the people report2014 pilot year

the ideaIn February 2014, we launched The GO Project as a yearlong experiment in 21st

Century entrepreneurial talent and ecosystem development. The model: learning was done in

real time, on real ventures, in a co-living, coworking, and co-creating multi-skilled

team, across three continents.

We partnered with local governments, accelerators, corporate backed incubators, and cross-sector organizations in emerging

tech hubs to execute 3 month short-term, high-impact projects. The goal: help build

vibrant entrepreneurial communities by training entrepreneurs, scaling startups,

launching initiatives, and driving collaboration within and across ecosystems.

By years-end, The GO Project has tested a new platform for talent development and

employment with projects and partners in Santiago, Chile, Istanbul, Turkey, and

Yangon, Myanmar.

this reportThis report is about how it all played out:

our successes, our failures, and our future. But most importantly, it is a thank you to the people that made it all happen.

#itsallaboutthepeople The people—our partners, colleagues, and collaborative communities—were the source of inspiration, meaning and lasting impact. They’re now

lifelong friends, mentors, colleagues, and partners.This is our collective story.

DorothyFrom: Monterrey, MexicoFocus: Experiential learning, curriculum design, workshop facilitationBackground: Harvard University Graduate School of Education for Master’s Degree in Psychology, Neuroscience and EducationWhy GO: Explore experiential and unconventional learning methods in varying socioecono-mic environments to ultimately design better education systemsKnown for: Love of cooking and flamenco dancing

MeganFrom: Chicago, IL, USAFocus: Brand strategy, marketing, UX and human-centered designBackground: A Corporate Global Brand Manager and Experience Designer at Discover Financial Services and Diners Club InternationalWhy GO: Gain global empathy,explore entrepreneurship and grow expertise in human-centered designKnown for: Endlessly dancing and listening to reggaeton

the team 1/2”Your Allies of Glory are those people that support you, encourage you, challenge you, hold you accountable, and push you to give your all without excuses.”

- Antonio Neves

MinhFrom: Atlanta, GA, USAFocus: Civic engagement, government backed innovation, urban hacking, social enterprise strategyBackground: Project management and consulting at the City of Atlanta’s Mayor’s OfficeWhy GO: Garner start-up experience within social enterprise space and gain global perspective on socialjustice and city developmentKnown for: Mean dance moves and family style cooking for the team

DorothyFrom: Monterrey, MexicoFocus: Experiential learning, curriculum design, workshop facilitationBackground: Harvard University Graduate School of Education for Master’s Degree in Psychology, Neuroscience and EducationWhy GO: Explore experiential and unconventional learning methods in varying socioecono-mic environments to ultimately design better education systemsKnown for: Love of cooking and flamenco dancing

MandyFrom: San Jose, CA, USAFocus: Content development, writing, video production and editingBackground: Highschool Student and Japan-America Friendship Scholar for Youth for UnderstandingWhy GO: Take a meaningful Gap Year of personal and professional growth at a global scale after high school and prior to undergraduate schoolKnown for: Being nocturnal and our Gen-Z insider

MattFrom: San Francisco, CA, USAFocus: Collaborative consumption, growth hacking, bootstrapping, UX/UIBackground: Senior account advisor at Lyft, Digital Strategist at Om Entertainment Group, and serial entrepreneurWhy GO: To understand collaborative marketplaces around the world and see how local economies were utilizing technologyKnown for: DJing the day to day and a loud laugh

NooraFrom: Turku, FinlandFocus: Graphic design and front-end web developmentBackground: International Relations Assistant at Turku University of Applied SciencesWhy GO: Launch a career in design by developing design assets for entrepreneurs around the worldKnown for: Her eye for second-hand style and endless meme creation

AlfonsoFrom: Monterrey, MexicoFocus: Culture hacking, operations, project execution & quality assuranceBackground: Production Systems Engineer and Supply Chain Lead Consultant at SIEMENSWhy GO: Launch and scale athriving startup with global impact and gain a transformational year of personal growthKnown for: Naming his mustache Camille and hidden drawing talent

MaxFrom: Raleigh, NC, USAFocus: Finance, business development, public speakingBackground: Analyst and Consultant at a Business brokerage and advisory firmWhy GO: Acquire global perspective, undergo holistic personal growth, and transition into the social enterprise industryKnown for: Being mildly athletic and making people laugh

the team 2/2”Your Allies of Glory are those people that support you, encourage you, challenge you, hold you accountable, and push you to give your all without excuses.”

