Photo Courtesy of: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Back in October, I brought you the story of a young Indian-America entrepreneur who was in a desperate search for a bone marrow donor to save his life. Tweeters and Gamers from all over the world united on the Internet in order to support his search. His story was posted by CNN, the Manhattan Local News and many other news organizations in hopes of finding life saving treatment for the acute case of leukemia of which he had been diagnosed in September. Although he was receiving chemotherapy, he would not survive without a bone marrow transplant.

Thirty two year old Amit Gupta is a technology entrepreneur and the founder of Photojojo as well as Jelly. As soon as he received the diagnosis from his doctor, he knew that it would take a lot of work and ingenuity to save his own life. He needed a bone marrow donor who was of South Asian descent. This was bad news for him since the national donor registry does not cover this race as much as others. South Asian is one of the races that are highly encouraged to donate to the national registry because of the lack of donors so desperately needed. There are currently many people of South Asian descent who are looking for a bone marrow donor.

So Gupta, with the help of his friends, family and eventually complete strangers on Twitter and Gamers, mounted a huge social network campaign on such sites as Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. People from all over the world joined the search and rallied the troops, spending their own time online sending out the message that would save a man’s life. It was good for Gupta that he was already connected with a group of technology entrepreneurs, which was a definite help in jump starting his campaign. Gupta’s own posts in his Tumblr account were reported thousands of times as people all over the globe joined in the hope that a donor would be found.

A website was even set up called Amit Gupta Needs You, where information on how to be tested to see if your bone marrow was a match was posted. Influential blogs, such as those by Jason Kottke, Seth Godin and Jacob Lodwick picked up the story and even managed to offer a reward of $30,000 (USD) for anyone who was a match, according to Business Week. Over 100 drives were eventually organized by those friends, family members and strangers. Celebrity call outs and over 7,000 reblogs, Tweets and posts on Facebook were added to the press releases, fundraising events and international blood donor drives, Gupta shared on his own blog. He thankfully told his readers, “You all literally helped to save my life. (And the lives of many others.)”

This thanks comes after the announcement that Gupta has a 10/10 matched donor. While legislation was under consideration in America that could vastly limit the public’s use of the Internet , a huge, worldwide following was using the Internet to save lives. Gupta reported to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute on Thursday and will be there for the next four or five months. He will be given medication and nutrients to help his body prepare for the treatment, and more chemotherapy. Next Friday, the stem cells of the donor will be placed into Gupta’s body via IV, and according to dailydealmedia, he will also receive immuno suppressants that will help keep his body from rejecting the bone marrow. These treatments will continue for the next year to year and a half.

Upon being admitted, Gupta wrote, “This is science fiction stuff. I can hardly believe it’s even possible, and there’s lots of chances for things to go wrong. It’s frightening. I’ve got a long road ahead. But I’ve got a donor & amazing family & friends. A few months ago I didn’t have many options. Today I have a plan. I am alive. I start tomorrow. Wish me luck! Thank you.”

Angela Kaye Mason is an online researcher, writer, and contributor at entrepreneurweek.com blog network. She may be reached at eweekcomauthor@gmail.com. Follow Angela on Twitter. Find her on Facebook .

©2012 entrepreneurweek.com, all rights reserved.

Photo Courtesy of: Sayan Samana / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

“If you’re doing something worthwhile, chances are you don’t know what you’re doing and nobody can tell you the right way to do it.”

Sonaar Luthra

When an 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the world watched in horror. It started at 2:46 in the afternoon and struck in a part of the ocean’s bed which was devastatingly shallow, two hundred and fifty miles to the northeast of Tokyo. Railroad tracks became threads, nuclear facilities became life threatening due to their damage, oil refineries exploded and debris rained down on the shocked people below. As if this disaster weren’t enough, a tsunami soon followed, which made the destruction from the earthquake almost forgotten in comparison.

A river of flaming homes came crashing through a small town while its citizens raced to higher ground, recording the devastation on their smart phones. One photograph stands out vividly. It showed a young woman sitting alone on the ground in torn clothes, her mouth opened in screams of nonacceptance and behind stretched miles and miles of nothing but debris and death. But that was just the beginning of the horrors which Japan was to face.

Millions were left homeless, their loved ones missing, a ship carrying one hundred people simply vanished as if it had never existed and those nuclear power plants began to release life-threatening amounts of radiation which contaminated the food sources, milk and tap water of the broken country. According to The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), by March 20, there were an estimated 1,016,069 people without water and if they found any water, there was no way for them to tell if it was safe to drink.

