and the Coase Theorem
The value I saw in my university degree can be summed up right there in 5 courses. Now of course there were calculus, statistics, economics, discrete mathematics, computer science, and other classes that were also valuable. But these five were the cream of the crop. The vast majority of them? Well, the experience is epitomized by two courses:
BUS 207 – applied calculus for business economics. Everyone was saying, “OH MAN, THIS COURSE IS SO HARD, THERE’S SO MUCH CALCULUS IN IT!!!” That’s cool, I rock at calculus, course should be a piece of cake. I go into the course. Guess what, we didn’t do a SINGLE derivative or integral the ENTIRE semester! Which part of this was supposed to be calculus?? Heck, what part of this was supposed to be worth LEARNING??
ENGL 105 – course where we read books. I complained to an older friend (an English major) that my English course was basically just a book club, we read the books and discussed them. My friend thinks I’m crazy, “Isn’t that perfect though??” Chee. I experienced more insightful analysis and discussion during my high school English AP class, thanks. If I wanted to join a simple book club, I should go join a book club. I paid like friggin $300 for this course, and that was back when tuition was cheap.
Now tuition is expensive. Really expensive. If the quality of education declines because of the great demand for cheap framed pieces of paper that can say someone can earn money, quality be damned, then why should one go to school? It used to be that degrees meant something special. But there is an increasingly inflated value placed on a degree. The higher demand has caused an increase in supply, but because the demand is after the piece of paper, not the thirst for knowledge, the increase in supply is actually quite low quality. Volume is the game and pumping more students through the system means more revenue for the system. Quality be damned.
If we don’t try to demand high quality, we will lose out in the end, because we’ll get what we demand; it will be a race to the bottom. And for that reason, perhaps it doesn’t make sense anymore for kids to go to university. BUT if one chooses to make that decision, the important question is then: how the heck are they going to get the quality knowledge and critical thinking ability necessary to become successful? I’m not talking Bill Gates successful. I’m talking Joe Schmoe successful. Because if they aren’t able to get that, the next stop is the trailer park, or worse, the street. Fortunately, humanity is resourceful when the chips are down. Hopefully, we can figure something out. People are already trying to fix thingsand they’re starting from the foundation. There goes Gates and Zuckerberg again…. Dang, I’m interested in seeing that other movie. 
For now? Probably a good idea to stay in school. While the value of a university degree is more and more in doubt, I think it’s still worth it. For now. The experience of being in college and growing up with friends you’ll have for life is worth it. And those 5 courses that I cherished were more than worth all the money I spent for getting my degree. Sometimes, something is just so valuable that it’s invaluable, and it makes sense to pay for it and spend time getting it. Especially when you’re not Bill Gates.
Friday, July 9, 2010
An entrepreneurial lesson from a street artist
First I was in awe of his work, then I thought when it rains his work will be washed away. Why did he do it in chalk? Oops forgot sidewalk is government property, you can’t put any permanent art work on it so oil or acrylic is out of the question. Why wouldn’t he do it on a canvas and maybe sell it afterwards? Then I started thinking of all possibilities for him to preserve his work and then it dawned on me – whether he realized it or not, he just taught me a valuable lesson – detachment.
Vancouver Street Artist
A lot of time, entrepreneurs have a hard time accepting criticisms about their ideas. I plead guilty to this; I remember during the first year of our business when we just started, people thought I was extremely stubborn. But for me it was my life, I live, eat and breathe the business. My partners and I took the time to groom it, to nurture it and to grow it. So we get a little defensive when someone criticizes our ideas. While it is important to verify the source of where the criticism is coming from before you take their advice or defend your ideas, it is more important to be quiet for a second and just listen. It is very important to be able to detach yourself for a second from the business to listen to criticisms that could potentially allow your business to go to the next level.
Take a step back and look at the bigger picture, listen to the person who disagrees with you and see if they have validity in their points. Be open to ideas from anywhere.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
What I would say if I met my 17 yrs old entrepreneur-self
Be curious.
Curiosity allows you to absorb everything that is happening around, it create a sense of excitement that you will always experience something fresh but more importantly it will make you ask the question “Why?” and it is with that particular question you begin to find knowledge. Keep watching Star Trek; continue to dream of travelling to a distant galaxy and embrace the unknown but investigate by asking “Why?”
