Podcasts about entrepreneurs who do

A couple of weeks ago while I was in LA, Jessica Jackley invited me into her home for a chat. I’ve been waiting to do this chat since May. We were going to do it May but she and her family embarked on a trip around the world so we decided to wait until afterwards. We finally got around to do it and she did not disappoint! Jessica’s career has been and continues to be all about financial inclusion, the sharing economy, and social justice. She’s the co-founder of Kiva, the world's first peer 2 peer micro-lending website. Kiva lets everyday people lend $25 and up to individual entrepreneurs, providing them capital to start or expand a small business. Since 2005, Kiva has facilitated over $1B in loans worldwide. She teaches at USC. She speaks all over the country. And she’s the author of CLAY WATER BRICK: Finding Inspiration from Entrepreneurs Who Do the Most with the Least. She’s married to Reza Aslan, a respected religious scholar, author, and speaker. Together, they are raising their three boys in Los Angeles. Follow Jessica on Twitter. And make sure to read her blog where she documented their journey around the world! It’s fantastic.  ____________________________ Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! And if you want to follow our host Nick Laparra—Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter. Support Let’s Give A Damn by contributing the monthly amount of your choice on Patreon. You can choose $1/month or $5/month. 100% of the money you contribute will go to making more podcasts. Not a dime goes into our pockets! Or you can leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts! Every little bit helps. Thanks for all your help. Have an amazing week, friends! Love y’all! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jessica Jackley, co-founder of the game-changing microlending site Kiva, never played the typical role from entrepreneurial stories we're accustomed to hearing. She didn't start a business as a kid, and never dreamed of making millions. Jackley considered entrepreneurship a greedy venture, in fact, and she wanted to be one of the good guys. But things quickly shifted for Jackley while she was in East Africa doing survey work for a nonprofit. Inspired by her work there with microfinancing, Jackley thought up the idea for Kiva, and wanted to spread it to other countries. Kiva would be a business, but one seeking to make a social impact. In 2009, as an experiment, Kiva launched its first pilot round of loans. Fast forward 12 years later, and the company has issued more than $1 billion in microloans to 2.6 million borrowers in 84 countries. Jackley didn’t stop there. After Kiva, she went on to become an accomplished investor, entrepreneur, and the author of Clay Water Brick: Finding Inspiration from Entrepreneurs Who Do the Most with the Least. She currently teaches social entrepreneurship at USC. Throughout her experiences, Jackley discovered how entrepreneurship and social change could not only coexist, but come together to create a huge global impact. Inspired to follow in Jackley’s footsteps? Well, don’t be. Jackley doesn’t want you to replicate what she did. She urges entrepreneurs to play by their own rules, define business with their own ideas, and never ask for permission. She believes these principles have always been the key to her success, and she outlines them in detail in this inspiring interview. Key Takeaways How and why hesitant entrepreneurs often cripple themselves Why naiveté can be a strong entrepreneurial trait The strategies Kiva used to build early-stage momentum and achieve massive exposure in its first three months The reason Jackley decided to close her latest business venture, Profounder, and pursue a different path