Entries For: September 2007
2007-09-28
His person
What is this? Another blog entry where I tell you how famous Kiva has become? Well, sort of.
This week is the Clinton Global Initiative, a mecca of sorts for philanthropy in the US. Premal, a co-conspirator and Intl micro-financier at large, was given the honor of speaking for the second year in a row. I couldn't think of a better person to do it. Nobody can convey the message of Internet micro-lending with the passion, sincerity and intelligence that Premal carries on his person (in addition to his blackberry)
Thanks, in part, to Premal, we are being hit with a new deluge of lenders, loans and enthusiasm. A big thanks goes to President Clinton himself, who has unexpectedly become a spokesman for Kiva as well.
Mr. Clinton, do you read blogs? If you do read this..."Thanks". It's not just me thanking you; there are thousands of entrepreneurs in the developing world for years to come who will have you to thank. You have taken this cause to a new level. Of all things you could have devoted your post-presidency to, you chose philanthropy. And you are not just posturing either, you are serious and we can see that. Kiva will widen its sails to catch the wind you have created.
Read on. This, from a recent interview with the President on MSN.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21020060/page/2/
CLINTON: Well, I can just give you an example of that — we can all be micro-bankers now thanks to a little Web site called kiva.org, which made its introduction here last year.
They came here for the first time. And one of the people who followed us on the Internet, of the 48,000 people, several hundred of them made their own commitment. One of them said, I’m going to loan $25 to somebody in Africa to start a business or expand a business.
When I featured them in my book and then went on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and she brought them there, within three days, all of the people in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Afghanistan, every one of their businesspeople was fully funded within three days by people giving between $25 and $200.
It was amazing. So now they all will get reports and when their loans are paid back, they can keep them or turn around and lend them again. These are the kind of ideas that are circulating in the world. And we can increase the visibility of the good idea.
And people, even with a very modest amount of money can have a huge impact. Just think about it. You and I could become bankers to people and we could monitor their progress and people in their neighborhoods will see and they will look for micro-loans, they have their own ideas, so we can give them a chance to raise their kids with dignity, send their kids to school, and in troubled places like Afghanistan, we marginally increase the chance that peace can prevail because people will see there is a positive alternative to conflict.
This week is the Clinton Global Initiative, a mecca of sorts for philanthropy in the US. Premal, a co-conspirator and Intl micro-financier at large, was given the honor of speaking for the second year in a row. I couldn't think of a better person to do it. Nobody can convey the message of Internet micro-lending with the passion, sincerity and intelligence that Premal carries on his person (in addition to his blackberry)
Thanks, in part, to Premal, we are being hit with a new deluge of lenders, loans and enthusiasm. A big thanks goes to President Clinton himself, who has unexpectedly become a spokesman for Kiva as well.
Mr. Clinton, do you read blogs? If you do read this..."Thanks". It's not just me thanking you; there are thousands of entrepreneurs in the developing world for years to come who will have you to thank. You have taken this cause to a new level. Of all things you could have devoted your post-presidency to, you chose philanthropy. And you are not just posturing either, you are serious and we can see that. Kiva will widen its sails to catch the wind you have created.
Read on. This, from a recent interview with the President on MSN.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21020060/page/2/
CLINTON: Well, I can just give you an example of that — we can all be micro-bankers now thanks to a little Web site called kiva.org, which made its introduction here last year.
They came here for the first time. And one of the people who followed us on the Internet, of the 48,000 people, several hundred of them made their own commitment. One of them said, I’m going to loan $25 to somebody in Africa to start a business or expand a business.
When I featured them in my book and then went on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and she brought them there, within three days, all of the people in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Afghanistan, every one of their businesspeople was fully funded within three days by people giving between $25 and $200.
It was amazing. So now they all will get reports and when their loans are paid back, they can keep them or turn around and lend them again. These are the kind of ideas that are circulating in the world. And we can increase the visibility of the good idea.
And people, even with a very modest amount of money can have a huge impact. Just think about it. You and I could become bankers to people and we could monitor their progress and people in their neighborhoods will see and they will look for micro-loans, they have their own ideas, so we can give them a chance to raise their kids with dignity, send their kids to school, and in troubled places like Afghanistan, we marginally increase the chance that peace can prevail because people will see there is a positive alternative to conflict.
2007-09-06
A Guiness for Kiva
Jess is in Swaziland. My Dad, Mike Flannery, is in town. Last night, Dad and I went out to the Liberties on Guerrero -- a couple of Irish lads at the local Irish pub.
After a few Guinness , we were back home. My laptop lives on my nightstand. I checked in for one last glance at Kiva stats. We were out of businesses and there was no way to make a loan. This is the first time this has happened since January '06.
