#orbital1k

We’re profiling each of the students from the June program of the Orbital 1Kand their amazing projects. If their stories resonate with you, sign up for our mailing list so that you can be notified of future 1K programs.

Laura Patterson aspires to do something that helps close the achievement gap. She's also super invested in finding the best turkey burger in New York City. For the 1K program, Laura launched a Kickstarter campaign for Nomprofits, a dinner party series to connect young professionals with fantastic nonprofits who need their help.

Hi Laura! What are you most excited about with regards to your project?

I am really excited to meet new and interesting nonprofits. In the fall, I volunteered with a wonderful organization called the Opportunity Network after having stumbled upon it randomly and ended up having a great time mentoring two high school students. I'm hoping that through this experience others will find out about equally gratifying opportunities to support great organizations.

What was the hardest part of launching for you? It's scary asking people for money! It feels like I'm running for Student Body President when I'm not sure if others will buy into my platform. It hasn't gotten easier as I've reached out to more people, but I'm hoping to get to the point where I don't actively hate it.

What’s your biggest takeaway from the 1K program? The most important thing I've learned is to create the space for you to do your best work. It is so easy to get distracted by life—I tend to overbook and do too many things at once. Paring down and figuring my priorities was something I had to think about a lot during the project given the tight timeline. I wasn't the best at it, but I do think I'm learning to be more considerate of my own bandwidth and realize that there are only 24 hours in the day (and eight should solidly be booked for sleeping).

We’re profiling each of the students from the June program of the Orbital 1Kand their amazing projects. If their stories resonate with you, sign up for our mailing list so that you can be notified of future 1K programs.

Dior Vargas is a Latina Feminist Mental Health Activist and a suicide attempt survivor who works tirelessly to create projects ​that amplify the voices of marginalized communities who live with mental illness. For the 1K program, she launched a Kickstarter campaign to take professional photos of people of color dealing with mental health issues. 

She’s also collecting a list of POC therapists who are LGBTQIA-friendly in the US—please contribute if you know anyone!

Hi Dior! What are you most excited about with regards to your project?

I love meeting with ​new participants​ and having the opportunity to speak with them and ​learn more about them and their stories. I'm hoping this project can promote ​more dialogue around mental health issues and create a larger community of these individuals.

What was the hardest part of launching for you?

Pressing the launch button without wanting to edit the project page more. I'm a perfectionist!

What’s your biggest takeaway from the 1K program?

That scaling down on your project does not mean you're sacrificing quality and your ultimate mission. Not everything can be perfect and there is nothing wrong with not getting it right the first time. You learn more along the way.

We’re profiling each of the students from the June program of the Orbital 1Kand their amazing projects. If their stories resonate with you, sign up for our mailing list so that you can be notified of future 1K programs.

Tara Reed is the founder of Kollecto, an art purchasing startup that launched out of the first Orbital Boot Camp in summer 2014. In the 1K program, Tara launched Everyday Art Collectors, a blog about how ordinary people collect art.

Hi Tara! What are you most excited about with regards to your project?

Kollecto started as my side project, but eventually became my 9-5 job. So to be honest, I was excited about Orbital $1k and my Everyday Art Collectors blog because I was in need of a new side project! My blog was tied to Kollecto but was definitely a tangential project. There's something really therapeutic about having a passion project on the side so I was excited to launch something again. When I started the program, I was also really struggling with the fact that, as Kollecto becomes more of a revenue-focused business, I needed a place to tell the narrative of my mission to empower people to buy & collect affordable art. So I was excited to have a less transactional format to tell that story.

What was the hardest part of launching for you? Just making time for my project, since I’m currently participating in the 500 Startups accelerator.

What’s your biggest takeaway from the 1K program? I learned how important it is for me to have accountability structures and positive peer pressure in my life. This wasn't a new concept for me, but it was really helpful to have someone checking in with me every morning on my project statuses and pain points. I've been finding ways to continue this structure even after the program.

We’re profiling each of the students from the June program of the Orbital 1Kand their amazing projects. If their stories resonate with you, sign up for our mailing list so that you can be notified of future 1K programs.

Max Dana is an artist-turned-administrator-turned-programmer-turned-donor and co-founder of ArtsPool, a cooperatively-owned startup that provides shared administrative services for New York arts nonprofits. In the 1K program, Max launched a Kickstarter campaign for the Weird Economics summit, a gathering of people doing interesting things with money and philanthropy hosted by the External Revenue Service.

