Partnering ...

This new gig is absolutely fascinating!!

I met a number of months ago with Barry Posner, the dean of the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University. This was kind of a cold call for me. While I graduated with my MBA from Santa Clara, I really never got to know Barry. How I met him is a long story. Lets just say networking:)

Anyway, Barry gave me some very good advice. He said the one thing that is frustrating to him is that there are soooo many different groups and individuals trying to help address the educational gap that we have in the US, but he doesn't see them working together. They all seem to focus on their vision / mission. As a result, we are getting less benefit than we would otherwise.

So I took this to heart. I am committed to finding ways to partner everywhere possible. Very high on my list is Junior Achievement (JA). I had my second meeting with them today. What a great experience. I met with the Elaine Curran the president of Silicon Valley and Monterey Bay chapter of JA and Mark Linsky who is on their board. We spent a couple of hours talking about FreshBrain and looking for ways to work together. I believe the opportunities are there and it is just a matter of working together to find them.

Why was this a great experience - simply because there is such passion with the people that I talk to. Elaine and Mark are great examples. I now get a couple of emails A DAY from individuals who are either personally offering to help out or pointing me in the direction of an organization that I should be working with.

We will make this a priority. I believe we will find amazing leverage with JA and/or City Year and/or Boys and Girls Club and/or ... the list goes on.