Education doesn’t have to be expensive, but it often is. In the U.S. we have a culture of financing education for people. Parents put aside college funds, colleges provide financial aid, private organizations offer scholarships, and there are all kind of student loans available. In much of the rest of the world, education is seen as a luxury. Vittana is a Seattle, WA based non-profit that is working to change that through microfinance. They “envision a world of opportunity, where educated minds and skillful hands work together to uplift the next generation, breaking the cycle of poverty.”
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For most of us hunger means that we’ll be eating soon–it’s a sign from our bodies to walk to the kitchen. That’s why it’s hard to grasp that hunger is still a problem in our communities, especially with obesity becoming such a big problem. Food insecurity might be a better name for today’s version of the problem (though that sounds like when someone feels bad after they eat). Whatever you want to call it, WhyHunger is a New York, NY based non-profit that is trying to fix it. They are “a leader in building the movement to end hunger and poverty by connecting people to nutritious, affordable food and by supporting grassroots solutions that inspire self-reliance and community empowerment.”
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When I was a kid I used to think that my parents were crazy for not opening the envelopes that told them that they “might already be a winner.” How can you not love the idea of someone showing up to your front door with balloons and a giant check? For some reason young people and old people get most excited for sweepstakes. I always knew that Publishers Clearing House gave away money, but I never understood the Port Washington, NY based company’s business model. It’s actually pretty simple. They’re in the business of direct marketing with a focus on magazine subscriptions. They offer a sweepstakes where purchasing doesn’t help your odds of winning at all, and use it to get attention. Attention is the first step in selling, and it’s hard not to get some when you give away millions of dollars in such an extravagant fashion.
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I applied to college in 2001. Back then my friends thought I was crazy for doing all of my applications online. I thought they were crazy for trusting the USPS with something that important. I don’t even know if you can still apply to college on dead trees, but apparently most admissions offices haven’t embraced technology as much as they should. Matchbox is a Boston, MA based startup that took inspiration from the iPad and built a platform to make the selection process much better. This has little to do with how people apply to college, and everything to do with how admissions offices make decisions. Organization is essential, and it’s a heck of a lot easier to stay organized when every piece of information you need is on an iPad and you have software that allows you to interact with that information in a user-friendly way.
Are You a Match?
I have an iPad. There are some good things it’s good for (consuming content), and there are some things it’s not so good for (producing content). Where the device really shines is somewhere in-between. That’s right where Matchbox sits–the admissions process is all about interacting with the content applicants create. Reading it, rating it, and organizing the results. Take a look at Matchbox’s Product Tour. The software looks stunningly beautiful, and you can tell right off the bat that admissions is a process made for the iPad. If you’re as impressed as I am, go take a look at Matchbox’s Internships page. Right now they’re looking for a Development Intern (Engineering). I know you thought that you were done with the college admissions process forever, but give Matchbox a look. There’s also an “I just want to work here” link, so try that if you aren’t a Developer.
Links to Help You Begin Your Research
What have you heard about Matchbox?
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In fifth grade I started playing the drums. By the end of 8th grade my music career was over. I attribute it to changing music tastes, a lack of will to practice, and the fact that the only band that I played with was the school band. I guess I just never wanted to be overshadowed by some guy with a Fender. In case you’re not familiar, Fender is a Scottsdale, AZ based company that manufactures stringed instruments and amplifiers. That’s a big of an understatement, actually. Fender is one of the most storied names in rock ‘n’ roll history and “the world’s leading guitar manufacturer.” Fender got its start in 1946 with an innovative design, and they’ve “grown to be one of the world’s leading marketers, manufacturers, and distributors of musical instruments.”
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Guys. If you’re going to land a job, you need pants. And shoes. And shirts. And maybe even a jacket and tie. Looking good is important, which is why you should outfit yourself in Bonobos like I do. Here’s $50 off your first order.
One of my favorite parts about doing what I do is the online marketing side. It’s equal parts arts and science, and it’s a constant challenge to reach new people. More and more businesses are moving their marketing online, and most of them have no idea what they’re doing. This is where local online marketing agencies like C-4 Analytics step in. C-4 is based in Saugus, MA and they offer services ranging from social media strategy to SEO to advertising analytics. C-4 Analytics works in a variety of industries including Automotive, Higher Education, Politics, Real Estate, and Retail. Unfortunately, they don’t name any specific clients or offer any case studies.
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One of the best things to happen to me when I moved to Chicago was that I found a volleyball meetup group. It was a great way to make new friends, get exercise, and improve my skills. Another was when I stumbled on Jelly Chicago, a co-working group. I really lucked out with both. Finding fun group activities isn’t usually so easy–especially if your interests don’t align with the types of groups that already exist. Lifecrowd is a company that is trying to make social group activities happen more often. They’re based in Santa Monica, CA, and they’ve “developed a community to connect those who want to pursue trying new activities with Hosts who want to share their knowledge or skills with others.”
