My name is Josiah Filler, and I’m a Management Consultant who has recently embarked on a yearlong leave to explore entrepreneurship and social enterprise in emerging markets around the world. During my travels I hope to use this blog to share my experiences and findings, profile interesting and innovative companies I come across, and discuss my passion for the intersection between entrepreneurship, technology and social impact. A little about me: For many young Californians (especially those from the Bay Area), being constantly surrounded by tech entrepreneurship and the world of start-ups and Venture Capital was every day life. Not for me. Although I was born in southern California, I spent my youth traveling the world as the son of international missionary parents. My family took a very non-traditional career path, traversing the globe to spread their message. At a very early age I was exposed to things many people don’t see in a lifetime; my parents started an outreach center in Amsterdam, helped tear down the Berlin Wall, and smuggled Braille Bibles into China. Since I was a small child I knew I eventually wanted to follow a career path where I could achieve positive impact on a global scale. However, it wasn’t until well after I graduated college and started working in Management Consulting that I discovered the international business interests I am now avidly pursuing during my travels. My education and career experience: After returning to the US, I spent my teenage years living in Southern California and studied Political Science/International Relations and Spanish at The University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA). After deciding that Law School wasn’t for me, I shifted my career focus to business - eventually landing a great job at a top-tier consultancy in Los Angeles. I can’t begin to explain how much I’ve learned during these last four years. I am now certain that pursing business was the right choice, and I’m incredibly eager to keep learning more. So why the focus on entrepreneurship? Not coming from a family with a lot of money, I’ve always been fascinated by people who are able to come up with an idea, create a business around the development and delivery of that idea, and manage that business as it grows and prospers. Conversely, I’m also inspired by those who can watch as endeavor after endeavor fails; always remaining steadfast in their dedication that eventually they will succeed. I find the entrepreneurial resolve incredibly impressive, and it reminds me of my dedication and hard work to establish my own career foundation. I only hope that one day I can find that same level of confidence and determination to push forward my future entrepreneurial aspirations. Why Emerging Markets? Being half Filipino I’ve always been interested in conducting business in emerging markets, yet for many years I didn’t know which avenue I wanted to pursue. After leading a 6 month volunteer consulting project in 2009 with a major Microfinance organization, and then traveling to Argentina as an Endeavor Fellow (www.endeavor.org) last summer to work with a rapidly growing Argentine software development outsourcing firm (www.globant.com), I finally realized that advising innovative entrepreneurs in the dynamic and incredibly hectic business environment of emerging markets was what really got me excited to go into work each day. So what kind of work are you doing? In countries across South America, Africa and Asia there are many incredible opportunities for business professionals to achieve positive social impact while concurrently expanding their business acumen and establishing a solid career trajectory. What most fascinates me is the convergence of these two historically counter-intuitive areas of focus; namely “how can an organization use business principles to positively impact their target audiences, while also offering their investors and employees the necessary financial incentives to maintain steady growth and retain talent?” There is a fascinating new industry emerging out of this question, with pioneers like Pierre Omidyar (http://bit.ly/cLoRvP) and Vinod Khosla (http://nyti.ms/d5XLEV) paving the way. I believe we are only beginning to see the potential that these dual-focus for profit/social impact organizations can have, and I’m excited to see how the industry takes in the coming years. Personally, I hope to eventually use my Consulting experience and financial network to fund and advise these emerging market entrepreneurs so that their businesses can successfully get off the ground and thrive. During my trip I hope to continue learning more about this fascinating space while meeting entrepreneurs from around the world, making new friends, and learning first-hand what it takes to succeed in these incredibly varied and challenging business environments. Do I have you hooked yet?
Traveling, Wakeboarding, UCLA sports
Arrogant people, Traffic, Humidity
We live on a beautiful planet full of exciting countries, vibrant cultures and unique experiences. However, if you haven’t extensively traveled, picking a destination for your first international work experience can be an intimidating exercise. There is a plethora of information out there, often far too much to digest easily, and the hours upon hours of potential research may seem so daunting that you don’t know where to start.
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The following is post 2 of 3 in an interview series put together by guest writer Josiah Filler on mobile solutions in South Africa. Please refer to the first post here. Josiah had a chance to sit down with Praekelt Foundation’s Chief Engineer, Simon de Haan and here is what transpired.
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The Praekelt Foundation is the non-profit arm of successful Johannesburg technology consulting company Praekelt Consulting. Founded by Endeavor-sponsored “high-impact entrepreneur” Gustav Praekelt, this non-profit organization is focused on using its for-profit expertise, especially mobile-based technology, to raise awareness about issues [...]
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Before leaving the US for my international work/research/travel trip, the responses I usually received when telling people about my plans were quite similar: “Wait, but you’ve been working for 4 years right? how can you just pack up and leave?” [...]
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Hello from Cape Town! These last several weeks have been quite the whirlwind experience; a perfect storm of finalizing my international travel plans, packing up life in California and finishing round I b-school apps with a sprinkle here and there [...]
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The majority of my time thus far in Cape Town has centered on my Consulting project with the Endeavor-sponsored start-up Virtual Mobile Technologies. With my Endeavor Fellows experience in South Africa scheduled for a mere three months, my highest priority [...]
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I’m a Management Consultant who has recently embarked on a yearlong leave to explore entrepreneurship and social enterprise in emerging markets around the world. During my travels I hope to use this blog to share my experiences and findings, profile [...]
Read More »
