Sustainable Standards and Free Trade - Pt.2

in #startup • 5 years ago

Part two of this talk is about what first led me in the direction of founding my company Miiru and what kind of decisions I made once I had a good idea the shape that the company was to take.

So where did it all start? Burned out in my previous position and starting to make selfish, appeasful and Yes-Man type choices I left my successful startup in China and did what every young romantic with time and too much money does -travel the world.

I spent time working for free on some of my friends businesses in Guelph, San Diego and Las Vegas. Working for free because while trying to find something that engaged me regardless of the money. I’m not particularly financially motivated, with $1000 in the bank my shoulders relax and I kick my feet up (not the typical hungry mindset for starting a business) but there are ways around that.

After all this searching I figured out a way to build a business around things that are my particular strong suits:

  • I love to get in on the ground floor of something.
  • I love to figure things out for myself
  • And since I’m Irish, absorbing all kinds of stress and just bottling it up rather nicely inside myself

The Model:
Toms Biz Model.jpg

If you are not familiar with The Buy One Give One business model, the most famous example to throw you is Tom’s Shoes. Experimenting with this model is the only reason I know anything about these ideas that are pushing the forefront of modern industry.

Trade Talk BOGO Slide.png

An example of BOGO 2.0 is Warby Parker. They fund training in target areas for professional development. But this has not been universally well received because people don’t love being told to do, as much as they love free stuff.

Miiru is an example of a BOGO 3.0 Business Model. We take a percentage of profits and turn it into targeted micro loans for startups and small businesses in our project countries.

Trade Talk Miiru BOGO3.0.png

So each business model has its own particular issues, and possible corruption. All possibly corrupt, all you get is your choice of possible corruption. The issues you’re prepared to deal with. Then it is your job to steer clear of them.

Travelling to Nepal was what changed me. This picture below is what a city in one of the poorest countries on earth looks like from the air. Low slung buildings all shoved together with tiny, weaving dirt roads connecting millions of inhabitants.

Trade Talk Nepal Shot.png

I wouldn’t have come across this idea if I hadn’t been there. Because in all its poverty and all its disarray, there is also endless opportunity and an overall optimistic, beautiful outlook existing in the minds of the Nepali. There is also a hustle that exists in certain places. An energy you can't quite put your finger on. I believe it is equal parts possibility, desire, danger, instability and growth. A sense that there is always something to be done. Nepal is a place where there is much to do.

I don’t have millions of dollars or even many thousands. But when I looked around the amazing thing about a place like that is that you could start a business with so little. $200 to buy a sewing machine and now instead of repairing clothes for you child you can fix the clothing for all the school children in town. Or $150 to buy a power saw and now you are the most productive carpenter in all the surrounding villages.

So this was the kick in the ass I needed. The boot that kicked loose the idea of starting something. Something with a long proven track record such as trade, with just a little bit of something new on the scales.

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#nepal #story #bogo #business
5 years ago in #startup by
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