Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional 23. Steven Koltai on international development projects
Our guest today is Steven Koltai, the author of "Peace through Entrepreneurship: Investing in a Startup Culture for Security and Development"
Steven has had multiple careers. he has been a management consultant at McKinsey, the head of strategy at Warner Bros for ten years, and a successful entrepreneur.
His most recent career began as a senior advisor to the US Department of State under Secretary Hilary Clinton, where Steven conceived and launched the Global Entrepreneurship Program, based on the principles that joblessness leads to violence and unrest; and one of the best ways to reduce joblessness is to foster entrepreneurship in emerging markets.
After leaving the State Department, Steven has continued to advance that goal, and his consulting practice has supported entrepreneurship in over 30 countries, particularly Africa and Latin America.
We discuss
- advice for independent professionals interested in working in international development
- process of getting funding for such projects
- key success factors for projects to encourage entrepreneurship
- how Steven staffs up projects in these markets
- some case studies, including an eight-sided box that increased revenue by 700%
For more on Steven’s work, go to www.koltai.co