A world we dare to imagine

Name: BOGOM

BOGOM is an organization that I believe will help support a sustainable economy in rural areas. Companies such as Toms pride themselves on their BOGO, or buy one give one, principals. For every pair of Toms you buy, they give one for free to a child in need. By promoting this idea, people are more willing to pay premium prices because they believe they are making an impact. If people paid $50 for one pair, it wouldn't be as appealing as when they pay $50 for 2 pairs.

Toms are shoes that cost less than $4 to manufacture, yet they sell it at $50 giving them a 1,250% profit. While it is a genuinely heartfelt idea to donate shoes to those in need, BOGO companies are actually doing more harm than good. I believe the solution to ending poverty in rural areas is to not give away things for free, but to introduce it into the economy as a marketable good.

Using Toms as an example, when they give shoes to those in need, these people now have free shoes that they didn't have before. Since they now have shoes, they won't need to spend money to buy shoes. Shoemakers, who make a living off of selling shoes, lose business and may ultimately close down. The economy takes a hit because shoe sellers can't generate income or spend money to buy other goods. I still applaud BOGO companies for taking initiative at helping rural communities, but I believe they are in it more for the marketability of BOGO rather than the benefits.

BOGOM's goal is to hopefully improve upon the BOGO principal. We plan to be the middle man between companies and the people of rural communities. Using Toms again as an example, instead of Toms directly giving shoes to kids, we will take these shoes from Toms and distribute them to shoe salesmen. Now they can sell these shoes at extremely discounted prices because they didn't have to make them. The community benefits by being able to purchase shoes for cheap, granted it's not free, but it will help circulate money through the community. Unfortunately, this organization won't thrive because there is no money generated to pay our workers. To mitigate this problem, we would have to sell these shoes to the shoes salesmen. But we would sell it for cheap to minimize the money spent by sales people. In this way, we hope to create a sustainable economy between the market and the consumers.

AMDP should support this organization because I believe this is a necessary step into ending poverty in rural areas. We can give so much for so little, but we have to do it in the right fashion. We cannot just hand to them free items because stores will be put out of business. They will not learn the value of money as well if items are constantly given to them. Instead, we should have them create supply and demand to help kickstart a sustainable economy. In the end, those who buy from BOGO companies will actually be making an impact for those in need.

Blue Sweater No. 3

Upon reading the last chapter of the Blue Sweater, thought I haven't experienced what Novogratz has, I completely agree with her life lessons. Money can buy a lot of things, and it may even be able to buy happiness, but there is no better currency than trust. Without trust, no relationships can be built. People distrust each other and foster resentment within them. Once relationships are built, then are we able to strengthen the most important quality within ourselves, human empathy. Trusting someone is hard, but the understand their backgrounds, their feelings, connects us all on a deeper level. A deeper empathy will help remove the prejudice that comes with low-income people. Most people think of low-income people as incapable and helpless, when they are in fact the most resilient and capable of deriving happiness and joy from the simplest of pleasures. I think it's great how we want to help the poor by donating money or goods, but simply walking by them is useless. They need to be given opportunities to grow.

Though this is not completely relevant to the blue sweater, it's unfortunate that buy one give one companies such as Toms thrive on this idea of charity. Buying a pair of toms means giving a pair to a child in need. Sure a child gets shoes, but that means they don't need to buy shoes. Shoemakers in the area then lose their customers and ultimately go out of business. What should be done is that these companies should donate these goods to local markets to create a sustainable economy.

Blue Sweater No. 2

Today I read Novogratz's chapter on Traveling without a road map. The chapter started off normally, talking about her trip in Rwanda, and how her 2 year trip was coming to an end. It seemed like she had gotten used to the rhythm of Rwanda. The thing that confused her, and confused me as well, was the trust system there. There was little law enforcement, and so many things were dependent on trust. Items were bought and paid through credit. But this credit is based on trusting others to pay in the future. Even with her body guard, Innocent, trust was crucial. However Innocent took advantage of her trust and stole her belongings and never admitted to it. I'm just as shocked as Novogratz was when she found out that her own bodyguard stole her things. In a society where police exist (barely), people readily steal things just to get by. Sure Innocent didn't make a lot of money, but he didn't have to abuse his trust with Novogratz and steal her things.

