Make Saving Money Fun...spread your wings, my creative students!

Last evening marked the launch of this year's Global Innovation Tournament, a student contest sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation in anticipation of their Global Entrepreneurship Week festivities. Global Entrepreneurship Week will likely be celebrated by more than three million people around the world from November 16-22.

Here's how this unique student contest works:

1. a challenge theme is announced. This year's challenge: Make Saving Money Fun
2. student teams solve the challenge with their own unique spin on the solution
3. teams document and capture their solution via a short video
4. upload video to YouTube for the world to review
5. receive cherished feedback on their solution...maybe even win

What a fantastic learning opportunity for students around the world! I challenged my students to use what they've been learning in our Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship class to solve this case. I'm excited to see what they come up with.

As a little taste of the type of ideas generated by students, watch the video below from the overall winning team in 2008:

Product:repurposed...an exercise in Challenging the Status Quo

Ever since I started teaching the Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship course at CSUSM, I've asked the students to deliver a "Product:repurposed" presentation. Essentially, it amounts to a college version of the popular Kindergarten activity of Show-and-Tell.

I've volunteered in kindergarten classes over the years and have become increasingly convinced that there is real value in extending the Show-and-Tell concept to adult audiences. After all, didn't we learn everything we needed to know in Kindergarten*?

Here's how Show-and-Tell works at the upper-divison level of college. Each student:

1. Brings a product to class
2. Shows us the product--many of which we've experienced personally
3. Reminds us of the intended purpose of the product
4. And, then proposes an entirely new purpose for the product

While it may seem simple on the surface, students regularly share with me that it was much more difficult for them to do this project than they had originally anticipated. Perhaps this is because for the past 20+ years, they haven't been regularly encouraged to challenge the status quo?

After all, much of their educational lives have been spent in generating "the right answer", rather than thinking through the possibility of "multiple right answers". Perhaps we teachers focus too much on providing the formulae for right answer generation, and not enough time on the generation of questions that challenge the assumptions embedded in the status quo?

What I hear from CEOs is that their organizations need employees who: are exceptionally passionate about the work they do; utilize creativity to solve problems; and take initiative to get the job done to move the company forward. Provided this is accurate--and I think it is--how then do we encourage students along this path?

I think the answer lies in challenging the students to challenge the status quo. Rather than taking "things" for what they are, students can and should take "things" for what they could be. It's the power of the possibility that comes from wondering and tinkering.

This skill of seeing things for what they can be is not lost on all. In fact, I witnessed this skill among my students yesterday. They delivered interesting show-and-tells and they helped all of us appreciate what can be among the what is.

The picture at the top is an avocado seed, spinning. One of my students--Vlad is his name--created a spinning top from two ordinary things: an avocado seed and a toothpick. He went on to describe how this spinning top could be used to encourage children to eat avocados for their valuable health benefits. All in all, it was a great presentation and was reflective of the shift in mindset that we're creating in our class.

Aside: While writing this blog entry, I was reminded of a blog that I frequent regularly. If you haven't discovered the Afrigadget blog, I recommend it highly. The creator of the site, Erik Hersman, grew up in Africa and quickly recognized the latent ingenuity within the African people. I'm regularly impressed with the stories that are shared on the blog and the challenging shift in mindset that it provides to a western-born person like me. Truly, I can't say enough about the blog and the good work that the blog's contributors do in bringing the ingenuity of this part of the world to others.

Have I convinced you of any of the following?

• There's value in challenging the status quo.
• There's value in having adults do Show-and-Tell.
• The power of possibility comes from wondering and tinkering.

Try repurposing one of your products today. What else could it be used for?

*If you don't get the sarcasm embedded in this comment, you might want to do a search on "everything I needed to know I learned in Kindergarten".

"Free Shipping Day" creators Luke & Maisie Knowles

"Why are they charging me $15 to ship my order? That's crazy! I wonder if there's a way that I can get free shipping for this order?"

If you've shopped online, you've likely experienced the pain of unreasonable shipping costs. In fact, it was this pain that led Luke and Maisie Knowles--ardent online shoppers in their own right--to create freeshipping.org, a shipping-saving resource for online shoppers.

The Knowles started the business in December of 2007 and were stunned when it experienced continuous month-over-month growth in site traffic. While they thought it would be a great resource for the cost-conscious online shopper, they had no idea that after a year the site would be attracting 300,000 visitors per month with more than 500,000 during the holiday shopping season.

As Luke shared with me, the creation of this business was not accidental, but neither was it the result of a multi-year investigation or a hundred page business plan. The business came from a pain or as Luke stated, "We were just trying to solve a problem." It was a pain that they had experienced and that they figured might be somewhat universally experienced by other online shoppers.

