#13 Finding the Courage to Change the World Through Social Entrepreneurship with Okan McAllister

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TODAY´S GUEST

My guest today is Okan McAllister and in this episode, we talk about Okan´s entrepreneurial journey, personal transformation and transition from his marketing startup which was merely set up for profit to an impact-driven approach and starting his own business in social entrepreneurship.

Okan talks about the so-called golden principle that helped him make a big decision in his life, find the courage and continue to pursue an impact in social entrepreneurship. He talks about why we are not equipped to make such big decisions and how getting to know ourselves deeply can help us move forward and improve our life and business. He also shares why asking yourself the right questions is the key to finding your answers deep inside.  

We talk about Okan´s current business – PRIME-MOVERS – which provides full scholarships to a hands-on leadership program for young people passionate about social and environmental change.

Okan McAllister is the founder of the award-winning social enterprise PRIME-MOVERS as well as Kindby, ONE DAY, Mission Liftoff among others. After leaving the first startup he founded in marketing, he decided to transition to social entrepreneurship during his university years. Driven by the inspiration of work that aims to solve complex societal challenges, he specializes in capacity building in various areas ranging from marketing to systems thinking for future entrepreneurs and organizations. As a strong believer in the power of the right mindset, he’s also a mentor in several international organizations in the field of entrepreneurship. He has taken international stages ranging from the United Nations to European Forum Alpbach, talking about social entrepreneurship and societal change. Okan enjoys talking about the future over a chilled glass of white wine as much as he likes taking action towards it. He is Turkish by the origin and a global citizen at heart.

CONNECT WITH OKAN

Website: https://www.theprimemovers.org/

LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/3312WSf

Facebook: http://bit.ly/2N1hPys

Instagram: http://bit.ly/2pfADB7

BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE

1 – How to find the courage and be equipped to make big decisions in business and life.  

2 – How to increase self-awareness by asking the right questions and getting to know who you are, what you want, and why you really want it.  

3 – How to have a positive impact on the world through social entrepreneurship.

SHOW NOTES

[4:01] Okan talks about the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey.  

[7:29] Okan shares his personal transformation and how he got into social entrepreneurship. He shares his insights on self-awareness, reflection, and the importance of knowing who you are, what you really want, why it is important, and how you can increase self-awareness by asking the right questions from yourself.

[17:18] Okan talks about why he decided to get into social entrepreneurship and what was his drive in doing so.

[22:16] Okan shares how he started to focus on having a positive impact on the world and chose social entrepreneurship instead of chasing stuff.

[26:29] Okan shares his passion about social entrepreneurship.

[28:30] Okan talks about his business - Prime Movers.

[30:40] Okan talks about the most important changemaker skills that they teach at Prime Movers.

[32:33] Okan talks about the ventures within Prime Movers: Horizons, Mission Liftoff, Kindby, and One Day.

[33:28] Okan explains how Mission Liftoff works and how they collaborate with different schools and teachers in Austria to teach kids about social and environmental issues.  

[36:23] Okan talks about the focus areas of Prime Movers which are Waste & Food Waste, Gender Equality, and Digitalization.

[39:26] Okan talks about the conference One Day and its elements which are Systems Thinking – understanding complex problems, Social Innovation – to come up with ideas and solutions to the identified problems, and Social Entrepreneurship – to implement and execute on those ideas.   

[42:49] Okan shares what young students are most passionate about when it comes to social entrepreneurship in Austria.  

[44:06] Okan explains what Systems Thinking is and what is the core aim of it.

[45:15] Okan gives an example of when to use Systems Thinking to solve a complex problem.

[48:31] Okan talks about Kindby which is an online store where baby clothing and accessories can be rent.

[50:45] Okan shares where people can get in touch with him online.

[52:06] Okan reveals his future business vision.  

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