Ms. Winfrey, you sold us out. For you, I thought I would summarize the stats below.
Last Week's Averages
-- 100K page views
-- 10K visits
-- $40K in loans raised
-- 250 users per day
Monday, September 3rd
-- The Today Show
-- The site stayed up
-- 24K visits
-- 331K page views
-- $97K in loans raised
-- Transaction cap was on limiting users to $25 per loan
-- 2089 new users
Tuesday, September 4th
-- The Oprah Winfrey Show
-- The site crashed 3 times for 20 minutes each during peak traffic
-- 94K visits
-- 992K page views
-- 4388 new registered users
-- $145K in loans raised
-- Transaction cap was on limiting users to $25 per loan
-- Thousands of email addresses collected during the crashes
Wednesday, September 5th
-- The day after The Oprah Winfrey Show
-- The site stayed up
-- 60K visits
-- 865K page views
-- 4067 new registered users
-- $153K in loans raised
-- Transaction cap was on limiting users to $25 per loan
-- We sold out around 10 PM PST (we are still mostly out)
I don't have time to explain the strategy that went into creating this chain of events. Rather, I'll just explain how I feel about it. I'm ecstatic. I don't think we made many mistakes this time around.
At a high level, the strategy was guided by the following beliefs 1) We are no longer terrified of running out of businesses and will not sacrifice our best thinking around risk in order to avoid a shortage and 2) We are not going to overspend on infrastructure to handle temporary press events. These lines of thinking contributed to the situation we are in now -- sold out of businesses with a website that went down a few times for short periods of time, but generally held up. This is remarkably different than a year ago when we were on Frontline and down for 4 days.
I'm proud of the team. Mike is proud of me. Sam, Zvi and John: You guys are heroes. Same goes for you Ms. Winfrey.
After a few Guinness , we were back home. My laptop lives on my nightstand. I checked in for one last glance at Kiva stats. We were out of businesses and there was no way to make a loan. This is the first time this has happened since January '06.
Ms. Winfrey, you sold us out. For you, I thought I would summarize the stats below.
Last Week's Averages
-- 100K page views
-- 10K visits
-- $40K in loans raised
-- 250 users per day
Monday, September 3rd
-- The Today Show
-- The site stayed up
-- 24K visits
-- 331K page views
-- $97K in loans raised
-- Transaction cap was on limiting users to $25 per loan
-- 2089 new users
Tuesday, September 4th
-- The Oprah Winfrey Show
-- The site crashed 3 times for 20 minutes each during peak traffic
-- 94K visits
-- 992K page views
-- 4388 new registered users
-- $145K in loans raised
-- Transaction cap was on limiting users to $25 per loan
-- Thousands of email addresses collected during the crashes
Wednesday, September 5th
-- The day after The Oprah Winfrey Show
-- The site stayed up
-- 60K visits
-- 865K page views
-- 4067 new registered users
-- $153K in loans raised
-- Transaction cap was on limiting users to $25 per loan
-- We sold out around 10 PM PST (we are still mostly out)
I don't have time to explain the strategy that went into creating this chain of events. Rather, I'll just explain how I feel about it. I'm ecstatic. I don't think we made many mistakes this time around.
At a high level, the strategy was guided by the following beliefs 1) We are no longer terrified of running out of businesses and will not sacrifice our best thinking around risk in order to avoid a shortage and 2) We are not going to overspend on infrastructure to handle temporary press events. These lines of thinking contributed to the situation we are in now -- sold out of businesses with a website that went down a few times for short periods of time, but generally held up. This is remarkably different than a year ago when we were on Frontline and down for 4 days.
I'm proud of the team. Mike is proud of me. Sam, Zvi and John: You guys are heroes. Same goes for you Ms. Winfrey.
2007-09-01
Chicago
For the past 10 months, we have been operating in a state of suspended reality. For the past 2 days, it has felt more like delusion. We just got back from Chicago last night. We spent yesterday morning at Harpo productions for an Oprah show taping.
The place is a fortress and Harpo definitely runs a tight ship. We showed up at 7 AM and spent an hour and a half in the green room. For the first time in my life, I got airbrushed. By the time Jess and I proceeded into the studio, our faces were speckle free and mostly monochrome....ready for the bright lights and the intimidating gaze of Ms. Winfrey.
A team of highly professional and kind producers and assistants made sure we were prepared. We practiced our responses all morning. However, you never know what Ms. Winfrey might come up with. In the end, you better be able to throw your preparation out the door. She will look at you when it's time to begin.
We were in the audience. The show was focused on President Clinton's new book -- Giving. We assumed our seats in the front row. The President and Ms. Winfrey entered to great applause. There we were, in the front row, about arm's length away as the interview began.