When disasters such as the Japanese and Haitian earthquakes or others such as Hurricane Katrina strike, everyone’s main concern is usually rescuing survivors and providing shelter for those left without homes. Some may fail to realize the danger that still lurks for those survivors long after the immediate threat has been averted. Illness and death can be lying in wait in something as simple as the drinking water. And just as in under-developed countries, many are left drinking contaminated water that could make them seriously ill or even kill them.

As explained on ‘ted.com’ it is difficult to tell if water is safe to drink after a crisis. The tests that are currently used are slow and very complex…and yet, the delay that this causes can be deadly. A devastating cholera outbreak in Haiti after the earthquake that took place there in 2010 is just one example of such problems. But an entrepreneur by the name of Sonaar Luthra has invented a simple tool that can quickly test water for safety. He calls his creation, “The Water Canary.”

An article posted by Karen Eng on ted.com shares and interview with Luthra. In it, Luthra explains the idea behind his creation, “’So the idea behind the Water Canary was an inexpensive gadget that could instantly tell you whether your water was safe or not with a red light or green light, so you don’t have to be literate to use it. Over time, it occurred to us that what we really had was something that could transform disaster response with real-time information. This was right around the time when the Haiti earthquake happened. In emergencies, the assumption that every aid organization has to make is that all water is unsafe. And that leads to the entire response being completely inefficient. They never really know where help is needed. So it means you end up sending too many supplies to places that don’t need them, and that there’s never enough in areas that do.’”

Luthra and his team worked to expand on the initial idea of the Water Canary, which simply tested for bacteria, and made it so that it can detect nutrient pollution, volatile chemicals and microbiological contaminants. As Luthra went on to share in his interview with Karen Eng, “’The Water Canary uses spectral analysis — essentially shining light through a water sample and measuring what it absorbs — to form conclusions about what’s in the water. It’s fast and uses a microprocessor, so the raw data is captured in the unit, making it easy to transmit in real time. The GPS-tagged data can then be instantly transmitted, so that water safety information can instantly be shared with the world. This makes it possible to quickly identify and respond to hazards — protecting people and the environment and preventing full-scale disasters. Every other effort to link mobile phones to water testing has involved someone entering it into an application. The moment you introduce that step, it’s far less likely that the data will ever be shared, or accurate.’”

Luthra and his team are currently working on getting the device ready for field testing. He is raising the needed funds to make his dream a reality, and doing everything he can to not only build the best device, but the best community as well. He has designed the Water Canary device to be handheld and easy to use, and says, “’I think about Water Canary devices the same way I think of flashlights and smoke detectors: they’re for everyone. Since they’re easy to use and affordable, I don’t see any reason why everyone shouldn’t have them.’”

Angela Kaye Mason is an online researcher, writer, and contributor at entrepreneurweek.com blog network. She may be reached at eyesofananjel@gmail.com. Follow Angela on Twitter. Find her on Facebook.

©2012 entrepreneurweek.com, all rights reserved.

Credit: Carlos Porto / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In 2006, Gary Vaynerchuck was a thirty five years old, living in New Jersey and working
for his family’s wine business. Since then, he has created his own media empire,
according to the ‘Sioux City Journal’, and he didn’t use anything but social media and
free software. He also managed to turn his father’s liquor store, located in Springfield,
New Jersey, into a huge retail wine shop which he named the ‘Wine Library’.

Didn’t Want to Learn the Technology

According to Wikipedia, Gary Vaynerchuk was born in Babruysk, USSR on November
14, 1975. He became an internet celebrity of sorts after utilizing the social media of the
web to boost his career in winery. He states that as he was working in the family liquor
shop, he realized just how quickly the internet was becoming social. ‘The Sioux City
Journal quotes him as saying, “I saw Digg and MySpace and Twitter and they were easy
to understand. I didn’t want to learn the technology behind them, but why consumers
cared about them so much.”

Wine Library TV

With this in mind, Vaynerchuk launched a plan which would market a product that he
loved and knew about…wine. ‘Wine Library TV’ began on YouTube as a daily review of
wines. He also posted the videos to his blog. It was not long before he found quite a
following to his down to earth advice on wine. The debut of the show was on February
21, 2006, and was produced every day, Monday through Thursday from the desk in
the office of Vaynerchuk. The Friday episode was usually shot from his couch. He and
his guests shared reviews of wine appreciation, wine tastings, and much more on the
subject. Monday through Thursday, he would normally taste three or four different
wines, but Fridays usually consisted of tasting only one wine, and answering questions
which were posted on his app in Facebook, ‘Ask Gary’. Up to ninety thousand viewers at
a time could watch ‘Wine Library TV’.

