Archive for the ‘Entrepreneurship’ Category

Posted on February 2, 2012 - by Wayne Sutton

Day 2: People of color impacting the social web – Sian Morson – #29DaysofDiversity

As we all know, February is Black History Month. It’s a month where we honor those who have made an impact on American culture for equal rights, those who have invented, those who have a helped others and those who have inspired everyone to be the best they can be, not only as a person of color but as a human. For the past two years for Black History Month, I started an online series called 28 Days Diversity where I would feature someone new everyday during the month of February for just being awesome in their own right. Even though it’s black history month, the goal for 28 Days of Diversity is to feature not just African-Americans but other minorities in the web/tech space. Also note that 28 Days of Diversity is not a popularity contest or an influencer list but a list of thought leaders in the social web sector, including entrepreneurs, bloggers, conference organizers, IT professionals and friends not ranked in any particular order who I have either met in person or followed online. Each post will include a picture, bio, two links from the selected person and this paragraph.

For 2012 I wanted to not just feature individuals but also ask a question to where each featured person could share their passion with others. For 28 Days of Diversity 2012 each post/person will answer the question “What motivates you to become successful?”

For the next 29 days since 2012 is a leap, come back to visit SocialWayne.com/tag/28daysofdiversity and/or 28daysofdiversity.com to see who’s on the list. For day 2, I would like to introduce to some and present to others:

Sian Morson

Twitter: @xianamoy

Website/Blog: kollectivemobile.com

Bio

Sian is CEO & Founder of Kollective Mobile, and brings 15+ years of experience in digital development and leadership to the mobile marketplace. She has a passion for creative information design, a strong technical background, and a talent for developing a team culture of user experience innovation and effective product development. Her skills, excellent client relations, and drive and determination have made her a well-respected force in the industry.

Sian started her career as the dotcom boom was changing the fundamental way that we communicate, share ideas, and bring products to market. A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, she studied Film & Television but soon became enthralled by the incredible artistic and social potential in web technology; She went on to earn a Masters degree in Interactive Media Design from Middlesex University in London.

In 2010, she founded Kollective Mobile, a mobile development agency based in Oakland, CA. Kollective helps agencies and start-ups design and grow their mobile business, by providing strategy consulting and building great apps. Currently, Sian leads client relations and drives strategy and product development, including ArtKollect, our mobile and web solutions for art professionals.

What motivates you to become successful?

What motivates me to become successful is my core belief that information is power. We are living in an unprecedented time in history.We have access to so much more information that our ancestors did. What we do with it today will determine the tomorrows of generations to come. I am passionate about bridging the ‘digital divide’ and ensuring that our communities aren’t left behind. It is my hope that with with so many black tech entrepreneurs and start-ups with black founders that we can reach back and help those who are less fortunate than we are. It’s great to market apps and products to early adopters but it is critical that we remember our own communities as well.

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You can follow the status of 28 Days of Diversity 2011 on http://28daysofdiversity.com, http://socialwayne.com/category/28-days-of-diversity/ and syndicated on BlackWeb 2.0.

Posted on February 1, 2012 - by Wayne Sutton

Day 1: People of color impacting the social web – Will Lucas – #29DaysofDiversity

As we all know, February is Black History Month. It’s a month where we honor those who have made an impact on American culture for equal rights, those who have invented, those who have a helped others and those who have inspired everyone to be the best they can be, not only as a person of color but as a human. For the past two years for Black History Month, I started an online series called 28 Days Diversity where I would feature someone new everyday during the month of February for just being awesome in their own right. Even though it’s black history month, the goal for 28 Days of Diversity is to feature not just African-Americans but other minorities in the web/tech space. Also note that 28 Days of Diversity is not a popularity contest or an influencer list but a list of thought leaders in the social web sector, including entrepreneurs, bloggers, conference organizers, IT professionals and friends not ranked in any particular order who I have either met in person or followed online. Each post will include a picture, bio, two links from the selected person and this paragraph.

