Business lawyer and social entrepreneur using law & tech to promote social responsibility & create a better world. Founder of @GozAround. #CSR #BusinessLaw
Alberta, Canada
Joined May 2010
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10 years building @GozAround and I've been doing it all wrong.
Mistake #1: Building in silence because I was terrified of failing publicly.
Mistake #2: Letting other people's "proven" strategies override my own vision.
The irony? We're building a platform to connect community needs with resources - literally about bringing people together - while I've been hiding in my home office.
Fear is expensive. It's cost me a decade of potential feedback, connections, and course corrections.
So here's the pivot: building in public starting now.
The messy experiments. The failed launches. The 3am "what if we tried..." moments. The pivots that make you question everything. Starting with this admission: I have no idea if we're solving corporate social impact the right way. I don't even know if the world wants what we're building! But it's time to find out for real.
Who else is building something they believe in but scared to talk about it?
Ever feel like every scroll is a 5-alarm fire? From doom-laden headlines to 😱 faces on YouTube, fear & FOMO have become the business model of the web. I went looking at this trend of using fear for attention… 👇
MIT’s Science paper showed false (often fear-laden) news is 70 % more likely to be retweeted. The good news is humans are trying to warn each other. The bad news is, it usually a false alarm.
pbs.org/newshour/science/fal…
We’re truly inspired by our client @worldwidetrials support of their team in giving. Anastasiia’s story perfectly illustrates the power of employee generosity meeting corporate support. Well done!
👏 Kudos to Anastasiia Gerasimova of @worldwidetrials for winning the 2024 donation matching program!
Her contribution to @UpliftingAth reflects the power of combining personal passion with corporate support.
Read her inspiring story.
gozaround.com/blog/employees…
So far ChatGPT for the law is akin to a brand new lawyer. It has good ideas, sometimes things you might not remember from law school, but can totally miss the application or nuance of contractual terms. It’s a good sounding board or first pass but don’t count on it. Consider it an eager new associate that you have to keep an eye on. #legal #ai
An over-thinker’s guide to declutterring…
“This garage should be cleared out." (Opens first box)
"This stuff should be donated. I'll make a trip when I have enough."
(Leaves box, opens others)
"This stuff would be good to sell. We should have a garage sale." (Leaves items, moves on)
"All this stuff over here is taking up too much space. We should get a shed."
"I better price out a shed." (Stands in garage looking on phone for 15 min)
"Hmm, kind of pricey and there are actually a lot of projects out here. I should make a budget."
Leaves garage in the same condition
#overthinking
An ambulance raced by with lights and siren on. Someone is having a very bad night and those paramedics have given up their #ChristmasEve to help. Gratitude to #firstresponders and best wishes to those facing a hard time. For the rest of us, hug your family, put out the cookies and have a Merry Christmas.🎄
Totally agree with @devindthorpe “When you choose to invest part or all of your money for impact and lower returns—because you can—kudos. I honor, respect and thank you. But you know what, if you invest for impact with market rate returns in mind, let me say, “More power to you!” #impactinvesting
Sadly, a great deal of division has taken hold in #Canada. I share the view of @rupasubramanya that we’re missing a unifying Canadian culture. We define ourselves by where our families came from, even generations past. So…let’s make a list. What does it mean to be Canadian?
Caught @BettyeLaVette covering the @theblackkeys. Just awesome! Passion and soul has no age. Thanks @OdarioWilliams for the find of the night!
Feature idea for @Twitter - who viewed your profile. Like LinkedIn. It would be interesting to see if any of my long shot outreach for @GozAround support catches anyone’s eye. Even if no response…did they look? #twitterforbusiness
Ben Block retweeted
“In one of the most notable moments in sports history, Kenyan runner Abel Mutai was just a few feet from the finish line, but became confused with the signage and stopped thinking he had completed the race.
A Spanish athlete, Ivan Fernandez, was right behind him, and after realizing what was happening, he started shouting at the Kenyan for him to continue running; but Mutai didn't understand his Spanish.
Fernandez eventually caught up to him and instead of passing him, he pushed him to victory.
A journalist asked Ivan, "Why did you do that?"
Ivan replied, “My dream is that someday we can have a kind of community life where we push and help each other to win.” The journalist insisted “But why did you let the Kenyan win?" Ivan replied, "I didn't let him win, he was going to win.” The journalist insisted again, “But you could have won!”Ivan looked at him & replied, “But what would be the merit of my victory? What would be the honor of that medal?
What would my Mom think of that?”
Values are transmitted from generation to generation.
What values are we teaching our children?
Let us not teach our kids the wrong ways to WIN.”
Calltoactivism
I admire @NahremanIssaCTV for sharing her love for her dad and sorrow for his loss live on @ctvedmonton news. That takes strength and I’m sure he’s very proud of his daughter. Thank you also to the producers for supporting this moment of genuine humanity. #FathersDay