Staring at laptops adorned with stickers, sipping coffee, tapping their sneakers, the young people who gathered for a talk from a visiting technology journalist Thursday evening looked like they might be at Durham’s American Underground or some other entrepreneurial hub in the United States. They nodded when the host said “awesome” and “cool.” They laughed … Continue reading Startups Dreamup in Chisinau
Moldova’s entrepreneurship scene keeps getting bigger. I’ve written previously about the Dreamups Innovation Campus and the Diamond Challenge competition for high school students, in which the team I mentored claimed one of the top prizes this year. On Sunday, Champa and I visited Tekwill, a center that opened in March in northern Chișinău. It’s an … Continue reading More for Entrepreneurs
The students you see in this post represent Moldova’s brightest hopes for the future. They are optimistic in a country where many people are pessimistic. They want to start businesses and help others. They are overflowing with great ideas, and they are brave enough to present them on a stage in front of a group … Continue reading Preparing Their Pitches
Take your time. That’s what Peace Corps staff told us during training: Learn about your community, form relationships, win trust. If you do that, your projects and work agenda will emerge naturally. They were right, of course. But I’ve had trouble letting go of old habits. I keep checking my cell phone for messages. I … Continue reading Moving Beyond the Checklist
"Not Exactly Retired" 