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Brooke Estin
San Francisco, Thailand
My parents are both teachers and joined the thousands of teachers who are in the int’l school system. I grew up in Thailand from when I was 9-17-years-old and after 6 years in San Francisco I came back to Bkk to work in the international development sector. While in SF, I started working with Kiva.org when there were about 5-6 of us there. After feeling like I had "found my tribe" with the young enthusiastic brilliance that is Kiva, I knew that I wanted to work in the international development sector. Through a series of (what turned out to be) fortunate events, I moved back to Thailand to with an org called ChangeFusion that helps incubate seeding and start-up social businesses in the Asia region. As if that’s not enough, I also work for another incredible start-up called All Day Buffet that is focused on social business incubation in the US. I'm really just want to do some good in this world. Who knows, maybe I can even make a living out of it!
Recent Activity
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Brooke signed the petition | -
Brooke commented on the article |Looking forward to this upcoming list, Nathaniel!
Check out this resource for ideas as well:
http://socialent.org/documents/EVOLUTIONOFTHESOCIALENTERPRISEINDUSTRY--ACHRONOLOGYOFKEYEVENTS.pdfThis covers a much longer time frame than just the last decade, but check out page 46 onwards for this post.
Cheers! -
Brooke commented on the article |Yaey! I already got our Kiva.org speaker all set up!
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Brooke signed the petition | -
Brooke commented on the article |Hi Mark,
I'm so happy to see you exploring this idea. I first read about Blake a few years back and that's part of the reason I gravitated more and more towards this field. These types of business models were so compelling and I felt like I wanted to be part of it. It started with changing my purchasing habbits, then volunteering, then finally working in the field of social business development. You are absolutely right in terms of the customers turning into preachers for the product. As far as I am concerend the most powerful type of marketing is the viral messaging that happens after someone is inspired and feels like they are part of something bigger.
I think at this point in time there is somewhat of an identity crisis taking place. Especially in the US, so many people define themselves by their stuff. That's what marketing tells you: if you buy this, you will be happy just like these beautiful people! But at a time where people are losing their stuff, I think they are really questioning their identity. It's my belief that the growth of "conscious consumerism" is a way for people to merge their purchasing habits with their sense of identity in terms of what they value and who they are in the context of the big picture. As the global problems are much more in our faces than at any other time, people are starting to get a sense of who they are and what their role is in the larger sceme of things.
So, where am I going with all of this you ask?
I'm trying to say that I think you are on the right track. By taping into the dual forces of a great product (for the sake of being able to gain and keep a market share) in conjunction with a great cause (for the sake of taping into people feeling like their values are aligned with their decisions) you've got a good thing going there. It's just a matter of being able to communicate that in a way that empowers the consumer rather than guilting them into making the purchase. When you empower people to feel like they are contributing to a good cause (that requires very little time and effort on their part) then you will be able to count on them to spread the word and inspire others to join in.
I would love to help you communicate this message, so please keep me in the loop!
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Brooke signed the petition | -
Brooke commented on the article |Fantastic post, Nathaniel. I'm so glad your blogs bring so much attention and focus to this area. As a long time employee of Kiva, and now working with ChangeFusion.org and All Day Buffet, I sure am banking on these new social innovation incubators helping to lead the way of the future. At a time when people are feeling more disillusioned than ever, I hope that they will see the same potential in social business that I do.
Keep us the good work! -
Brooke commented on the article |
Hi Nathaniel,
I'd love to hear more about All Day Buffet! Have you written anything else about them yet?
Cheers,
Brooke -
Brooke commented on the article |What about ChangeFusion.org? Or their YSEI.org program?
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Brooke signed the petition |
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