The Rat Race Short Cut: Social Entrepreneurship

By Eric Ochoa, Chairman of the Board

From traveling across the country talking to young people, I have noticed that the predominant viewpoint of young people is that this financial crisis has hurt us the most.  This makes sense—statistically at least.  Young people have been perpetually at about 20% unemployment throughout this recession and recovery.  However, I would like to offer a different point of view; I believe that this downturn is an opportunity for young people.  It is an opportunity for young people to start their own businesses and work for themselves.  It is an opportunity for young people to look at their career as something more than just a source of those dirty pieces of paper we call money.  It is an opportunity for us to control our own destinies and to give back as we give to ourselves and our families.  It is an opportunity to become social entrepreneurs.

You’re probably thinking: “Social entrepreneur?! Dude, I’m just trying to pay my rent and keep my car right now.”  And I don’t discount the validity of making sure you take care of the essentials, but there are ways to take care of your financial needs while also helping to contribute to society.  The most important thing to remember is that this does not mean that you need to change professions either.  Social entrepreneurship can be integrated into what we already do.

I’ll give you my example of how this has worked for me.  My background is in psychology, marketing, and strategy consulting.  Prior to my interest in social entrepreneurship, I was a strategy consultant working for a small firm in San Francisco where they had me working on Microsoft engagements.  This included Windows 7 before it came out, Windows Mobile, and Microsoft’s $44 billion attempt to buy Yahoo that you may remember hearing about in the news.  I went on to work for another international software firm in Barcelona for a few months before my visa ran out.

When I came back to the States, I ran into an old friend from college (Jamie Borromeo).  We knew each other as casual acquaintances from our time at UC Santa Cruz, but had never really talked much one on one.  When we met up we were marveling over how many of our friends (including the most brilliant and accomplished) were being laid off or couldn’t find work.  We decided on the spot during our first in-depth conversation one-on-one that we were going to start GenerationDrive—our non-profit organization that dedicates itself to helping young people learn how to start and run their own businesses and find other likeminded young people to work with.  I now use my understanding of the human mind and marketing to educate fellow young people on how they can employ themselves and their friends.  I now market opportunity to young people instead of helping a huge corporation get even richer, and I am happier than I have ever been in my life.

The old model of working for some Fortune 500 firm, for some boss that is two to three times your age that doesn’t understand you and pays you half of what you are worth, are over.  We cannot rely on the older generations that created this problem to get us out of it.  It is time for us to look for our answers in the mirror and in our friends.  We understand better than anyone else what is going to be the next phase of business.  We understand technology better than anyone. We understand the green movement better than anyone. We understand how to relate to other cultures in an increasingly global economy better than anyone. And it is time that we realize that we know how to manage ourselves better than anyone.  

It's Time For A Millennial Woodstock. But Ours Looks A Little Different.

By Jamie Borromeo, National President & CEO

Since we were in the womb, we young people have been brainwashed to believe that what we own defines us, from Star Wars action figures to Barbie and Ken’s Malibu Playhouse.  Now that the economy has crashed and we can’t find jobs, we own nothing but college degrees, an IPod and a whole lot of debt. But we’re gonna use them for a different purpose--We’re gonna use them to change the lives of millions of Americans. 

We’re using our intellect, our ability to reason, our passion for music, technology, MTV reality shows and our online social networking to join millions of young people, celebrities and leaders in a movement to LEARN, TO SEEK KNOWLEDGE, TO EMPOWER, & TO ENGAGE IN THE NATIONAL DISCUSSION. That’s because we’re not happy with the current trajectory of our nation. We believe our country was founded on better principles than the status quo. And we’re going to change it.

Like Jon Stewart’s Rally to Restore Sanity, we’re tired of the craziness and the scare tactics the media, policy-makers and talking heads have used. It’s time for us kids to put the older folks in the corner because we have a whole lot of years working in the trenches ahead of us.  As the most educated generation in the history of our country, we’re going to use our mind and our drive to fight back and win. We want America to understand that we are in this together so we can keep our competitive edge in the global marketplace. We will push forward in a movement to continue to spur the innovation in our country, and teach the next generation of leaders to be responsible with money so we can create wealth for our country, and most importantly,  for our world. 

With all that said, here is the GenerationDrive Pledge. It’s a pledge that we’ll remain engaged to clean up this economy. It’s a pledge that  we’ll help change the way we do business in America. It is a pledge that through remaining engaged in the national discourse, we will make this world a better place to be. We are GenerationDrive. And we are Moving The Next Generation Forward.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. We are so grateful for your support.

