Startup Chile Report #1: A Message about Community to Caribbean Tech Entrepreneurs, Developers, Designers and others
Posted on | May 18, 2013 | No Comments
And after coming back from the knowledge exchange tour in Chile, I wrote my first piece and it was focused on the importance of community and just where things are in the Caribbean Tech Community. You can read it here
PRESS: Jamaica – the hub of innovation and entrepreneurship in the Caribbean?
Posted on | May 18, 2013 | No Comments
I was invited to be part of a 12 person Jamaican delegation by Julian Robinson, minister of state in the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining and the World Bank for a four-day visit to Santiago, Chile, to see first-hand how that Startup Chile worked and was transforming their nation.
Start-Up Chile is a program of the Chilean Government to attract world-class early stage entrepreneurs to start their businesses in Chile. It is executed by Corfo via InnovaChile, that seeks to attract early stage, high-potential entrepreneurs to bootstrap their startups in Chile, using it as a platform to go global. A member of the delegation Sandra Glasgow wrote an article for the Jamaica Gleaner here
PRESS: Pitch Perfect: Kingston BETA Becomes a Major Tech Player
Posted on | May 18, 2013 | No Comments
It’s kinda cool when people recognised for what you are passionate about and have an unwavering belief in what you do daily. Caribbean Beat May/June 2013 issue did a piece of Kingston BETA and its impact on Jamaican and Caribbean Tech Entrepreneurship Culture.
Tags: Caribbean BEAT magazine > Caribbean Tech Entrepreneurs > ingrid riley > kingston beta
Making this Seth Godin paraphrase a Mantra of mine
Posted on | March 12, 2013 | No Comments
…bring your true self to the work, your unadulterated effort, without negative self-talk and the sanding off of the interesting edges..bring your vision…because your magical, vulnerable work changes everything.
I stitched together pieces of this blog post titled “The moment of highest leverage“
What’s the goal really?
Posted on | December 20, 2012 | No Comments
Right after Caribbean Beta registered it’s second successful conference and Startup bootcamp and I received my 50under50 business leader award – I tried to take a breather from the intense lead up months, the ideas and crazy things to-do next thoughts whirling around in my head. That didn’t last for long, as I quickly started planning how I wanted to spend my time in 2013. I wanted it to be more about my active choices and conscious actions, while remaining open to being led by opportunities that will come and feels right with my soul.
Then my mom passed on Friday December 14 after ailing for a little more than a year, and all of a sudden nothing mattered…not the goals, not the year I just had, not the awards, not frustrating moments with clients and sponsors, not the year I was planning. NOTHING mattered. I cried, I placed her photo on my phone,talked to her and cried some more. I went and caressed the bed and pillow on which she slept her way to the other side and cried. I played songs like Simon and Garfunkel’s ”Bridge Over Troubled Waters”and cried. It hurts like hell…I miss my mom.
Then something happened the afternoon of my mom passing as I drove around alone waiting for it all to sink in. I can only classify it right now as strange, weird…but an overwhelming sense of fearlessness and freedom, like I have never experienced before washed over me and it has taken full hold of me. Now people who really know me, knows that I ain’t no wuss or doormat, but this has felt like some senior next level things.
Call it her parting gift to me. Call it a recall of the fact that our time here is limited as Steve Jobs has reminded us and I had better have even a greater sense of urgency and purpose…I don’t know…but my chin is titled up, my poise has become more pronounced, I have become more relaxed and patient too…it all just is. I don’t have all the answers, and you can come to your own conclusions as to why…all I am choosing to do at this time, is too embrace it and live it. After all I am the daughter of Princess Merle Burton-Riley. Thanks mom.
Fast forward to today, almost a week since my mom’s passing and I have not been able to fully settle my head into anything much, other than allowing myself to come to terms with the fact that she has left this earth and after the year she had, she is now free of worry,questions and pain… so I am happy about that part. I sure as hell haven’t had my head into business…a few emails sent…mostly to reschedule meetings until the new year. I am a big believer that what is fi u, cannot be un fi u and I have learnt to trust myself and the process of life a lot more.
Then today, I was drawn to one of my favourite blogs – The Art of Non-Conformity and I saw this blog post which captured perfectly what I have been thinking when I started my 2013 planning…it’s how I want not only my 2013 to be, but also for it to be an underlying ethos, to guide my life generally moving forward. Some of it’s already in play, while other areas need work. It’s what I want for myself and maybe it’s something you may desire for yourself, so I chose to share it.
The GOAL by Chris Guillebeau
1.
To wake in the morning full of life and energy, awaiting the day with anticipation and purpose.
To step out into the world ready to accomplish a significant task.
