17 Jan January 17, 2018 – Social Change Morgan Simon, Museum VR Jacob Koo and Need a Budget Jesse Mecham
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Morgan Simon – Managing Director, Candide Group and Author of Real Impact: The New Economics of Social Change
Morgan Simon co-leads Candide Group, which supports clients that include members of the Pritzker family. She is also co-founder and chair of the non-profit Transform Finance. Morgan previously served as the founding CEO of Toniic, a global network of impact investors, and as the founding executive director of the Responsible Endowments Coalition. Morgan has worked with the United Nations in Honduras, in corporate reform with ForestEthics, and in domestic microfinance with the Women’s Initiative for Self-Employment. She currently serves on the boards of the Restaurant Opportunity Center, The Working World, and CARE Enterprises. She is on the board of The Working World, and co-chair of ROC United, a non-profit worker center supporting over 25,000 restaurant workers nationwide. Morgan serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate Program at Middlebury College teaching impact investment and social enterprise. Morgan has made a significant contribution with the very big idea that we can change the world by changing how we all relate to money.
Jacob Koo – Founder of VRt Ventures
Jacob Koo is a lifelong entrepreneur, previously involved in the import/export of commodities and products, sports and entertainment marketing, real estate investment and development, retail business, contemporary art and design, and mobile apps. His belief in the potential of virtual reality was the impetus for founding VRt Ventures, a company focused on exploring the possibilities of VR. Jacob found his true calling in the arts, founding VRt Ventures to change the art world through technology. As an art enthusiast, Jacob recognized the reason many people don’t get more involved in the art world is because of the intimidation factor. To make art more accessible to all, he created a VR experience centered around Kerry James Marshall’s celebrated exhibition “Mastry” shown at the MOCA museum in Los Angeles. With this free VR experience, art neophytes can take all the time they need to look at works and decipher meanings, without having to worry about being judged. VRt Ventures is focused on developing virtual reality (VR) applications that capture and archive artistic expression through the power of 360-degree immersive technology.
Jesse Mecham – Author of You Need a Budget: The Proven System for Breaking the Paycheck-to-Paycheck Cycle, Getting Out of Debt, and Living the Life You Want
Jesse Mecham is a recovering CPA that started a company called “You Need A Budget.” Jesse founded YNAB in 2004 when he was in college and created a leading personal budgeting app, helping hundreds of thousands of people break the paycheck to paycheck cycle, get out of debt, and save more money. He operates at the intersection of personal finance, technology, and psychology. Jesse is the host of a weekly podcast creatively named, “You Need A Budget.” It has been downloaded millions of times. YNAB is currently planning on building a web-based version of the software at some point in the future. Jesse went from zero to $4M in revenue and is now trying to figure out how to grow it even further by focusing on data driven growth.