The Daily Grape Show

Gary’s show aired for one thousand episodes, with the last one showing on March
2011. Soon a new show which was very similar began to air, called ‘The Daily Grape’. It
was a bit shorter, and featured only a couple of wine reviews, and fewer guests than
his former show. Gary uses the one hundred point scale to rate wines, and shares his
opinions. He does not approve of numerical scores and admits that by using them, he is
somewhat hypocritical.

Book: ‘Crush It! Now is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion’

Gary’s wine shows online soon had the exact effect he was hoping for. His following
gained national attention, and soon he was asked to appear on television shows such
as Conan O’Brien, and Ellen DeGeneres. He has been featured in ‘GQ’, ‘Time Magazine’,
and the ‘Wall Street Journal’. He signed a book deal for ten books with ‘HarpoStudio’,
which was worth over a million dollars, in March of 2009. His first book, entitled ‘Crush
It! Now is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion’, was released that October.

This book made it to the number one spot on the Amazon Best Seller list for books on
web marketing within the first few weeks of being released. It was soon number two
on the New York Times Best Seller List, and number seven on the best seller list of the
Wall Street Journal. In his book, Gary explains how to follow your passion, and use the
free marketing tools which are available on the internet to profit from them. His second
book, ‘The Thank You Economy’ is due out in March.

Study Your Target Audience

Gary insists that anyone can do what he has done. He says that success is possible
if someone can share their story in a way that engages their listeners. Gary
states, “Success is a lot more about listening than talking. I (listened) to search out
things that I was interested in (as social media emerged). If you listen instead of talk,
you are more likely to succeed.” As any new entrepreneur should know, it is in listening
that you can discover exactly what holds the interest of your target audience, what
products they will buy, what services they need, and how you can be successful at
providing them.

©2011 entrepreneurweek.com, all rights reserved

Angela Kaye Mason is an online researcher, writer, and contributor at entrepreneurweek.com blog network. She may be reached at eweekcomauthor@gmail.com. Follow Angela on Twitter. Find her on Facebook .

Credit: africa / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

According to ‘Wikipedia’, the average literacy for a woman in Tangail, Central Bangladesh is little more than twenty-two percent. Most of the girls born there grow up to be the “house wives” of farmers, which is a physically strenuous life. Subsistence farming is almost the only type of employment in the area, and most of those jobs go to men. The thought of a woman becoming an entrepreneur, and going into business for herself is a dream, a fantasy which most would never even imagine.

Dare to Dream

A report in the ‘UCA News’ site, an independent Catholic New Source from Asia, shares that not only did Francila Nokrek of Sujon Jengcham, Tangail dare to dream that dream, she made it a reality. Francila’s local parish, which is St. Paul’s in Piracha, was there to help her get started making her living from her own business. She is a Garo tribal Catholic who hand looms traditional clothing which is purchased by Bengali and tribal people. The customers seem more than thrilled to buy her designs, according to the UCA News site.

Francila is thriving in a place where about half of the population work in the agricultural field. These people plant jute, potatoes, paddy, sugar cane, linseed, sesame, wheat, pulse, and mustard. They also produce such fruits as pineapple, litchis, bananas, jackfruit, and mangoes. Other than vegetable and fruit farming, the citizens of the area work in fisheries, dairies, poultry farms, weaving, and other industries. The world famous “Tangail Saree” is also produced here. This beautiful handloom saree is made of cotton and silk and is purchased by females from Bangladesh and India living all over the globe. But the chance of a woman being able to start and sustain her own business here is almost none-existent.

Francila was born to the parents of nine children in a very poor society. All nine of those kids, including Francila, quit school by the eighth grade. She shared that her fate seemed to be in becoming a rural housewife like all of the other women in her community, but she had a dream…to be self-employed. Francila went on to explain how she had fought to make that dream come true, not only for herself, but for other women in her community as well.

Entrepreneurship Work

Francila gained the education she would need for her trade in much the same way that an apprentice would. After dropping out of school, she went to work for several different places which not only produced clothing, but handicrafts as well. Through these jobs, Francila was able to learn the sewing and crafting skills which would become so important to her position as an entrepreneur. As hard as she worked, however, she was not able to save enough money to start the business of her dreams. That is when the church stepped in to give Francila her miracle.

The Parish had announced plans to come up with a program which would help unemployed women. Francila took her idea to them, sharing that if she were able to start her business, she could hire some of those women as well. A spokesperson from the Church shared that Francila’s determination and desire were very convincing, and helped make the decision to help her. In 1997, with the financial help from the Church, she was able to open her hand looming business.

She currently employs fourteen women who earn about one thousand dollars a month. This is a very profitable amount of income for people from that area of the world. Maloti Nokrek, who is the president of one of the local groups for local tribal women, shares how proud the Achik Michik Society is of Francila. Her business is not only helping the women in the community, but also is helping to preserve their local way of life, and their tribal traditions.

