A have accumulated a significant roster of friends that are trying to change the world; this even extends to my team at The Happiness Assembly, my non-profit that I co-founded. All the folks involved in our organization are totally crazy, in the best way possible. I've said this numerous times to my friends, but I have always been a black sheep. I love building and creating things and I think the idea of being in a start-up has become cooler the past few years. When I opened my first company, I was surrounded by quite a few family businesses, but no one my age. It wasn't cool. It was different and weird and no one understood why I was doing it. It wasn't until I received my entrepreneurship scholarship to undergrad that I met people that were like me. Two of my best friends on this planet, I met through Andrew McKelvey, the former CEO of Monster.com and my former mentor. Kevin, the new CEO of a company called ImagineX and Bethany who just joined the "start-up" like team at Think Global School and is about to jet off to New Zealand for a few months. Both are absolutely incredible and I continue to learn from them every day and they are definitely on a path to changing the world. All three of us had received success early on in life and with that, we have a different perspective on everything we choose to invest our time in now. The team has to be top notch. The company has to be really interesting. And we have to wake up wanting to build something so awesome and go to bed dreaming of it. With that, we only choose the coolest things to work on and we are so fortunate that we have the opportunity to do just that.
I am apart of a few of these entrepreneurship/ young-leader/ extraordinary human networks and I recently joined another one called Sandbox and I have found the quality of people to be quite amazing; they too are on a path to shaping the way we live in this world. Sandbox has completely taken a turn over the past few weeks and you see what happens when an organization changes due to different values, different structures and different folks in charge. Founders leave, board members leave and what you are left with is a large community of absolutely amazing, I mean amazinggg, individuals that want to continue with the structure that once valued family, community and relationships and those individuals have the endurance, the leadership and the drive to cultivate that same community that once existed as "Sandbox" on an entirely different platform that is currently called "HQ". It's really inspiring to watch take shape.
I love how being in a start-up is now the cool thing to do. I love how there are more start-ups in todays world then ever before. Entrepreneurs are just different. I find entrepreneurs to be the most interesting and complex people out there. The precision, coordination, and cooperation it takes to make a company happen are extraordinary. The emotional roller-coaster that happens during a start-up and the responsibility that you have when you are CEO and leading a team is unlike anything on this planet. A few weeks ago, entrepreneur Nikki Durkin wrote an extremely commendable article on the failure of her start-up 99dresses and with that, I think Apple's Think Different Campaign couldn't describe those people that I get to call my friends any better-
Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. But the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.
My hair, whose color has changed over the past year quite drastically, was unambiguously light brown as child and always in some sort of curls. A few months ago, during the birth of these photos, my hair had a red tint throughout its entirety and instead of long curls, it was quite straight. New photos will surface of my blonde locks and beach waves in due time, but for now, I hope you enjoy seeing these shot by my very best friend on one of my favorite streets in NYC. We had lunch at Cafe Select with our other mutual entrepreneur friend, Pippa Biddle, from BrightCo. Pippa is totally cool too and an avid foodie (like me!) and I absolutely cannot wait to be in the same city with her so we can host dinner parties together. I just count my blessings for constantly being surrounded by such inspiring energy and creativity. What a great life I get to live.
I'm countlessly known for mixing high and low with my clothes and this outfit proves just that. I am totally obsessed with these Uniqlo collared shirts; they fit perfectly (without being custom or tailored), have a great stretch non-wrinkle cotton, look extremely rich in all colors (blue, white, black, pink , stripes) AND the best part is they are $30 USD. I have also worn this jacket to death. I purchased it in the fall eager to get a cotton jacket for layering, and found this awesome piece at none other than Forever 21 when Bethany and I were on a frenzy searching for some chunky sweaters. I have literally worn it to death and I should probably upgrade to a Steven Alan version so I don't continue to look homeless.
Coco wears a Forever 21 Green Utility Jacket (similar, and if you're FANCY), Uniqlo Broadcloth Long Sleeve Collared Shirt, J. Crew C'est La Vie Tee Shirt in XL, AG Black Cords, Calvin Klein Collection Pointed Booties, Vintage Earrings, Chanel Wallet with a chain, Ippolita Black Pearl Pear Ring (similar)
Photographer: Bethany Halbreich