In 2009, Kickstarter was born from a singular mission to help bring creative projects to life.  Since then, 18.4 million people have collectively pledged over $5.23 billion into more than 186,000 projects. The Kickstarter mission extends to the very fabric of how the business is structured. In 2015, they became a Public Benefit Corporation (a for-profit company that prioritizes positive outcomes for society as much as their shareholders). Perry Chen is the creator and principal founder of Kickstarter. In this exclusive interview, we talk about the connection between arts & entrepreneurship, and the story of Kickstarter.

Thought Economics

Professor Gary Hamel is one of the world’s most influential and iconoclastic business thinkers. He has been on the faculty of the London Business School for more than 30 years and is the director of the Management Lab. Hamel has written 17 articles for the Harvard Business Review and is the most reprinted author in the Review’s history. His landmark books have been translated into more than 25 languages. Fortune magazine describes Hamel as “the world’s leading expert on business strategy,” and the Financial Times calls him a “management innovator without peer.” Hamel has been ranked by The Wall Street Journal as the world’s most influential business thinker and is a fellow of the Strategic Management Society and of the World Economic Forum. For over a decade, Gary has been researching how bureaucracy can be replaced by something better. In his forthcoming book Humanocracy, he lays out a detailed blueprint for creating organizations that are as inspired and ingenious as the human beings within them… organizations that are anchored around motivation, models, mindsets, mobilization and migration. In this exclusive interview, I speak to Gary Hamel about how we can dismantle the bureaucracy of the industrial age and replace it humanocracy – a management system fit for the future and fit for human beings.

Thought Economics

Sophia Amoruso is the Founder of Girlboss, a professional network for ambitious women. Her 2014 New York Times Bestseller #GIRLBOSS, which chronicled her early life as well as her experience as the founder of fashion empire Nasty Gal, was adapted into a scripted TV series that premiered on Netflix in 2017. Sophia is also the author of Nasty Galaxy and the Girlboss Workbook. She has been featured on the Fortune 40 under 40, Forbes 30 under 30, Inc. 30 under 30, Fast Company Most Creative People in Business lists, and named one of Forbes’ Richest Self-Made Women, covering its June 2016 issue. In this exclusive interview I speak to Sophia about her journey in scale-up entrepreneurship, building resilience, and redefining success.

Thought Economics

Carlo Ancelotti has coached some of the most successful football teams of all times including Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, PSG, Chelsea, Milan, Everton and Juventus. Widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time, with five Champions League titles to his name, he is currently the manager of Premier League club Everton. Carlo’s unique approach could not be further from the aggressive theatricals favoured by many of his rivals. His understated style has earned him the fierce loyalty of players like David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo. In seminal book Quiet Leadership, Ancelotti revealed the full, riveting story of his managerial career—his methods, mentors, mistakes, and triumphs—and he took us inside the dressing room to trace the characters, challenges, and decisions that have shaped him. In this exclusive interview, I spoke to Carlo about what we can all learn from Quiet Leadership. 

Thought Economics

Chris Voss is the CEO & Founder of the Black Swan Group and Author of Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as If Your Life Depended on It. Prior to 2008, Chris was the lead international kidnapping negotiator for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as the FBI’s hostage negotiation representative for the National Security Council’s Hostage Working Group. During his government career, he also represented the U.S. Government at two international conferences sponsored by the G-8 as an expert in kidnapping. In this exclusive interview, I talk to Chris Voss about the secrets of negotiation, and how we can negotiate to win.

Thought Economics

Mark Cuban is an investor who lives for his family, his Shark Tank companies and the Dallas Mavericks. He is the owner of the 2011 World Champion Dallas Mavericks and bestselling author of How to Win at the Sport of Business, and was an entrepreneur from the early age of 12 when he sold garbage bags door to door. Today, Cuban is the highly successful entrepreneur and investor with an ever-growing portfolio of businesses. In this exclusive interview, I spoke to Mark Cuban about developing the entrepreneurial mindset, what it takes to succeed in business

Thought Economics

For David L. Steward and Brandon K. Mann, faith is not just a reference – it’s a north star – creating the map they needed to navigate to success.  David L Steward is the Founder & Chairman of World Wide Technology (a supply chain solutions provider with revenues exceeding $12 billion).  David is proof positive that you don’t have to compromise your values to find success. Born to a poor family in segregated Missouri, David held firm to his integrity and values and went on to build a $12 billion a year business. Brandon K. Mann is the Managing Partner and CEO of Kingdom Capital, a private equity and stewardship firm based on Christian principles. He is also the founder of Biblical Business Training (BBT), which provides Biblical leadership development and curriculum to small-group Bible study leaders, helping them grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ and equipping them to pour into the lives of others. In these exclusive conversations, I spoke with David and Brandon to learn more about how faith has played a transformational role in their lives, and what it means to lead by the good book.

Thought Economics

Few individuals have had as much of an impact on modern boxing as Frank Warren. In a career spanning over 35 years, Frank has worked with some of the biggest fighters in boxing history – Hamed, Bruno, Tyson, Calzaghe, Benn, Collins, Eubank, Khan and Hatton. Warren and his son own and run Queensberry Promotions, he is also founder of the British boxing television channel BoxNation and was inducted into the international boxing hall of fame in 2008. In this exclusive interview, I spoke to Frank about his life in boxing, what it takes to be a great fighter, and how boxing can impact the community, and our lives.

Thought Economics

Formula One (F1) racing is an incredible sport.  Some of the brightest minds in the world of engineering and human performance, equipped with multi-billion-dollar budgets, create staggeringly high-performance cars, run by similarly high-performance teams and drivers.  Nico Rosberg raced in Formula One for eleven years, claiming the title of World Champion in 2016 with Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team.  Since then, Rosberg has embarked on a career as an entrepreneur and investor in green technologies and mobility.  He is an early investor in numerous successful start-ups including Lilum, What3Words, Tier, Lyft and Formula E.  He is also co-owner of mobility engineering company TRE, and Co-Founder of the GREENTECH FESTIVAL; a global platform for cutting-edge green technologies.  In 2020, he became an official judge of the TV show Die Höhle der Löwen (the German edition of the BBCs Dragon’s Den) with the aim of investing-in and supporting sustainable startups. In this exclusive interview, I caught up with Nico Rosberg to learn about his life in F1, entrepreneurship and investment.

Thought Economics

Hamdi Ulukaya is the founder and CEO of Chobani, one of the fastest growing food companies of the last decade.  The company has annual sales of US$2billion and has become the gold standard for corporate social responsibility.  30% of Chobani’s 2,000 employees were born outside the United States, and several hundred are resettled refugees.  From the start, Chobani has donated a portion of profits to charity and has worked to reduce income and wealth inequality.  In 2016, the business launched the Chobani Food Incubator to mentor and support socially responsible food entrepreneurs. Outside Chobani, Hamdi is a philanthropist and humanitarian.  He founded the Tent Partnership for Refugees to mobilise the private sector to improve the lives of more than 25 million refugees around the world. In this exclusive interview, I spoke with Hamdi Ulukaya to learn more about the role of business in society, what CSR really means, and how we can build more responsible businesses.

Thought Economics

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