Beauty Was in the Eye of the Beholder….Until a Teen Developed an iPhone App to Prove Otherwise
‘Fit or Fugly’ iphone app scientifically measures a person’s attractiveness using a photograph and Fibonnaci’s golden ratio.
Washington, DC – Ed Nash, a young and promising 18 year old entrepreneur from Somerset, UK, announced today that his ‘Fit or Fugly’ iPhone app has surpassed over 3,500 downloads after just 5 days on the market. The hilarious and undoubtedly useful app “Fit or Fugly” allows iPhone users to calculate how attractive a face is. The program uses Fibonacci’s golden ratio which is based on symmetries via key anchor points on a human face – eyes, ears, chin, mouth and nose. Symmetry has been accepted as the measurement to discover a humans attractiveness.
“For many centuries people have been striving to increase their appeal but there never has been an exact way to determine who is beautiful and who is not”, says Ed Nash, teen entrepreneur and creator of the app. “Finally there’s a way to all it takes is a photograph and an iPhone.”
Apply now for the NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation Young Entrepreneur Awards. They are currently accepting applications for the 2010 NFIB Young Entrepreneur Awards beginning midnight, October 31 through 11:59 p.m., December 31, 2009, any high school senior graduating in 2010 may apply online for a chance to win a scholarship valued from $1,000-$10,000.
Last night I was honored to have a seat at the NFTE Movie Premiere of Ten9Eight Shoot For the Moon. I went there to support entrepreneurial teens (aspiring and emerging), the groovy folks that I work with in the DC office and all of the teens I have had the privilege to personally work with that were featured in the movie.
The movie follows the journey of teens from low income neighborhoods enrolled in the NFTE Program at their public high school who are competing to win a chance to the National Business Plan Competition (NYC) and a $10,000 Grand Prize.
I get it and I got it, this whole concept of ‘competing’ for the prize, prestige, recognition. The fame, the fortune, the glory. Yeah, I got it. :) And I would totally recommend any teen out there who has been thinking of starting a business go and watch the movie (in select AMC theatres for a limited time). The movie is a huge step in bringing forth greater awareness of the public about teens and entrepreneurship.
But I have to tell you. This morning, I reflected back on the movie and the one thing I found myself thinking about over and over again were the tens of thousands of teens who didn’t win the competition or even advance beyond their in classroom competition. What happened to them?
A true Renegade CEO challenges not the limits of society but the limits of oneself.
This is like the all encompassing theme in the World of the Renegade CEO’s. There is no such thing as having competition, other than yourself. The corporation you bad mouth today could be the same one merging with or buying your company tomorrow. And what will your client think if you talked about their crappy, inferior product and how they treat their customers so poorly. While you may be smaller, more streamlined and efficient in some respects and maybe even an early adopter in terms of technology, better is relative. You are not better than anybody. You are different…but you are also the same. You both have to market to seek clients, earn money to sustain and grow your business, pay taxes. And for many small businesses, becoming a ‘bigger company’ with millions in annual revenues and customers all over the world is usually a measure of success.
So I leave you with this- in our current economy where resources are strapped, it is important that you come from a place of collaboration vs. competition.
1. Be open to AND with ideas and continual feedback in regards to both your clients and other organizations (smaller and larger than you) in your industry.
2. Embrace the world. When you are online you are connected globally. So have awareness, respect and sensitivity for others outside of your ‘immediate’ community.
3. Look for innovative ways to partner with others who offer complimentary products/services to you.
4. Always work for the best needs of your customer first. When your customer is at the forefront, you will learn to look beyond differences (of other companies who offer similar products/services) and instead serve as a resource for your industry to better educate and support your clients.
5. Make Trust the Norm. Trust Everyone Unless They Personally Give You a Reason Not To.It is so easy to build new relationships and get caught up on the shortcomings and drama from old relationships that didn’t work out. If someone engages in a relationship with you in which they are asking for things that are not ethically or morally right then you obviously know that you cannot trust them. Otherwise, understand that in collaborative relationships, trust is the norm. And when it is the norm, not the exception that people do things with you out of the kindness of their heart without any immediate expectation of repayment.
And big thanks to my trusted mastermind partners, Marianne St. Clair, Greg Balanko-Dickson, Danielle Herb, Mena Gagne and Patricio Quezada who have taught me and reaffirmed the importance of creative, communal collaboration. It works!
@teenbizcoach
Comments (2) Posted by Shonika Proctor on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
On today’s episode of Renegade Teens Radio, Host Patricio Quezada, CEO of HispanicsLearn chats with Bradley Will, That Gen Y Guy. Bradley Will is the Ultimate Go-Giver and Founder of Social Media Altitude. He blogs about his adventures in living the ‘good’ life with his up and coming young entrepreneurs on BradleyWill.com .
