I'm a sociologist, researcher, and writer who loves to learn + build businesses. My storytelling adventures have taken me through worlds as diverse as security, government innovation, and data.
3 Steps to Building Your Credit History
Here are three steps to help you get started building your business credit history to give you financial options that cash alone simply cannot.
9 options for paying your employees when you can’t make payroll
It stands to reason that, due to a coronavirus-related cash flow problem, companies of all sizes may lapse on payroll. So what should you do if you can’t make payroll? Read on for six options for paying your employees when you think you can’t make payroll—and three options should you miss payroll.
6 ways to increase cash flow when you can’t make payroll
1. Ask your vendors for longer payment terms.
Humans are the heart of any business. Explain your situation to your vendors as soon as possibl...
The Best Time to Send an Email and How to Build Stronger Bonds with Your Audience
As the world navigates it’s new normal, one of the biggest challenges that you may face as a marketer is understanding the needs of your target audience. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced people around the world to adapt to new ways of life; and while 2020 is about adjusting to change, 2021 and beyond will be about discovering and building new routines, especially around the way that we engage with screens.
For this reason, your email marketing strategy requires careful thought, consideration,...
Remote Setup: The Remote Guide to Logistics
This guide outlines the legal and finance challenges that companies often navigate, when building a remote-first workforce. Rather than offer prescriptive steps to regulatory gray zones, this resource highlights judgment calls that leaders should anticipate making, including outlining risks and rewards. Throughout each section, we’ll share our experience at Doist, a remote-first company, on building and scaling remote operations over the last 12 years.
Omniflow
In the coming years, digitization will be a key priority for cities around the world. One of the biggest questions on every local government leader’s mind is how to improve access to public services and quality of life. This need requires a heightened degree of integrated systems thinking and problem-solving. Connectivity and software-defined feedback loops are essential for effective resource management.
This need is largely responsible...
Zan Compute
One of the biggest challenges that the commercial real estate industry faces in the coming years is safety. Around the world, building occupants and facilities managers are questioning how to create safer spaces — to protect tenants, guests, and workers responsible for upkeep.
The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing companies in all industries to take a more strategic and proactive approach to cleaning spaces. At a minimum, workplaces need to be cl...
Beyond Black Friday: Becoming an Agile Retailer
There has even been an evolution of new retail shopping trends such as Cyber Monday, which made its debut in 2005 to reach consumers who would rather shop online than participate in the Black Friday rush. Just seven years later in 2012, Giving Tuesday made its debut as part of a consumer-led movement to bring more attention to giving back during the season of “thanks.”
As a retailer, you’re impacted by constant change in the industry. Over the last decade, the world has seen dramatic changes ...
Decentralization and Solar: Blockchain as a Pathway to Infrastructure Development
Solar power projects are one of the biggest opportunities for investment in Africa. With more than 600 million Africans living without electricity, there’s a clear need. But there isn’t a clear path. Even though Africa is the most sun-rich continent in the world and pricing on new electricity generation is reaching record lows, limited financing and lack of government support have stood in the way of development. This gridlock has been a challenge for overseas investors and developers to crac...
Bridge Cross-Continental Investments: The Access Formula
Mobile Money + Decentralized Banking = Global Economic Pathways
Investors around the world are focused on economic development in Africa. In particular, this economic opportunity has been a focus for China. The country has been spearheading innovation in solar panel development and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, has sights on manufacturing facilities, supply chains, transportation infrastructure, reliable communication systems, and human infrastructure throughout the continent.
“China is a...
So You Wanna Build a Software Startup?
Software startups, especially in their early stages, can be rough. As a founder, it’s easy to get lost in a world of opportunity. You could build anything — but you need to build just one thing. When you finally figure out what that one thing is, you know that you’re a million iterations away from that magical product/market fit moment.
“It’s interesting because I think there’s an obligation as an entrepreneur to always have to say that we’re killing it—but the reality is always, always, alwa...
Erica leaps out of childhood poverty to change business narratives
Erica Swallow is an entrepreneur on a mission to change peoples’ lives for the better. Her life has taken her through many extremes — from growing up in poverty to working alongside some of the wealthiest venture capitalists in the United States. It was through a series of twists and turns in life — and shutting down her first technology company — that she learned the art of aligning value creation with business success. That balancing act, she explains, starts with the stories that w...
Chris rewires the global retail economy
Preview
Chris Folayan is a Nigerian-American entrepreneur with a vision to change the rules of global trade. His company, Mall for Africa, has connected previously closed financial, shipping, and logistics pathways between the African continent and the rest of the world. What started as a personal experiment in 2012 has evolved into a shopping ecosystem that reaches hundreds of millions of people in 57 countries. In this Q&A, you’ll learn about Chris’s vision, values, and the decisions he nav...
Navigating Human Privacy During the Pandemic: Key Discussions to Follow
As the world navigates a time of human tragedy, institutions are under pressure to confront tough practical and philosophical questions regarding user privacy. Questions pertain to business risk, revenue optimization, hiring, pivots, and expansion efforts. The burden of responsibility falls on compliance officers, general counsels, and chief HR officers within businesses.
On the one hand, measures such as digital contact tracing have slowed down the spread of COVID-19 in East Asia. In additio...
Tech Inclusion: 3 Questions to Scratch the Surface of Bias in AI
According to the World Economic Forum, planet Earth is experiencing unprecedented change due to the rapid development of new technology—and the outcomes of these transitions are difficult to predict. One question that leaders are thinking about is tech inclusion—the idea that the economic benefits of tech should reach workers and end users of all walks of life. It’s no secret that diversity in tech is a problem that has the potential to scale.
What humankind does know is that AI is, and will ...
Autonomous Tech for Customer Experience: What Does It Mean?
Imagine what the business world would look like if customer support ran on autopilot. What comes to mind?
If you’re in a finance role, you may envision a reduction in operational overhead. If you run a call center, you may be worried about the future of your team’s jobs. When you wear your consumer hat, you may wonder if you’ll be spending more time interacting with recorded messages than humans who can problem-solve.
But reality is far different from this piecemeal perspective. Autonomous te...