Prior to the launch of freeshipping.org, the Knowles had a web design and development company (kinoli.com) that they built together. This experience of working alongside one another is clearly not for all couples. According to Luke, "95% of couples couldn't do this. It works for us as my wife and I are very compatible. She's a great communicator and organizer, and I'm not. Our natural giftings complement each other well."

While the concept of "entrepreneurial spouses" is not uncommon, the Knowles offer this advice to couples interested in starting a business together: "there's real value in taking time away from the business--together or alone--so that you don't tire of it or each other."

When asked what he'd share with my entrepreneurially-minded students, Luke offered the following advice from his experience in launching freeshipping.org:

• Hard work pays off. "We had no real capital. All we had were our skills, our computers, and the sweat on our backs to do this new venture."
• Do what you know. "We were already in this line of business [i.e., web development and design]. We're just doing maybe 10 degrees different than what we were already doing."
• You don't need the Perfect Storm, but it helps. "High gas prices made it so the media liked our story. We're the online shopping answer to high gas prices."
• Novel ideas help...so does a little luck. "We saw some stats that said that online shopping peaked at December 10. We thought that was because people didn't want to risk not receiving their orders in time for Christmas. We thought that was much too early and wondered if we could create a Free Shipping Day site that would provide not only free shipping but also a guarantee that it would arrive in time for Christmas. It was the result of a simple brainstorm and we had no idea that it would result in 250,000 site visitors on that day."
• Have confidence in your ideas. "Even if someone else thinks your idea won't work, go with it anyway. It was in November 2007, at our dinner table, that I shared the freeshopping.org concept with my wife who was many months pregnant at the time. I said, 'I've got this idea, should we do it?' She said, 'Yeah, let's do it.' We didn't know what to expect, but we figured we gotta try it." [aside: they launched less than a month later]
• Be well rounded. "As an entrepreneur, it's important to have a big bubble of skillsets. If you have many skillsets, you won't need to hire multiple people. You can just do it yourself. If someone tried to start this same business and didn't have diverse skillsets, they'd end up hiring five people to do what we can do with just the two of us."

I've had a number of students in the past tell me that they could never be entrepreneurs because they don't have enough money to start a business. Luke related that his dad used to tell him, "it takes money to make money." Luke attests that while he didn't "grow up with lots of money", he now views it like this: "it takes money to have lots of chances to make money." The important action is taking chances and trying.

Since launching freeshopping.org and freeshoppingday.com, the Knowles have ventured into two new lines of business with couponsherpa.com and an iPhone app of the same name. They appear to be on the right track with these extended concepts.

Interestingly, Luke's parting comment was that they determined they'd be "the very best at something, even if it was to the smallest market." Instead of taking on the huge online coupon code market space, the Knowles identified what appeared to be a very small niche--free shipping--and promptly dominated it. "We're the purple cow* of the online shopping market space." So far, it's working out very well for them.

*for more info on Purple Cows, check out Seth Godin's writing on the topic.

DGA and Livespeakr on the CBS Early Show

If you've been reading my blog for awhile now, you're familiar with the name Erik Groset and Digital Group Audio (DGA), the company that he cofounded with a childhood friend. Erik is an alum of California State University San Marcos and has taken his entrepreneurial spirit beyond the classroom and is making quite a name for his new business.

DGA's first product, the Livespeakr, has gotten great press on the techie blogs for the past year or so, but now they've managed to get the Livespeakr highlighted by the Thrillist.com guys on the CBS Early Show. Needless to say, television exposure is invaluable and I'm sure that Erik and his crew are busily responding to the numerous inquiries from this short episode. If you'd like to see the entire episode, click below.

Honest Tea...doing it right

I recently read the latest blog entry from Seth Goldman, co-founder of Honest Tea, regarding the variety of reactions they received after redesigning their plastic bottles. They pursued a new bottle design in an effort to decrease weight and still maintain the identity that they've managed to create over the past 1o years of offering honestly good, slightly sweet tea.

While I was fascinated to learn of the lighter bottle movement, I was most interested in reading how they dealt with a particular accusation from one of their customers. Here it is:

John: "I just bought a bottle of Orange Mango, and was amazed that the bottle is so deceptively designed. The bottom of the bottle has been designed with a hollow to displace fluid, making it appear that the customer is buying more than is the case. Yes it's 16.9 ounces, but I'm sure your marketing dept has determined that purchases are based on visual impressions. I have bought your product regularly, but will stop. With a name like Honest Tea, I would expect more than these types of cheap tricks!"

So, how should Honest Tea respond to this? Confront it head on (with humility) or discount it as just one customer's isolated incident and accusation. I had a hunch as to how they'd respond since I've been following Honest Tea for a few years now.

I should disclose that I'm a fan of their product and talk about their company in my Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship class. I don't do it in a "you need to go and buy this" kind of way, but more in an appreciation for how Seth and his partner, Barry, originally created their product and how they continue to refine the brand in an effort to bring authenticity to the marketplace.