We were in the 5th segment. I think that's right. The President and Oprah ushered us through 4 segments of emotional conversation and specials. I could almost touch them. Even so, it felt like I was watching a movie -- however more frightening because the characters could call on you at any time. You better be ready.
I couldn't pay perfect attention. About 45 minutes into the show, the Kiva segment began. A tape rolled highlighting Anne Brown, an artisan in Seattle who lent money to a seamstress in Ecuador. I didn't watch too closely because I didn't want to be too emotional as the biggest interview in my life would begin.
Then she called on us. Our most likely scenario was that Oprah would focus on Jessica, given that is a women-centric show. We were wrong -- she focused on me. How much has Kiva loaned so far? How does it make you feel? How long does it take for an entrepreneur to get funded? I could answer these questions in my sleep. However, they came out in slow motion. I didn't make any big mistakes. I was serviceable, not incredible. Since that time, I've replayed the answers in my head, second guessing every word. I'll probably never get the chance to address that many people again in my life. Thinking about it too much can drive you crazy.
She turned to Jess and asked about her inspiration. Jess got emotional. It was an emotional moment. She delivered a heart felt account of how we began Kiva. It was one of the more moving parts of the show.
The President and Ms. Winfrey spent the next few minutes talking about the power of the Internet and "the Kiva model." Watching this was truly surreal. If you had told me a year ago that I would watch these two people discussing Kiva in front of millions on TV, I would have laughed. I cannot tell you how ridiculous it would have seemed. It still seems imaginary.
The show ended. The President approached us to talk about Kiva and how he could help. He noted that Jess used to work for World Vision and had apparently read our bios. Are you kidding me? Is this really happening? President Clinton is an immensely personable person. He would have stayed all day and talked to every single person in the studio if reality accommodated that. The Harpo people had to remind him to move to the next venue.
Tactically speaking, this will be a big week for Kiva. Watch for the show on Tuesday, September 4th. It's bound to be another order of magnitude shift for our young organization. We will do everything we can to react.
The place is a fortress and Harpo definitely runs a tight ship. We showed up at 7 AM and spent an hour and a half in the green room. For the first time in my life, I got airbrushed. By the time Jess and I proceeded into the studio, our faces were speckle free and mostly monochrome....ready for the bright lights and the intimidating gaze of Ms. Winfrey.
A team of highly professional and kind producers and assistants made sure we were prepared. We practiced our responses all morning. However, you never know what Ms. Winfrey might come up with. In the end, you better be able to throw your preparation out the door. She will look at you when it's time to begin.
We were in the audience. The show was focused on President Clinton's new book -- Giving. We assumed our seats in the front row. The President and Ms. Winfrey entered to great applause. There we were, in the front row, about arm's length away as the interview began.
We were in the 5th segment. I think that's right. The President and Oprah ushered us through 4 segments of emotional conversation and specials. I could almost touch them. Even so, it felt like I was watching a movie -- however more frightening because the characters could call on you at any time. You better be ready.
I couldn't pay perfect attention. About 45 minutes into the show, the Kiva segment began. A tape rolled highlighting Anne Brown, an artisan in Seattle who lent money to a seamstress in Ecuador. I didn't watch too closely because I didn't want to be too emotional as the biggest interview in my life would begin.
Then she called on us. Our most likely scenario was that Oprah would focus on Jessica, given that is a women-centric show. We were wrong -- she focused on me. How much has Kiva loaned so far? How does it make you feel? How long does it take for an entrepreneur to get funded? I could answer these questions in my sleep. However, they came out in slow motion. I didn't make any big mistakes. I was serviceable, not incredible. Since that time, I've replayed the answers in my head, second guessing every word. I'll probably never get the chance to address that many people again in my life. Thinking about it too much can drive you crazy.
She turned to Jess and asked about her inspiration. Jess got emotional. It was an emotional moment. She delivered a heart felt account of how we began Kiva. It was one of the more moving parts of the show.
The President and Ms. Winfrey spent the next few minutes talking about the power of the Internet and "the Kiva model." Watching this was truly surreal. If you had told me a year ago that I would watch these two people discussing Kiva in front of millions on TV, I would have laughed. I cannot tell you how ridiculous it would have seemed. It still seems imaginary.
The show ended. The President approached us to talk about Kiva and how he could help. He noted that Jess used to work for World Vision and had apparently read our bios. Are you kidding me? Is this really happening? President Clinton is an immensely personable person. He would have stayed all day and talked to every single person in the studio if reality accommodated that. The Harpo people had to remind him to move to the next venue.
Tactically speaking, this will be a big week for Kiva. Watch for the show on Tuesday, September 4th. It's bound to be another order of magnitude shift for our young organization. We will do everything we can to react.
