Harvard Kennedy School Impact on Public Service Career - Ken Biberaj

In Chapter 5 of 21 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City Council candidate and public relations executive Ken Biberaj answers "How Did Your Harvard Kennedy School of Government Education Open New Possibilities in Your Public Service Career?"  Biberaj shares why his Harvard experience was so fulfilling.  He contrasts the political focus of his American University undergraduate experience with the public service focus, specifically on tri-sector competence.  He also shares how he was able to make the most of experiences inside and outside the classroom.  Ken Biberaj is currently a 2013 Candidate for New York City Council for the West Side of Manhattan.  He is also a public relations executive for the Russian Tea Room restaurant at One Fifty Fifty Seven Corporation, a family business focused on real estate development, investment sales and retail leasing.  Previously he was Florida Research Director for the Kerry-Edwards for President Campaign. He holds a JD from New York Law School, a Masters in Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and a BA in Political Science from American University. 

How Project Manager Gets Chance to Work Abroad in China - Andrew Hutson

In Chapter 14 of 17 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, Andrew Hutson "How Did You Get the Opportunity to Work Abroad in Hong Kong and Shanghai?"  Hutson, a project manager at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), works on projects in energy efficiency and manufacturing.  This client work in consumer goods and retail takes him to Hong Kong and southern China, where Hutson has the opportunity to meet ambitious, energetic young professionals working  to make China a better country and become industry leaders.  Hutson is a senior project manager at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), where he advises corporate partners such as Wal-Mart on sustainable supply chain initiatives.  Hutson holds a PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MEM from the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment.  He earned his BA from Michigan State University. 

How Immigrant Learns to Assimilate into Foreign Culture - Anatole Faykin

In Chapter 1 of 18 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, Internet entrepreneur Anatole Faykin answers "What Has Your Own Immigrant Experience Taught You About How to Assimilate into a Foreign Culture?"  Emigrating from Russia to the United States at 13-years old, Faykin learns to listen to learn the language and how others spoke.  He also learns that surviving the American high school experience is far more challenging than moving into foreign cultures.  As a result, it makes sense since high school Faykin has lived all over the world.  Faykin is the founder of Tuanpin, a Shanghai-based daily deals site he grew to 25 employees and sold in the fall of 2011.  Previously, he worked for British Telecom in London, Intel in Shanghai, American Express in New York, and Oracle in San Francisco as well as several startup ventures.  He holds an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and a BS in computer science and biology from the California Institute of Technology.

Learning Global Business Working at Intel in Shanghai - Anatole Faykin

In Chapter 8 of 18 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, Internet entrepreneur Anatole Faykin answers "What Did Working at Intel in Shanghai Teach You About the Importance of Global Distribution Networks?" He shares the resource benefits available when working for a larger, global corporation and the advantages these create competing against smaller firms. Additionally he learns the value of international distribution networks and how benefits corporate resources and relationships enable them. Faykin is the founder of Tuanpin, a Shanghai-based daily deals site he grew to 25 employees and sold in the fall of 2011. Previously, he worked for British Telecom in London, Intel in Shanghai, American Express in New York, and Oracle in San Francisco as well as several startup ventures. He holds an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and a BS in computer science and biology from the California Institute of Technology.

Why to Live Abroad Multiple Times - Anatole Faykin

In Chapter 10 of 18 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, Internet entrepreneur Anatole Faykin answers "Why Have You Made it a Point Not to Just See Living Abroad as Checking a Box and More of Something to Embrace, Then Bring Back, Then Repeat?"  Faykin shares his approach to living, having one life to life, and making the most of one lifetime.  He finds himself living differently abroad than at home.  The different attitude, viewpoints, and conversations are anything but temporal, and Faykin repeats abroad experiences to make them permanent.  Faykin is the founder of Tuanpin, a Shanghai-based daily deals site he grew to 25 employees and sold in the fall of 2011.  Previously, he worked for British Telecom in London, Intel in Shanghai, American Express in New York, and Oracle in San Francisco as well as several startup ventures.  He holds an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and a BS in computer science and biology from the California Institute of Technology.