- Antonio Neves

NooraFrom: Turku, FinlandFocus: Graphic design and front-end web developmentBackground: International Relations Assistant at Turku University of Applied SciencesWhy GO: Launch a career in design by developing design assets for entrepreneurs around the worldKnown for: Her eye for second-hand style and endless meme creation

CecilyFrom: Providence, RI, USAFocus: Content production, media and communicationsBackground: Content producer for e-commerce startup and startup Youtube channel, film productionWhy GO: To build a platform that empowers entrepreneurs by sharing resources, connecting across globalnetworks, and expressing their voiceKnown for: Quick wit, hats and a killer shoulder dance

KevinFrom: Houston, TX, USAFocus: Sales, public speaking,workshop facilitation and pitchcoachingBackground: Program design and coordinator at Transformative Action Institute and serial entrepreneur ofsocial enterpriseWhy GO: Learn about people and social enterprise across cultures and continents to launch and lead a for-profit impact company in thefutureKnown for: Being able to makefriends with anyone anywhere

the chance collision that started it all

We met at StartingBloc’s New York Institute in June 2013. This was where the concept of

The GO Project was born.

“We bring together entrepreneurs, activists,educators, and innovators working to create

change...We do this through a transformative5-day experience where Fellows learn fromproven change-makers, are pushed to take

bigger risks, and find new life-long allies.”

- StartingBloc website

long-distance planningAs a group from different career stages, disciplines, and

geographies, we built our team and planned the pilot over Google Hangout for 8 months - every Monday night.

jillian & andresAfter planning for 6 months, we were

introduced to Jillian from ProChile at a networking event in Chicago.

She introduced us to Andres who ran crowdfunding and entrepreneurship

initiatives at ProChile in Santiago.

our first baby Jillian and Andres brought us to Santiago, Chile to launch our first pilot in March, 2014.

stg

santiago model: collaborating across the

chilean ecosystemWe were introduced to leaders across the

community to drive collaboration and build cross-sector initiatives. There, we worked

alongside partners at Mujeres del Pacífico, Plan C, Fundación Chile, ASECH,

and Pais Digital.

bugraDuring our pilot in Santiago we met Bugra, COO of Startupbootcamp Istanbul. He brought us to Istanbul, Turkey for the second phase of our pilot in June, 2014.

ist

istanbul model: in-house mentoring at

a startup acceleratorWe worked with Startupbootcamp Istanbul’s

inaugural class to scale nine early stage tech companies, and coordinated the

program alongside the Startupbootcamp Istanbul executive team.

julianFinally we met Julian, the founder of Ideabox

Myanmar. He brought us to Yangon, Myanmar in October, 2014 for the third and final

phase of our pilot.

ygn

yangon model: developing community

incubator and coworking space

We ran initiatives and events alongside ideabox Myanmar’s young entrepreneurs, tech startups, and community leaders like

Phandeeyar, SuleTech, mWomen, Geek Girls, and Koe Koe Tech.

s t r a t e g y c o n s u l t i n g

d e s i g n & d e v e l o p m e n t

c o m m u n i t y b u i l d i n g

i n n o v a t i v e e d u c a t i o n & t r a i n i n g

the workOur team acted as an entrepreneurial

swiss-army knife to fit our local partners’ needs. The goal = build vibrant

entrepreneurial communities.

d e s i g n & d e v e l o p m e n t

e m p o w e r i n g w o m e n e n t r e p r e n e u r s

i n n o v a t i v e e d u c a t i o n & t r a i n i n g

m e d i ap r o d u c t i o n &p r o m o t i o n

strategy consulting

Equity Crowdfunding Strategic Plan - Santiago

PlanC crowdfunding platform 2020 Strategic Vision - Santiago

24/7 startup communication & support - Istanbul

Startup pitch coaching - Istanbul

community building Launched weekly documentary night at

STGO Makerspace - Santiago

Updated ASECH Membership On-boarding Experience - Santiago

Promoted, branded, and managed Demo Day - Istanbul

Planned and coordinated SuleTech coworking space launch

- Yangon

Launched Creative Breakfast monthly events - Yangon

innovative education & training

Researched Framework for Innovative Primary Education

- Santiago

Coordinated Khan Academy Translate-a-thon events and strategy

- Yangon

Taught Interactive workshops in branding, growth hacking, bootstrapping and more

- All hubs

HacKIDemia introduction and workshop partnering - Yangon

Lead Pitch Coaching Workshops - Istanbul

design & development

Designed UX/UI of Chilean Mining Industry Web and Mobile application

- Santiago

Managed customer insights and brand redesign of accelerator startups

- Istanbul

Managed customer user testing and focus groups - All hubs

Designed and executed full-suite design of brand, marketing, pitches, stage set and collateral assets

