The five secrets of innovation…
Comments (0) The five secrets of innovation – http://bit.ly/8XI62o #cnn
Comments (0) 
Everyone thinks of changing th…
By Sameer Kalwani, November 26, 2009
Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. – Tolstoy
back from bombay & a monsoon w…
By Sameer Kalwani, November 26, 2009
back from bombay & a monsoon wedding
looking for volunteer business…
By Sameer Kalwani, November 25, 2009
looking for volunteer business analysts/development leads. Work is virtual and only requires 2-5 hours / week.
Spurring Waves of Growth
By Sameer Kalwani, November 18, 2009
So its been sometime since I last spoke about Ideatopia – the non-profit focused on empowering entrepreneurs through social networks. It’s been a challenge working on getting things ramped up with the new job and the new culture/environment. I’ve been in India for a little over 3 months now. We now have hot water and gas for the kitchen. All we’re missing is Internet, which should hopefully be resolved very soon.
In the Ideatopia hiatus, we’ve made significant progress in our application to become a 501(c)3 organization. Once we obtain our 501(c)3 status, we’ll become a more legitimized organization. Non-profit, legal and online communities will take us more seriously as a legitimate organization looking to make a difference.
Also, we’ve been struggling in getting development off the ground. Working with a part-time, virtual, volunteer organization does not provide much motivation for people to contribute. The idea was to get people to contribute 2-3 hours of their week to help a good idea and a great cause; however, when working with people who have no incentive to help – no money, no community, and little time-commitment – you can’t get things completed in the time span you had originally outlined. Also, being in India has not helped.
So instead of sucking on sour lemons, we’re taking the opportunity to turn these issues into lemonade. We have two volunteers who are committed to the organization and have helped us get to 501(c)3 status, as well as develop the basic requirements for the social network we are starting. Me being in India is helping us find talented people to help develop our site into something spectacular. Right now we have expanded our team to a much larger level, and are ready to get things done as soon as possible.
Form vs. Function vs. Familiarity
By Sameer Kalwani, November 2, 2009
You can build a well, but will people come? You can build a well, but will it be safe? You can build a well, but will it build livelihood? You can build a well, but will it create a sense of aspiration?
When our RO plant arrives it is an event in the community. It provides WHO standard water in places that wells cannot provide. It provides livelihood to our franchisees. People look to both our plant and our franchisees and suddenly feel the positive influence it provides to the community.
Themocracy