My first job was at a development non-profit working in communications and operations, internationally empowering women and training our sub-Sahara African partners in the water, hygiene and sanitation sector. I interviewed for it and the role got bigger and bigger as I helped the organization grow.  I started at $10/hour and ended up, five years later, with a salary and benefits equal to about $50K per year as I helped contribute to its success.

I discovered my passion while working at the international development organization. I was struggling with the donation and fundraising process and feeling frustrated at the lack of sustainability I often felt. I was working on water issues and have always been drawn to the social and physical infrastructure needed to create a city and have it thrive. It felt natural to start looking at communities and water from an urban perspective, and then start weaving questions of economic development and industry into the focus.

I have always ended up working on the pioneering end of the job spectrum for start-up organizations, and helping friends assess and formalize their ideas. I didn’t realize what it meant to live in that space and look for resources to get things done until I went to grad school and started to really understand the field of entrepreneurship. I think there are many people like myself who are oriented to starting things and could be well served by the tools and community that exists around entrepreneurs.

We’ve developed deep partnerships with many key networks that we believe have the type of members we seek to serve at Hub LA. Hosting events, producing events and leadership through speaking and social media have all been helpful outlets to attract members and have people understand our unique offering.  We are looking for a mash up of several different communities to create the diversity we believe is key to fostering the type of collaboration that leads to social innovation.

Of course I’m honored, but I’m doing this to see tangible results in terms of value to our members and the social enterprises and impact professionals who are joining Hub LA. We have ambitious goals about helping test new models of doing business and creating new relationships among people who are willing to help each other succeed.

All that to say, I usually have my head down and look up every now and again and really appreciate recognition like this. I can receive it because I believe we are creating value.

My days are never really the same! For the most part, I usually take my first appointment of the day between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m. because I work late and have yet to become a morning person! A large chunk of my day entails going to meetings and taking calls with a wide range of professionals and colleagues, making the connections that are the essence of this community.

My hope is that Hub LA will have incubated new ways of collaborating, new public/private partnerships, new social enterprises with members and continued developing into a community center where people feel a part of something bigger, yet local and attainable.

I see this being a place where people can plug in their passions and skill sets while getting active in creating real impact. We expect to have several locations throughout Los Angeles connecting the fragmented geography of professionals who want to make a difference with their work in the world.

That’s a great question and I agree with you. I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve always been pretty sure of what I’m passionate about at a macro-level, and then looked for careers that support my bigger ideals centered around purpose and my unique gifts.

Do your homework and understand your business model. Know why you are competitive and different, and know who your customer is and how they think. Raise enough initial seed capital—double what you think you should for your initial minimum viable product (MVP) because things always come up, and you will have to adjust.

Much of building a business is dealing with many kinds of people, so know whether you enjoy that or not before starting, or find a co-founder who does. Don’t try to do it on your own. Seek out a co-founder or team of three to get it done.