J-Serve is the annual day of service for Jewish youth throughout the world. It is a day on which Jewish teens join their counterparts in other faith communities, other cities and other countries in giving of their time to serve the communities in which they live. I served on Houston’s planning committee this year and put a lot of work into the event.
We came up with the theme “Embrace the Challenge” and yesterday around 400 teens and child participants with physical and/or mental disabilities were involved in sports, performing arts and carnival activities. Our main goal is to help educate teens about challenges facing those with disabilities and I think we accomplished that goal.
Here is an email I received from our parent project chair following the event:
You brought together a community. Teens from all over Houston, different schools and denominations, working together for one amazing cause. I truly believe each and every teen today was moved by the speaker and the projects. You brought together families with disabilities and gave challenged children a very special day, parents a much needed break, an inspiring speaker, and siblings a day that they could feel special too…You had people thinking and acting outside their comfort zone and realizing how great it feels. You used music, art, sports and games to make something magical happen, finding commonalities and building bridges between teens and their buddies. You inspired other teens to want to be leaders.
I agree with Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, who stresses the importance of taking responsibility.
I’m not late because there was traffic, I’m late because I didn’t leave early enough to account for the fact that there was traffic.
The project didn’t finish not because my colleague didn’t do his part, the project didn’t get finished because I didn’t set up a team where my colleague wanted to do his part.
Taking full responsibility is one of the most empowering things you can do!
Steve Chen is the former Vice President of Business Strategy at Bear Stearns where he helped launch an international hedge fund software company. After being laid off from work, he has thrown his expertise behind GreenSoul Shoes, which manufactures shoes from recycled materials and distributes them to underprivileged children in third-world countries.
Please describe to me the company you started, Green Soul Shoes.
GreenSoul Shoes (GSS) is unique positioned as a 100% recycled, waste reducing, shoe company. We are a company that reinvests in the environment by upcycling waste into something of greater use and value. We work with Third World artisans to hand-make shoes from truck tires and for every pair of shoes that we sell, we also give a pair away to a barefoot child in the same community. In doing so, we will provide opportunities for Third World economic development while empowering their communities to provide resources for themselves. GSS will provide shoes for 1 million unprivileged, shoeless children in 5 years with our “buy one, give one” policy.
How did you come up with the idea / what made you want to pursue it?
My partner Alastair Ong had been visiting Southeast Asia during a previous business venture when he came across a village living on a landfill. Given the destitute conditions, Alastair was heartbroken and wanted to help so he came back and worked with friends and family to come up with a holistic business model that would allow for multiple stakeholders. Today, Alastair, Iris (Alastair’s wife), and I, work to shoe underserved children around the world!
How / Why is this better than what you did for a living previously?
I worked at Bear Stearns for 2 years and had the incredible opportunity to work for an international investment bank. During that time I helped started a successful software company called BearXplorer that helped institutional investors better allocate their portfolio holdings.
The similarities are that in both cases, I have been afforded the opportunity to work with a team of dedicated professionals to build an innovative company that seeks to develop outsized value.
How do you see our market changing over the next few years? Supporting additional companies who invest in the triple bottom line. Consumers and businesses will look for new ways to reduce the environmental impact of daily life—not just because it is the right thing to do—but rather because it will make the most amount of economic sense. Governments will create additional incentives to enter these markets are we continue our transition away from shrinking job markets.
Who are your favorite entrepreneurs? Richard Branson, Dave Novak, and Tony Hsieh
Failure. Why do most people look down on it? Why do most people have a hard time accepting it? The role of failure deserves more positive attention and essentially is the best medicine out there to succeed.
The CEO of eBay was recently interviewed a New York Times article titled “There’s No Need to Bat” .900“. He discusses the importance of accepting failure and encourages us all to take risks:
Another really valuable piece of advice early in my career was from a guy named Kent Thiry, who was another of my early bosses and is now C.E.O. at DaVita.
I didn’t know it at the time, but I was suffering from a real fear of failure. Kent said, “You know, John, your challenge is you’re trying to bat .900.” And he said: “When you were in college, you got a lot of A’s. You could get 90, 95 percent right. When you took your first job as an analyst, you were really successful and felt like you were batting .900.”
But he said, and this is probably five years into my career: “Now you’ve moved from the minor leagues. You’re playing in the major leagues, and if you expect to bat .900, what happens is, either you come up at bat and you freeze because you’re so afraid of swinging and missing, or you’re a little afraid to step into the batter’s box.”
He said, “Best I can tell, the best hitters in Major League Baseball, world class, they can strike out 6 times out of 10 and still be the greatest hitter of all time.”