If I Could Have One Wish This Thanksgiving

By Sabina Peerbhai, Austin Regional President

“… if I could have one wish.” This was the status on my girlfriend’s Facebook this morning when I awoke.  Waking up every morning, I, like most people reach for my blackberry, login to my various social networking sites, look at updates on the news and then grab breakfast. We are attached and addicted to technology, needing to know the latest information at all times. Sadly this information isn’t always good, necessary or even true.  We have an insatiable appetite for knowing everything and being able to find out something rapidly if we don’t. We are bound to technology because we are a product of the information age: we are a new generation, a generation with new opportunities and low tolerance for  ….. things that aren’t fair, things that we can’t fix. 

The information around us continually points at the negative, to place blame – to suggest that we do not have anything to be thankful for this year. For me - There are many things this thanksgiving  to reflect on and be thankful for. As a recent married woman, I am starting my own family. I spend my newly found life exploring Austin, volunteering with local non-profits and creating a home. As a recent citizen of the United States, I attend town-hall meetings and stay up to date on political and social issues in our country. As a recent owner of the direction of my own life, I stay true to what I feel I can do to change my destiny within the world I am in.  I do have dreams and wishes and aims to fix the world I live in – but I need to be positive about the present state of affairs. 

What was my friend’s wish…. “for world peace so then maybe the government could concentrate on our crappy economy and I could find a freakin’ job!" Pretty fitting given the present state of affairs.


Happy Thanksgiving!

Why I Am Running for Miss California 2011

By Shanice McKinley, Los Angeles Regional President

GenerationDrive’s Los Angeles Regional President, Shanice McKinley, is in the running for Miss California 2011. This month, The Los Angeles Times featured Shanice as they followed her around her hometown of Compton, praising her for her determination to redefine the city in a more favorable light.

I am dedicated to changing the image of what people think of the citizens and community of Compton, California through reaching my goal of finishing Graduate School, becoming a business owner, and ultimately coming back to my community to be a living example.

My mother as a single parent raised me, my little sister, and my two older brothers with the mindset to value education, and work hard for what we want. Although we did not have much growing up, she always encouraged us that if we work hard, we could have everything we ever wanted.

My mother, my sister, two older brothers and I moved in with my aunt and uncle to Compton California when I was twelve years old. Soon after that, I began my education in Compton Unified School District. I attended Roosevelt Middle School and Dominguez High School, and carried that mindset my mother instilled in me as a little girl and continued my education at California State San Bernardino. At Cal State, I received my BA in Business Administration with concentration in Marketing in Dec. 2007. In the year of 2008, I decided to continue my education at the University of Redlands to widen my opportunities of helping me reach my goals of becoming a living example to my community. I will be receiving my MBA this year Dec. 2010.

After I receive my MBA, I plan to open a youth center to teach youth like myself that were raised in the inner cities how to reach their goals through education and begin creating role models for my community . I want to also start encouraging our youth to go get educated and come back to our community to become living examples to the generations after them.

To learn more about Your Future Miss California 2011, visit: http://www.shanicemckinley2011.com

Generation Real Talk: Thankful For the Struggle

By Bianca Panlasigue, Boston Regional President

I say this now, but when it comes down to it I am thankful for my share of this struggle I have been faced with; the search for the next step in my career path.  Like many today, I too was laid off earlier this year and am unemployed. For those of you who do not know my story, I was working for this company in San Francisco who decided to downsize our team. I was given the choice of keeping my same job and moving to work in the Boston office, or getting laid off.  I decided to move. After working in Boston after a year, they then decided to outsource our whole team to the Manila office. Sure, I have those days of feeling down, but the whole experience has made me take a step back and examine the important things in life; the bare necessities for a human being to really be happy and productive.

As a first generation born Filipina American in my family, I have very close ties to a type of society not as privileged as the one we live in here in the U.S. So, in the grand scheme of things-yes, the economy is bad over here, but not so much when compared to disparities others are faced with.  My hardworking parents instilled a great work ethic in me, having shown my brother and I the importance of knowing your roots. My badass grandmother started many types of businesses in the Philippines to provide for her family and raise her siblings. Her entrepreneurship started when she was just a tiny little girl working as a Japanese spy for the Philippine regime. In my book, she is the ultimate entrepreneur; the most pure bread of hustlers.  Were all her ventures legal? Did she have to bribe a judge or two? Maybe, maybe not, but she is definitely one of the most resourceful of self-starters I know of.  To this day, she loves to hang her financial stability over everyone’s head as a means of keeping them close and loyal to her.

