Of all the things that amaze me about Burning Man, the thing I’ve always found the most amazing is the breadth and variety of people—where else could you sit around talking about art and culture with a socialist doctor, a libertarian stripper, an atheist with a Master’s in Divinity from Harvard, aid workers who crosses [...]

On Purpose has just opened its new Call for Associates On Purpose is run by a very clever group of people, and they help people migrate into the Social Enterprise space. I wish this programme had existed for me 5 years ago, as I’d have jumped on the chance (not that I wish I did [...]

Hello all you patient-to-the-world people. Yep, I’ve still been kind of crazy busy. What have I been doing? Managing & running Social Innovation Camp in Edinburgh and helping build teams to develop these six ideas. All the ideas seem to be moving forward—but I’ll have more details about that in a couple of weeks. There [...]

Difficulty in opportunity | Opportunity in difficulty There’s an old adage that the skeptic sees difficulty in every opportunity, while the entrepreneurs sees opportunity in every difficulty. Think about it. Imagine it’s 1998. Search sucks. Yahoo’s your best bet. Banner ads and the blink tag run rampant across the Internet. Pets.com has just closed its [...]

Hi both of you who are still reading this, since I apparently let aaaaages pass without an update. Current status: I’ve stopped consulting… and have a job I’ve been working the past few months with the lovely and talented team at Social Innovation Camp around growing the business that they’ve started and bootstrapped over the [...]

There’s (Sorry for being not around—I’ve been very busy with several interesting—but unfortunately confidential—projects. I can say, though, that I’ve been investigating strategies for exploring new business opportunities in developing countries rather a lot) Those of you who know me know me on my bike. I’ve had nice ones, crappy ones, and funky ones. It’s [...]

Situation I was working (actually, eating soup and planning my workday) at the British Library half an hour ago when the fire alarm went. We all packed up and left, quietly, orderly, in a very British fashion, milling around in the courtyard. I tweeted about it. Here’s the funny thing Potential Fire in a library? [...]

The Hub, York Way King’s X, London 9th-10th Oct, 2009. I’ll be speaking about, in general, the challenges that investors and entrepreneurs face in Africa, with a specific focus on my partner organisation Appfrica Labs. Come out if you can. Details at Africa Gathering and on the EventBrite page. I’m on at 11 AM on [...]

My final post from (10000km and a two weeks after) SoCap. Sorry this is late– I’ve just been indundated by the types of things that inundate your life at the end of five months on the road: I hadn’t slept in the same place (and mostly in the same country) for more than three weeks [...]

ExpectationI had the fortune to go to Sardegna recently for a friend’s wedding. Everything about this place is pretty awesome. The service is attentive yet chaotic– it’s hard to instil a strong series of values when you have four hours off in the middle of the afternoon in 40 degree (C) heat. When there’s a [...]