Why to Work in Developing Economies - Anatole Faykin

In Chapter 11 of 18 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, Internet entrepreneur Anatole Faykin answers "What is the Source of Your Passion for Developing Economies?"  Faykin notes that most people in developing countries forget who developed them.  When everything is established and life is comfortable, the quality of life is often taken for granted.  Developing countries do not have this, as the current generation is responsible for making the change.  This drive to accomplish things inspires Faykin in his own professional pursuits.  Faykin is the founder of Tuanpin, a Shanghai-based daily deals site he grew to 25 employees and sold in the fall of 2011.  Previously, he worked for British Telecom in London, Intel in Shanghai, American Express in New York, and Oracle in San Francisco as well as several startup ventures.  He holds an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and a BS in computer science and biology from the California Institute of Technology.

How Entrepreneur Starts Shanghai Internet Company - Anatole Faykin

In Chapter 15 of 18 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, Internet entrepreneur Anatole Faykin answers "How Did You Decide to Start a Shanghai-based Group Buying Company?"  He notes it was a journey and not a spur of a moment decision.  Years before founding the company, Faykin works abroad in the UK, Israel, Sweden, India and China.  He ultimately decides on Shanhai, where Faykin had worked years before at Intel, in the process building a local business network.  He notes how he and his partner decided on a group buying Internet business, modeled after Groupon, and then how he navigated local culture to set up the business.  Faykin is the founder of Tuanpin, a Shanghai-based daily deals site he grew to 25 employees and sold in the fall of 2011.  Previously, he worked for British Telecom in London, Intel in Shanghai, American Express in New York, and Oracle in San Francisco as well as several startup ventures.  He holds an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and a BS in computer science and biology from the California Institute of Technology.

How Non-Native Speaker Does Business in China - Anatole Faykin

In Chapter 18 of 18 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, Internet entrepreneur Anatole Faykin answers "As a Non-Native Speaker, How Do You Overcome Language Barriers Working in China?"  He shares how difficult it is navigating language barriers.  For Faykin, translators are often unable to translate words to meaning.  With a 25 person team speaking Mandarin Chinese, Faykin turns to trusted partners and a persevering attitude to get the job done.  Faykin is the founder of Tuanpin, a Shanghai-based daily deals site he grew to 25 employees and sold in the fall of 2011.  Previously, he worked for British Telecom in London, Intel in Shanghai, American Express in New York, and Oracle in San Francisco as well as several startup ventures.  He holds an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and a BS in computer science and biology from the California Institute of Technology.

How Feedback Helps Author Nina Godiwalla Refine Career Purpose

In Chapter 7 of 22 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, author Nina Godiwalla answers "Where Has Audience Feedback Been Most Helpful Finding a Sense of Purpose?"  Releasing a book focused on workplace diversity for women working on Wall Street, Godiwalla finds her message appeals not only to women outside finance but also minority men.  The stories remind Godiwalla she has a greater purpose to speak for people whose voices go unheard.  Godiwalla is the author of "Suits: A Woman on Wall Street". She is also a public speaker on workplace diversity and founder and CEO of Mindworks, where she teaches mind-based stress reduction techniques to help organizations improve employee wellbeing.  Godiwalla holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, an MA in Creative Writing from Dartmouth University and her BBA from the University of Texas at Austin. 

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  Where has audience feedback been most helpful in refining your sense of purpose?

Nina Godiwall:  What’s helped me with purpose is I went out with a story about Wall Street, a story about my experience particularly as a woman, also as a minority but less so as a minority and so I expected my audience would be women probably on Wall Street and what surprised me is I do have – I have a very strong woman audience but what I didn’t expect is I didn’t expect it to be all across corporate America and other organizations.  I’ve had so many people write me, contact me and say, “Thank you so much for just telling your story because I had a similar experience in X.”  So I’ve seen that with the women in terms of all different industries, that surprised me and it reminds me that I have a bigger message that’s just not so limited to this small world that I thought it was. 

