Kyle
Self proclaimed “Modern Day Renaissance Man” and entrepreneur Corey S. Davis of Las Vegas has teamed up with co-founder Ken Melancon of Houston Texas to create a new social startup called GoodDeedsGlobal network. GoodDeedsGlobal is a cause driven social business that intends to help put money in the hands of those that need “good deeds”.
GoodDeedsGlobal has a request a good deed page which is designed for those with needs to contact the organization. It’s unclear as to what specifically constitutes a need but the site says it can be anything. So if you’re in need, go for it here.
Davis gave us this example of how the platform is designed to work:
“Maybe someone like a single mom who is really struggling to make ends meet and can’t afford to pay all the bills on a particular month, plus on top of that feed and take care of the kids and everything else. If she wrote into our site asking for something like $150 to maybe $300 dollars to help make it through the month and pay a few bills (maybe help to keep the lights on or something like that). Then what we would do is contact her back as soon as possible and verify her situation as best we can, and then simply help her out by fulfilling that request (essentially sending a money order for her to pick up in her local area and/or city)”
Davis says that the GoodDeedsGlobal network is designed to touch one person at a time and is a change agent to promote doing good deeds for each other. He is hopeful that people will use the GoodDeedsGlobal platform to “pay it forward”.
Davis equates it to the “Make A Wish Foundation” for people that are over 17 and not going through the hardship of a life threatening illness.
Perhaps our interview with Davis, below, will provide my clarity.
What is Good Deeds Global?
It’s a web-based hybrid organization, essentially a social movement meets social business. Or to put it in other terms its “a cause driven company” focused mainly on what we like to refer to as “social good”. For us this means helping people in need, promoting and encouraging kindness and generosity, doing good deeds, organizing community out-reach efforts, supporting the philosophy of paying it forward, and overall trying to have a positive impact on society and culture. Simply put “we invest in humanity”. That’s what Good Deeds Global is.
Who are the founders and what are their backgrounds?
As a die-hard entrepreneur, honestly my background isn’t so much in the tech and/or internet industry as it is the nightlife, marketing and entertainment world. Nevertheless I founded this organization on my own back in February of this year, but shortly thereafter upon reaching out to my friend and now business partner Ken Melancon and explaining to him what I had put together in regards to the business model, company structure and the website itself, he then decided to join me in this venture. Ken came on board about 3 weeks into the conception of this organization, and because of his background plus many years of experience in both business and law enforcement he brought a great deal of instant credibility to the company. This all resulted in him becoming the Chief Operations Officer and Co-founder of Good Deeds Global.
Where are you based?
Houston, Texas. But our team travels frequently enough that our presence is felt in many other cities and communities beyond just Houston. Eventually as we continue to grow and expand we will begin to directly impact a variety of other national and international markets as well.
What’s the startup scene/culture like where you’re based?
With so many different things occupying my time, unfortunately I’m kinda in the dark on this one. I don‘t really keep me ears to the streets as much as I should when it comes to other startups in town. But with Houston being such a massive market, more specifically the 4th largest city in the nation, I’m sure its safe to assume that there are plenty of other really cool new startups and up and coming tech companies out here.
How did you come up with the idea for Good Deeds Global?
Well, in short I really wanted to do something more meaningful and purposeful with my life then what I had been doing the past decade or so. I realized I’d rather spend my time here on earth ultimately contributing to humanity in some way, shape, or form resulting in positive outcomes instead of just focusing on my own personal career ambitions and pursuits. Enter the birth of Good Deeds Global. I created this organization around the idea and with the mind-set that I would be able to give back and focus more of my time and energy around the philanthropic and charitable aspects of life.
How did you come up with the name?
The idea for the company name just kinda came to me one morning when I first woke up. I thought it had somewhat of a catchy ring to it, plus the “brand name” itself really represented the concept of what I wanted the organization to be all about. Which of course is doing Good Deeds Globally.
What problem does Good Deeds Global solve?
I don’t know that we actually or necessarily solve any one specific “problem” as much as we more address the overall issue of making things like; random acts of kindness and generosity, helping out fellow human beings in need, plus doing simple good deeds more of a “common-place” interaction among people in today’s society. Through our website we offer various socially-innovative free services that for obvious reasons directly impact/help people. For example one of our organizations cornerstone attributes is the “Request A Good Deed” option which is available on our website. This feature essentially provides a global platform for anyone who wants to be able to make a wish/request for themselves or for another person. Unlike the “Make-A-Wish” charity foundation which is an amazing organization, but is limited to only impacting cause-specific children between the ages of 2 through 17 years old who fall under the criteria of having a life threatening illness. Our organization instead offers a free wish granting and/or money-gifting opportunity that is open to absolutely everyone from anywhere in the world who wants to submit a request and ask for whatever their heart may desire. Typically we focus on answering requests that involve helping individuals and/or families who are truly struggling at the moment and are in desperate need of immediate help or assistance. But every so often we will also pick a random request from a person who just really wants something but can’t otherwise afford to get it for themselves. Because for us at Good Deeds Global it’s all about paying it forward and doing nice things for others. The basic core idea of generosity includes being giving to all people regardless of their circumstances. So above all we want to encourage and promote the wonderful philosophy of having a giving-spirit. We call it; “Promoting Happiness Through generosity”.
What’s your secret sauce?
Laughing out loud, well… Pizza followed by countless coffee-fueled sleepless nights mixed with tomorrows tenacity!
What’s one dilemma you’ve encountered in the startup process?
Mainly for us it’s been having to blaze an un-traveled, untested, and completely new trail/path. Essentially pioneering a totally new and unique industry concept/business model in which the primary focus is on gifting and/or giving away totally free “no strings attached” cash/money in order to generate new revenue and to in-turn repeat the cycle with the overall intention being to ultimately grow bigger and stronger in the process. Technically speaking we are not a charity organization or foundation. And unlike any other business operation on earth, with the standard business model being that you need to either sell some sort of product or service, we actually do neither of the above. In-fact we only provide free services to our users and by far our most popular “product” for the lack of a better way of describing it is “free money”. The worlds very first “social branded” fully functionally website that obviously anyone with an internet connection can access and simply submit a “wish-request” asking for absolutely anything they want regardless of what it is. In addition to that, the user of this free service actually has a fairly good chance at eventually receiving the specific gift of there asking. And this is all done under the philosophy of “paying it forward”. If you happen to become the recipient of one of our many gestures of generosity we ask only in return that you kindly please consider passing the good deed along someday to someone else if you can. The pay it forward effect. If more people in the world were generous and did things like this, I think it would be that much more of a better/happier place far all of us to inhabit.
What’s one challenge you’ve overcome in the startup process?
Initially one major obstacle for us was on how we were going to efficiently facilitate and overall simplify the process of implementing all of our many giveaways, in addition to the various localized street campaigns that are to be launched. This of course as we expand and as our “brand name” suggests is to eventually become a global effort. But fortunately we’ve since worked out all the intricate details, and to that end overcame the situation at hand.
Who are some of your mentors and business role models?
There are so many… But to name just two I’d have to say both the inspiring and wonderful Ms. Oprah Winfrey and the amazing Mr. Bill Gates. Not just because of their obvious success in business, but also because of their overall “life success” as people, industry innovators, entrepreneurs, and coolest of all philanthropic titans/giants. To me they both represent benevolence at it’s best!
What’s next for Good Deeds Global?
Many exciting new things are coming up for us, but people will have to come check out our social media sites and website for updates and to see what’s next.
Linkage:
Here’s Good Deeds Global on the web
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