Francila explains her hopes and dreams for the future. She wants to see even more women become entrepreneurs, and have the chance to become financially independent. She also hopes that her efforts to preserve the heritage of their culture will encourage others to do the same.

Angela Kaye Mason is a researcher, writer, business woman, and contributor at entrepreneurweek.com blog network. She may be reached at eweekcomauthor@gmail.com. Follow Angela on Twitter @AngelaKayeMason!

©2011 entrepreneurweek.com, all rights reserved

Credit: Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

‘Forbes’ Magazine has just released their list of the ’25 Highest Paid CEO’s', based
on stock options, bonuses, salary, and other perks. Those results were based on
calculations which were made through the 6th of September, 2011. Number two on their
list is none other than Ralph Lauren, whose annual salary is almost sixty-seven million
dollars. Not bad for an entrepreneur who dropped out of college.

The Beginning of an Empire

According to ‘Wikipedia’, Ralph Lauren was born as “Ralph Lifshitz” on the 14th of
October in 1939, in Bronx, New York to Jewish Immigrant parents Fraydl and Frank
Lifshitz. When he was just twelve years old, Ralph Lifshitz was still sharing a bedroom
with his two brothers. His mother raised the three boys while their father painted
houses. Ralph earned money from a job which he had after school, and saved it to buy
expensive suits when he was still in junior high. He took that fashion sense on into
adulthood, and created an empire.

By the time he was sixteen years old, Ralph’s brother, Terry, had his and Ralph’s last
name changed to “Lauren” to avoid the constant degrading that their name brought
in the English language. Although he graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School,
Lauren went on to Baruch College to study business, but he dropped out before getting
his degree. His entrepreneurship had already begun, however slowly, and his fellow
students could remember him selling ties to them as young as high school. In his high
school year book, when asked what he wanted to be when he graduated, under his
picture Lauren wrote, “a millionaire.”

After dropping out of college, Lauren went on to serve in the Army of the United
States for two years. Although he never attended fashion school, Lauren went to
work at Brooks Brothers as a salesman. Taking his small necktie selling dream and the
financial support of a fifty thousand dollar loan from Norman Hilton, who was a clothing
manufacturer in Manhattan, Lauren started his own store where he sold wide ties
which he designed himself. His “Polo” brand was chosen by Ralph and his older brother
because it had always been such a powerful and stylish name. Ralph would later go on
to buy the “Polo” name from Hilton.

Entrepreneurial Persistence Triumphs

During the 1960′s, Bloomingdale’s refused to sell Lauren’s ties unless he took his name
off of the label and made them thinner. Instead of giving in to the demands in a panic,
Lauren stuck to his convictions, and refused. He stopped selling his ties to them. But
neither his brand, nor his ties died out. Instead the tie-selling business flourished, and
Bloomingdale’s was soon asking Lauren to come back, and sell to them again, according
to ‘informant’.

By 1970, Lauren was already winning awards for his men’s line, when he was given the
COTY Award. Soon after, he released his new line of women’s power suits as well. It
was also in the seventies that the Polo logo was first seen, on the cuff of those women’s
suits. The well-known “Polo Shirt” was born in 1972, and was released in twenty four
colors. In 1983, Lauren’s business spread to home décor, such as pillows, bed and
bath products, as well as the jeans, children’s clothes, and accessories that his fashion
business added.

By 2007, there were over thirty five Ralph Lauren boutiques in the United States.
According to ‘biography.com’, Lauren has been given many awards, including the
Council of Fashion Designers of America award for Lifetime Achievement in 1992,
Women’s’ wear Designer of the Year in 1995, and Menswear Designer of the Year in
1996. A young son of Jewish immigrants had a dream, to become a millionaire, and
although he started small, selling neckties, he did not give up when Bloomingdale’s
refused to sell them. Lauren kept going, and built a billion dollar business which earns
him sixty seven million dollars a year.

Angela Kaye Mason is a researcher, writer, business woman, and contributor at entrepreneurweek.com blog network.
She may be reached at  eweekcomauthor@gmail.com. Follow Angela on Twitter @AngelaKayeMason.

©2011 entrepreneurweek.com, all rights reserved

Credit: dan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As the Chief Executive Officer of Motorola, Bob Galvin headed over the development of the integrated circuits which would later lead to the Apple world of ‘i’s. According to a post in the ‘Washington Times’, although his death was not as noticed in the world, Galvin’s accomplishments made Steve Jobs and the world of iPhones, Macs, iPads, and more possible. In some sadly ironic news, Bob Galvin has passed away within a week of Jobs. He was eighty nine years old.

