{"id":8721,"date":"2014-07-16T07:48:08","date_gmt":"2014-07-16T14:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rivaliq.com\/blog\/?p=2495"},"modified":"2017-04-12T22:32:42","modified_gmt":"2017-04-12T22:32:42","slug":"startups-changing-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rivaliq.com\/blog\/startups-changing-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Startups Need to Change the World?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week I attended and spoke at the International Startup Festiva<\/a>l in Montreal. \u00a0This event, if you have not attended, is unique among conferences. It is a strange yet energizing combination of an unconference, a hackathon, Shark Tank, the Web Summit and TED Talks, with a sprinkling of Burning Man. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The quality of speakers this year was incredible. \u00a0I honestly cannot remember going to any conference where every single keynote and session had me completely engaged, not to mention laughing (which in my case involves snorting), crying and thinking about my life, work and legacy.<\/p>\n

There were some consistent themes in all the stories and advice provided to the hundreds of entrepreneurs or startup wannabes attending: \u00a0Follow your passion. Take risks. \u00a0Measure everything. Work hard. \u00a0And Change the World.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Startupfest opening session with MC Harley Finkelstein<\/p><\/div>\n

Entrepreneurs on a mission to do more<\/h5>\n

Isn\u2019t it amazing enough that entrepreneurs represent a small minority of the working population? Is it really up to startups to change the world? \u00a0What about the company giants like Coca Cola or Apple? \u00a0Again and again, the men and women who started companies, usually many times, and have been successful, felt an obligation not just to take the money, buy an island somewhere and kick back, but in fact,to do just the opposite.<\/p>\n

These incredible business leaders and startup junkies are on a mission, and they want every single entrepreneur to find a way to not only have a successful company (we all know how many startups fail), but then to use that success to leave the world a better place.<\/p>\n

Startups changing the world one city, one block and one person at a time<\/h5>\n

The world change can be small steps. \u00a0Take the Better Block<\/a> founder Jason Roberts, who literally is changing his world block by block, trying to improve the way people in Dallas live, commune and travel around the city. \u00a0This man had a vision for a Dallas with sidewalk cafe\u2019s, kids on bikes, people just enjoying each other, and even, a streetcar. \u00a0His inspiration has spread around the nation and the world to places as different from Dallas as Tehran, Iran.<\/p>\n

\"Jason<\/a>

Jason Roberts & the Better Block are making cities better one block at a time<\/p><\/div>\n

Jason reminded me a bit of Paul Allen, who singlehandedly has done more to renew parts of Seattle than any other entrepreneur I can think of. \u00a0Only Jason is doing it with very little money or organization.<\/p>\n

Urban Innovation<\/h5>\n

Jason was not alone in working to make the cities where we live better. \u00a0In the case of former IBM Smarter Cities pioneer, Dr. Colin Harrison<\/a>, the mission is to make sure we have enough water, food and infrastructure to support the cities of the future. Harrison, whose casual style and humility only slightly camouflages his genius, pushed everyone to use innovation to address the issues driven by a fast-growing urban population.<\/p>\n

What will be your legacy?<\/h5>\n

When it comes to leaving a legacy, Lia Grimanis, a former Tibco executive and entrepreneur, is showing us how. \u00a0Grimanis took her humble experience as a homeless teenager into a plan to increase the number of homeless women who have jobs and don\u2019t end up back in the shelter.<\/p>\n

Her non-profit is Up With Women<\/a>, which is creating success stories every day. In her free time, Lia can also be seen pulling 10,000 pound trucks, feeding (and fighting with) sharks, riding motorcycles fast and other everyday activities! \u00a0A hard act to follow, but one we can all try to emulate even slightly.<\/p>\n

Startups should Dream BIG!<\/h5>\n

Some of the speakers did have galactic dreams, literally. \u00a0Adeo Ressi of the Founder Institute<\/a>, urged attendees to wake up and dream big. \u00a0Not everyone is buds with Elon Musk and can put money toward developing a space rocket but that is one way Adeo is changing the world.<\/p>\n

\"Adeo<\/a>

Adeo Ressi of the Founder Institute urged the audience to dream big!<\/p><\/div>\n

He\u2019s also helping create thousands of startup jobs. \u00a0The Founder Institute is the world\u2019s largest entrepreneur training and startup launch program, helping aspiring founders across the globe build enduring technology companies. Cool.<\/p>\n

Montreal – a hot bed of entrepreneurialism<\/h5>\n

The fact this was held in Montreal and attracted world-class speakers surprises some people. \u00a0But I believe Montreal is a hot bed for innovation and for startups. \u00a0It has world-class universities, a young, highly educated workforce, and an increasing number of angel investors and incubators working to provide support and an ecosystem for entrepreneurs. \u00a0All that plus amazing history, architecture, food, wine, coffee and music! A perfect venue for dreaming big.<\/p>\n

So, what will you and your startup do to change the world?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week I attended and spoke at the International Startup Festival in Montreal. \u00a0This event, if you have not attended, is unique among conferences. It is a strange yet energizing combination of an unconference, a hackathon, Shark Tank, the Web Summit and TED Talks, with a sprinkling of Burning Man. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":11675,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDo Startups Need to Change the World? | Rival IQ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"International Startup Festival featured startups, entrepreneurs, industry leaders and venture capitalists urging attendees to dream big and change the world\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rivaliq.com\/blog\/startups-changing-the-world\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Do Startups Need to Change the World?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"International Startup Festival featured startups, entrepreneurs, industry leaders and venture capitalists urging attendees to dream big and change the world\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rivaliq.com\/blog\/startups-changing-the-world\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rival IQ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-07-16T14:48:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-04-12T22:32:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rivaliq.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/blog-startup-change-world.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2880\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Margaret Dawson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Margaret Dawson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rivaliq.com\/blog\/startups-changing-the-world\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rivaliq.com\/blog\/startups-changing-the-world\/\",\"name\":\"Do Startups Need to Change the World? 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