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Yesterday we talked about how One Acre Fund is helping people escape poverty by giving them access to technology that makes them better farmers. Today’s non-profit also fights poverty with technology, but they’re using the power of the Internet to give people in countries like India, Pakistan, Haiti, Uganda, South Africa, and Kenya access to more robust economies. Samasource is based in San Francisco, CA, and they have a technology platform that brings “dignified, computer-based work to women, youth, and refugees living in poverty.” Outsourcing and offshoring often get a bad rap, but you rarely hear about how life changing the work can be for the people who get it. (I’m also convinced that outsourcing is a significant net positive for those of us who live in the countries with robust economies.)
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Considering the way most of us Americans eat, it’s nearly impossible to comprehend that a lot of people in this world rely on subsistence farming. In the U.S., a single farmer can easily feed about 100 people, yet across much of the world it takes an entire family’s work to feed a family. When Mother Nature stops playing nice, all of that work can be destroyed and the family may be left to go hungry. A big part of the difference in agricultural output has to do with technology, which is why One Acre Fund is working to bring farming technology to the developing world. They’re a non-profit based in New York, NY and Washington, DC, but they do most of their work in Kenya, Rwanda, and Burundi. One Acre Fund focuses on working directly with the poorest families–the ones that deal with hunger more than three months out of the year.
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I’ve read plenty of articles about how technology is making kids dumber. Video games, Facebook, and text messaging are usually the culprits. I’m more interested in how technology is making kids smarter. My expectations for kids who are currently in elementary school are through the roof because of the tools they and their teachers have access to. Wireless Generation is a Brooklyn, NY based company that is at the forefront of education technology. The company was founded by two Rhodes Scholars who “shared a passion for technology and an interest in what it could do for K-12 teachers.” Within ten years they built this passion into a company that was sold for $360 million. That’s what’s cool about the education market–you can feel like you’re doing good and still play in a market with big money.
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After I graduated, I decided to get my finances in order. I cashed out savings bonds, combined bank accounts, and opened a Scottrade account so that I could start investing. This had obvious benefits, but it was also a project for me to work on during my job search. By analyzing investment ideas and managing a (very small) portfolio, I was developing new skills while giving myself something to talk about during job interviews. I highly recommend doing something like this yourself, but if it’s just not for you, you may want to take a look at Betterment. They’re a New York, NY based company that helps “people make smart decisions with their money.” Actually, I’m not sure if that’s a good way to put it. They make investing frictionless and take away any excuse that you’ve been using not to invest (besides the “I have absolutely no money to invest” excuse).
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Yesterday we talked about filling your head with all kinds of useless pop culture. I don’t recommend it, but I guess you can make a career out of it if you really want to. Why not spend your time on more useful trivia like food industry facts and insights? That’s what the people at Technomic do. It’s a Chicago, IL based consulting company that has been serving the food industry since 1966. They offer “proprietary research, trend analysis, forecasts, common-interest studies and state-of-the-industry reports” to clients in every part of the food industry. Their clients range from supermarkets to chain restaurants to financial institutions that serve the industry. If it has anything at all to do with food, there’s a good chance that Technomic is on top of it.
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If you asked me if I like pop culture, I’d say yes without hesitation. I’m pretty good with trivia from the 90s and 2000s, but I’m not sure if I like pop culture anymore. Either I’m a little bit smarter, or our society is a lot dumber. I say that, but then I go and watch reality tv… and I literally just clicked a link to a NY Daily News article about a Dutch artist who turned a stuffed cat into a remote control helicopter (I refuse to link to it). Pop culture is like a drug, and BUZZMEDIA is a dealer. They are based in Hollywood, CA, and they’re “the web’s fastest growing entertainment publisher reaching more than 100MM monthly pop culture, music and celebrity enthusiasts worldwide.”
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Walking around a museum and looking at stuff is usually boring for me. It’s just too passive. I like museums that are hands-on and offer experiential learning opportunities. I’ve never been there, but The Exploratorium in San Francisco, CA looks like my kind of museum. It’s focused on art, science, and human perception and based on the premise that “following your curiosity and asking questions can lead to amazing moments of discovery, learning, and awareness, and can increase confidence in your ability to understand how the world works.” The Exploratorium looks like a truly amazing place to visit, and they even offer all kinds of in-depth web content for those who can’t visit.