It was Bob Galvin’s dad, Paul, who started Motorola, after he got the patents for a car radio, as well as the rights to the company name from William Lear, who was also an amazing entrepreneur. (Lear would go on the create the Lear Jet!) Bob took over the business from his dad in 1959, and became the CEO of Motorola. He is one of the pioneers from the ‘Total Quality Control’ concept. ‘The Washington Times’ calls Galvin “the Steve Jobs of his era, the 1950s through the 1980s.” Although he was more the type to remain in the background quietly, but along with Motorola, he has made a tremendous impact on the technological world.

Paul Galvin passed on his two rules of entrepreneurship to his son. Those rules were:

1 Do not fear failure. Fear of failure can prevent a potential entrepreneur from taking risks.

2 Recognize the sign, and the possibility of failure. Have an exit strategy, and quickly cut your losses when you see that a new project will not be profitable.

The very first “walkie talkie” which was used by the military, was created by Motorola, under the leadership of Bob Galvin. The technology from this device eventually lead to the development of other devices such as the cell phones we all use today. Without Bob Galvin, there would likely be no iPhone, no Droid, no smart phones.

During his time at the helm of Motorola, Galvin took Motorola from a successful two hundred million dollars in sales to a global company which had sixty seven billion dollars in sales when he retired in 1986. He hired professional management, and impressed upon them that they had proprietary interest in the success of Motorola. Galvin, alongside an engineer from his company created the well known ‘Six Sigma’ type of quality control system.

This control system is often associated with GE, but as The Washington Times explains, Galvin utilized it, knowing that providing better quality control than the Japanese was the only way to become better than them. Galvin is also said to be one of the very first entrepreneurs who saw the opportunities which existed in the Asian market, as well as other continents. Just to open up the Chinese markets for Motorola products, Galvin invested one hundred million dollars.

Communication systems for police forces, cable television boxes, cell phones, hearing aids, pagers, cell phones infrastructure systems, and many other wireless devices were created while Galvin was in charge at Motorola. The groundwork for today’s missile guidance systems was also laid by Galvin.

Even after retiring, Bob Galvin was still an important entrepreneur. He founded two think tanks which focused on energy and transportation, and also started a real estate company after he left Motorola. He was said to have instilled integrity into his business, and gained respect from the world. His main requirement for employees was that they be honest as well as trustworthy.

It is the drive, vision, determination, and bravery of men like Steve Jobs and Bob Galvin that has taken the world of technology beyond the wildest imaginations of the minds of people from their era. It is the ability to see a dream, and bring it to pass which makes a great entrepreneur succeed. Embarking on making your vision come to life, and being brave enough to see it through is what being an entrepreneur is all about. The effect that vision can have on the rest of the world can be life-changing, and most definitely worth the price paid by those who made it happen.

Angela Kaye Mason is an internet researcher, writer, and contributor at entrepreneurweek.com
blog network. She may be reached at eyesofananjel@gmail.com.

©2011 entrepreneurweek.com, all rights reserved

Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos

Reports from ‘CNN’ and ‘Manhattan Local News’, as well as many other news sources are sharing the story of thirty two year old technology entrepreneur and founder of ‘Photojojo’ and ‘Jelly’, Amit Gupta. Amit received some very bad news during the end of September. His doctor called and informed him that he had acute leukemia and would need serious treatment immediately. Although Amit is already receiving chemotherapy, it will not be enough. In order to live, he will need a bone marrow transplant. Using social networking sites, and blogs, Amit is searching desperately for a bone marrow transplant that is of South Asian descent.

Donor Transplant Match Needed

It is rare to find someone of this ethnicity, because the national donor registry does not cover it as well as other races. Patients in need of a bone marrow transplant are much more likely to match with people from their own race because the markers which determine a match are inherited. South Asian is one of the races which are encouraged to donate to the national registry because of the low number of donors which they currently have.

Amit has a brother who is currently waiting to find out whether or not he is a possible match. While they wait, friends of Amit from New York, and former roommates of the young entrepreneur have united to help look for more potential donors. The more he has, the greater his chances are that one will be a successful match. One of his friends from Brooklyn explains that they are not looking at this as a tragedy. Tony Bacigalupo says that they did not take the news with an attitude of grief. Instead they immediately decided to do something about it, to save him. Amit went straight to his Tumblr page and began to blog about his need.

Amit admits that he was terrified when he got the news from his doctor, as anyone would be. He packed a backpack with clothing, and immediately went to the hospital per his physician’s instructions. That first night, Amit was given transfusions all night long. To pass the time, he searched for information about his illness online, and discovered that if he had not found out when he did, he would have been dead within a few weeks.