Be playful.
Play doesn’t cost money, play doesn’t involve thinking because play is something you feel like you need to do and you can’t somehow justify it without giggling. Smile often, laugh out loud and be silly. Decorum and improprieties are for the 1800’s ladies who drink tea and wear corsets. A wise lady named Laurel Thatcher Ulrich said, “Well-behaved women rarely make history.”
Be courageous.
Bad thing will happen to you. That is a fact of life; you can feel weak from it but make the decision that the experience will not reduce you. Tremble but forge ahead with courage. Let me tell me how geeky girls are hot in the future so bear with teasing and bullying for now. Keep standing out, shrinking down to be less a person that you are to please others is not.
Be wary of whinning.
If you don’t like something, change it. It is within your power, you are in control of yourself and your mind. You are not a victim of your circumstance. Be proactive, be the change because “We become what we think about all day long” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Believe.
Be yourself, believe in yourself and be still. People will say you are too young, not smart enough, wrong time, wrong place, too much of a girl, too ambitious, too emotional – too much of everything wrong and too little of anything worthwhile. Hush up and believe me, you can be anything you want to be. A lawyer, a microbiologist or an entrepreneur – whatever that path is, you get to choose and you have life’s permission to change your mind. Be still and hear your own voice, believe it as it will guide you – ignore it at your own perils.
Me and my friends at Templeton High School
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Dao Tea: “Farm-to-table” Tea Movement
From the couple of hours he was here, you could instantly tell that he was passionate and dedicated to tea which is exactly what lead him to form Dao Tea.
Pedro started learning about tea in small shops across Guangzhou, where he lived for two years and invested much of his time learning about tea. “I travelled across the province of Zhenjiang (Hangzhou, Anji, Changxing, Qian Dao Hu) to learn about green and flower teas; Fujian (Anxi) and Northern Guangdong (Phoenix Mountain) to learn about oolongs; Yunnan (Yiwu, Menghai and Xishuangbanna) to learn about Pu Ers and to the village of Hwagae in South Korea to learn about Korean green, herbal and balhyo teas.”
His reason to focus on tea came naturally after his travels; “I love Asia, its culture and its people. I’ve always wanted to be a farmer; working with farmers is close to that. I learned to love tea. It’s an art, it’s good for health, and it’s good for Earth (low impact agriculture).”
With Dao Tea, the concept is simple: “from farmer to table.” This is what makes Dao Tea so special – there are no additives in the tea. Pure tea leaves from farms on the mountains of Asia are put straight into the eco-friendly package.
In the end, the tea is good for you and the earth. “The package is eco-friendly while preserving tea in optimum condition. The recyclable aluminum foil bag keeps the leaves fresh and protects them from light; the recycled cardboard keeps the leaves from breaking,” Pedro explains, “my friends at Webb Scarlett deVlam (recently re-named Webb deVlam) in London designed both the identity and package. They graciously supported my new upstart company.”
Dao Tea has been in business for a few months now and Pedro described the process as fun, challenging and something completely new. “The great news is that a large community in Vancouver celebrates life and great food.”
He plans to make Dao Tea the choice for foodies in BC and reach out to yoga communities. “I’m working to create distribution in gourmet food shops like Capers and Meinhardt, fine restaurants (Nu, C) and boutique hotels. And Pedro has a concept in mind for 2011: to open Vancouver’s first farm-to-table tea shop where all food and beverage ingredients can be traced to the famers who produced them.”I believe that it’s critical to maintain a close relationship with the farmers and artisans who are the heart of the company.”
In a longer term, he sees business opportunities related to sustainable energy in Canada, Asia and Latin America. For aspiring entrepreneurs, Pedro leaves a piece of advice: “Drink a lot of tea.”
