Archive for the ‘Entrepreneur’ tag
Jun 5, 2018
Bioquark Inc. — Free Your Mind Podcast — Ira Pastor
Posted by Ira S. Pastor in categories: aging, biotech/medical, business, DNA, education, finance, futurism, health, life extension, neuroscience
Jan 23, 2018
Bioquark Inc. — Staying Alive UK Show — Ira S. Pastor
Posted by Ira S. Pastor in categories: aging, bioengineering, biotech/medical, business, disruptive technology, DNA, futurism, genetics, health, neuroscience
Jan 11, 2018
Bioquark Inc. — Power of Attorney Show — Ira Pastor
Posted by Ira S. Pastor in categories: aging, bioengineering, business, chemistry, DNA, finance, genetics, health, life extension, science
Jul 30, 2011
Naveen Jain — Rethinking Sustainable Philanthropy
Posted by Naveen Jain in categories: business, economics, education, ethics, philosophy, sustainability
There are as many ways to help another human being as there are people in need of help. For some, the urgent need is as basic as food and water. For others, it is an opportunity to develop a talent, realize an idea, and reach one’s full potential. Helping people get what they need most in life is at the heart of successful philanthropy.
However, you can’t simply give money away without thinking deeply about how and where the money will go and why you’re doing the giving. You need to approach philanthropy in a strategic and systematic way—just as an entrepreneur approaches a new venture. That’s the only way to make a self-sustaining difference in the world. That being said, here are five key ways to achieve sustainable success with your philanthropic efforts.
1. Open a Door
Helping people boost themselves out of poverty is the best way to make a lasting positive difference in a person’s life. A new skill, an introduction, an education—these gifts open doors that would otherwise remain closed. A promising beneficiary will walk through that door and create opportunities for others.
2. Define Your Passion
To have enduring impact, your philanthropic efforts should reflect the causes you are most passionate about. For me, one of those things is education: A good education is the most valuable thing you can give another person. My own philanthropic efforts have always included an educational element, whether it’s expanding opportunities to educate a promising mind or extending the brain’s ability to learn. If you follow your own passions, you’ll increase exponentially your chances of sustainable success.
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Mar 20, 2011
Dear Entrepreneur, Stop Dreaming and Just Launch That Business
Posted by Naveen Jain in categories: business, economics, education, philosophy
Common wisdom is that great companies are built by business leaders who out-vision and out-innovate their competitors. However, the truth is that groundbreaking businesses tend to come from entrepreneurs who were smart enough to out-execute everyone else in their space – which means getting products out there and growing a loyal customer base, instead of engineering a product until it’s supposedly perfect.
Microsoft is a great example of company that has succeeded by execution. They’ve rarely been first to market with any of their products, but they’ve successfully brought them to market, figured out how to improve them, and introduce them again and again. This is the approach that puts you in the Fortune 500.
Why do entrepreneurs believe so fervently in the myth that they need to be first to market with a never-before-seen innovation? Because that’s what they’re told in business school. The problem with this piece of wisdom is that it encourages business leaders to wait until the mythical breakthrough business idea is fully formed.
This myth is fed by the public perception of groundbreaking companies as having come out of nowhere to rock the world. But companies like Facebook rarely, if ever, spring into being with no antecedents: MySpace and Friendster were in the market first, but Facebook did social networking better than anyone else had done before. Google wasn’t the first search engine ever; AltaVista probably deserves that title. But Google advanced the search experience to the point that we all believe they were the breakthrough innovator.
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