The other part that surprised me even more is I was doing a media interview -- I was doing a TV interview -- and after I was done with the interview, I got several guys who worked at that station email me, someone from a different country -- someone in Europe -- and then someone who came to me, it was a minority man who came to me afterwards and he’s a very senior person at the company and he pulled me aside while I was trying to walk out the building and he said, “I just want to thank you so much for saying what you said.”  And I thought I didn’t necessarily say anything profound, at least I didn’t think so.  I just said, “Hey, it’s a difficult environment and you spend so much time hiding what you are to be in this culture.”  And that I never expected to strike so many men and one of them was an international guy and this other guy, he was American but he was – he talked to me a little bit about how people don’t get that I have to work so much harder and it’s not because it’s difficult for me, it’s just I’m constantly having to prove myself so even two years into this, when I’m established and everyone knows I can do a good job.  When I mess up, when something goes wrong, there are those people there that thinks it’s because I am who – it is because of who I look like.  Whereas I don’t get those cards all the time that just say, “Uhh you know.  No, we totally get you, you’re fine.”  And he said I always have to be on and I had to explain that to someone in a meeting who was trying to tell me, “You know what, we’re just going to pull one of your things together, we’re not going to put…”  You know they worked on life events and stuff and he was like, “I can’t pull something together sloppy.”  You don’t understand, he said I have to pull him out aside and quietly tell him, “I can’t be sloppy.”  That’s not a card that I have. And that was striking to me. 

I carry his story around all the time because I never expected to be touching him in that way and for me it just reminds me that I have a bigger purpose.  It’s not about me.  It’s about something much bigger and speaking for people that don’t necessarily have the opportunity or chose to speak up for themselves.

Nina Godiwalla on How Inclusion Improves Corporate Diversity Programs

In Chapter 11 of 22 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, author Nina Godiwalla answers "Why are Corporate Diversity Programs More Necessary Than Ever in the Workplace?"  Godiwalla notes how workplace culture is far more diverse than ever before and how organizations are able to recruit entry-level and mid-level talen but rarely retain them long-term.  She finds inclusion programs complement diversity hiring programs and pushes to shift the conversation toward inclusion programs and the culture they can create.  Godiwalla is the author of "Suits: A Woman on Wall Street". She is also a public speaker on workplace diversity and founder and CEO of Mindworks, where she teaches mind-based stress reduction techniques to help organizations improve employee wellbeing.  Godiwalla holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, an MA in Creative Writing from Dartmouth University and her BBA from the University of Texas at Austin. 

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  Why are corporate diversity programs more necessary than ever in the work place?

Nina Godiwalla:  If you look at something 30 years ago, we might not have had a whole lot of people that were different but now, we’ve even got people in the environment and one of the challenges I think is the part that I would call inclusion.  So you’ve got, there are so many organizations that are able to bring people in.  They typically stay at lower levels, maybe make it to the middle levels and then they’re gone and it’s almost mysterious to companies I feel when they talk about it is, “What happened?  I mean we put so much money behind it.”  And it’s frustrating on the their part of I don’t get it, why are these people not staying and so I think the focus needs to be a little bit more on diversity and inclusion and we’ve heard that term, some of the programs have actually changed their name to diversity and inclusion and the idea is, is it’s not you just bring people in and hope that they survive. 

The reality is when you have an environment that tends to be so closed off to any type of people that are different, thought processes that are different, to values that might be different.  If the culture is that intense and that closed, it becomes hard to keep somebody feeling happy and welcome in that culture and I think there’s more work that needs to be done around inclusion.  I actually don’t think it’s that challenging to bring in somebody.  I think it’s challenging to make it a place where somebody wants to stay.

Stacie Bloom on How to Foster Innovation in Global Nutrition Science

In Chapter 17 of 19 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, Stacie Grossman Bloom answers "What Has Led You to Create a Global Program on Nutrition Science?" Grossman Bloom, who at the time of this interview was at the New York Academy of Science (NYAS), shares how the organization designed a unique initiative to have global impact. The organization applies its 200 years of experience of scientific community led problem solving to the challenges of malnutrition and nutrition science.

Stacie Grossman Bloom is the Executive Director at the NYU Neuroscience Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center. Previously, she was VP and Scientific Director at the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS). She earned her PhD in Neurobiology and Cell Biology at Georgetown University and did a post-doctoral fellowship at Rockefeller University in New York City. She earned her BA in Chemistry and Psychology from the University of Delaware.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What has led you to create a global program on nutrition science?

Stacie Grossman Bloom: I am currently the vice president and scientific director at the New York Academy of Sciences. This is an organization that’s been around for almost 200 years in the United States. And for those 200 years, what it has really excelled in, is building communities of scientists in discreet areas and then driving those communities towards innovation. One area that was becoming increasingly important to address, but which we weren’t really doing, was nutrition science. So, we set out about 18 months ago to scope out a project in nutrition science. That scoping project led us to interview 48 stakeholders around the world to really design an initiative that would be unique, that wouldn’t duplicate existing efforts, that would align with them, and that would have global impact.