Blue Sweater Post 1

This book is titled the Blue Sweater because of a blue sweater. Author Jacqueline Novogratz starts off with a story from her child hood about her attachment to a blue sweater. When she reaches middle school and starts to be teased for wearing this sweater, she donates it to Good Will. Coincidentally though, she runs into a young boy in Rwanda a decade later who is wearing the exact same sweater that she donated.

Novogratz lives an interesting life. She decides to leave her lucrative career with Chase Manhattan to try and solve the problems of the world's poorest places. She recalls stories from her travels not for the sake of telling a story, but to evoke an emotional response from her readers. She wants to encourage all her readers that they are all capable of lifting themselves up, they just need the tools to do so. 

This book has certainly accomplished the mission that Novogratz set out for it. After reading it, my understanding of trying to help the poor has changed. I've always thought that donating money to the homeless is the best way to help them, but I'm starting to realize that money can actually do more harm than good. I recently travelled to Honduras with Global Medical Brigades this past spring, and absolutely love the work that Global Brigades has done. Instead of funneling money from donors to these rural societies, Global Brigades tries to bring sustainability. As Novogratz puts it, everyone can lift themselves up, they just need the tools. Money is a tool, but not the right tool. Clean running water, sustainable food sources, and education are all tools that areas such as Rwanda need. 

Is Mars the Best Choice

Unless you live under a rock (and hopefully you don't), you know that our solar system consists of 8 planets: 4 rocky ones and 4 gaseous ones. Obviously we can't survive on the gas planets because there's not surface. This narrows it down to three, excluding our planet. Mercury is out of the questions because of it's extreme temperatures and it's distance from the sun. This leaves us with only Venus and Mars. 

If you've read or seen The Martian by Andy Weir, you're well aware of what it takes to survive on Mars. We would have to grow food, create water, filter the air etc. And most of the science checks out. Mars's gravity is only 40% earth's gravity, which would make it easier to move heavier things as well. Mars days are similar to Earth days, allowing animals to maintain their circadian rhythms. Mars rotates on a axis too, creating seasons just like Earth. The main downside, aside from the difficulty of surviving, is distance. Mars only lines up with earth creating a launch window every two and a half years. This makes supply transportation extremely difficult. On the other hand, Venus has a launch window of only 1.6 years. So why not Venus?

Venus is Earth's sister planet due to its similar size and gravity. Other than that, they're pretty different planets. Unlike our atmosphere and Mars's non-existent atmosphere, Venus's atmosphere is so thick, that the ground pressure is 90 times the pressure here on earth. If that doesn't kill you, then the extreme heat and cold or sulfuric acid will. Fortunately there is a bright side: HAVOC. HAVOC stands for High Altitude Operational Concept, with and emphasis on concept. Theoretically, because Venus's atmosphere is so thick, Earth's normal air is lighter. We can create "floating buildings" that float 50km above ground. At this height, the pressure and atmospheric composition is similar to Earth's. The temperature, however, is still pretty extreme. 

In the end, hopefully we're able to colonize both planets. But just know that Mars is not our only option. We always have our sister to help us out as well. 

AMDP Proposal: Postmates

To: Clark Hansen, CEO, ADMP

From: Andrew Lin, Research and Development

Date: October 24, 2015

Subject: Investing in Postmates

You gave me the job to research a company we can invest in and I’ve found it: Postmates. Postmates is an investment opportunity that Anima Mundi Development Partners cannot afford to miss. All of AMDP’s criteria are not just met, but exceeded. Postmates strives to be socially responsible, environmentally friendly, and profitable.