To engage and initiate instead of merely responding. To take the active choice that you willmake something happen.
2.
To maintain harmony and goodwill in relationships. To follow Shakespeare’s adage: love all, trust a few, and do wrong to no one.
To focus on contribution and engagement instead of withdrawal into yourself. (Tip: When you aren’t sure what to do next, find a small way to help someone.)
3.
To pursue productive, meaningful work. To spend most of your time doing something that you and others find meaningful.
To accept that everything you create will likely be flawed in some way, but to create anyway.
To enjoy the life you are gifted to experience. Not to take it easy, for life isn’t always easy. But to appreciate the present while looking ahead to the future.
What’s the real message behind this Caribbean BETA -Tech Entrepreneurship Conference?
Posted on | November 7, 2012 | No Comments
The real message behind why we do Caribbean BETA is that we want more people to come to know, understand and take action because of these two things things:
- that because we are now all living in the Digital Age, the playing field has become more level, the opportunities are greater and there are now many, many more routes to creating and finding jobs, owning a business and achieving personal success.
-that, while building a reciprocal and meaningful network of business relationships will always be essential, having access to utilities of the internet and mobile phone and their ability to connect you to people, ideas and opportunity – means you are now more in charge of what you know, who you know and how far you go- than ever before. So being connected online, is not just about entertainment anymore…but also about education and entrepreneurship.
WEIRD OFFICE SPACE REQUEST
Posted on | November 1, 2012 | No Comments
I’m looking for office space…about 500 sq feet that I can funkify with all hangings etc, lots of natural light, secure, bathroom facilities, central, wired for internet (will pay for internet) and RENT FREE for a year. Willing to barter. Yeah I just said that. LOL. Any takers? ideas?Email me at ingrid at connectimass dot com. thank yah!
For my birthday…a Life List….100 things I want to do before I go
Posted on | October 30, 2012 | 4 Comments
This life list was inspired by Magaret Mason – Maggie, a blogger I met on the first Jamaica Tourist Board Bloggers Trip, that I had co-planned while consulting with Geejam Media. She was different and not just because she was a red head with wild hair, but she had a joy for life and living in the moment that was infectious!
It was there that she alluded to her Life List and some of the things she had on there that could be done while in Jamaica. We helped her cross some of the things she had on her Life List – like dog sledding – we took her to Chukka Adventures….like tasting 1000 fruits… so we made sure she tasted the otaheti apple and guineps which she blogged about in great details.
Every now and again I would visit her blog to see what she’s been up to. It happened again a few weeks ago. I went to her site for some other reason, maybe guided there. Why? Well, you know how we get when we are approaching another birthday and year end, we get all introspective and shit and ask ourselves and others around us- what it is that we have to be happy about, what have we achieved.Well I was no different.
In that zone, I went to one of my favourite blogs – The Art of Non Conformity by Chris Guillebeau – I read his blog post on How to Conduct Your Own Annual Review which was very instructive as I’d somehow felt that I had had a shitty year, but when I sat and wrote it all down and really loooked at it, I clearly had an awesome year. Yes a few things could have been better and I did have a couple of tough challenges, but in all, I had a fantastic year and I am thankful.
So that Life review plus Maggie’s Life List on her blog Mighty Girl, both kickstarted me on developing my own. I decided that on my birthday I’d share my life list – 100 things to do before I go. I’ve created a list of 84 things…I figured I’d share it anyway and build up to 100 eventually.
Today is my 44th birthday.
And I happily and humbly wrote this on my Facebook Status this morning.
I woke up this morning smiling….I am loved by an amazing partner, I do what I love everyday, I have the support of family, the anchor of great friends, I am healthy and am excited about my future. I am blessed and very fortune. #verythankful. Thanks so, so much for the birthday wishes.
And to add to that, here is my 100 things to do before I go – Ingrid’s LIFE LIST. Written as they came to me and to be done in any order.
Before you read the list, read this quote which Maggie shared while sharing the story behind why she created her own list.
“There is power in sharing your goals, in being vulnerable, and frankly, in being willing to fail. To really live out our dreams, we need to be prepared for the possibility that we won’t achieve them. It’s easy to make a list of things we can easily do (and there’s a need for that too), but to get to the heart of the matter, we need to dive in, leave fear behind, and say what we really, really want.” – Elizabeth Stark of Brooklyn Supper
Making a life list… It’s an exercise in trust, and an education in possibility.
2. Visit 3 countries on the African continent
3. Have a meal with Oprah Winfrey
4. Live in a foreign country, a great progressive, fun city of my choice for at least 2 years.
5. Write an ebook of poetry
6. Learn to Speak Spanish fluently
7. Drink wine while sitting and people watching in a cafe in France.
8. Be a full time and successful travel blogger for as long as I choose to.
9. Own a midnight blue Vespa scooter and ride it regularly.
10.