Scaling Crowdfunding Startup IndieGoGo Globally - Slava Rubin

In Chapter 2 of 12 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, IndieGoGo co-founder and entrepreneur Slava Rubin answers "Since We Last Spoke a Year Ago, What Has Been the Most Exciting Thing to Happen in Your Life?" Rubin points to the growth of his company, IndieGoGo, and is now used in over 158 countries by 22,000 users. He notes how four films featured at South By Southwest 2011 were crowd financed on IndieGoGo and how media exposure, including Good Morning America, continues to spread the company's project crowdfunding message. Rubin is co-founder and CEO of IndieGoGo.com, a crowdfunding startup whose platform helps individuals and groups finance their passions. Before IndieGoGo, Rubin worked in management consulting for Diamond Consulting, now a PWC company. Rubin founded and manages non-profit Music Against Myeloma to raise funds and awareness to fight cancer. He earned a BBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Transcript: 

Erik:  Since we last spoke a year ago, what’s been the most exciting thing that happened in your life?

Slava Rubin:  Well, I mean IndieGoGo is doing well.  It’s really about scaling the business and growing. I mean, now IndieGoGo has over 22,000 campaigns in 159 countries.  There is millions of dollars that are being distributed, millions of page views every month.  Since we last talked, we’ve been – you know, even in the last few weeks, we’ve been on Good Morning, America, or the New York Times, or Channel 7 News in New York. And we opened up where really anybody can create a campaign to absolutely anything, and just the excitement of the team as we’re hiring folks, and everybody being so excited to be a part of IndieGoGo, and making people’s dreams of raising money possible.

Erik Michielsen:  What feeling do you get when you think about, you know, what type of projects are being built, and what effect it’s having on communities, on people’s lives?

Slava Rubin:  I mean it’s amazing.  We’re here at South-by, right?  And there’s only a certain number of South-by movies that get in and there’s only a certain of South-by music that gets in.  At IndieGoGo, we’ve had four films that got in, got funded through IndieGoGo, and musicians that got funded through IndieGoGo.  We have people road-tripping to South-by, by funding they get through IndieGoGo.  So just to know that there are all these tens of thousands of people here at South-by and a number of them all facilitated their dreams to get here through IndieGoGo, it’s just really quite incredible.  And you were at the IndieGoGo party, and that was – that was fun too.

How Playing Petanque Connects a Diverse Community - Matt Curtis

In Chapter 14 of 18 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, public affairs and communications strategist Matt Curtis answers "How Is Learning to Play Petanque Giving You a New Way to Learn From Others?" Curtis gets into the game an enjoys not only the strategy but also the camaraderie that comes with playing around positive-minded people. By playing petanque, he meets local French residents and gets to learn strategic game elements from an older group of experienced players. Curtis is the communications director for Austin mayor Lee Leffingwell. Curtis' charity work includes affiliations with Capital Area Food Bank, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Students of the World, the Rainforest Project and the Art Alliance. In 2011, Curtis won "Austinite of the Year" in the Austin Under 40 Awards. He earned his bachelor's degree in radio, television and film from the University of North Texas.

How to Expand Business Operations Internationally - Richard Moross

In Chapter 12 of 13 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, Moo.com CEO and London entrepreneur Richard Moross answers "What Criteria Did You Use When Considering an International Expansion?" Moross notes an early relationship with Flickr enabled a global presence, setting the stage for international operations expansion. Driving factors include developing a local presence for improved customer service, environmental factors, cost efficiencies, and having the right people in place to do the job. Moross is founder and CEO of Moo.com. Before starting Moo.com, an award-winning online print business, Moross was a senior design strategist at Imagination, the world's largest independent design company. He graduated from the University of Sussex, where he majored in philosophy and politics.

How Culture Impacts Design Problem Solving - Jon Kolko

In Chapter 6 of 17 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, designer and educator Jon Kolko shares why understanding culture is fundamental to understanding design. He notes design is subjective, qualitative, and contingent on larger cultural context. Taking design in a problem solving context, he notes the challenges different cultural settings present using more scientific methods. Culture challenges the problem solving process and a design approach must be flexible enough to incorporate cultural differences. Kolko is the executive director of design strategy at venture accelerator, Thinktiv (www.thinktiv.com). He is the founder and director of the Austin School for Design (www.ac4d.com). Previously, he worked at frog design and was a professor of Interactive and Industrial Design at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). He has authored multiple books on design. Kolko earned his Masters in Human Computer Interaction (MHI) and BFA in Design from Carnegie Mellon University.