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There’s a homeless guy who lives in the park near my apartment. I’m convinced that he’s actually a superhero in disguise. There’s something different about him from the others who hang in the park. He combs his hair with a mirror, he works on his tan, and he uses his bags of stuff to do bicep curls. If you’re exercising, you have to some sort of positive outlook. That’s why I love what Back On My Feet is doing. They’re a Philadelphia, PA based non-profit that “promotes the self-sufficiency of people experiencing homelessness by engaging them in running as a means to build confidence, strength and self-esteem.” No food. No shelter. Just running at first. (There are some programs for those who have had success with the running.) We’ve seen plenty of athletic programs used to promote achievement in youth–why not try it with adults?
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Today is my -1 year anniversary. In other words I’m getting married a year from today (and yes, we’re celebrating that). Amy and I have a wedding planner, and we’ve already made a lot of the big decisions (when/where/band/photographer). In a city like Chicago, you’re not going to get what you want if you don’t book things way in advance. Luckily, we have someone to guide us on these decisions, but if we didn’t we might turn to a resource like WeddingWire. It’s “the category leader in local business reviews (think “Yelp of Weddings”), offering the ability to search, compare and book over 200,000 recently reviewed wedding vendors.” The company is based in Bethesda, MD, and because they’ve been so successful in the wedding market, they’ve also gone after Bar Mitzvahs, Proms, and all kinds of other events.
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There are plenty of brand names that we use generically for products even when we’re not using the given brand. A few that come to mind are Kleenex, Band-Aid, Escalator, Zipper, and Yo-yo. Try to name those products without using the brand. It’s easy for the first two, but the last three are pretty tough–that’s why they’ve lost their trademark status due to genericization. Band-Aid and Kleenex have protected their trademarks by aggressively pushing people to use terms like “adhesive bandages” and “facial tissues.” So here’s a test: what would you call the stuff that replaces shoe laces on kids’ shoes? I’m sure “hook-and-loop fastener” came right to mind. Well, that’s the business that Velcro is in. The company is based in Manchester, NH, and since the invention of their hook-and-loop fastener in 1941, they’ve been helping kids keep their shoes on and NASA keep their dinner plates from floating away.
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I’m often frustrated by companies that use too many buzzwords. Social media companies can be some of the worst offenders–their business is about being ahead of the curve, so they want to sound like it. Just tell me what you do! That’s why I was refreshed when I ended up on the website for GasPedal, an Austin, TX based social media company that says what they do in big letters on their home page. They “teach businesses to be nicer to you.” They do this by running “fantastic communities,” hosting “thrilling events, and writing “about marketing ideas you can actually use.” There’s also a consulting and training part of the business that I’ll bet is pretty significant.
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If there’s a driving holiday, it has to be Memorial Day. I didn’t spend much time in the car this year, but last year I was in a nasty traffic jam coming back from Michigan. The jam was exacerbated by some buffoon who decided to block off a lane for at least a mile by driving slowly (it was closed for construction ahead). If only there was a way to contact him and let him know that he should read Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us). Then he’d know that full lane utilization with a zipper merge at the obstruction is the most efficient way to deal with a lane closure. BUMP is a La Jolla, CA based company that wants to create “the world’s largest communication, marketing, and safety network” by connecting license plate numbers with online profiles.
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For many people Memorial Day is the start of the grilling season. I think there’s something wrong with those people–I grill year round. I did bone-in rib eyes on Saturday, smoked ribs for 7 hours yesterday, and I’m not even sure what I’ll be grilling today yet. My preference is to use Charcoal, but my building’s rules have forced me to use gas for the past few years. I’m a Weber guy, and I’m not sure that will ever change. But it does look like Char-Broil makes some pretty nice grills. Apparently Columbus, GA based Char-Broil sells more gas grills in the US than any other gas grill manufacturer, and they also claim to be “#1 in infrared” (which is more technology that I don’t need in my opinion.” Anyway, Char-Broil has a Jobs page, but doesn’t have any jobs or internships posted. They say not to contact them unless something is posted, but you know better than that, right? Do some research on LinkedIn (they’ve had interns before!), and see if you can find a way in. Or look for other Memorial Day inspiration for your internship search.
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Last week a guy I knew in college e-mailed me looking for some career guidance. I’m happy to help just about anyone as long as they ask pretty specific questions, but I’m especially willing to do whatever I can to help him out. Why? While I thought I was taking a risk by doing a startup after graduation, he’s been flying helicopters in Afghanistan for the Army. It’s easy to forget that there are people like him who are risking their lives every day to protect us. Memorial Day weekend is all about thanking them and remembering those who have lost their lives in the call of duty. That’s why we’re going to take a look at an organization called Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America today. They’re based in New York, NY and Washington, DC, and they are the “country’s first and largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
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Ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to spend as much time as possible enjoying nature. Along the way I’ve learned a lot of stuff without realizing it. For instance, I can tell you about the the entire lifecycle of mayflies or the spawning behavior of salmon. Yes, I’ve read about those things to supplement my knowledge, but you can’t really understand how it all works until you see it in action. That’s the premise that NatureBridge is based on. They’re a San Francisco, CA based non-profit that has spent the last 40 years introducing “1 million young people to the wonder and science of nature in the world’s best classrooms—our national parks.”