The country is shifting from the traditional method of eating out, to eating in by having favorite foods delivered right to doorsteps. Postmates exactly fulfills this job. But before I convince you to invest, first let me reiterate our company’s standards.

AMDP Standards

Triple Bottom Line

1. People- Beneficial and positive treatment of the company’s suppliers, employees, workers, investors, and community.

2. Profit- Sustainable growth that allows the company to continually generate income

3. Planet- Maximum reduction of the company’s impact on the environment through all types of pollution and waste.

Corporate Social Responsibility:

Since the 1960’s, CSR has become increasingly popular. A company must have a sense of responsibility towards the environment and community in which it operates. This responsibility can be met in several ways­­– reducing pollution on the environment, protecting the interest of investors and customers, and hosting or participating in philanthropic events.

Social Enterprise:

A social enterprise is a company whose main interest is to maximize improvements to humans and the environment, even if it means reducing profits. The two types of a social enterprise are for-profit and non-profit.

Carbon Footprint:

Carbon footprint is the company’s carbon impact on the environment. Carbon dioxide is the major component of greenhouse gasses, but there are many other compounds that are released into the environment that can harm the planet as well. To measure a company's carbon footprint, the green house gas emissions are estimated. The world's temperature has been increasing and green house gasses have been named as the culprit. The government and companies alike are striving to reduce their carbon footprint to minimize the negative impacts on the environment.

What is Postmates?

Founded recently in 2011, Postmates' headquarters is located in San Francisco. Though it didn’t invent food delivery, Postmates revolutionized it to make all kinds of foods accessible to everyone. It provides fast and efficient food delivery where individuals, similar to those who work for Uber and Lyft, provide the transportation (Postmates). The endless amount of food couriers available allows Postmates to deliver foods from anywhere in under an hour. Since its founding, Postmates has not generated large amounts of profit, but has received enormous amounts of funding. This funding has allowed Postmates to launch itself by providing free or discounted deliveries

Are people cared for?

Just like Uber and Lyft, Postmates allows flexibility that restaurants with built-in delivery do not offer. Many couriers choose to work for Postmates as a side job not because of money issues, but because it’s enjoyable. They get to meet individuals of all different backgrounds while exploring the city.

Customers benefit from Postmates as well with speedy deliveries from friendly faces. Postmates ensures its couriers are overqualified by requiring its couriers to pass strict background checks. The courier's mode of transportation is inspected to minimize any transportation issues down the road. Postmates also personally interviews potential couriers before hiring to ensure that they have an easygoing personality. If someone doesn't meet these standards, they are no longer eligible to become a courier.

What about the environment?

Postmates lies in the transportation industry where reducing carbon emissions is extremely difficult, but extremely necessary. To accomplish this task, fossil fuel cuts are implemented almost everywhere.

Many couriers choose riding bicycles over driving cars to not only save gas, but to also exercise (Postmates). They kill not two, but three birds with one stone by exercising while working, while reducing carbon emissions.

Postmates also indirectly contributes to the green movement by offering discounts when ordering from organic and sustainable restaurants. These discounts make green restaurants much more enticing to customers.

Do they even make money?

Postmates has declined to provide its financial data, but it did release its delivery numbers. Since 2012, the amount of deliveries has grown exponentially, which translates to exponential growth in profits as well. To reach 500,000 deliveries, it started off at a grueling 116 weeks, but has now sped up to a mere 10 weeks (Wilhem). Despite the profit cap at just $13 million, Postmates recently raised $80 million to push for $1 deliveries to expand its name and drive out competitors.  Tiger Global Management’s Chief Executive Bastian Lehmann, who helped Postmates raise $80 million, stated that Postmates is not yet profitable, but is geared for insane growth. Postmates plans to expand into markets other than food such as healthcare and beauty products. It has already partnered up with Apple to deliver MacBooks within hours of the purchase. Lehmann said it best when he stated that "Food is for [Postmates] what books were for Amazon (Macmillan)." 