How International Upbringing Benefits Child Development - Bijoy Goswami

In Chapter 3 of 15 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, leadership philosopher Bijoy Goswami shares his personal experience in answering what are the benefits of an international upbringing. At its core, it teaches both the diversity of experience and the commonality of experience. Born in Bangalore, India and raised in Hong Kong, he learns to see people as individuals and not as races or nationalities. He also learns to appreciate where he lives, for example the United States, by gaining perspective living abroad. Goswami lives in Austin, TX, where he develops models, including MRE, youPlusU, and Bootstrap, to help others live more meaningfully. He teaches his models through community activism, lectures, writing, and online communication. Previously, he co-founded Aviri Software after working at Trilogy Software. Goswami graduated from Stanford University, where he studied Computer Science, Economics, and History.

Fabian Pfortmüller on How Columbia General Studies Educates a Nontraditional Student

In Chapter 2 of 19 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, community builder and entrepreneur Fabian Pfortmüller shares how getting into Columbia University comes about after not getting into his first school. Applying only after taking several years to work after high school, he finds comfort at Columbia University's School of General Studies. The program is designed for nontraditional career paths, including incoming students coming from performing arts and the military. Pfortmüller is co-founder of Sandbox Network (www.sandbox-network.com). He also co-founded an innovation think tank, Incubaker (www.incubaker.com), and is part of the group's first spin-off, Holstee (www.holstee.com), an apparel brand for people who would like to wear their passion. Pfortmüller graduated from Columbia University and its School of General Studies.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: Why did you decide to attend Columbia University?

Fabian Pfortmüller: The honest answer is I originally wanted to study in the UK and no school accepted me, that’s the honest answer and I started applying in the US kind of as a consequence of that and suddenly schools started to accept me and really good schools started to accept me and I just realized that I was not an extraordinarily good student from my high school grades but I had something to show, not good grades but I had a lot of extracurricular activities.

And apparently that can be clearly seen with the process of my applications, this was valued much more here in the US than it was in the UK. But in the end it was very clear New York was the place to be, I’m a big city person, Columbia seemed like a really amazing place and Columbia has a special program which it calls the School of General Studies, which is a normal college degree you do but you have all kinds of, they call it atypical students. Students who have been entrepreneurs, students who have been in the army, who have been professional artists or have been in sports to have a college for those people to go back and make a degree and I couldn’t be happier than being there really, like it’s a fantastic place.

Erik Michielsen: Tell me more about the general studies program and how have your peers in that program inspired you?

Fabian Pfortmüller: You know I always felt little bit like a freak, especially when it comes to education but as a young entrepreneur I guess at large you’re a little bit like a freak, you decided not to go for that classical career and that’s a hard decision to take if everyone else goes straight to university becomes a banker or a consultant goes off he makes his career, does an MBA goes into middle management and then he has kids and family and that’s pretty much it and not doing that feels kind of cool but at the same time it also needs quite a lot of courage.

And I felt a freak until I came to Columbia and I saw that there’re lots of people like me and it feels really good to see that it’s absolutely normal to have an atypical education way and I would recommend it to anyone. And I think that gives me self confidence, that gives me self confidence with saying ‘I’m twenty-eight, I’m just graduating with my bachelors in May’ and it’s totally fine, it’s totally normal, you know? And I think that’s great.

How Working Internationally Propels Marketing Strategy Career - Alan McNab

In Chapter 14 of 17 in his 2010 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, customer advocacy marketing executive Alan McNab shares how international travel has impacted his marketing strategy career development. While at Hewlett-Packard and Cisco early in his career, McNab moved to Hong Kong and then did international mergers and acquisitions, or M&A, work at Cisco. Today, McNab works in Dublin, Ireland for NCR where he manages customer advocacy for Europe, Middle East, and Africa. McNab learns from other cultures how to position offerings differently, finding support through local agencies. McNab holds a BSEE in Electrical Engineering from Santa Clara University and an MBA from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. He has worked in various technology marketing roles at Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, Motorola, and is now Vice President, Customer Advocacy at NCR based in Dublin.