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GSS Blog

May 29

GSS is proud to participate in Salt Lake City’s  Reduce Reuse Re-imagine recycled art exhibit developed by Stephanie Haven, Discovery Gateway’s arts educator in partnership with Rachel Alder, AIGA’s (association for design) Sustainability Director/Salt Lake City chapter.

Celebrate Earth Awareness month with us by weaving your own plastic bag pattern on our weaving wall, build blocks made of recycled milk jugs, and discovering facts and tips about recycling. Be inspired by our weekly innovative art workshops that focus on principles of sustainability and waste reduction throughout the month of April.

This exhibit and workshops support the The Living Principles for Design framework, which was developed under the guidance of the AIGA (association for design) Center for Sustainable Design. The Living Principles for Design is a catalyst for driving positive cultural change. It distills the four streams of sustainability – environment, people, economy, and culture – into a roadmap that is understandable, integrated, and most importantly, actionable. Designers, business leaders, and educators can use The Living Principles to guide every decision, every day. To learn more visit: http://www.livingprinciples.org_dsc87681

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Aug 31

Students at Fordham University giving Alastair a standing ovation

Students at Fordham University give Alastair a Standing Ovation!

Fordham University has implemented a new minor in sustainability.  Now students can get a minor degree and learn about triple-bottom line businesses.  Due to the explosion of social conscious businesses, we believe that this is an encouraging sign and a forward-looking move on behalf of Fordham University.

Dr. Michael Pirson is heading up this new department, and in his inaugural class, has invited Alastair to speak.  Alastair spent 15 minutes fiddling unsuccessfully with his PowerPoint presentation, and ultimately abandoned the technology  portion of his presentation and gave an hour-long moving and inspiring talk from the cuff.

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Aug 04
Smartest Students in NYC Giving Alastair Standing Ovation Pt.2

Smartest Students in NYC Giving Alastair Standing Ovation Pt.1

Smartest Students in NYC Giving Alastair Standing Ovation Pt.1

Smartest Students in NYC Giving Alastair Standing Ovation Pt.1

Alastair was honored to be selected to speak to mega-achieving students at NFTE, The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship.  Its mission is to provide programs that inspire young people from low-income communities to stay in school, to recognize business opportunities and to plan for successful futures.

NFTE was working in conjuction with Prep-for-Prep, its mission being to develop leaders through access to superior education and life-changing opportunities. Since 1978, Prep has identified New York City’s most promising students of color and prepared them for placement at independent schools in the city and boarding schools throughout the Northeast. Once placed, Prep offers support and opportunities to ensure the academic accomplishment and personal growth of each one of our students.

These students were, the brightest and sharpest students that Alastair has ever spoken to, and their questions were equally insightful and inquisitive.

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May 07

Letter from E&Y announcing the Regional Finalists in their Prestigious EOTY Award

Alastair has moved to the finals in the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award!  When asked about the opportunity to go to the black-tie finals at the Mariott Marquis in Times Square, he gushed, “my god, the competition is so stiff, I’m so honored and so psyched to be a part of this elite group of businesspeople.”

Tickets are $350 but Alastair may be able to score a discount for you.  Please let us know if you either plan on going or want to go.

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Apr 15

Alastair was honored today to get word that he has been selected as a Semi-Finalist for Ernst & Young’s (”E&Y”) Entrepreneur of the Year Award.  For those of you who are not in the “know,” Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs.

Their global program now spans more than 140 cities and 50 countries worldwide, and the US Program has grown from one program to twenty-six. E&Y’s belief that entrepreneurs can transform economies, drive innovation and indeed, change communities, has been proven true year after year. So as E&Y embarks on the 25th anniversary of the Entrepreneur Of The Year Program, they do so with celebration and in the company of more than 8,000 of the most creative and inspirational entrepreneurs from around the globe. And they invite the entrepreneurs of tomorrow to join us at the table with your drive and best ideas.

Alastair has gotten “inside” information that there were over 160 initial applicants from NYC, and the semi-finalist pool selected is significantly smaller.  If Alastair wins the regional selection, he automatically goes into E&Y’s national selection process.  Let’s keep our fingers crossed and send him some best wishes by clicking on “Add a Comment” above!

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Mar 07

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Standing ovation at TEDx42ndSt.? If you were there, you know the whole story.

Yesterday, Alastair, gave a talk at TEDx42ndStreet titled, “Lessons of Happiness from a 40 Year-Old Social Entrepreneur” at the Museum of Tolerance in New York City.  The TEDx event was a full house with every seat in the house occupied.  Alastair spoke about lessons that he has learned throughout his life through the use of poignant, memorable and often hilarious stories.

This is the space that you should comment if you saw him at TEDx or on his video.  To add a comment, click on the title, “Alastair gives a talk at TEDx” above and you’ll be brought to a page where you can comment at the bottom .  What would be helpful is if you let us know two or three things that you liked about his talk, and two or three things that Alastair needs work on for future presentations.  Also, don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter on the home page so that we can stay in touch.

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Jan 19

Alastair’s success with GreenSoul Shoes’ business plan pitches has been recognized. In addition to giving several seminars on how to improve your business pitch, The Brooklyn Business Center (a part of St. Nicks Alliance) is hosting a live webinar of Alastair showing his tips and secrets on what makes a great presentation. If you are interested in improving your elevator pitch or if you are pitching VC’s for funding, you don’t want to miss Alastair.  Oh, and it’s completely free, so you’ve got nothing to lose!

Click here to register for the free live webinar on Tuesday January 25, 2011 at noon.

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Jan 11

Our very own fearless leader, Alastair Ong got invited to speak at TEDx (Manhattan). You can view his invite clicking here. Although he was initially honored, he was intimidated by the invitation. You get to speak for 18 minutes about any topic so long as it inspires.

Please respond to this blog if you have any ideas, suggestions or comments. If you’ve spoken at a TED event, then please do respond.

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Tagged with:
Dec 07

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nycvf_logo_small

Yesterday afternoon, Alastair Ong attended the kickoff meeting of the NY Venture Fellows and was pleasantly surprised at the depth of talent at the event.  As reported earlier, Alastair was honored with a NYC Venture Fellowship on behalf of his work with GreenSoul Shoes.  Some of the other Venture Fellows at the event include: the co-founders of Gilt and FourSquare.  At his table was the Chairman of LVMH the Chairman of FootLocker as well as one of the co-founders of Linked-in!  This entire week is devoted to the NYC Venture Fellows, and stay tuned for more updates.

Click here to download Mayor Bloomberg’s letter

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Aug 24

Alastair during CNN interviewPauline Chiou, host for CNN’s World Business Today interviewed GreenSoul Shoes’ own Alastair on Sunday. During the interview our fearless CEO spoke about the GreenSoul mission, and described our work with the local artisans and how our business model is helping remove discarded tires while helping shoe children around the world.

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