Aside from the great support of my friends and family, I am thankful for the unemployment program our country has provided me with. It has allowed me to be an active participant in society by paying rent and bills, joining the gym, and volunteering. I know I would somehow make ends meet if this financial support was not provided, but it is definitely a great resource.  I make it a point not to take things like this for granted and remind myself each day that it is a great privilege. A few weeks ago, I watched a 60 Minutes segment that told the story of a bunch of 50 somethings who are unemployed in the Bay Area. We are talking about hardworking individuals who hold their Masters and Ph.Ds. who thought that they were going to retire with the company they were loyal to. Some of them have exhausted their unemployment benefits and are living in their friend’s attics or even in their own car. The reporter asked this unemployed woman what she was like before having lost her job. She admitted that she was a shopaholic. I think this is a lesson for our lovely materialistic society we live in today.  Save when you can, don’t overspend and put you and your family into a hole. 

Lastly, I am grateful for GenDrive. Although we are in the early stages of operation, I feel that it has given me an outlet to network with young professionals who share the same passion for social entrepreneurship.  In a recent phone interview I had, the hiring manager asked me what I have been doing besides job searching.  I mentioned my hobbies, volunteering, working out and GenDrive! It was a non-conventional interview in that he wanted to know more about me and what I have been putting my energy towards versus my work experience and skill set. It was refreshing to be acknowledged for my efforts outside the job hunt. In fact, he was so interested in learning more about GenDrive that he asked to schedule another follow up interview during which he asked more specific questions about the structure and goals of the group. This interview really opened my eyes to see what companies are looking for in candidates these days.

So far, my tale of unemployment has been a very humbling experience. I feel like I this is my turn of struggle before things can get better. I constantly tell myself it is not permanent, and that I still have lots of time to figure things out. After all, I could be three kids deep and paying a mortgage and car payments; then things would be a little more of a challenge. I would like to think that the earlier I learn these lessons, the better off I will be in the long run. This experience teaches me never to take opportunities for granted, be okay with ambiguity and not knowing what is next, not to get too comfortable in a job, and reminds me to always keep growing and adjusting to change. 

Breaking the Cycle: Work to Live, Don't Live To Work

By Camille Hill, Orange County Regional President

I come to GenerationDrive with the aspiration to break the long cycle that plagues U.S. families, individuals, and now more than ever young professionals.  My mother was a single mother of three.  She worked long days equaling 40 plus hours a week.  She did every and anything to make sure we had a roof over our heads,clothing on our backs, and food in our stomachs.  Her schedule was not flexible therefore she was not able to come to all my school events and was not there for me emotionally.  As the oldest of the three, I was her right hand.  I spent a large portion of my child hood helping raise my brother and sister.  I do not blame my mother for these things because back then she worked every option she could to ensure her family is well but now that I’m older and want to eventually start a family I realized I cannot fall into cycle.  I want to be there for every great moment in my child’s life.  I remember being one of the few that didn’t have their mother at the recital or speech and debate tournament.  I refuse to work 40 plus hours a week and not be there for my children.  I want the flexible schedule to be there for my children, make a decent living, all while making a difference in my community.  I’m a few months away from finishing my Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology and will be continuing on with my Doctorate in Psychology.  I chose this career path because I want to work for myself.  Working for others,  I easily become frustrated working under someone else’s mission and vision.  I’m choosing to to ensure my values are encompassed in my everyday work and are not compromised. As educated as I am I’m definitely underpaid.  Some say I have no right to complain, at least I have a job, but after investing thousands of dollars and hours into my education, I can.  I’m not going to live paycheck to paycheck and live under stress and anxiety just to barely get by.   Unlike many that complain, I’m here to take action for our generation and so many in my exact same position.  Do not settle or fall into this cycle.  GenerationDrive can help you explore these options.  

A Call For Our Generation To Demand Something New

 By Shane Moise, San Francisco Regional President

The holidays are here and with them all the travel stress, the cold and flu season, shopping, and overeating.  Beyond these seemingly a-typical yearly occurrences are the rumblings of controversy over the political correctness behind the meaning and historical significance of our nationally recognized days off. To some Thanksgiving is a time to be with family, to others it’s just another carefree day in the year to enjoy away from work, while to others it is the celebrated recognition of an event long ago that catalyzed the end of their native culture. I lay these varied experiences out to illuminate existing dichotomies of human historical perspective within a unified national celebration.

