Helping millennials develop their ideas for social change through ACCESS

Charity February 3, 2015 Daniel Francavilla Leave a comment

Everything you need to get your “legacy project” off the ground I was interviewed on Moving Millennials as part of a series (all episodes are here). One of the topics was ACCESS, the non-profit organization I started back in high-school. You can listen to the audio interview here. Dave Anderson: Welcome to yet another incredible week where we are featuring an inspiring millennial mentor. And if you haven’t heard Daniel’s entire story yet (we’re at episode 81 today), so go way back to episode 4 and you can listen to…

Let’s talk entrepreneurship this fall

Entrepreneurship September 12, 2014 Daniel Francavilla Leave a comment

Some have said it’s the buzzword of the decade, but entrepreneurship is a solution to unemployment and generating a heathy, thriving market. There are even entire post-secondary programs specifically on entrepreneurship – I blogged about my experience at one here. Entrepreneurship is increasing substantially, probably prompted by the economic crisis, high youth unemployment rates, and easy access to startup resources (a lot of time times, that means, access to the internet, and you’re good to go!). So for those who are considering starting their own venture, or those who are already active entrepreneurs curious…

Why Entrepreneurs Need to Travel

Entrepreneurship, StartUpEdu July 28, 2014 Daniel Francavilla Leave a comment

This summer, I went on a roadtrip with two friends, traveling through the USA. One week of driving from Toronto to Buffalo and west to the Rockies, then south to Arizona (over 120°F), where we stayed for about a week. While driving 5,000 KM over the course of a few days (we flew home, thankfully) may sound exhausting, there were great unexpected stops, lessons, new experiences and hilarious moments. As an entrepreneur, changing up your routine and being exposed to all of this can have an awesome impact. Here are…

The New Millennial Life: What does being an entrepreneur mean to a young person?

StartUpEdu July 2, 2014 Daniel Francavilla Leave a comment

Often, when defining an “entrepreneur”, often Virgin’s Richard Branson or Apple’s Steve Jobs come up. These are definitely entrepreneurs, but from a specific era who grew empires worth may Billions of dollars. With entrepreneurship becoming a more common (and at time necessary) part of life for everyday people, it is time to re-define the image of an “entrepreneur”. One of my clients at Now Creative Group (and former colleague at The Apple Store), Dave Anderson, has made it his mission to make entrepreneurship mainstream, specifically for millennials…

Sustainable Business Models: Be married to the process, not the idea

StartUpEdu June 10, 2014 Daniel Francavilla Leave a comment

Launch lean. Pivot or iterate. Change one of the boxes in your Business Model Canvas, or make a tweak to your Positioning… A whirlwind of knowledge that would take months to navigate was covered over 5 short weeks in the Foundations in Entrepreneurial Management course at University of Toronto’s Continuing Studies. In the final class of the course, instructor Keri Damen, also the Director of Entrepreneurship Programs at MaRS Discovery District, shared some solid setup success tips. Get Setup for Success 7 Questions to Asses Your Business Model How easy or difficult it…