11. Visit all 7 continents.
12. Have my own mobile app.
13. Fly first class on a really long trip..to London…to Africa.
14. Have what I love to do change people’s lives positively.
15. Make a very significant contribution and impact on Jamaica and the Caribbean
16. Sing karaoke drunk
17. Attain my best health & fitness level and get rid of my health issue
18.
19. Learn how to dance salsa and merengue well
20. Own my very own villa by the sea and share it with family and friends.
21. Have a drink or two and a good round of laughs with Anthony Bourdain
22. Learn how to give a great massage
23. Be a regular bicyclist
24. Attend a democratic presidential event in the USA
25. Learn how to dj work them ones n twos so I can play 80s and 90s music decently.
27. Plant the seends and grow a small herb garden
28. Own where I live..my own home for me and my family.
29.
30. Have celebrities I love n respect at one of my birthday parties
31. Take a mixology course and ace it.
32. Drive a dune buggy
33. Go on an african safari
34. Set up a multimillion dollar angel fund to invest in Caribbean Tech ideas from smart passionate caribbean people.
35. To go fishing on a yacht.
36. See my fave singers live in Concert – Barbara Streisand, John Legend, Cassandra Wilson, Maxwell, MeShell Ndegeocello, Prince
37. Become a multimillionaire in either of these currencies – usd/pounds
38. Attend an event with Seth Godin as a speaker.
39. Create an office that inspires me.
40. Give a TEDx talk
41. Write an article for Fast Company magazine.
42. Do something fun everyday.
43. Listen to more music regularly.
44. Spend a lot more time with people who talk about ideas then go execute them fearlessly
45. Own a drop top jeep wrangler and drive it top down, in jeans shorts a white tee, barefooted with sunshades on and music blaring on a long sea coast and cross country drive .
46. Have a wild weekend a hedonism 2 with my partner. yeah I said it! lol
47. Tour a famous vineyard.
48. Open the kinda cafe I would love to spend all day in…chatting with very interesting people, eating great food, sipping the best hot chocolate, having cocktails or wine and surfing on a super fast wifi.
49. See a Broadway play
50. Go to the opera
51. Own a loft apartment with a breath taking view of a harbour/lake
52. Have a vacation for two weeks without computers and Internet access
53. Learn to make amazing hot chocolate from scratch!
54. Collect awesome black n white artsy photos
55. Attend Trinidad Carnival wearing a costume
56. Experience Mardi gras in New Orleans
57. Find the best local cafe in each city that I visit and try their hot chocolate.
58. Own a 100 awesome tshirts mostly vintage and colorful
59. Taste 100 different bottles of wine mostly red from all over the world and blog about the where, when of the experience.
60. Spend a long weekend at a W hotel. Looove them
61. Eat fried chicken and waffles
62. Go parasailing
63. Laugh more every day.
64. Fly in a hot air balloon.
65. Go zip lining
66. Work on an awesome project with Google
67. Work on an awesome project with Facebook
68. Meet and take photos with Sheryl Sanberg
69. Meet and take photos with Mark Zuckerberg
70. Write influential & profitable ebooks
71. Create a killer online product/service that is super successful globally
72. Learn more about how money works.
73. Open a Swiss bank account in Switzerland
74. Go on a Caribbean Cruise
81. Have my own online tv show/video blog.
As I looked back to correct typos, I realised I can cross a couple of things off, but I will leave them up for now.
Tags: Chris Guillebeau > life list > Magaret Mason > mightygirl > the art of non conformity
What if money was no object?
Posted on | October 19, 2012 | 1 Comment
Why Living Solely For Money Is A Crazy, Terrible Idea.
There’s something very wrong with the way most people have been taught to live their lives. British philosopher Alan Watts explains.
Headed to Trinidad next week for the MobiWorld Caribbean
Posted on | October 18, 2012 | No Comments
Richard's Shark and Bake and Sorrel Shandy
Thanks for Chike Farrell, Founder of Caribbean Ideas, I’m headed to Trinidad next week for his conference MobiWorld Caribbean to speak and judge a mobile apps competition, while still leading my team in getting ready for Caribbean BETA- our second annual Tech Entrepreneurship Conference on Friday November 16th, here in Kingston during Global Entrepreneurship Week. October and November are nice and BUSY and I loooove it. I think I’ve started to live out one of my fantasies to become a travel blogger. lol. Lots for travelling to come.
One of the things I’m looking forward to is to meet such a diverse bunch of professionals in the mobile space from the region and from the States, gathering more information so as to connection the dots on some things in addition to sharing what I know about the Jamaican and Caribbean market. All that and some street cred doubles and shark and bake and the sorrel shandy I fell in love with when I was last there four years ago.