There's real value in offering products that are genuine and authentic; not products composed of hype and arrogance. Those kinds of products fizzle out over time because they fail to deliver in the long haul and because hot air can only keep you aloft for a short amount of time. Instead, I'm interested in cultivating a mindset of sustainability and permanence and Honest Tea continues to reflect this type of thinking.

Seth's blog, titled The Mission Driven Business, offers a look into the types of decisions that one goes through when playing in the pure, good, authentic, and organic marketspace. If you go back a few months, you'll learn that Coca-Cola purchased a 40% share of Honest Tea for $40 million. Not surprisingly, this exciting news was not welcomed by all of Honest Tea's most vibrant of supporters. One such supporter named Julie voiced her genuine concerns to Seth and he outlines his responses to her in the blog. If you've ever wanted a role model for how to respond to criticism by your previously-ardent supporters, check out the tone of this dialogue. A few excerpts are highlighted below:

Julie: "As a business that has built its reputation over the past decade on a commitment to healthy organic products, environmental quality, and social justice for its producers, Honest Tea's decision to partner with Coca-Cola -- a multinational corporation that has consistently violated all three of these principles in their global business practices -- confounds me."

Seth: "I believe that every time we sell a bottle of Honest Tea we are doing a positive thing for the people picking/processing the leaves, the ecosystem, and the consumer. If you accept this first assumption, as I do, then I believe it is my responsibility to make Honest Tea as powerful as I can. The more we sell -- provided it is the same product we have been selling for the past ten years -- the more good we do."

Julie: "By partnering with Coca-Cola, you may gain a net increase of customers at mainstream retail outlets, but you will alienate those who previously valued your commitment to social and environmental responsibility."

Seth: "...(I)encourage you to keep a close eye on what we sell and how we sell it. If we change our fidelity to the Honest brand, please let me know and I'll respect your right to take your business elsewhere."

What makes the Honest Tea story so interesting is the conviction with which we see Seth respond to these types of challenges. Whether it be in how to respond to "customers who previously thought you could do no wrong" to "customers who think you're now trying to trick and deceive them", Seth's humility and sensitivity is evident. He's a role model, for sure.

Click to read Seth's blog entry in its entirety.

What are your thoughts as you read about this?

How I Made My Millions...a little creativity and tenacity go a long way

How I Made My Millions. You want to know? Well, okay, so I haven't actually made my millions, but here are 10 really interesting stories--some that you may have already heard--of entrepreneurs who started with an idea that ultimately paid off, big time.

This past Sunday, one of my committed entrepreneurially-minded students was browsing the tube and came across this CNBC show that documented the recalled experiences of 10 entrepreneurs. Naturally, she enjoyed learning about these entrepreneurs and shared the episode with my class.

Now, a few of these stories I had already heard, but it was interesting to see and hear the entrepreneurs discuss how they took an idea and turned into a multi-million dollar business. Two of the entrepreneurs I'd like to make special mention of: Brian Taylor and Roxanne Quimby.

During the second week of class, I highlight the story of Brian Taylor, the founder and president of Kernel Seasons. I use his story as both an encouragement to students--"yes, you too can create a marketable idea and build a business from it"--and as an example of solving a pain--"hmmm, poor college student, tired of eating plain popcorn, wish I had a different flavor to put on it". The story resonates with my students because they can imagine Brian Taylor eating plain popcorn in his dorm room at the University of Michigan. His story is a great one. And a simple one. Oh, the beauty of simplicity.

From this episode, I also enjoyed learning about the founding of Burt's Bees by Roxanne Quimby, an artist and single mother from Maine. Undoubtedly, you've seen the Burt's Bees products in your marketplace and perhaps you've wondered from whence they came. Here's the short version of a very interesting story of using your environs and all of your resources to create a business. While watching the video, keep your ears perked for one of my favorite words:tinkering.

The complete How I Made My Millions episode is included below.

Now that you've watched this, what are your WATAs (aka "walk-away, take-aways") from it?

The Humble Entrepreneur: an oxymoron?

Today, I started working on a theoretical paper that I'm writing with Troy Nielson. I've been interested in the possible inclusion of humility as an important element in the entrepreneurial mindset. It's an element that hasn't been discussed much in the literature, and yet, it is one that I think could be of value to include in our understanding of entrepreneurs.

As a starting point to get you thinking...

• What are the conditions wherein an entrepreneur's humility would make a difference?
• Is humility on the opposite, but same continuum as hubris (excessive pride and self-confidence)? Or is it an entirely different construct?
• Can an entrepreneur be confident and still humble?
• Is disappointment and/or failure a precursor to humility?
• Is it easier to trust a humble entrepreneur?

If you have any thoughts on the topic, I'd welcome your input. Please share your comments below. Thanks!

[image courtesy of Hugh Macleod of gapingvoid.com]