At the Styling Change show at the Mission portrait gallery Photobooth this weekend, the new company Cuyana stood out with its fetching Peruvian Alpaca wares and emphasis on generosity. Based in the Bay, Ecuadorian designer Karla Gallardo’s eco brand sells oversized vests and hats whose sale includes a 10% donation to charity:water. The “e-bazaar that gives back” will be traveling to Jaipur, India, next for inspiration and artisan partnerships (the result of which will no doubt be beautiful).
What do laser cutters, confidence, and trucks have in common? Besides being things we’d secretly like to have more access to, they’re part of an innovative project out of Design Garage at Stanford that looks to get young students making (in spite of the budget cuts that have recently plagued local districts).
The SparkLab team of product designers has started a Kickstarter campaign to raise $25K to outfit a truck with tools and take it from school to school and stimulate students along the way. Take a peak at their fun story to see how the project intends to get local kids learning in highly hands-on ways.
When Culture Kitchen co-founder Abby Sturges explained that “cooking is a form of love and sharing,” I realized what I’ll be (belatedly) gifting friends for the day ‘o love. Between shipping packages of ingredients and recipes, she explained how the SF-based startup is looking to spread culture and cooking skills through food. Sturges and fellow designer Jennifer Lopez initially set out to offer in-person cooking classes between master cooks looking to support their families and customers eager to make their own tasty ethnic meals. To more widely translate the class experience of making, say, Green Gourd Stir Fry (Bí Xào Với Trứng), the pair now sells “culinary explorer packages” to a customer base beyond the seven by seven. If you’ve ever been frustrated by the run around required to get the necessary ingredients for a new dish (or shied away completely, as I have), the monthly subscription box could be just what the appetite ordered.
…is no small hosting effort, but leave it to the good folks at social accelerator COMMON to make it fun to find innovative solutions to global problems. After a stop in NYC the large-scale pitch party for entrepreneurs will head to Cape Town to work with Design Indaba and renowned designer judges in awarding $25K+ (200K Rand) to people creating positive social change in Africa. I’m eagerly awaiting the applicant videos and, even more, seeing the local ideas in action.
At the Designer Fund’s well-attended Women in Design forum recently, I was glad to get to hear stories from teen girls who participated in Iridescent Learning’s mobile app creation program. I had previously written about the group’s hands on development work (the program also gets young gals to pitch their ideas and prototypes to investors), but hearing from the high schoolers themselves about their gains was nothing if not inspiring. In advance of the upcoming class this winter and spring, Iridescent is taking applications for mentors, teaching assistants and speakers–people passionate about technology who want to work with schools, companies, and smart kids. Consider it, won’t you?
It’s ironic to consider inefficiency in healthcare at UCSF, but less so when the focus is how data-tracking might improve our experiences–and wellbeing–as people and patients. Today GigaOm’s Roadmap conference featured analyst Jody Ranck describing the need for more connectedness in the sector. The web-based “socialization of disease” (that is, the idea that lots of people want to share their experiences and literal pain points) isn’t the only evidence I need to agree.
And it’s encouraging to see SF-based companies that are running with this concept. At Rock Health’s demo day this afternoon, incubator company Genomera described the large-scale transition from “n=they” (when people waited for others to be studied for treatment) to “n=we” and “n=me” (when there’s a bias towards participation to improve outcomes). It’s being realized with platforms like SuperBetter from Social Chocolate and Eatery from Massive Health, both of which I’ve just starting trying. What other related services have you excited? Looking forward to hearing.
Culture of Future founder Jody Turner asked me to guest post for Fast Company recently. With pleasure!
At the recent NewSchools Venture Fund Summit in the northern part of Silicon Valley, innovators and educators met to re-imagine what future learning technologies might be capable of. The gathering of 600 policy makers, instructors, entrepreneurs, and creators included now-notable philanthropist and Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, who recently donated $100 million to Newark schools. (When asked why Zuckerberg did so, he said he’s thankful for the education he received and wants to help others have quality school experiences.) … more
Educational tech startups, take note: while your accomplishments in both social benefits and development breakthroughs may be massive, you have quite a few calls to make about financial and employee reward models on your way there. Such was the takeaway at “Inside the Entrepreneur’s Studio,” a breakout at the New School Venture Fund Summit this week. Words to the wise included:
Decide whether to operate for profit or not-for-profit (do note that these are different structures and don’t just refer to your first year performance). Greg Gunn, co-founder of education software company Wireless Generation, asked entrepreneurs to consider whether private or foundation capital will be more attainable based on their missions. more
Over the past two weeks I’ve enjoyed working with education expert Tina Barseghian to consider the question of whether parents would pay for mobile data plans their kids use for classroom purposes. This was in response to a Speak Up report released earlier this month that suggests 67 percent of families would pay so that their children could use phones as learning tools. You can read the full story Parents Weigh In On Paying for Mobile Access in Schools, and thanks to Baat Enosh (National Center for Women & IT), Rashmi Sinha (SlideShare), Stacey Foreman (FM), and Jean Hagen (Institute for the Future) for sharing their thoughts on the topic.
I knew local developer Saroj Yadav would create great things following the startup Supercool School. Welcome Kreeya, a commerce site featuring the wares of independent creators. Fourteen designers are currently selling their clothing and accessories on the site, whose members celebrate the term “I choose to wear local” in addition to lines from Nooworks and SAAKO. It’s one of those properties I’d selfishly prefer to keep to myself but can’t resist sharing with y’all.