The Undisputed Queen of Turntables
Leanne turned her overwhelming love for music into her profession. “I was the girl that requested all of the songs that in-turn, annoyed the DJ’s,” Leanne admits. “Why don’t you go buy the track if you love it so much?” DJs would ask. Why not? So, from there, she began her collection of records – vinyl records to be specific.With about 15 years of experience DJing and entertaining large crowds under her belt, she has mastered the art of turntablism so Girl On Wax came naturally to her. “GOW came out of having access to so much amazing talent. It was only appropriate for her to hand pick the talent. “They are all professional DJs with experience in nightclubs, weddings, and corporate events. Besides skill, they all have fantastic charisma and are excellent in any musical situation.”Building up a name for her company with all the talent was one of the harder tasks, she admits, “It was not just me as the voice anymore; I had to be a part of making them heard.” Her hard work and passion for music definitely paved ways for the specially chosen group of talented musicians. The lineup at Girl on Wax not only includes DJs but singers, drummers, saxophonists and more. The tremendous amount of talent under one roof has already caught the attention of celebrities like Jennifer Aniston and Goldie Hawn who have used Girl on Wax for their private parties. The most recent event was spinning for 3 weeks straight during the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. “We had 15 DJs and musicians spinning every single night. It was the best time of our lives. From DJing and playing in the Athletes’ Village and meeting athletes to spinning at BC Hydro’s Club Energy for thousands of people each day,” Leanne proudly tells me.Girl on Wax has a long resume and that may be because they call themselves DJ Chameleons, spinning whatever styles the events call for. “We don’t discriminate; It’s a ton of fun playing Motown, Top 40 , 80’s and Dance Remixes all in one night!”Starting her own company was a huge learning process for Leanne. “[I] kept at it, followed my passion and found a way to be unique in the industry.” She also adds “stick to your niche and be kind to every person you come in contact with!”Right now, you can catch DJ Leanne at Milestones in Yaletown on Fridays and Saturdays, and various Joey’s locations. Soon she’ll be at 560 Club on Fridays from 5pm-10pm and watch out for her at Fleuri at Sutton Place and Society!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Vivian Kooch: Wink Beauty Lounge
We see trends come and go all the time because once a celebrity flaunts in on the red carpet, it’s in stores within the week. But there’s a trend that celebrities have started that seemed to have stayed: eyelash extensions. The need to make their eyes pop in an HD photo is enough reason for women to want them for themselves. There’s been much buzz surrounding it but not many services for it.
But Vivian Go Kooch came around and launched Vancouver’s first specialty spa that offered semi-permanent eyelash extensions. She started her business in 2004 as a mobile service and gave it the short, sweet and appropriate name – Wink. The mobile service then turned into a little studio in 2006 for the public to go to. “I opened it for all my equipment and for those who didn’t want a house call.” And finally, in 2008, it became an open-concept retail boutique beauty lounge in Gastown. The two floors include space for waxing, facials, manicures, pedicures and many other beauty needs. In addition to that she also offers a range of services as add-ons or alternatives to the lash extensions such as lash tinting and brow shaping. Vivian recommends having your manicure, pedicure done at the same time as lash extensions. “It is a great time saver because you are lying comfortably anyways in our recliner.” But having something stuck so close to your eye may be a little scary. “Lash extensions are painless and easy to maintain with proper care,” Vivian ensures, “there are also full strip lashes or alternatives like serums for natural lash growth.”
As a leading specialist in Vancouver, “all the beauty professionals are certified and licensed. We do extensive training on the girls we choose.” Vivian, herself, runs wink with over a decade of experience. “I’ve been in the industry since 1996 so, make-up, hands, feet, removing hair and adding hair to ladies’ faces is fascinating.” It’s not just the service she loves. “What is interesting is the ability to really connect and meet some great people. You learn a lot about the human mind and about yourself when you’re with a client for a few hours. The beauty industry is 50% cosmetology and 50% psychology!” she admits.Being in the beauty industry may look like a breeze but she admits there were some tough times. “The hardest part about opening [the lounge] was trying to transition from a sole proprietor to incorporation. I highly recommend to anyone to start by incorporating from the get-go. A rapidly growing company should be incorporated in the early stages. Paperwork is rough! [Also] I found out later in my business, that you really have to step outside of yourself and be the cause for others to be leaders in your business. As the “Master Organizer”, your job is to organize and re-organize that machine you call your business until it runs the way you want. Throwing a bunch of money at it also won’t make it run any faster or better. However, inspiring people to be leaders in your project and organizing the money coming in, will allow your business to really grow and florish.”With that said, her focus is to set an example. “This year’s theme is all about community, compassion and contribution, so we are spending time supporting our local Gastown businesses by combining forces for special events but also doing volunteer work to help out the less fortunate in the Downtown Lower East Side area.We are also working on a training program and distribution for lash extensions and in talks with the Cosmetology Association of BC to introduce the single lash extension products to future beauty professionals at schools and tradeshows. Also a web-store and second out-of-town location is in the works.”Be sure to stay updated with Vivian on her Twitter and Facebook. Keep your eyes open for a hot pink Wink car around town!
