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5 Splash Points
4 followers
1 vote
4 followers
1 vote
Following
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Ken Chester
Co-Founder & CEO, CultureMesh
www.ryanmentor.org(my
NGO)
East Lansing, Michigan, United States
Business owner
Member since January 01, 2012
VEQ: TL-PM-MM
I love learning about other cultures and languages, and I can't wait to start bringing the world together with CultureMesh!
I am a(n):
Entrepreneur
Companies I've founded or co-founded:
CultureMesh, Refugee/Immigrant Young-Adult Neighbor (RYAN), NewBusinessOPT.com
If you are an entrepreneur, why?
I want to change the world.
My favorite startups:
Airbnb, Crowdrise
What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?
The chance to transform how the world works and better peoples' lives is amazing, yet not without huge struggles and hurdles while striving toward that goal.
What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs make?
The number 1 mistake that entrepreneurs make is to create businesses not out of ones' passion, but out of one's desire for increased wealth. Passion drives the most successful businesses.
What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?
1. Be Flexible: things don't always go according to schedule
2. Be Persistent, but not stubborn
3. Follow your dreams
Full bio
EDUCATION:
Master of Arts in Speech & Language Pathology, Michigan State University, May 2010
Bachelor of Arts in Communicative Sciences, Michigan State University, May 2008
EXPERIENCE:
Founder & Executive Director, Refugee/Immigrant Young-Adult Neighbor (RYAN)
-RYAN is a 501(c)(3) charitable corporation which continues to launch innovative programs to boost college enrollment and graduation rates among first generation young-adult refugees and immigrants (www.ryanmentor.org)
Owner & Operator, NewBusinessOPT, LLC
-NewBusinessOPT is a Michigan-based consultancy assisting international students who wish to pursue post-graduation entrepreneurial ventures (www.newbusinessopt.com)
OTHER:
Published research in the Journal of Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, on developing and validating the Communication Function Classification System (CFCS):
-http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-8749.2011.03996.x/abstract