As it was a small miracle in itself getting Bradley lined up to be interviewed on the show in between his co-hosting the YES Movie Screening in Chi-Town (Chicago) and being featured on Rise to the Top TV, we are definitely going to make the most of our precious one hour with him. As Renegade Teens believe that 21 is technically ‘old’ by today’s standards, inquiring minds want to know how someone who is age 27 could possibly be considered a ‘young’ entrepreneur and how can any movie before 1990 be considered ‘inspirational and entrepreneurial’ to today’s ‘truly’ young entrepreneurs?
Get informed firsthand and be entertained as Bradley brings his midwest charm and Patricio adds his Hispanic Chispa. As always, we are looking forward to your participation and seeing what new adventures will evolve from this episode. Tune into the show tonight at 6 pm EST. www.blogtalkradio.com/RenegadeTeens
To get a feel for Bradley and why it is so fitting that his company is named Social Media Altitude…Peep his video below:
Comments (1) Posted by Shonika Proctor on Thursday, November 12th, 2009
Today I attended Actionomics [DC] Fall Forum 2009, hosted by the fabulous Washington DC Economic Partnership Office, which is an incredible and valuable resource for small businesses in the city (everybody who works there is so nice).
Here is the [link I have yet to find-womp, womp] to the virtual home of Actionomics [dc] *sigh*. There you can read all about this groovy citywide initiative that we have already set free.
So what exactly is Actionomics [dc]?
In my interpretation, it is an offline crowdsourcing initiative designed to bring together community thought leaders inclusive of individuals and organizations (public/private sectors) who are directly or indirectly connected to DC’s Creative Economy. This mashup of folks have been tasked to inspire, stimulate AND launch the ‘genius idea(s)’ that will address challenges in the community and essentially spark a ’new and emerging culture’ for DC. The idea is to be known for something other than politics, law and government. Teen Entrepreneurs…now that is a novel idea
What is it other than the politics, law and government that is going to attract, train and retain fresh voices and talent which ‘rallies’ around this new DC?
From being selected as a National TV Business Commentator for a show that reaches over a half million viewers daily to being chosen as the subject of a documentary that will reach in the millions of viewers- the past few weeks have brought a whirlwind of incredible news, amazing partnerships, international recognition and tremendous opportunities for the Renegade CEO’s and emerging Teen Entrepreneurs across the globe.
To the most amazing business coach who has helped me from nothing to everything and understands me. Devon Landers, 19, CEO, TexasCrawlers.com @DevonLanders on Twitter
Inquiries, questions, well-wishes and nastygrams gotta love them- have come from all over the place, from teens and adults, new and long-time friends, organizations and family, all asking me about my journey to this point and wanting to know how I got the ‘Golden Touch’. So what is this experience in the limelight all about and how does it feel? My teens have been famous for a long time so I have learned to live vicariously through them. Needless to say the question inspired me to write a post today about ‘Growing Up Renegade’.
BLOG CLIFF NOTES(Since I know I can sometimes be long-winded, tee hee he):
So how does it feel to be in the spotlight?
Just like it feels sitting at the conference table when you enter a new partnership- one person is looking at you with a big grin and thinking ‘we love these guys because they bring a fresh voice’ and another person is looking at you with a big grin and thinking ‘we love these guys because the real pundits are going to have them for lunch.’
Alas, it’s the same as it ever was….
Entrepreneurship is not a course or a class, but a level of consciousness. Therefore, in order to learn it you must first LIVE IT.
Hear the inspiration behind the LamboFaces story here (it is in first 10 minutes of interview).
UK Teen, Ed Nash, has recently launched an online fundraising campaign to raise money to build a hospital in the southern part of Zanzibar.
UK Teen Entrepreneur to Auction World’s First ‘People’s Lamborghini’ Featuring 100,000 Faces Painted on Car
Washington, DC – UK Serial Teen Entrepreneur, Ed Nash, Founder of ClastaZ has recently launched an online philanthropic venture called LamboFaces.com. The online fundraising campaign seeks to raise money to build a hospital in the southern part of Zanzibar, where one of the project founders, Dr Ruaraidh MacDonagh, a Somerset, UK consultant surgeon is based. Currently people have to walk up to 20 miles to reach their nearest hospital and in many cases they have critical life threatening situations.
LamboFaces encourages website visitors to upload a picture of their face for just £1 (1 British Pound). The 100,000 most ‘interesting’ faces will be selected and painted on a custom Lamborghini which will then be auctioned on eBay with no reserve price. This will be the World’s First ‘People’s’ Lamborghini. Several UK actors and actresses have already uploaded their face including Emma Thompson, Jim Carter, Imelda Staunton and Greg Wise. All of the faces that are uploaded to the LamboFaces website will be hung on walls throughout the hospital.
