April Joyner

Neil deGrasse Tyson, on the rationale for supporting NASA

Funnily enough, I hear the last line of this quote a lot in relation to encouraging startups. There might be some lessons here for the entrepreneurial community. For more on this topic, check out this Q&A I did with Eugene Fitzgerald of MIT on innovation, back in December 2010.

(Source: The Atlantic)

My Yale classmate and friend Dayo Olopade reminds us that the Occupy Wall Street protestors may be the 99 percent here, but globally, they are the 1 percent.* It’s a nice observation, but I wonder what it really means in daily context. Is it all that reassuring to someone struggling to stay afloat to remind them that they’re still well-off compared to the starving children in Africa (to use the classic example)? I wonder how this data point can be used to empower rather than to shame (“You should be happy you’re not worse off!”). Any suggestions?

thebrightcontinent:

Here is another kink in the conversation. Most American protesters, however economically disadvantaged, are probably not as disadvantaged as, well, 99 percent of the global community. This provocation from the Motley Fool reminds us that the price of admission to the ranks of the global 1% is $34,000 in annual income.

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*Addendum: Actually, not quite, but they are pretty close.

via Twitter

If you don’t like how the job market looks here, why not go abroad and tap into your inner entrepreneur? At least, that’s what this slideshow suggests. Some additional thoughts:

1. If you’re going to Europe, you might not find much better job prospects, so it’s particularly advisable to go the entrepreneurial route if that’s where you’d like to be.
2. One of the slides features a woman who launched a microfinance platform to support entrepreneurs in Chile. FYI: Chile is actively seeking to attract entrepreneurs like her from outside its borders. Its entrepreneurship initiative, aptly titled Startup Chile, includes seed funding. Here’s a story on the program from the April issue of Inc.
3. But if startups aren’t your cup of tea, teaching abroad after college is a classic move.