Do other people care?

According to Nancee Halpin and Cooper Smith of BusinessInsider, Postmates is crushing the competition in the on-demand food fight. Unlike Uber, which forces customers to order food and delivery at the same time, Postmates is an intermediary service that strictly delivers food, allowing its customers to order from the full menu of its merchants. (Smith). This strategy has allowed Postmates to secure exclusive partnerships with merchants such as Starbucks. Starbucks' customers have already been utilizing its Mobile Order & Pay service, making fast deliveries a natural extension (Starbucks). 

Similarly, Kia Kokalitcheva from Fortune praised Postmates because of its ability to expand. There are defined peak hours for food delivery, which limits the amount of profit generated by the company and its couriers (Kokalitcheva). To mitigate this, Postmates has begun to expand to other markets. Though it’s still in its developing stages, Postmates has already partnered up with Apple to deliver Macbooks within hours from ordering from the store. If all goes well, Postmates will be able to deliver numerous products from endless vendors, eliminating the peak hours that comes with food delivery, and improve its profits by at least 20% (Macmillan).

My opinions and why you should care

If you’ve read my first sentence, you already know my thoughts. Postmates is a young company that is geared for tremendous success. Although it faces tough competition from other companies such as Uber, it has proven its ability to surpass competitors. Being able to reduce its time to make 500,000 deliveries by 1000% in less than 3 years is just the beginning. Soon Postmates will deliver all sorts of items such as computers, clothes, and beauty products, further increasing its profits. Postmates exceeds all of AMDP’s standards and would be well worth the investment. With AMDP’s help, Postmates can expand into other markets and increase its number of couriers further and faster than before, bringing its friendly service to more customers and couriers.

References

1. Kokalitcheva, Kia. "Why On-demand Delivery Startup Postmates Really Raised $80 Million." Fortune Why Ondemand Delivery Startup Postmates Really Raised 80 Million Comments. Fortune, 25 June 2015. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.

2. Macmillan, Douglas, and Greg Bensinger. "Postmates Raises $80 Million in Push Toward $1 Deliveries." Digits RSS. Dow Jones & Company, Inc., 25 June 2015. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.

3. "Postmates - On-Demand, 24/7." Postmates. Postmates Inc. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.

4. Smith, Nancee. "Why Postmates Is Winning the On-demand Food Fight." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 26 Aug. 2015. Web. 24 Oct. 2015.
5. Starbucks Delivery by Postmates Begins Service in Seattle. (2015, December 2). Retrieved December 3, 2015, from https://news.starbucks.com/news/starbucks-postmates-in-seattle

6. Wilhem, Alex. "Analyzing Postmates’ Growth." TechCrunch. Tech Crunch, 4 Mar. 2015. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. 

The Genius of Money: Money and the Modern Mind

This chapter reveals two stories. The first story is an artist who pays for his meals using currency that he draws. He draws life-like images of money and pays with it, sometimes expecting actual change. The artist's point was to see how much value was put on simple paper money versus the amount of time he put into drawing replicas. He was able to challenge society's emphasis on monetary values set forth by the government.
In the second story, a rich man gives a poor man some food in exchange that the peasant watch over he grave for 3 days and nights. When the man died, the peasant protected his grave. Along came an ex-soldier who joined with him, in hopes to get paid. At the end of the third night, the devil came by to take the rich man's soul. However the peasant and soldier tricked the devil into giving them gold until the sun rose and the devil left. In the end, the rich man's body was safe, the peasant received food, and the soldier donated the gold. The moral of the story that the author tried to convey was that in each and everyone of us, we contain traits of each character. We have the greed of the devil, the kindness of the peasant, and the morality of the soldier. Though we try to escape the temptations of money, we are always drawn back into its paper web.