“Lambofaces has the power to literally make the difference between life or death for a large number of people who are living in the southern part of Zanzibar,” said Dr Ruaraidh McDonagh, Chariman of The Makunduchi Project.
The funds that are raised through the website and the auction of the custom Lamborghini will be used to build a hospital in an extremely poor community in the southern part of Zanzibar. The island currently has one main hospital (Mnazi Mmoja), which acts as a referral centre for a population in excess of 1 million people.
About Lambofaces: Lambofaces is a philanthropic collaboration organized by UK based charitable organization, The Makunduchi Project, UK Serial Teen Entrepreneur Ed Nash, Founder and CEO of ClastaZ and is generously sponsored by Zamaretto, a division of UK based beverage company, Intercontinental Brands (ICB) International.
About The Makunduchi Project: The Makunduchi Project is an initiative under HIPZ. Registered as a charity in 2006, HIPZ was created to establish a unique public/private partnership with the Zanzibar Government to improve healthcare in Zanzibar, through fundraising and professional support in the UK. The flagship program entails the renovation, equipping and administration of the hospital in Makunduchi in southern Zanzibar, where many of the 60,000 or so locals have little or no access to healthcare.
About Zamaretto: Zamaretto is a division of Intercontinental Brands (ICB) International, one of the UK’s leading independently owned drinks companies.
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Comments Off Posted by Shonika Proctor on Thursday, November 5th, 2009
Happy 40th Birthday Sesame Street and Keep Doing Your Own Thing, Young CEO!
Three of these kids belong together
Three of these kids are kind of the same
But one of these kids is doing his (her) own thing
Now it’s time to play our game
It’s time to play our game.
One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn’t belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?
Comments Off Posted by Shonika Proctor on Thursday, November 5th, 2009
Teen Entrepreneur Ben Lang (@entrepreneurpro) on Twitter has recently announced a new contest on his blog. It is quite easy to enter and the prizes are great (several which are sponsored by the Renegade CEO’s).
1. Enter the contest via his blog. This is actually the direct link to the post.
2. Win Great Prizes! The groovy prizes that can be found in his prize vault are:
An $18 gift card to Barnes and Noble
A copy of the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur Book ($27/value)
A copy of Nintendo Brain Puzzles Game (Courtesy of @kidcriticreview)
A DVD of the YES Movie (Young Entrepreneur Society, 29.95 value)
A one year subscription to Inc. Magazine ($19.95 value)
There will be one winner for each prize (so that’s 5 chances to win)!!! The drawing will take place this weekend and will be done by the innocent hand of Ben’s little sister
Good luck to all who enter!
@teenbizcoach
Comments (5) Posted by Shonika Proctor on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
What a fantastic week…it was! We had so many big things happen I don’t even know where to start. So I guess I will start from the beginning of the week.
1. Ed Nash, 18, UK, got his iphone app submitted for approval to Apple. Go Nashy! We also started his official marketing campaign for LamboFaces.com LamboFaces is his philanthropic endeavor where people pay 1 British Pound to upload their face on a website. The 100,000 most interesting and beautiful faces will be painted onto a Lamborghini. The ‘World’s First People’s Lamborghini’ will then be auctioned on eBay with no reserve price and the money will be used to build a hospital in a poor community in the south of Zanzibar. No idea where people think of this stuff. I swear I had nothing to do with this, lol.
Twitter @Nashy (I am not going to spill the beans on his app, but perhaps he will. I have to say it is a pretty cool concept…in a teen tech genius type of way).
2. Ben Lang, 16, (barely 16, lol) is on fire! First he did a book review on his blog which got 25+ comments. So we were able to line him up with a feature article on next month’s Toilet Paper Entrepreneur Blog which gets a whole lotta traffic. Ask and you might receive. But threaten the influential blog owner who fears the worst if he doesn’t feature your teen entrepreneur and you know something, that usually works Also, Ben got his first article published in his local newspaper. It is a multi part article and just might turn into a regular syndicated column. WHEW HEW! When I heard that, it totally made my day. He is such a giving person and is sincerely and truly deserving of it.
Twitter: @entrepreneurpro (Ask him about his new sponsored comments program, it is a really cool concept!)
Full of grace and inspiration, Danielle Herb, Founder of Drop Your Reins, the Only Official Grrrl Renegade CEO, celebrated her Sweet 16 on October 23rd. Happy, Happy Birthday to Danielle!
gotta love them- have come from all over the place, from teens and adults, new and long-time friends, organizations and family, all asking me about my journey to this point and wanting to know how I got the ‘Golden Touch’. So what is this experience in the limelight all about and how does it feel? My teens have been famous for a long time so I have learned to live vicariously through them. Needless to say the question inspired me to write a post today about ‘Growing Up Renegade’.