A great honor to be named one of the 50Under50 Business Leaders Shaping Jamaica’s Future
Posted on | October 18, 2012 | 6 Comments
It’s kinda cool to be recognised for doing something you are passionate about and have an unshakeable belief in- even at times when you are screaming and picking your hair out. lol. There are so many people and companies who have volunteered, supported, encouraged what I do, what we’re working to get done. Thanks so much, but of course, there is a whole lot more work to do, to drive tech entrepreneurship & innovation in Jamaica and across the Caribbean -but we’re on our way and moving in the right direction.
Through ConnectiMass, I’ve seen over the years the increased conversations amongst high school and college students, young professionals who want to create their own job or business; governments and development agencies who are seeking fresh ways to reduce unemployment and get the economy growing again – it’s all very encouraging.
We’ve seen the blossoming of high school and college level technology and business clubs, youth focused-foundations like Bright Path, micro communities of developers, designers, tech entrepreneurs on Facebook and in Google groups as well as new events like Slashroots Developers Conference, Digital JAM 2.0, MobiWorld Caribbean, Caribbean Digital Expo, that’s joined our Kingston BETA,Startup Weekend, Caribbean BETA roster. Plus we see governments making over due legislative moves that would make all our lives much easier.
We’ve seen many more programmes, apps/businessplans/innovation/ startup competitions, entrepreneurship initiatives such as launch of accelerators and incubators across the Caribbean, to bring awareness to many more individuals, that hey you don’t need to migrate, or go to school then try to get a job – you can instead use your own laptop or tablet – develop a great product/service idea- leverage the internet, mobile or social platforms -create your own job, launch your own tech-driven business and make money – in fact be a foreign exchange earner.
I am a big believer that Tech Startups can help turn around Jamaica and help grow the Caribbean! Watch for it!
Founder’s Note: ConnectiMass + CONNECTiD…the decision that declares the difference!
Posted on | September 4, 2012 | 6 Comments
Since forever, my business life has been about social media and startups and those two passions were under the single umbrella brand of ConnectiMass. I had just over a week ago, leaked the news publicly of what I had decided to do, a while back-to divide and conquer, well kinda sorta.
I couldn’t execute on it any sooner, as I took a well needed 3 week vacation, the first in 5 years. Now refreshed, energise and focused, I was confident to post on the fan page and twitter feed of ConnectiMass the following:
Read more
Tags: caribbean tech startups > connectid > connectimass > digital marketing agency
Recent Posts
- Startup Chile Report #1: A Message about Community to Caribbean Tech Entrepreneurs, Developers, Designers and others
- PRESS: Jamaica – the hub of innovation and entrepreneurship in the Caribbean?
- PRESS: Pitch Perfect: Kingston BETA Becomes a Major Tech Player
- Making this Seth Godin paraphrase a Mantra of mine
- What’s the goal really?
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- RT @jamprocreative: Congrats!! RT @ingridriley: @SiliconCaribe headed to Trinidad Startup Wkend @swtrinidad courtesy of @GoWithFlowJa & @Fl…
- RT @endzoftheearth: @ingridriley u just made my day. looking fwd to the reports! #progress
- Allyuh does see now why I was already smell doubles,shark & bake. Lol. #swtrinidad.Sponsored by @GoWithFlowJa and @flowtt. #itryinTriniSpeak
Ingrid's Sites
I'm obsessed with Social media and Startups. So in short, I'm an entrepreneur, Digital Marketing Strategist, Tech Entrepreneurship Evangelist, Tech Blogger, Information junkie, Travel addict and foodie.
ConnectiMass is a non-profit that promotes tech entrepreneurship and innovation in the Caribbean by producing media content and events for aspiring and current Caribbean tech entrepreneurs.
Get CONNECTiD
CONNECTiD are Caribbean-based Digital Marketing Strategists specializing in Social Media Marketing Strategy and Campaigns, Digital PR and Social Media Training for startups, businesses, organisations and non-profits. We also work with marketing, advertising and pr agencies.
Caribbean BETA
Our annual Caribbean Tech Entrepreneurship Conference
Kingston BETA
Kingston BETA is Jamaica’s Tech Community Meetup. It’s a tech event series that brings together aspiring and current Jamaican/Caribbean entrepreneurs, developers, designers, tech professionals and tech enthusiasts – To Learn. Be Inspired. To Network.
Silicon Caribe
SiliconCaribe is a triple award-winning blog that covers the Caribbean Tech Startup Scene – The Entrepreneurs, Developers, Designers, Investors, Advocates, Culture and Events.
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