Amit is by far not the only person of South Asian descent who is looking for a bone marrow donor to save their lives. Many may be afraid to take the test to find out, because they simply do not know how simple it is. A free bone marrow test can be received in the mail, and all that you would have to do is swab your cheek, and send the swab back to the National Marrow Donor Program. There are literally thousands hoping for a match at this moment.

When Amit received the news from his doctor, he was living in San Francisco, California. He is now back in Connecticut, where his family is from, being treated at a hospital there. With friends from both New York and California, as well as loved one in Connecticut, and many friends who are gamers, bloggers, and regular users of social networking sites, Amit’s story is being spread as far as possible, hoping for a match.

Mobilizing Social Media

Bloggers who have a great deal of influence have blogged Amit’s story, other friends have launched a campaign on Twitter, and Facebook users are also helping with the search. Drives to push for bone marrow donors have began to spring up all over the country. Seth Godin, who was once Amit’s boss, has offered a ten thousand dollar prize for the first person who is found to be a match. Although it is not legal to pay for a bone marrow donation, this prize does not require that the donor actually undergoes the treatment to save Amit’s life, although they do hope that they will. After the award was announced, two more friends added their own money to the pot, and the prize for the first match will now be thirty thousand dollars.

Twitter campaigners are using the hashtag #IswabbedForAmit to pass the story on. In New York, a “Spirits and Swabs” event will be held on Friday, Oct 14, 2011 to help search for a match. Test kits, photo booth, alcohol, and the chance to become the first match will all be at the party.

After the death of Steve Jobs, one of the most well-known technology entrepreneurs in history, techies are not willing to lose another to cancer. All of the marketing tools which they would normally use for financial gain are now being utilized to save the life of one of their own. Amit will be ready for the transplant in two or three months, so time is critical.

Amit himself pleads the case better than anyone can. He pleads with anyone who will hear him to get the word out in any way that they can. His life quite literally depends on it. For anyone who think that they could be a match, more information is available thru Amit’s blog here http://tumblr.amitgupta.com/day/2011/10/06

Angela Kaye Mason is a researcher, writer, business woman, and contributor at entrepreneurweek.com blog network. She may be reached at eweekcomauthor@gmail.com.

©2011 entrepreneurweek.com, all rights reserved

Credit: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Lidija Mavara is a twenty six year old social entrepreneur from Tower Hamlets. She began her own organization, ‘The Sock Mob’ to help benefit the homeless seven years ago. The group meets once a week somewhere in Central London, bringing along food, clothing, and other basic-need items which they have gathered and share them with the homeless people living in the various areas where they travel. The Sock Mob insists that they are not a charity nor are they a formal group, just a bunch of friends who are trying to make the world a better place. A report from the ‘East London Advertiser’ shares that Lidija will be among the hundreds of people who have volunteered to help out during the London Olympics.

Good works

The Bishop of London began an Olympics volunteer program and began urging people to join up last week. His request asked for young Christians from all over the capital to volunteer for the church, not only during the Olympics, but afterward as well. An article in ‘Christian Today’ shares that the program, known as ‘the2012′ will consist of over two thousand people from age thirteen to thirty five. These volunteers will come from churches and parishes all over the Diocese of London. Training events will be held beforehand, and the volunteers will meet up at the St Paul’s Cathedral next spring to take part in a commissioning service, which will be performed by the Bishop.

Volunteers are needed for anything from passing out cups of water (for free) to the people who are waiting at transportation sites or running activities to keep the children and older kids busy throughout the day. A basketball club has already been put in place by David Talbot, a twenty four year old who welcomes young people from everywhere, whether homeless or wealthy, to meet up and make friends.

These volunteers will also help out at the festivals, and other activities which will center on the London Olympic Games. Food drinks, and friendly help will be offered to those who are visiting during the events. In a speech which he gave at the launch of ‘the2012′ on Sunday at St Paul’s Cathedral, Bishop of London Dr Richard Charles shares that he is always impressed by the remarkable energy which many of the young people in the community have already showed whole being devoted to volunteering. He spoke of young people such as twenty six year old Lidija Mavara and twenty four year old David Talbot.

Service Opportunities: Good for Volunteers and Good for Disadvantaged

The Bishop of London went on to express how ‘the2012′ will be an inspiration to the next generation of Londoners, and bring confidence in the fact that they can depend on these service opportunities during the next Spring and Summer, and on into the future. He is very excited about the commissioning service which he will be presenting next April.

According to the program coordinator, Rev Ruth Bsuhyager, ‘the2012′ will act as some sort of flash mob which will bring support and help to those who are on hand for the events. Aside from the cups of water which will be passed out to the spectators, volunteers will be around to give directions to food, bathrooms, refreshments, etc at the local churches.

