Business
Looking for positive and inspiring business stories? From green operations to employee rights, from innovative corporate structures to diversity and inclusion, the Business section at The Optimist Daily has got the latest innovative solutions from the corporate sector.
Four things to do outside the office to boost your creativity
To be successful, businesses need innovation, and that requires creative thinking. Former advertising agency creative director Jack Foster says ideas are the "wheels of progress," and warns that without them "stagnation reigns." "There’s never been a time in all of history when ideas were so Read More...
Taking on Tesla: China's WM Motor sees mass market electric cars
It remains more promise than product, but the electric vehicle (EV) sector is drawing more talent from mainstream automakers which are reluctant to go full tilt at the new technology. Making the jump can mean better pay and pioneering opportunities. One Chinese-backed start-up with around 900 Read More...
Zagster, a bike-share from Cambridge, offers another take on the sharing economy
Zagster, a Cambridge-based bike-share company that wants to become the Zipcar for cyclists, is carving out a niche outside large cities. Unlike city-sponsored programs like Boston’s Hubway, with thousands of bikes, Zagster makes its money by leasing smaller numbers of bikes to companies and Read More...
Social entrepreneurs need to be futurists, too
Pick any social enterprise, and it's almost always a reaction to the past. After a natural disaster or a new refugee crisis, designers build new shelters and experiment with new aid delivery systems. After the public school system had already failed children, social entrepreneurs started building Read More...
A Ugandan village is releasing Silicon Valley satires to raise funds for its entrepreneurs
In Bulambuli district in eastern Uganda, everyone is an entrepreneur. Or so claim the residents of the town in a new campaign geared towards fundraising for their local start-up projects. The community’s appeal was released in a series of tongue-in-cheek videos posted on YouTube starting last Read More...
Wellpaper: How an Israeli couple is using art to empower rural women in Tamil Nadu
The 2004 tsunami took with it more than we can fathom. Entire villages were brought to a standstill against the force of the massive tide - multi-storied buildings were decimated to stray piles of rock, submerging within it the muffled breathes of multitudes. And when nature strikes the way it does Read More...
Social enterprise is set to take off in Thailand
Social enterprise is not new to Thailand, but growing inequality in the Kingdom has stimulated national interest in social enterprise as a way of delivering both positive social impact and economic growth. Thailand’s modern social enterprise movement can be traced back to 1974 with the Read More...
The young entrepreneurs trying to help South Africa's townships
Lance Petersen sits in his radio studio and chats into his microphone. While most DJs of his age let the music do the talking, the 25-year-old very much likes to converse with his listeners. Lance is the founder and owner of Vibe Radio SA, an internet radio station based in the Cape Town township Read More...
An exclusive look at Airbnb's first foray into urban planning
Two years ago, the founders of Airbnb were asking themselves what the company could become, now that its vision of becoming the world's largest home-share community had come true beyond their wildest expectations. That’s when they happened across a list of the top 10 tech companies of the 1990s. Read More...
Facebook apartments won't fix housing—but they’re a good start
Facebook is getting into real estate. This week, the company proposed building 1,500 apartments near its campus in Menlo Park, California, 15 percent of which it would set aside for low-income families. Urban planners and local developers call it a generous gesture that could bring sorely needed Read More...