And he said, “That’s my philosophy — the key is to get up in that batter’s box and take a swing. And all you have to do is hit one single, a couple of doubles, and an occasional home run out of every 10 at-bats, and you’re going to be the best hitter or the best business leader around.” You can’t play in the major leagues without having a lot of failures.
It is important to accept and acknowledge the lessons you have learned from the mistakes you have made.
Last summer, I was fortunate to spend time interning at TechStars. For those of you who do not know, TechStars is a mentorship-driven seed stage investment fund. TechStars fills the experience gap by bringing together the best and the brightest in one place and surrounding you with incredible proven mentors for the summer. TechStars was founded by David Cohen, Brad Feld, Jared Polis, and David Brown.
Recently, I spoke with David Cohen to ask a few questions about TechStars and more…
Where do you see TechStars five years from now? Have your original goals for TechStars changed since the launch in 2007?
DC: Honestly, I have no clue. We tend not to plan ahead too much. Each year after the program we get together and discuss what, if anything, should change. Our goals haven’t changed since inception – it’s just that we’re now doing it in two cities (Boulder and Boston). The current goals were to enhance the entrepreneurial community itself, while hopefully finding some interesting investment opportunities. This is the same today, it’s just that we’re now a part of two communities.
How did you come up with the name? When did you have your ‘calling’ to start TechStars? Or has this been something you have wanted to do since the beginning?
DC: I’m not very good and naming stuff, so I’ve always just sort of gone with the first name that made sense to me and that people could easily understand. It’s simple, we’re in Tech, and we’re looking for new Stars. As far as the “calling”, I had been doing angel investing for a while and had found parts of it to be amazingly fun and other parts to be unsatisfying. TechStars was my attempt to fix that was unsatisfying – namely, to a) have an early impact on the companies, b) help surround the entrepreneurs I was working with with amazing people and other resources, and c) to be able to get to know entrepreneurs better before investing larger amounts of money. It was not something I envisioned a long time ago – rather, it was a response to my direct experiences with angel investing.
Has TechStars passed on any companies that have become really successful? Do you plan on creating a TechStars ‘Anti-Portfolio’ similar to what Bessemer has done?
DC: I’d be surprised if we haven’t passed on some companies that have or will become very successful. In fact, I’d be shocked. I sincerely hope that it has or is happening now. While I am not aware of any specific examples, I’m sure some exist. I probably will keep an “anti-portfolio” as a simple list once I become aware of these. I wouldn’t go out of my way to research it though. I have certainly passed on non-TechStars companies in my angel investing career that are very successful today. Sometimes you just pick stuff that you want to work on – people forget that angel investors are motivated by much more than just money.
What are your top three favorite books?
DC: 1) Blueprint to a Billion – I loved this book because it is so data oriented.
2) The Art of the Start - simple, straightforward advice that is timeless.
3) Pale Blue Dot - reminds you that none of this really matters all that much and that you only live once – so you had better make the most of it.
Who are some of your mentors today? Do you have a favorite entrepreneur?
DC: Brad Feld, Jason Mendelson, Howard Diamond. I learn an amazing amount being around all of them. They’ve really invested in me personally, and I am so thankful. My dad died some time ago, but he is still a mentor to me. I regularly reflect on how he was as a person, and it still informs me today. I don’t have a favorite entrepreneur – there are too many to name. Mostly they’re the ones I’ve invested in.
What is David Cohen’s definition of success?
DC: Success is enjoying life, maximizing the chances you get in life, and being content with who you are.
I recently started an Entrepreneurship Club at my high school (Emery) with a couple of friends.
We announced our first project this afternoon. Thanks to Tina Seelig for coming up with the idea.
Here is the assignment I gave:
Entrepreneurship is about identifying opportunities and creating value without regards to the resources you currently control.
Assignment: Each team (2-3 people) is given an envelope with seed funding. You can spend as much time brainstorming as you want planning. However, once you crack open your envelope, you have two hours to generate as much money as possible.
Timeline:
4/6 – 4/19 – Brainstorm / complete assignment
4/19 – Email me one slide describing what you have done.What went well?What went wrong?
4/20 – Three minutes to present your project to the club.
Tips:
Every problem is an opportunity for a creative solution.Look for problems. The bigger the problem the bigger the opportunity.
You are encouraged to be entrepreneurial by identifying opportunities, challenging assumptions, leveraging the limited resource you have, and be creative.Try to create as much value as possible.
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I am giving them 12 days (the entire spring break) to complete the project. It should be interesting to see what a bunch of 14-18 year olds can accomplish with two hours.