Helping out at the Olympics will be a bit different for Lidija Mavara, who is normally passing out warm clothes, socks, food, and more to the homeless as well as spending time with them, and encouraging social interaction among the different classes of people in her area. As a volunteer via ‘the2012′, Lidija will be helping to offer support for those people who live in the capital as well as those who are visiting the area for the events.

Lidija is a Serbian-Croat who comes from former Yugoslavia. She lives on the Isle of Dogs, and was recruited as a volunteer through the St Paul’s church which is located on Bow Common. Aside from bringing needed items to the homeless, and helping them to create social relationships, she also teaches them to become walking tour guides. These homeless people are now using their knowledge of the boroughs of London to earn their own money from tourists via ‘Unseen Tours’. Lidija feels that ‘the2012′ will be inspiring and will help the church to become more involved at a “grass-root level,” which she says it needs to do. She adds that it is very important that the church sets an example of being kind.

Angela Kaye Mason is a researcher, writer, business woman, and contributor at entrepreneurweek.com blog network. She may be reached at eweekcomauthor@gmail.com.

©2011 entrepreneurweek.com, all rights reserved

Credit: Tina Phillips / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The sports industry is becoming one of the fastest growing industries in the world, generating billions of revenues annually. While major corporations or companies continue to dominate the industry, small business companies and entrepreneurs are also getting their own considerable share of the pie, thanks to emerging new needs generated by constant change in lifestyle, attitudes and habits of consumers.

Sports Carving a Niche in Battling Obesity

Governments in several parts of the world are implementing initiatives to promote the importance of living a dynamic, active lifestyle in winning the fight against obesity and cardiovascular disease. According to World Health Organization, since 1980, the number of obese people in the world has more than doubled and that in 2008, 1.5 billion people aged 20 years old and older are overweight and 500 million are obese. These numbers are projected to climb to 2.3 billion and 700 million by 2015, respectively.

In the past, obesity was just a problem in industrialized countries, but now, it is becoming an issue with low per capita income nations. The alarming increase in the number of overweight and obesity cases is creating various health consequences and is dramatically affecting a country’s healthcare expenditures. Consequently, there is a growing emergence of government and non-government initiatives to encourage a healthy lifestyle and promote sports participation.

The increasing awareness on the importance of sports in health is creating considerable opportunities for entrepreneurs who want to enter in the sports industry. With more people wanting to engage in sports, there is a growing demand for affordable equipment and apparel desired or needed to engage in fitness activities or sports. There are also opportunities in sports facilities and venues. Opportunities are also opening up in areas of sports service businesses from sports marketing research, for entrepreneurs wanting to start their own sports business, to service businesses offering lessons encompassing various aspects of sports.

Synthesis of Lifestyle and Sports

Gone are the days, when there is a distinct line, which separates athletics from lifestyle. As the line between sports and lifestyle continues to blur, with sports becoming a more fundamental part for most consumers, there will be an increase in demand for products and services related to leisure or recreational sports.

The future of global sports lifestyle market is expected to surpass performance market. Sports entrepreneurs engaged in sports equipment and apparel business are gearing towards incorporating styles and features in their products for leisure-oriented use. With more consumers engaging in recreational sports and activities, such as bicycling, camping, mountain climbing, and boating, among others, there is a growing demand for products related to these, from how-to websites and books, to apparel and goods.

Mergence of Sports, Technology and Media

Like in any other business, technology and new media in sports cannot be ignored. Thanks to technology, sports fans can have access to their favorite sports anywhere. Today’s fans are obsessed with sports, and are willing to spend money to enhance their fan experience. Entrepreneurs who can create product or services to address this growing need are likely to see prosperous years ahead.

Online sport media businesses focusing on a particular sport and trade magazines targeted towards sport industry business are flourishing. Various opportunities abound in interactive sports software and website development with the growing demand for online sports games and video games. Companies or individual entrepreneurs engaged in the development of sports-related applications for iPhone and Android phones are emerging as winners in the profit race.

Sports and Going Green

Today’s consumers are becoming more aware of how their consumption affects the environment. Because of this, there is a growing demand for sports products that are environmentally or eco friendly. Sports entrepreneurs who can create meaningful product platforms to address this area, such as products and packaging designed with sustainability principles taken into account are likely to win the hearts of consumers.

Emerging Opportunities in Sports Medicine

As the level of participation in physical activities and sports from all age groups continues to increase, the demand for sports medicine continues to grow as well. Sports entrepreneurs who can take advantage of available advancements in technology and sports medicine research and incorporate it in a facility, which can offer athletic training services and sports-enhancement programs, on top of the usual physical therapy services are sure to find themselves with an added advantage.