So this holiday season, as many of us go out shopping and fly home to be with family, there are masses of talented and educated young people stranded in a jobless economic wasteland. As a young man, I’ve bore witness to negligence that will leave an indelible mark upon American finance and governmental institutions for generations to come. I say that with confidence because I have dedicated time, energy, and what little resources I have gathered in my short term on this earth to changing the modus operandi, the status quo, and the rules of the game that have left so many outside in the cold.

To that end, I am thankful for the privilege of having a job and for a professional environment that encourages thoughtful innovation, social justice, and retrospective reflection for growth and movement forward. While these days are undoubtedly frustrating and desperate times for many of us in the United States, I find personal solace and am contented by the quiet revolution rumbling and growing with each passing day. As you read this and as friends and family are traveling to far away places, young people and students are networking with each other, learning and experimenting with new technology in the development of a new way forward.

A year ago, I was unemployed and took chances on short term and temporary contract jobs. I applied for jobs at every level and had to remove my educational experience from applications to avoid being tossed out of the pool for being over qualified. I took up part time work for promotions and struggled to keep myself from drowning completely in school loan and credit card debt. The future seemed utterly hopeless in a story that rings too true amongst the youth of our generation; I am a young professional with too little experience and for that too great of a risk. In a market where competition is measured more often by years of experience than by the innovation, character, creativity, and energy that youth can bring into an organization that challenge is overcoming not only the barriers or race, gender, and politics but also those of age. Of course, professional insight is developed over years of experience, but times have changed and the systems, economics, and politics of our generation demand something new.

Voices from the Millennials: We Are Not the Lost Generation

By Molly Yee, GenerationDrive Volunteer Model

Walking up to the GenerationDrive photoshoot that morning on October 18, the one thought going through my head was, “What the heck am I doing here???” I am not a professional model. Nor am I a passionate activist or generous philanthropist.

 I am an unemployed registered nurse and recent college graduate, 25 years old and babysitting for a living. I voted in the recent presidential election and haven’t given politics much thought since. I am a good person and enjoy hanging out with friends and living in the moment while I wait for my life to start. In short, I am GenerationDrive’s target audience.

 So looking at it that way, I guess I really did belong at that photoshoot. And once I stopped worrying about my lack of modeling experience, I actually had a lot of fun. I’m probably the most awkward person you will ever get in front of a camera, but Jamie and Eric were happy so I just continued to enjoy the best Monday ever- I was fed, watered, had my hair and make-up done and a killer outfit picked out for me, and got to strut around like a movie-star all day.  If that was my fifteen minutes of fame, I’m glad that I got to represent something worthwhile.

 If you had asked me what this worthwhile cause was upon my arrival, I couldn’t have told you.  Thankfully Jamie stepped in and explained WHY we were all gathered at the Academy of Art at 8 am and what the goals of GenerationDrive were. Talking to her was awesome. I heard a level of passion and conviction in her voice that I really haven’t heard from people my age when discussing politics or world affairs. It actually reminded me of my parents when they talk about growing up during the Civil Rights Movement or the experience of being Asian-American in the 1950’s.

 When my parents talk about their twenties, their stories reflect courage and the knowledge that they were part of something bigger than themselves, and although I know I’m lucky to not be faced with the same difficulties, I’m envious of their strength in their convictions and that they helped to shape the world I live in today. While I want to be greater than I am and influence the world around me, I am comfortable with my life; it is difficult for me to see beyond myself to the rest of the world and the connection we share, and even more difficult to begin to fathom that I could possibly affect change.

 This is why GenerationDrive interests me. It seeks to give a louder voice to those of us that weren’t pulled from the womb shouting into a megaphone… Those of us that are wandering, feel average, or are drowning in school loans… the millions of people my age that get lost in the shuffle of our everyday lives. Even more than that, it brings us all together and creates a community within which you CAN network and find other people that share your ideals because a) there are SO many of us and b) the simple defining factor of the community is wanting to be more and create our own tomorrow.

 It’s hard to know where to start when it’s just you. But with GenerationDrive, I realized that it’s never just you. And now there’s a way for us to meet one another.

 The best part though, was that by the end of the day, I didn’t just feel like I was a face for the GenerationDrive campaign- I was part of it. I WAS part of this new generation; one that is not lost but that is coming to greatness, not just because we are called to it in times of trouble but because today, we choose to be more and to actively create the world we wish to live in. We are a new generation J

Through My Lens: Making Our Vision A Reality Through Art & Social Media

By: David Lee, New York City Regional President

It was a usual day at the office on Broadway and 31st when I was calling company after company to seek sponsorship for one of the events which my employer at the time was hosting.  I came across one particular organization which I reached out that was interested in collaborating with my company.  We scheduled a meeting at the New York Metropolitan Museum for a quick information session and that is when I met Jamie Borromeo who told me the great idea which she was developing in recently which we all know today as GenerationDrive, I immediately love the idea and that wanted to be part of the organization’s vision to help young entrepreneurs.  The first meeting initiated into a series of emails and phone calls which led to me deciding if I wanted to be GenerationDrive’s NYC Chapter President.

