SelflessTee is a fashionable apparel company on a social movement. It is a place where a community of creative souls can band together and share their artistic talent for fame, profit, and most of all, meaningful change by taking action towards a better future. How it works: SelflessTee will hold design contests for their partners, non profits that you, the community, will choose. Winning designs get turned into apparel that SelflessTee sells on their site. You’ll see 1/4 of their profits from all purchases in action when you follow online or join them in creating a better world right alongside their countless partners. They want to be very clear. SelflessTee is not only about the delivery of any one idea (i.e. serve 30k breakfast meals to low income kids). Instead, they’ve created a company that will sustain itself to continuously attack social issues of a community’s choosing, YOUR choosing, across the globe. The company’s founder Danny B. (Danny Bocanegra) already took action on a single idea- we want more!

Nextvoice247 has been grateful to see this idea germinate and now would like to see it grow to its fullest potential. So take a minute and help an idea grow by voting for the SelflessTee at the Pepsi Refresh Project contest.

VOTE HERE:

http://pep.si/dBRSb9

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This post brought to you via the blog Generacion Y from award-winning Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez -

I have heard hundreds of times that the university – like a cemetery – could not be invaded by the demons of repression. I imagined them milling around the steps, without the power to enter this zone of letters and mathematical formulas where the students are sheltered. But this supposed immunity lived only in my fantasies, as Cuban history shows successive transgressions suffered by the universities in my country. Before the gaze of the statue of Pallas Athena, the ideological castigation has broken into these precincts dedicated to knowledge and scholarship countless times.

During the first half of the Twentieth Century, several student protests went so far as to demand the resignation of the president, bearing witness to the social force that emanated from the student desks. Painted on the walls around La Colina, where the University is located, you can still see the youthful nonconformity that later revolutionary purges reduced to apathy. The University Student Federation (FEU) has ceased to be a hotbed of ideas and actions that more than once shook the city, and become, to the students, a representation of power. Thus, the organization lost all its rebel character and its leaders are no longer elected for their charisma or popularity, but rather for their political reliability. The slogan, “The University is for Revolutionaries,” has contributed to imposing the mask as the safest way to achieve a diploma.

In these two years since Raul Castro came to power, expulsions for ideological reasons have continued – and are on an upward course – in the centers of higher education. When Sahily Navarro, daughter of a prisoner of the Black Spring, was prevented from returning to her classroom, I learned that the battered student league had gone from agony to necrosis. A few days after the headstone of sectarianism was placed over the remains of the FEU, Marta Bravo was expelled from her teacher training program for demanding reforms in the country. The notes of a requiem was composed by those who fired the teacher Darío Alejandro Paulino, after he opened a Facebook group to discuss issues with regards to the faculty of Social Communication. With these sad events, the federation – once led by Julio Antonio Mella – has confirmed its death at the hands of the dragons of dogmatism and intolerance, who now freely roam the university campus.

something to…

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Our good friend speaker and author, Ty Bennett is hosting a great series next week. He has had great success as an entrepreneur, a speaker, and an author. According to Ty, “In all of my experience I have found that business is all about relationships.”

With that in mind – he has titled the week of Valentines Day – Relationship Week and has invited you to listen in as he interviews a leading expert every day on an area of relationship building. These experts include bestselling authors Stephen M. R. Covey, Bob Burg, Mike Robbins, and Kevin Hall. I will also interview social and new media leaders David Riklan and Gilbert Melott, radio talk show host Laura Kennedy and CEO Dave Blanchard.

So take advantage of the great opportunity to join me, Ty and all of the other participants next week. It should be enlightening and help us all get to the root of all business – relationships.

Check out the LINK BELOW to register:

https://leadershipinc.infusionsoft.com/go/Relationship/gilbertmelott/

and join…

Bob Burg

Bob Burg, coauthor (with John David Mann) of the Wall Street Journal and
BusinessWeek Bestseller, The Go-Giver and the just-about-to-be-released
“Go-Givers Sell More” will discuss how the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success
can accelerate your sales success.” Best-known for his business classic,
Endless Referrals, Bob will show you how five seemingly counterproductive
Laws are actually the keys to becoming the success you desire to be.

Kevin Hall

Kevin Hall is the author of the newly released book Aspire! Discovering Your Purpose
Through The Power of Words. Kevin is a highly sought after business consultant,
speaker and coach. He has been recognized for his groundbreaking
approach to uncovering the hidden, and often secret, meanings of words.
Kevin will share unique insights into the language of relationships.

Stephen M. R. Covey

Stephen M. R. Covey is co-founder and CEO of CoveyLink Worldwide.
He is the author of The SPEED of Trust, a groundbreaking and
paradigm-shifting book that challenges our age-old assumption
that trust is merely a soft, social virtue and instead demonstrates that
trust is a hard-edged, economic driver—a learnable and measurable
skill that makes organizations more profitable, people more promotable,
and relationships more energizing.

Dave Blanchard

Dave Blanchard is the Chairman and CEO of The Og Group. In the last three
years alone, Dave has debriefed well over one thousand, five hundred
6 Advisor Assessment Reports (3,000+ hours), coached over
five hundred clients (7,000+ hours) and delivered well over 200 speeches.
He has acquired through vast experience a wealth of information regarding
how people think and the impact this can have on an organization. Dave’s
seven principles to connect with people are life changing.

David Riklan

David Riklan is the founder of the largest website of it’s kind www.selfgrowth.com.
As a recognized authority on social media and internet marketing
David has successfully built an email distribution list of more than 1 Million people.
He is also the founder of www.selfgrowthmarketing.com where
David teaches social media and internet marketing.