Sports Travel and Tourism, A Worldwide Phenomenon

With increase in leisure time and spending, and growing appetite for participation and spectacle, global sports industry are seeing rapid changes and innovation. These changes resulted in growth in domestic and international travels for sports purposes.

Economies of towns, areas and even countries have growing reliance on participative and spectator sports, and a growing number of businesses are venturing into developing sports tourism package or into professional management and marketing of sports events.

Exodus from Mass Wear to Personalization and Customization

Consumer’s attitude and preference are changing. There is a growing preference on variety and choices that go beyond companies merely offering a wide selection of products. Companies, which can offer relevant and unique products suitable for a specific aesthetic and functional needs, by offering several customization and personalization platforms, are creating strategic opportunities. Perfect examples are companies, which enable consumers to design and order their own sporting goods such as footwear, apparel or hardware.

Increasing Demand for Functional Products

In recent years, consumers have realized the value of functional products and have grown wiser in their purchase decisions. Aesthetics and brand name have taken the back seat in consumer preferences. Athletes and sports enthusiasts are moving towards minimalistic, lightweight and flexible products that promote the natural movement of the body, from apparel and footwear, to sports equipment.

In sports apparel, new companies have taken in quite a following after introducing affordable sportswear with improved moisture management, exemplary ease of motion and added comfort.

Kimberly is an internet researcher, writer, and contributor at entrepreneurweek.com blog network.  She may be reached at eweekcomauthor@gmail.com.

©2011 entrepreneurweek.com, all rights reserved

Credit: David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A report from ‘OregonLive.com’ shares that the state of Oregon has been seeing a rash of student entrepreneurs popping up at campuses all over, in hopes of creating their own job market. With the state of the economy, complete with pay cuts and lay-offs, these kids are tapping into their own strengths in order to succeed.

Making Their Own Way

When the economy first began to fall, Kenny King was just starting college at the University of Portland. During the three years which Kenny has spent at the school so far, Kenny has watched many of his classmates leave with hard-earned diplomas, but no career opportunity! It would seem he had two choices, to continue on in college with the grim outcome of no job, or quit. He did neither. Kenny decided to create his own career. On the day that he graduates, he will not be among those looking for a job; he will already have one-as co-founder of ‘Global Ade’. It is a nonprofit organization which has already brought in nineteen thousand dollars at it’s very first fundraiser.

With a job market that is broken, today’s students are realizing that their success literally does lie within themselves. With even the most experienced business men and women finding themselves laid off from work, and searching for employment, many of these students would have no hope of finding a job in that broken market. Instead of depending on other companies and businesses to sustain them, these young men and women are forging their own paths, and the state has taken notice.

This is why Portland State University is making plans to announce a center which would be dedicated to these students and their startups. It is expected to open this semester. Along with this, the University of Portland is also expecting to provide an entrepreneurship degree when the school year begins. Also, six students owned businesses will get help to launch from Oregon State University.

Amelia Pape is another example of such student entrepreneurship taking place in the state. She did not plan to graduate as an entrepreneur when she began taking graduate business classes at Portland State about four years ago. Plans changed before she graduated last May, however, and she is now the President of ‘Fork in the Road Market’, which is a startup which won a competition for regional business.

Along with co-founders Colin Gallison and Eric Johnson, Amelia started the company which delivers fresh food to people who cannot easily make it to the grocery store. These three students did research on the demand for their idea in the area and come up with their business plan over the next two years. Then, over the summer, they did test runs and surveyed their focus groups. Pape says that soon she was so passionate about it, that it was not even about the job market, it was just what she wanted to do.

Jobs Paying less: Entrepreneurs Potentially Making More

According to a survey from the Economic Policy Institute, students who graduate today will make about a dollar less each hour than those who graduated at the same career choice ten years ago. Facts such as these are making entrepreneurship even more appealing to a younger generation, fresh out of college. These students also do not have the long term commitments which the previous generation of entrepreneurs had, such as marriages, kids, and mortgages. That’s because they are creating their own careers and jobs before they reach that point in their lives.

In 2010, the state of Oregon was named in the top five for entrepreneurs, in a study which was released by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Oregon was only at number forty-five in 2008, moving up forty places in just two years. Oregon has created more new businesses which have stood up to the recession, and became a leader in the area of student entrepreneurs. Although the state lost 2,250 employers between the years of 2007 and 2008, Oregon added 1,670 businesses which managed to survive the crash in 2009 and live on through 2010. With the success that Oregon is having with student entrepreneurship, perhaps it is an idea which more states will pick up on, seeing even more successful students blazing their own way.

Angela Kaye Mason is an internet researcher, writer, and contributor at entrepreneurweek.com blog network. She may be reached at eweekcomauthor@gmail.com.

©2011 entrepreneurweek.com, all rights reserved