For 2012 I wanted to not just feature individuals but also ask a question to where each featured person could share their passion with others. For 28 Days of Diversity 2012 each post/person will answer the question “What motivates you to become successful?”

For the next 29 days since 2012 is a leap, come back to visit SocialWayne.com/tag/28daysofdiversity and/or 28daysofdiversity.com to see who’s on the list. For day 1, I would like to introduce to some and present to others:

Will Lucas

Twitter: @will_lucas

Website/Blog: about.me/will_lucas

Bio

Will Lucas is the founder and CEO of AWLCo that houses web projects such as thankyouaga.in (http://thankyouaga.in), a mobile application that helps users “collect the good”, vinyu (http://vinyu.com), a mobile check-in application that enhances the consumer shopping experience, and Classbag (http://classbag.in), an educational web platform. Lucas founded Creadio (http://creadio.com), a custom Internet streaming service that develops custom radio and television stations for brands to promote their products and services in-house in 2007. It produces custom networks for some of the worlds largest brands.
A musician, innovator, and former radio DJ, Lucas is also curator for TEDxToledo, and a respected speaker on technology, entrepreneurship, and social issues.

He is a husband and father of one.

What motivates you to become successful?

“I want to fulfill my maximum potential. That’s really it. Success is just a byproduct of that. I heard someone say ‘You judge yourself based on what you know you can do, others judge you based on what you’ve done.’ I want to make it matter that I lived.”

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You can follow the status of 28 Days of Diversity 2011 on http://28daysofdiversity.com, http://socialwayne.com/category/28-days-of-diversity/ and syndicated on BlackWeb 2.0.

Posted on December 12, 2011 - by Wayne Sutton

TEDx Video: The Killer Business and The Next Vision of the Web by Kimberly Dillion of House of Mikko

Title of Talk: Acknowledgment- The Killer Business Strategy

Kimberly Dillon @prettylittleceo is the founder of House of Mikko, @houseofmikko,where she manages Marketing and Product Strategy. She founded the company to address the challenges that women, specifically women of color face at the beauty counter. She has been featured in TechCrunch and ReadWriteWeb, named by Huffington Post as one of 25 Female Tech Founders to watch, and is a member of Women 2.0.
She started her career as an IT Consultant with Accenture and has over 8 years of marketing experience in the digital and consumer space, including a stint at Procter & Gamble. She has 2 undergraduate degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and an MBA from the University of Michigan. A lover of all things beauty, she won’t leave home with out eyeliner. Ever.

About TEDx?
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)
At our TEDxBayArea events, TEDTalks videos and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connections in a small group setting.

Posted on December 6, 2011 - by Wayne Sutton

TEDx Video: Value Execution over ideas via Chris Brown on Lean Startup and bootstrapping for entrepreneurs

Video: TEDxPhnomPenh – Chris Brown – Lean Startup a bootstrapping guide for budding entrepreneurs

Software developer, entrepreneur, and general geek, Chris is a vocal and omnipresent figure in Cambodia’s burgeoning hacker community. Chris has founded or partnered in several software startups which are proud to have built their products in Cambodia and sold them globally. Chris is an active member of the Barcamp movement, attending and speaking at events across the region, and is also a founding member of the up-and-coming Phnom Penh HackerSpace. Chris’s vision is for Cambodia’s software sector to leap-frog its neighbors by skipping IT outsourcing and moving straight to product-focused startups fueled by the entrepreneurial spirit that Cambodia has in abundance.

Hat Tip: Carla Mays from Building While Brown West Facebook Group

TEDx was created in the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth spreading.” The program is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level.

Posted on November 15, 2011 - by Wayne Sutton

Video: Watch Innovation Nation: Startup Success Panel with Mario Armstrong #bialive

Sunday after CNN’s Black In America 4, Silicon Valley Mario Armstrong hosted an Innovation Nation: Startup Success Panel in Baltimore, MD. I had the opportunity to participate along with my NewME Accelerator house mate Hank Willams. It was a great event but if you missed it, watch the video below.

A big thanks to Mario Armstrong for inviting and hosting the event.