Hult Prize Competition Upon Us

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The Hult Prize is one of the most lucrative awards that college students have the chance to obtain. The objective to win the prize is no easy feat, however, although quite a simple directive: design a business that sets out to take on a global issue. The winner gets $1 million.

The Hult Prize is an annual contest and is also the world’s biggest program dedicated to launching startups that is directed towards college students all over the world. Each year, students from India, China, the United States and the U.K. vie for a shot at the prize of launching their business that will aim to help the world.

The winners of the content are ultimately decided at the Clinton Meetings in New York, where the victorious team takes home the prize money of $1 million in seed funding for their prospective business. “The opportunity for a startup, irrespective of sector, in my opinion is the social development space where you’ve got this massive market, which by 2020 will represent nearly $1.5 trillion of annual spent,” says the CEO of the Hult Prize Foundation, Ahmad Ashkar. He continued by saying, “Actually, bringing innovative products and services to the world’s poorest allows the world’s poorest to get themselves out of poverty. So it’s a win-win for the world.”

Challenges in past years have been the task of a business model for solving the global food crisis, and rectifying the issue of non-communicable diseases. So, as one can see, the challenges laid out are no easy feat and require a great deal of planning. The challenge for 2015 has already been set: Early Childhood Education in the Urban Slum.

In recents years, experts have noted that there have been an increasing number of young people getting excited about making a widespread positive mark on business by way of social entrepreneurship. It will be interesting to see what contestants come up with as a solution for the issue presented for the 2015 contest. To read more on the Hult Prize and the advances of social entrepreneurship, check out this article

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Leveraging Regional Assets

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Leveraging Regional Assets

Often times, specific regions align with great or not so great assets. For example, many people live on the east and west coast due to the large cities like New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Here people find many job opportunities that can take their career to the next level. So what is it that a midwestern city like Kansas City have to offer?

I have found that Kansas City has many successful entrepreneurs that are successful that are often overlooked in economic development studies. Many of the Kansas City area firms have appeared on Inc. magazine’s list of fastest growing companies. We interviewed the founders of some of these firms in the information technology, biotechnology,

Some Key Take Aways From Our Interviews Include:

– Firm Growth Not Linked to Lack of Venture Capital or Angel Investment
After speaking with many founders, only a small percentage reported receiving an investment. Their growth had more to do with self financing or help from close family and friends.

– Kansas City Firms Enjoy a Substantial Pool of Talent in the Region
These growing firms often have a long-term employee development strategy to hire young people and train them to be first-class professionals, including technical experts. A great asset to being located in the midwest is the cheap cost of living. Entrepreneurs find that the regions low cost of living and work ethic of the people of the midwest to be a major strength.

For more on Leveraging Regional Assets, stay tuned for my next post.

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Groundswell

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Will Byrne is an activist and social entrepreneur. In his early career, he worked in journalism at Der Speigel and The American Academy in Berlin, Germany. Upon arriving back in the United States, Byrne joined Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential Campaign. Once that was all said and done, he founded the nonprofit organization Groundswell. Groundswell’s mission is simple, to unlock communities’ shared economic power to grow sustainability and expand prosperity on the local level. Now how do they go about doing this?

Byrne mobilizes groups to pool together buying power to purchase energy. A simple and brilliant plan, when we buy in bulk, things become cheaper. Byrne recognizes that while life’s luxuries like televisions and smartphones are becoming cheaper, life’s necessities like education, healthcare, and energy are becoming more expensive.

Byrne’s impact has been greatly felt by those in need. With a focus on the Mid-Atlanic region, Groundswell has helped communities complete over $10 million in people-powered clean energy projects. As a result, participants have saved over $1 million on their electric bills and have been reinvesting over $1.5 million in communities.

Will Byrne’s accomplishments as CEO of Groundswell have not gone unnoticed. He’s received the following accolades:

–  Forbes 30 Under 30 Selection; Social Entrepreneurs, Forbes Magazine (December 2012)
–  Global Fellow, Ashoka Innovators for the Public, December 2011
–  Global Shaper, World Economic Forum, 2011
–  Champions of Change, White House Executive Office of the President, 2011
–  Young Atlanticist Network, Atlantic Council, January 2014
–  Cordes Social Entrepreneurship Fellow (Global), 2010
–  Lisa B. Hall Fellow, Concord Academy, 2013

For more on Groundswell, check out them out at groundswell.org, Facebook, and Twitter.

 

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