for Demo Day - Istanbul

Designed and executed full-suite design of brand, marketing, pitches, design and collateral assets for

empowering women entrepreneurs

Designed curriculum and launched pilot “I+M Lab” innovation course for women entrepreneurs and

women executives - Santiago

Developed Geek Girls tech community training workshops

- Yangon

Managed launch of a women’s empowerment mobile magazine mobile app May Ma Di

- Yangon

Coordinated and presented at Connected Women’s Conference

media production & promotion

Demo and promotional videos for Startupbootcamp Istanbul Demo Day

- Istanbul

“Accelerating Genius” campaign to promote collaboration and knowledge sharing

- Istanbul

Program videos for GSMA award competitions - Yangon

Event and company promo videos - Yangon

Wrote and managed blog and social media activity for partners

- Istanbul

Created, produced, and directed ”35 Under 35” campaign to promote young entrepreneurs

- Yangon

personal wellbeing & team dynamics

We argued and let our egos get the best of us. We ignored our basic needs and made little effort to

achieve balance and stability.

We’re in this for the long haul, so now we make more effort to achieve balanced work habits. Allowing ourselves ”off

duty” time means that when we’re on, we deliver.

being complacentWe sometimes failed to recognize when to step up

and take initiative. We let complacency take ownership instead of us.

One of our mottos is “say yes and show up.” We’ve trained ourselves to recognize where help is

needed and how to add value.

failing 1/2This past year was an experiment, and we

messed up a lot. We see failures not only as an important way to drive transparency, but

as an endless opportunity for learning. Here are some of the ways we failed and

what we learned from them.

not setting the right expectations

Not setting expectations from the beginning led to confusion and misunderstanding with our

process and outputs.

Now we set expectations at the beginning, with ourselves, the team, and our partners. This keeps channels of

communication open and transparent.

lack of structureWe didn’t establish structure and systems that would

create efficiency and up-to standard delivery on projects. This made us inconsistent and sometimes unreliable.

Creating process and building infrastructure from the beginning not only makes our jobs easier and more

efficient, it makes our results better.

failing 2/2

12 Startups mentored

347,288 Flight miles or 558 905 flight kilometres racked up

32 Countries visited

13.9 Times around the world

go by the numbers

121,883 Direct Network likes on Facebook

14 Articles published

53 Videos produced

13 Partnerships established

26 Events launched, hosted and staffed

1 Lost tooth

go by the numbers

100%Percentage of fellows finding a job or opportunity post-GO:

Minerva Schools at Keck Graduate Institute

Harvard Masters Program: Mind, Brain, and Education

Fulbright Scholarship Program

Co-founder, Bindez

Startup Executive, Good Labs

with the 5 remaining members sticking together to continue to build and scale GO as an education tech global startup

27,900 Hours spent using ’complimentary’ wifi

10 Languages spoken proficiently

∞ Memes shared

global communityWe’re thankful for all the amazing people we

met, worked with, learned from, and shared ideas, projects, beers and laughs

with. You are forever a part of our community of mentors, partners, innovators and

free-thinkers that span the globe.

global communityWe’re thankful for all the amazing people we

met, worked with, learned from, and shared ideas, projects, beers and laughs

with. You are forever a part of our community of mentors, partners, innovators and

free-thinkers that span the globe.

”The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk,

mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never

yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow

roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.”

- Jack Kerouac

Thank you Javier Álvarez for the concept inspiration. Thank you Fulvia Morales and Charlie Harless for the StartingBloc pictures in pages 12 and 13 of this report. All other images and illustrations by GO.

Copyright Global Opportunity (GO) 2015.

2015 and the futureOur pilot in 2014 proved there is a demand for this type of global career building and entrepreneurial

ecosystem development.

This report closes out The GO Project as the pilot year experiment. Five of our founding members will continue on in 2015 to refine and expand the model

with the traction built and lessons learned with our global community of trailblazers worldwide.

See you in 2015!