Spotlight On: Yancey Stickler, entrepreneur and writer known for co-founding Kickstarter and more recently authoring a new book, This Could Be Our Future.
Like many successful entrepreneurs, Yancey has tactfully tapped into the creative matrix of good sense, business aptitude, curiosity and luck – a formula for many creative leaders. As the co-founder of such a successful business, he learned the power of sacrifice early, and how that leads to brand equity. In their pledge to never go public, Kickstarter earned credibility with the creative community: “We’re drowning in a sea of empty promises, hollow apologies, and just a lot of BS. But sacrifice is the one thing that still stands out and rings true.”
“Show people the matrix”
The solution is simple, and like many simple solutions, the journey to get there was not. Yancey has found this to be his secret weapon: to make something that was previously unseen easier to perceive and understand.
This inspired the creation of his book, This Could be Our Future. After witnessing his neighborhood, the Lower East Side in lower Manhattan, lost to big business and banks, he realized: we live in a culture where money will always win. His personal connection to an experience (living in the LES) was suddenly made clear by asking larger questions (why don’t I recognize my neighborhood anymore?).
The book continues this idea as it uncovers a new way of seeing the world. It gives us greater insight into why the world works the way it does and explains some of the things that don’t make sense, and perhaps can empower us to do something about it.
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