Aaron Lander

Aaron Lander

Social entrepreneur and community and economic developer working on scaling PopUpsters. Board member at Golden Gate Business Association and Man Dance Company. Volunteer at multiple environmental and LGBT organizations.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/aarontlander
Twitter: www.twitter.com/aaronnizzie
San Francisco, California, United States
Member since June 23, 2017
Quote
I'm an entrepreneur that cares about building strong communities and economies. I believe everyone should be able to follow their dreams! Quote_down
  • About
Investor interests
Locations of interest
Credentials None
Education
2009 Drake University , BA , Politics and Psychology
2019 Iowa State University , MS , Community Development

I am a(n):

Entrepreneur

Companies I've founded or co-founded:
PopUpsters
Companies I work or worked for:
UClass, Nomic, AgLocal, Golden Gate Business Association, Man Dance Company
Achievements (products built, personal awards won):

Global Urban Innovator by New Cities Foundation
EQCA Leadership Fellow
Top 30 Under 30 LGBT Leader Fellow by Coca-Cola Foundation
People's Choice in Global Challenge Cup 1776.vc Competition
Westly Young Innovator
Slow Food International Congress Delegate
IHS Fellow at Yale
DUSCI Fellow at Drake University

If you're an entrepreneur or corporate innovator, why?

I want to change the world.

My favorite startups:

Kiva, Slack, helpscout, Streak

What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?

The most frustrating part is probably the most rewarding as well. I often get frustrated that we aren't were I vision us being, yet. This is also rewarding because it gives me a chance to focus on the vision and build a product and company around it, which gives me valuable industry and business experience and let's us develop our own story.

What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs/innovators make?

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Entrepreneurs need to test and adjust. We need to automate or outsource the things we don't like doing and the things that take up the most time.

What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?

1. Ask for help.
2. Always be pushing your business but in non-intrusive ways.
3. Never forget to stop thinking about the vision of how you want the world to change with your product.

Full bio

Before starting PopUpsters and working on helping build stronger communities and economies, I worked in communications, marketing, biz dev and sales in supporting and senior level positions for state governmental agencies, small businesses and tech startups. Now I am scaling PopUpsters and helping small businesses and the community by sitting on the Boards of the Golden Gate Business Association and Man Dance Company.

My most recent accomplishments include being selected as a fellow in the “Top 30 Under 30” Next Generation LGBT Leaders, an EQCA Fellow, a Global Urban Innovator by the New Cities Foundation, a Westly Prize for Young Innovators recipient, a sponsored delegate at the Slow Food International Congress and a fellow with IHS at Yale University and the Drake University Science Collaborative Institute. 



Specialties: Marketing, outreach, communications, event management, fundraising, volunteer management & recruitment, monitoring and evaluating, capacity building, managing and leading teams, producing written and electronic communications including brochures, websites, press releases & media advisories, public service announcements, etc.