Here's what on deck for 2024

Author

Nolan Bulger
03 Jan

Happy New Year!

In 2023, I witnessed hundreds of people make an important decision.

They decided to upgrade their thinking, build something that makes them proud, and commit to growing beyond their full potential.

These people are your peers — the ones reading this very email — and they’re motivated to:

  • Find a co-founder

  • Achieve profitability

  • Secure investments

  • Start advertising

  • Expand globally

Those examples are just scratching the surface, by the way… but this gets me and my team fired up!

The best part?

You can connect with entrepreneurs worldwide who have already achieved all of the above and much more.

You can ask them whatever you want (for free).

And you can upgrade your thinking today…

Take 30 seconds to ask a question or two — and you’ll get them answered by experienced global entrepreneurs and investors in an upcoming Think, Build & Grow issue.

In today's email:

  • Think with Catherine Cooke, co-founder of Upskillwise.com & Mejor-banco.com

  • Build with Rudie van Vuuren, a Namibian social entrepreneur with deep ties to his community

  • Grow with Bright Shitemi, who is tackling mental health challenges in Kenya’s startup scene

  • Watchlist: A not-so-subtle hint about some of our upcoming stories in 2024

Think with Catherine Cooke

British entrepreneur Catherine Cooke is the co-founder of two companies, Upskillwise.com & Mejor-banco.com.

Last summer, Catherine and I had a nice chat about her experiences as an expat in Spain and her journey of transitioning to a new career in entrepreneurship. We discussed her experience in the online learning space while weaving insights into the conversation about the differences between self-employment in the UK and Spain. 

Throughout our convo, Catherine emphasized the value of incremental changes and the impact of online learning on personal and professional development.

Catherine can answer your questions about:

  • Why embracing change is crucial for personal and professional growth.

  • How to set the right expectations when pursuing online courses.

  • Navigating the complexities of self-employment in Spain and the UK.

  • Incremental changes (no matter how small) and how they can have a significant impact on your life and career.

Want entrepreneurs like Catherine to help you upgrade your thinking? Be sure to ask your questions here.

Build with Namibian entrepreneur Rudie van Vuuren

Rudie van Vuuren is the humble leader of the Naankuse Foundation, and he’s got a fascinating entrepreneurial story (he’s also a private pilot and the President of Cricket Namibia). 

Next week, you’ll hear Rudie’s full story, from the heartbreaking catalyst behind his founding of a medical center to how he ultimately transitioned into conservation. 

He absolutely blew my mind when he explained how he’d built an entire ecosystem to support his business, involving future generations directly in addressing social and conversation needs. A genuine social entrepreneur, Rudie is positively impacting his community while driving economic growth with his efforts.

Grow with Bright Shitemi, founder of Mental 360

Bright Shitemi is a Kenyan social entrepreneur in the mental health space. During our interview, we discussed the importance of connecting personal experiences with entrepreneurship and the need for safe spaces to discuss mental health. 

Bright’s business-growth approach includes…

  • Connecting personal experiences with business strategy.

  • Leveraging a digital platform for scale.

  • Emphasizing design thinking and user involvement in creating sustainable products and services.

  • Working through the vibrant but challenging startup scene in Kenya, where local funding for entrepreneurs is limited.

  • Making the most of team-building challenges to increase investment in mental health and invite global collaboration.

If we get 15 YES votes, I’ll publish the video of our interview. Let me know if you wanna see it.

🔎 Watchlist

We’re just getting started.

In addition to publishing even more entrepreneurial stories about risk-taking business builders, innovators, and industry disruptors, we’re forming a solid community in 2024.

As a member of this community, you’ll have a chance to collaborate with people like these mentors and alums from Founder Insitute, whose stories we’ll publish on our website in the coming weeks:

Remember, if you want to upgrade your thinking by asking experienced global entrepreneurs and investors your questions, now’s your chance.

Until next time,

Nolan Bulger

P.S. Whether you’ve been a supporter since day one or just joined this week, thank you for reading! As always, I'd love to hear from you. Please send your feedback to [email protected]