Gilbert Melott

Gilbert Melott is the Founder and CEO of Nextvoice247. Nextvoice247
integrates social media to build business, create product and events,
and develop the talent of emerging leaders and entrepreneurs.

Mike Robbins

Mike Robbins is an expert in teamwork, communication, and
the power of appreciation and authenticity. Mike is the bestselling author of
Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken and Focus on The Good Stuff: The Power of Appreciation. Mike’s lessons on authenticity are refreshing and
impact both business and personal relationships.

Laura Kennedy

Laura Kennedy has lived a life of adventure and trailblazing. She uses those experiences to motivate others to reach for and obtain the gold ring. As a highly sought after business coach and radio talk show host, Laura impacts individuals and organizations with her wit and wisdom. Laura’s networking tips will have you networking like a pro.

listen. learn. share. repeat. ™

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emerging leader, jeff berger & social recruiting interview from Gilbert Melott | Nextvoice247 on Vimeo.

Nextvoice247 Presents: An Emerging Leader Interview with Jeff Berger @GenYjobs, Co-founder and CEO of KODA @KODAus.

Q. According to a recent press release, you have partnered with a half dozen schools and anticipate having 25 more partners within the next 6 months. In addition, you have established relationships with over 400 employers. What have been your most effective methods for forming these partnerships?

A. Like all new products, we began with zero users and had to start somewhere. Our sales team ignited the initial spark and we have been able to build on that momentum through positive reviews and press in the recruiting industry. Once we demo the site for companies and schools, the odds that they will sign up are in our favor. The main challenge, though, is getting them to agree to the demo.

We continue to have more success getting new companies to sign up compared to universities because of the bureaucracy involved with higher education. However, we are pleased with the adoption from schools overall.

Q. Although you’ve received $3 million in funding and established numerous relationships with schools and employers, there is still some skepticism out there about KODA’s ability  to “make waves in this space.” What do you think will make your network stick as you look into the next 3 to 5 years?

A. Young professionals with 0-5 years of experience will always need jobs. KODA serves a very functional purpose and sometimes I think that gets overlooked because jobs aren’t “sexy” in the web 2.0 world. KODA isn’t a novelty product or a fad, its serves a very real purpose.

Traditionally, job sites focus on the employer because the employer is the one who pays. The entire product is designed for employers and the unemployed job seeker is thrown to the wolves. While employers are still the paying customer on KODA, our focus is on the job seeker. We believe its all about the candidate and we develop the product with the individual in mind.

Q. How will you define success with KODA and what obstacles will you have to overcome to get there?

Jeff Berger, CEO KODA

A. To be the top online recruiting website for people with 0-5 years of professional experience. When people are leaving college and thinking about how to get a job, we want them to think of KODA. In order to achieve that goal, we have the challenge of providing people with the relevant and interesting jobs that they are looking for.

Q. What has been the most thrilling experience thus far in the KODA start-up saga?

A. Truthfully, the whole experience has been an adventure, with some ups and some downs.

Proving concept enough to raise a significant amount of money would have to be one of the most fulfilling moments thus far. As a start-up, you only have so much runway (cash until you go broke) and that puts a lot of pressure on you to perform or your dreams and months/years of work are all over. To raise additional money and keep going was definitely a rewarding moment.

Q. You just graduated from Tulane University in 2008. How does it feel to be the CEO of a start-up company right out of college?
A. Its been an incredible experience. I have made a lot of mistakes but just try to learn from them and make better decisions at my next opportunity. I love the mental challenge and the constant grind. I’ve been fortunate enough to be surrounded by a dedicated group of people that share a common vision.

The funny thing is that I’m the youngest KODA employee.

Q. What are two lessons you’ve learned about business through your experiences with KODA that you did not learn in college?

A. It’s honestly just an entirely different ballgame. I’d have a tough time answering the question the other way around, “name two lessons that you learned in school that have helped you in business”. That’s not really a knock on Tulane either, I think it’s a great university, but I don’t think its possible for the classroom to prepare you for what happens once your start-up is ready to launch.

Q. Before working with KODA, you were the top leasing agent for a real estate company, a role that allowed you to build skills in sales, negotiations, and communication. How has this experience helped you in your efforts to make KODA successful?

A. My real estate experience prepared me more for what I am doing now than school ever did. It was a commission-based sales job, in a very competitive atmosphere. I started doing it when I was 20 and was competing on commission with people in my office who were twice my age. I worked seven days a week and was constantly doing everything possible to close deals and it paid off – I always ranked as the top producing agent.

This experience helped me develop a work ethic needed to succeed as well as the confidence needed to sell KODA. Meetings with vendors and negotiations can be overwhelming when you are fresh out of college but because of my job in real estate, I always felt very comfortable in these situations.

Q. On your KODA profile, your description of the typical entrepreneur is quite interesting. In your opinion, what are three qualities that make a successful entrepreneur?

A. 1. Dedication – sleepless nights are a way of life.

2. Vision – you better be able to explain it also.

3. Execution – this is where ideas hit the pavement. Execution is everything.

Q. What advice do you have for those aspiring to start their own business right out of college?

A. Find the advisors who know your industry in and out. Not only are they critical to raising money from outside investors but they also have the experience to help you avoid costly mistakes. Your university should be able to recommend a person or two.

Q. So if “sleepless nights are a way of life”, when DO you sleep?

A. It’s all about the routine. I try to grab five hours a night. But the five hours might be from 4AM-9AM.

This interview was conducted by John Fowler an ongoing contributor and program developer for Nextvoice247.

listen. learn. share. repeat.™