By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues
Kiva cofounder Jessica Jackley received a Visionary Award at SVForum in Silicon Valley this month. She joins an impressive roster of honorees that includes Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Padmasree Warrior.
Jackley took a few moments to share tips for aspiring entrepreneurs and some clues about her latest startup, launching this fall.
She enthuses about Silicon Valley being "an incredibly special pocket of the world" where "people have a great capacity to imagine new futures."
"So many people here have the resources and skills to make these new stories unfold, become real," she adds.
Here are some highlights of our conversation.
Tips for aspiring entrepreneurs:
1. Be passionate
Do something you are passionate about and have a vision for.
2. Start small
Remember Kiva began with seven entrepreneurs and a little over $3,000. It recently surpassed the $500,000,000 mark in microloans to entrepreneurs around the world, serving almost 2 million Kiva users in 76 countries. The average loan amount is $10.
3. Be excellent
Serve one person, or one community well and build from there. Be thoughtful, intentional and think about the details. Study and absorb what's unfolding in front of you, and be present.
Check out the full story at Fresh Dialogues and learn more about the exciting new startup she's launching this Fall.
Find out more about other SVForum visionary award winners and check back soon at Fresh Dialogues for new interviews with other 2014 honorees: Stanford's Tina Seilig, VC Tim Draper and Jennifer Pahlka, founder of Code for America.
This video is part of a special "Inspiring Women" series at Fresh Dialogues featuring Meryl Streep, Sheryl Sandberg, Jennifer Granholm, Maureen Dowd, and Belva Davis. Check out the YouTube video series here.
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