Now Is The Best Time To Start

Published March 13, 2009 @ 02:27PM PT

Jolie O'Dell from Mechanicsville, Virginia, is a laid-off web designer and writer attending South by Southwest to make contacts and track down her next job. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com

Now is the best time to start a new company or organization, and here's why:

Thesis 1: Success is more a factor of the early team behind an idea than the early money behind an idea.

Thesis 2: In an economic recession, there is under-harnessed talent hanging from the rafters, waiting for the next big opportunity.

Conclusion: Now is the time to start something.

Sasha Dichter wrote a post this week about the shifting dynamics of labor in the nonprofit industry and the immense pools of talent to be tapped into. Today, Wired published a story about out-of-work programmers who were making the pilgrimage to South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin in order to expand their connections and find new jobs.

What's the connection, and what's the point? The upside of the downside we're in is that there are tons of kick-ass un- and under-employed people out there, waiting to be put to work in meaningful ways that connect to their values and harness their talents. When it comes to the talent marketplace, there couldn't be a better time to start something.

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Comments (5)

I agree. Now is the time that everyone is looking for true value. Value has not been destroyed, just fail in the currencies of value. Well and also stability in whatever laws will be passed to assign values in their absence.

There are a lot of good opportunities out there, and consumers ready to purchase true value.

Posted by _ XgenX _ on 03/15/2009 @ 01:19PM PT
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Agreed! Thanks for your thoughtful comments (on this and Steve's guest post)

Posted by Nathaniel Whittemore on 03/16/2009 @ 04:36PM PT
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Now, indeed! Taproot Foundation was founded during the last recession and I can't wait to see what will be founded during this one.
I know we've seen a HUGE influx in our pro bono consultants applying and I've seen a huge increase in our consultants personally contacting me just for a shot at getting staffed on a project. I want to be able to connect them ALL to projects, but the energy out there is truly overflowing--even for us.
Some of these talented professionals have 5 hours a week to give, some have 20-40 hours a week to give. All are looking for exciting opportunities NOW to make an impact, network with fellow amazing volunteers and do something!
So do something! Such an exciting challenge for volunteer coordinators--how can we attract this talent and how can we keep them connected? We need to think beyond projects of painting rooms or stuffing envelopes. Think Executive Service Corps instead and incorporate volunteers into your organization's actual staffing structure. Open the doors and let 'em in. Don't have time to manage volunteers? Have a volunteer do it! I am consistently blown away by what our volunteer force is capable of and I think we're only scraping the tip of the pro bono iceberg. So to all you amazing soon-to-be founders of organizations, get to it! From my perspective, the talent you need is out there, literally just waiting for a chance to activate. Never underestimate the power of volunteers and certainly not now.

Posted by Miriam Young on 03/15/2009 @ 09:33PM PT
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Great points Miriam, I think that orgs like Taproot are good examples of groups that have the potential to really harness this moment..

Posted by Nathaniel Whittemore on 03/16/2009 @ 04:37PM PT
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Wow, a PERFECT New York Times article to join this conversation:
"Many who run nonprofits have marveled at the sudden flood of bankers, advertising copywriters, marketing managers, accountants and other professionals eager to lend their formidable but dormant skills. The Financial Clinic, which counsels the working poor on economic matters, recently dispatched an M.I.T.-educated ex-Wall Street type to help people in Chinatown prepare their tax returns."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/nyregion/16volunteers.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=us

Posted by Miriam Young on 03/15/2009 @ 10:50PM PT
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Author

Nathaniel is the founding Director of the Center for Global Engagement at Northwestern University, which works annually with hundreds of students in dozens of countries around the world through curricular programs and student project incubation.