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The last time that I was involved with an incubator was in 5th grade when my class was hatching chicks. Between then and when I graduated college, the word incubator was irrelevant to me. Now it’s coming up all the time. I’ve been involved with and interested in startups for the past five or so years, and in that time I’ve seen the idea of the incubator blow up. Incubators typically provide capital, guidance, office space, and much more to help startups get off the ground. Cogo Labs (formerly Adverplex) is a Cambridge, MA based incubator that focuses on growing Boston based web companies. They offer a unique value to their portfolio companies in that they have an in house “platform of proprietary technologies for algorithmic marketing, data mining, and quantitative business analytics.”
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My life is about as paperless as it gets. I avoid having to use a printer at all costs. Yet, I still think I know something about the paper and printing industry. It’s not because my mom is a graphic designer who dragged me along to pick up printing jobs when I was a kid. It’s because I watch The Office, obviously. Believe it or not, printing costs are still significant for most companies–“corporations spend $500 per employee annually on printing costs.” PrintEco is a Chicago, IL based company that claims they can cut 17% off of most companies’ printing expenses and help the environment at the same time. When you see how they do it, I think you’ll be pretty impressed.
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I’ve been off the market for almost 7 1/2 years, so I have no experience with online dating. But I do have a lot of friends who use the web to find dates, and I even have a few who are working on projects in the space. One of the sites I’ve been hearing a lot about lately is HowAboutWe, which is based in New York, NY. It’s a site that is more about getting people out on dates than finding them a perfect match. They don’t want you obsessing over profiles, sending lots of messages, and spending some of your best years in front of a computer screen. They want you to get out and do stuff with people who might end up being people you want to spend more time with.
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I’m a big fan of magazine lists. They can be a great tool for your internship search, and I’m not just talking about the “Best Place to Work” lists. One list that you may not think to use but you should is the Forbes list of The World’s Billionaires. Take a look at what the world’s most successful people have done to get where they are today–it might just lead you in some interesting directions. Forbes is a company that is best known for its lists. The New York, NY based publisher goes by the motto “The Capitalist Tool,” though that sounds like something a NATO protester called me this weekend (just kidding). But seriously, when you hear the name Forbes, you think money, right?
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If you haven’t heard something about the Facebook IPO in the past few days, you must have had a really good weekend. What annoys me about successful startups is all the knockoff attempts. A lot of people think that a good idea is enough to build a business on, so they copy the successes and usually fail miserably despite having a “good idea.” A much better approach is to take inspiration from the big successes and apply what you learn to a more focused niche. Doximity has done exactly that–they’re a social network for doctors and healthcare professionals. The San Mateo, CA based company has picked a great market in that a big part of being a doctor is communicating with other doctors. It’s also a market with amazing monetization possibilities.
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Neuroscience is a word that is about as intimidating as astrophysics. Most people have no idea what it means, but they’re pretty sure that its definition is over their head. The truth is that neuroscience is simply the study of the brain and nervous system. That’s not to say it’s a simple science, but it’s a science that covers equipment that we all have. With that said, neuroscience gets a bit complex as it draws from “other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics, medicine and allied disciplines, philosophy, physics, and psychology.” (Here’s the Wikipedia article on Neuroscience.) The Society for Neuroscience is a Washington, DC based non-profit member organization for the scientists and physicians who study the brain and nervous system.
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It’s easy to think of the developing world as having completely different problems from the ones we have in the U.S. But when you look more closely, you start to realize that the link between poverty and a lack of good education is consistent across the world–our inner cities and the developing world have similar problems that require similar solutions. buildOn is a non-profit organization based in Stamford, CT that aims to break “the cycle of poverty, illiteracy, and low expectations through service and education” by “putting youth in service and building schools in developing countries.” Most non-profits either focus on education abroad or domestically, buildOn is unique in that they believe that they can better solve both problems by working on them at the same time.
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What have you done in the past week to make yourself a better candidate for the jobs that you’ll apply for after you graduate? E-mail me at willy@onedayonejob.com and tell me. Seriously. Developing new skills isn’t just about being better qualified for a job or internship–it’s also about showing employers that you’re constantly trying to better yourself and willing to invest time and money to do so. Companies love people who show a desire to grow into new roles. Luckily, there are more and more companies that offer online education with the purpose of actually teaching you applicable skills, not giving you a worthless piece of paper. One of these companies is Treehouse, which is based in Orlando, FL. Their “goal is to teach Web Design, Web Development and iOS, to everyone in the World who wants to learn.”
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