I agreed to being part of GenerationDrive because I knew the vision which Jamie had was great and the potential of how big this vision could be with the help of the right people it will impact a lot of people who need it and make the world a better place.   Given that GenerationDrive is an national organization, they needed someone to be running the NYC region for conferences and calling companies to participate in our events so I wanted to be that person that they could count on.

When I found out that we were having this board retreat and meeting with all the members of GenerationDrive, I was surprised and excited.  There was a photo shoot for our website and marketing material so I was psyched about that. I wanted to meet with the group personally since the only contact I had with them was through emails and phone conferences.

During our time in San Francisco we finished a lot of the planning for GenerationDrive and still had time to do fun stuff which we got the chance to know each other better.  We are the generation of entrepreneurs who know when to work hard and play hard.  We like express that being an entrepreneur doesn’t mean that you constantly have to be business and corporate like but that you can still have fun while making money and doing what you love.

After the weekend of working in the hotel room with post-it board paper all over the walls and endless powerpoint slides and getting to know one another we were finalizing our trip with the GenerationDrive photoshoot which we were lucky enough to get together an awesome group of people who collaborated together to get our vision on a artistic viewpoint.   I wanted to thank our photographer who was able to shoot several scenes and multiple models all within a day.  The models were great for hanging there with us throughout the day.  The makeup artist, wardrobe stylist, and hair stylist were all wonderful people who understood what it took to make our vision happen and they were on board for this GenerationDrive project.  I am grateful to be part of this group.

Our Photographer, Kevin Hofer, posing the beautiful models

Live on the Set

GenerationDrive Gears Up To Represent Nearly 70 Million Young Adults in America

GenerationDrive is one of the newest yet one of the most ambitious organizations in the country, with an important mission to represent the 67 million young people all across America. Founded this year, GenerationDrive promotes the next generation of leaders to help America get back on its feet through teaching financial literacy and creating a generation of fiscally responsible individuals.

Co-founders Eric Ochoa (Chairman) and Jamie Borromeo (National President & CEO) saw there was a real need to represent the nearly 70 million young people in the United States who needed some direction through the economic collapse. Known as the “Facebook” Generation, as well as the generation that helped elect President Obama into office in 2008, both Ochoa and Borromeo knew there was a power that had yet to be unleashed. When they discovered over 20% of young people were unemployed in 2009, they knew they had to do something.

“It’s not like Eric or I had the most stable careers at the time,” Jamie, National President & CEO of GenerationDrive said. “But we couldn’t take hearing phone call after phone call, email after email from friends saying they were either unemployed or underemployed. That’s when we rallied the ten brightest people we knew who were just as passionate about the issue. I personally called each of them and said, ‘Look, I’m broke, you’re broke, but Eric and I know there are others going through the same challenges. We have this burning desire to reach out to them. We can’t just sit here anymore. Young people need a voice and we’re creating one now.’”

“And so we started. Right then and there. And that drive we both felt to act gave us the name--GenerationDrive.”

Only two months after, GenerationDrive set up a board of directors retreat, a photo shoot with students from the Academy of Art in San Francisco, and a national group of passionate young adults between the ages of 18-29 to do a high-level marketing campaign. With a group of volunteer models, photographers, graphic designers, hairstylists, makeup artists and wardrobe stylists, GenerationDrive’s team of 20 spent a weekend in the San Francisco Bay Area working on leadership formation, marketing and strategy.

GenerationDrive, currently headquartered in Washington D.C. and rapidly growing with seven regional chapters,  is focused on educating young people on fiscal responsibility by using mediums like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to get their message out. They offer tools to help individuals build a healthy relationship with money, and they are planning their first annual conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, tentatively scheduled for Summer 2012. Each of their workshops will focus on promoting higher education, philanthropy and social entrepreneurship. Whether a start-up company or non-profit, GenerationDrive is on a mission to develop the next generation of business professionals, leaders and entrepreneurs who are changing the world and redefining a generation.

GenerationDrive Models at happy hour during photo shoot and board retreat, October 18, 2010.