Coworking: The freelancers’ sanctuary
This blog post originally appeared in techvibes.com as part of a series about Coworking around North America.
The popularity of the coworking movement in Canada is gaining ground. An alternative to working alone from home or in noisy cafes, coworking spaces allow freelancers to work independently alongside other professionals in a casual environment designed for work. This week we are highlighting one of Canada’s latest coworking spaces, Calgary’s CoworkYYC.
CoworkYYC was launched late last year by a trio of men: Nik Thierry, Jeff Gibson and Quinton Rafuse. Nik, originally from London, England, arrived in Calgary in March 2009 and worked out of his mother-in-law’s basement. “[I was] becoming even paler than in the damp climates of the UK,” he adds. Jeff is a freelance graphic designer who worked out of his office for a few years. “[I] slowly [started] going stir-crazy with the solitary confinement. But after CoworkYYC, “[ I’ve] been successfully re-learning to speak out loud (and get responses).” Last but not least, Quinton Rafuse; an oil & gas professional who is interested in innovation and technology worked downtown before CoworkYYC opened. He situated himself at the space to house his energy start-up.
Their reasons for opening up a coworking space are just as diverse as their backgrounds. Through a spectrum of reasons, in the end, it brought them to the same place. “After discussing the idea, we decided that the only way to get things underway was to look around and create the space ourselves. If you want to stay fresh and involved in your work you need a routine, and it really helps if you have a dedicated work environment,” agreed the entrepreneurs. “Our main goal is to create a working environment that gives people the space and social interaction that you can’t get from being home alone.”
Freelancers will find that discipline, focus and productivity are present in a coworking space. “We have discovered here is that people are finding they are getting their work done more efficiently, as the distractions of home (the pile of dishes to be washed, the unmade bed, that 10 minutes of bad morning TV) are being LEFT at home,” Nik points out. “With CoworkYYC based on the edge of the city’s centre, we’ve found that some workers can walk to work, and for those that drive, there isn’t ever any gridlock on the journey in.”
This easily accessible space houses a lot of different skill sets. “The majority are in the creative field, as the world of freelance fits in very well with the creative set,” explains Nik, “We’re pleased, though, to have quite a bit of diversity in our clients’ professions and skill sets – we have graphic designers, front and back-end web designers, an interior designer, a structural engineer and advertising/marketing people. Alongside these we’ve got an HR specialist, two international vocational trainers, a grad student and a communications professional specializing in emergency management plans.” On the whole it seems that almost anyone can use the space. “Though we’d probably draw the line at heart surgeon,” jokes Nik.
With a dynamic collection of creatives in one space, the first collaborative project started just a couple months after their launch when one needed a brand identity, printed stationary and a website. “The people who could do this work [were] sitting only a few desks away. It was a nice short trip across the office to talk the job through and get things underway,” explains Jeff.
The space is almost filled up after half a year into business. “We’ve only got six desks left until we reach capacity in our current floor plan, so we’re already drawing up options for the space to make it more efficient from a business perspective as well as for our clients’ needs,” says Quinton. The most recent announcement at CoworkYYC is a daily drop in rate for people that aren’t able to commit to a whole month or simply want to try the space out. There’ll definitely be a great vibe with the light-hearted and laid-back creative bunch behind it all.
Coworking: It’s a Learning Space
This week, we bring you a fairly new coworking facility founded by Chad Ballantyne: The Creative Space – a casual and laid-back place with a level of professionalism that is perfectly suited to bring out creativity, productivity and discipline while still including camaraderie. “The idea was to have a place where people can relate, collaborate and create,” he says. Nestled on Dunlop Street East by the water in Barrie, Ontario, the space is in a prime location for business start ups and entrepreneurs.
And like any coworking space, TCS includes the basic fundamentals: a meeting room, kitchen, bathroom and high speed internet. But the atypical placement of a foosball table in the middle of the room ensures a relaxed atmosphere. Fitting, as coworking spaces are meant to relieve some stress from the home office.
