David Karp (founder of Tumblr) has a bit of an interesting story to him – he taught himself coding at 11, and dropped out of high school at 15, getting hired as CTO of UrbanBaby. He then went on to found Tumblr.

Karp’s lifestyle has its quirks and he’s very intentional about his routine – one which unconventionally lacks a schedule or appointment calendar – Karp likes to keep his schedule open so that if he finds himself in a particularly productive or creative conversation, there’s no rush to get to his next commitment. At work, the space is designed to encourage creative collaboration, comfort, and freedom from distractions.

What I appreciate about David Karp is that he doesn’t seem to be uber concerned with doing things the traditional, conventional way. He knows what allows him to function to the best of his ability, and seems to really know what his strengths are and what slows him down. He also seems to value community in the workplace, an example being that at the end of a particularly late work day, he will look to see who is still in the office, and will take that person out to supper as a thank you. He also mentions that there’s a bit of a “hive effect” in the workplace, in that when one person goes to get lunch, typically everyone follows, and the whole office will split up to several different lunch places, grab food to go, and come back to the office to eat with each other.

Read more about David Karp’s quirky lifestyle here: https://www.inc.com/magazine/201106/the-way-i-work-david-karp-of-tumblr.html

Social entrepreneur Bonnie Chiu has founded multiple businesses, but the one we’re focusing in on today is her photography venture: Lensational. Lensational is a social endeavor that aims to have an impact on the lives of women all over the globe. Chiu found that in many cultures there are still traditionally patriarchal structures in which women are illiterate – a dilemma which cuts out a lot of the means by which people express themselves – so she decided to start Lensational. This business impacts the lives of women in many different cultures (which includes 23 different countries) by giving photography lessons and cameras to the women. Taking photos allows these women to express themselves where they are unable to use words to do so.

One example of a woman who has been impacted by Lensational is Joyce, a woman from the Maasai culture in Kenya. She’s 22 and married – but illiterate. Photography allows Joyce to express herself, and also to grow confidence when it comes to using technology.

What I found inspiring about Bonnie Chiu’s Lensational is that she took a hobby and looked at it from a different perspective – she took something that already exists and found new potential. It makes entrepreneurship look a lot simpler than the stereotypically dramatic image that you often see – not every idea is going to flip the planet on its head – a lot of the good ones simply make the lives of a few people better than they already were.

Read more about Lensational here:

http://www.impactmania.com/im/bonnie-chiu-the-impact-of-a-camera/

Below is a photo of Joyce, a 22 year old woman from Kenya, and someone who found the ability to express herself thanks to Lensational.