Million (and even Billion) dollar ideas are pretty easy to come by.
They’re so easy to come by, in fact, that somewhere right now, hundreds of people are thinking about a viable, realistic, great idea (likely in a coffee shop, bar, or shower) that could transform the world and make a lot of people a lot of money. With so many paradigm shifts occurring in tech right now, great ideas are everywhere. You probably have a handful of them.
Why Isn’t Everyone Making Millions (Or Even Billions)?
It’s the execution that’s hard. That’s why a lot of people leave opportunities on the table. And that’s also what inspired Mario Schulzke to found Idea Mensch, a community of people who inspire others to act on ideas.
Mario and his team have interviewed over 1,000 people and organized IdeaMensch events in California. They’ve managed to interview and showcase big names such as Seth Godin, Craig Newmark, Gary Vaynerchuk, David Cohen, Nancy Brinker and Jessica Jackley.
But they quickly realized that California isn’t the only place where people have great ideas. So they decided to go on a 4-month, 48-state, 50-stop tour of the country with a mission to showcase those people at each stop, in the hopes of educating and inspiring others to do the same.
The Inspiration and the Hustle
Mario, a German immigrant, graduated from college in the United States but wasn’t allowed to start his own business (which he found out after he actually started his own business) because of his immigration status.
Instead, he chose a career in advertising – the next best thing for someone like him fascinated with ideas. He spent 10 years in the corporate advertising space and started IdeaMensch on the side, as an outlet to learn from people who had actually executed on ideas instead of sitting on them.
1,000 interviews later, he finally got his green card and was able to start the IdeaMensch tour. Since July 2nd, Mario and his team have made over 35 stops on their tour (including LA, DC, Atlantic City, Burlington VT, Cape Cod, etc.) to hold events showcasing local “idea people” who have turned those ideas into something tangible.
They have sponsors and charge nominal ticket fees, but they don’t make much profit.
Mario says, “I’d be lying if I told you this has been easy. It’s been really hard, but when I was making good money in corporate America, I wasn’t making an impact and I never really felt good about what I was doing. Now, I’m helping people bring their ideas to life and if even one person from an event walks away inspired, that’s completely worth it to me.”
Bringing The Show To The Triangle
Given all the buzz and excitement Mario has heard about North Carolina and the Triangle, he’s thrilled about the chance to come here and showcase a diverse group of people that have brought their ideas to life. He’s rounded up a slate of really interesting people, including Nancy Nguyen (Ms. Corporate America, 2011), Matt Tomasulo (founder of CityFabric), Aly Khalifa (Founder of Gamil Design and Designbox), and Jake Finkelstein (President of Method Saavy and fellow ExitEvent writer).
They’ll be bringing the IdeaMensch tour to The HUB in Raleigh this Wednesday, October 3rd. If Mario and his team have anything to say about it, their stop in Raleigh will have an impact on more than just one of the attendees.