Since the launch early last year, Chad has gathered almost twenty full time tenants: graphic designers, a photographer, children’s worker, public relations, social media marketer, web developers, writers… and the list goes on. The wide range of tenants gave us a bit of insight on how TCS is helping their business run smoothly.
A business developer finds TCS very stimulating and healthy, adding that it provides a level of professionalism when talking to potential clients.
“I’m able to work but love that I can ask for help, suggestions and opinions,” states another tenant. “I have people around to ask a question or get help for a problem I have searched tirelessly for the answer to. I also am able to give back with my advice, experience and business savvy.”
In a space that is social and open, productivity increased and networking was made easier as referrals were made out of the office. “I had no one to bounce ideas off of working in an office. Now I parade my clients happily though our bull pen of creatives working away quietly or loudly depending on the moment.” For that reason, coworking exists. It relies on a team of people who make work social. Simply put, this is what coworking is all about.
“I’ve made a lot of new contacts, and I am constantly meeting new people. The interesting part is the way that many of the independent businesses collaborate, refer, and piggy-back off of each other in a way that consistently generates new clients and projects for almost everyone who enters the space.”
One tenant stated that working independently doesn’t provide an opportunity to ask questions or learn from others. And perfectly rounded out that TCS is not just a workplace but it’s a learning space.
Though a year of business has passed by, TCS’s one year anniversary was April 9th to be exact – the potential for the space is still a goal. The team hopes to see a working pod for 3-4 coworkers to interact and work. The expansion of TCS is always on mind. “It would be great if it could keep expanding as I really enjoy the creative environment and learning from others.”
The possibilities of the Creative Space are vast and endless. They believe that the coworking model will guide most of the businesses in the future. “When you think of all the positives to it, our clients are happier, we are happier; we have bigger bottom line results. How could it get any better?”
Social Space for Social Change
Coworking, as we’ve mentioned, is a movement that brings entrepreneurs and freelancers together in one space to share values and creativity while still being independent. Like all coworking spaces, you are sure to meet and discover new and different companies. This week, we are bringing you 10 Carden - a quiet congenial space where one can share what they’re doing or planning with like-minded people.
Julia Grady & Annie O’Donoghue opened 10 Carden in downtown Guelph, ON because they knew there was a real opportunity at hand to create an inviting multi-purpose meeting space and office space for organizations that didn’t need a full-time office. “We realized that a lot of organizations struggle with day to day sustainability, and that a shared space could alleviate some of the work, leaving them with more time and resources to do their work. And fundamentally, we believe that all groups have so much more to gain from working collaboratively,” says Julia.
10 Carden’s space is a bit different than most; they focus on not-for-profit organizations that help develop social change. “It made the most sense for a NFP to be working to bring together other NFPs, incubate new ones and also work with the for-profit social change businesses,” Julia explains, “Time, effort and funds put into 10 Carden all go to furthering the mission of the organization and we’re able to harness more community power this way. If 10 Carden wins, we ALL win.”
Being nonprofit, they have a committed team of volunteers to operate the space. And membership is not exclusive to NFPs: “We don’t make a distinction between [them]. It’s the long-term goal of social change that is the driver. The for-profits we support are generally small business or emerging social entrepreneurs,” says Julia.
The community is made up of individuals and members working on social change. “[They] are [all] very community-minded, collaborative, open to sharing and innovative. Expressive, fun, passionate and plugged-in are all other ways we’d describe our members. You’re going to discover a new social change project/workshop/group that tweaks your interest. This is where the real potential is.”
All members go through a detailed application because “part of [their] long range plan to harness the collective energy of all our member organizations. So, knowing about their missions are size, sustainability, etc is key to us being able to move forward together.”
To encourage growth and movement, individuals and organizations at the space can make requests for things they would want to add; programs they’d like to see run, ideas for expansions, and other services. They even have filing cabinet space members can book, a shared fax/printer/copier, a store-front window display and a projector & screen with seating for 50. The space also hosted an art show and sale that showcased original art, photos and poetry celebrating big tree(s) on March 20th.
The expansion of 10 Carden is still underway. “We see the public meetings, discussions, workshops offered by both 10 Carden and our list of more than 30 organizations as something that will continue to grow over the next year.”