During the program, Max also wrote up a practical guide to becoming a microphilanthropist, which includes lots of sharp insights and fascinating data.

Hi Max! What are you especially excited about with your project?

I really love the name The External Revenue Service. It's incredibly unwieldy and at first glance seems like the opposite of good, but for me it stimulates the imagination in a way that short, heavily branded "appy" names with too many vowels don't. The inversion of one syllable evokes an alternative reality without defining what that is, so it keeps me asking questions.

What was the hardest part of launching for you?

I always thought that the E.R.S. would be primarily a technology project, but it became clear while working at Orbital that I needed to scope it down and find a way to validate some of my assumptions about whether people would even want to join a crowdfunding platform posing as a crazy peer-to-peer tax system. Pivoting the project to focus on the Weird Economics summit was tough for me because I'd much rather spend my nights coding than event planning, but sometimes you have to do what Faulkner said and kill your darlings. Or at least put them down for a nap.

What’s your biggest takeaway from the 1K program?

Work fast and put things out before they are ready. The time constraint of the Orbital 1K is very intense and the only way to make it work is to avoid overthinking and use the world as your collaborator. I thought of the name The External Revenue Service while dodging bus traffic on my morning bike commute through Bed-Stuy because that was one of the few windows I had to think. I probably wouldn't have thought of that name if I'd had hours to mull it over. 

We’re profiling each of the students from the June program of the Orbital 1K and their amazing projects. If their stories resonate with you, sign up for our mailing list so that you can be notified of future 1K programs.

Caleb Dolister is a musician, a composer, and works on technology projects. In the 1K program, he launched a campaign for his latest album, Daily Thumbprint Volume 2.

During the program, Caleb also pulled together a remarkably useful list of on-demand merchandising services for musicians.

Hi Caleb! What are you most excited about with regards to your project?

My final project was based around releasing an album, but what I find is exciting is that there’s a lot more below the surface than just putting it out. For starters, the album demonstrates a model that small labels or bands can use to create diverse merchandise using print-on-demand resources instead of going out-of-pocket to mass produce. It also showcases a web service I’ve been building to use physical merchandise as access points to exclusive digital downloads and streaming. Musically, the album happens to be my second solo album in series I started writing over a decade ago, and it features live drums with electronic compositions. 

What was the hardest part of launching for you?

My idea changed a lot over the course of the program, and that created a lot of challenges because the program moves… quickly. Changing course meant backtracking and catching up. I originally wanted to launch a couple of campaigns that would feature the music of a couple active bands signed to my creative-music record label (snprecords.com), but getting them to work on the same timeline was nearly impossible. Luckily, I also had my own album that was nearing completion, which meant I was able to shift gears and focus only on a project that I could control. In the end, it ended up being much better, and more personal to work on my own material.

What’s your biggest takeaway from the 1K program?

I think one of the main important things I learned is that it’s totally ok to put my name on something I made, and that I can share it tactfully. Self-promotion has always been one of my roadblocks, and I think it’s common for a lot of creative people. I’ve often hidden behind the names of my projects, which makes it hard to engage with a community. Part of what I did throughout this program was to step outside my comfort zone and to put my name on the stuff I’ve already made so that it can be used as a foundation for the stuff I make going forward. In that sense, for me the Orbital program wasn’t so much about launching one project… but more about building a skill set that I can use to continue creating bigger projects down the road.

We’re profiling each of the students from the June program of the Orbital 1K and their amazing projects. If their stories resonate with you, sign up for our mailing list so that you can be notified of future 1K programs.

Amélie Lamont is a multi-disciplinary designer on a mission to make the world a better place through her words and actions. In the 1K program, Amélie launched The Bold Creative, a salon to inspire stuck creatives.

During the program, Amélie also wrote a great post about how to acknowledge and move past the common blocks to creativity. Follow her on Twitter for her thoughts about design.

Hi Amélie! What are you most excited about with regards to your project?

I’m excited about bringing together and inspiring fellow creatives!

What was the hardest part of launching for you?

Overcoming the fear of failure. But eventually, I realized that what’s even scarier is knowing that I didn’t even take a chance to at least try.

What’s your biggest takeaway from the 1K program?

How to scope things down! :)

We’re profiling each of the students from the June program of the Orbital 1K and their amazing projects. If their stories resonate with you, sign up for our mailing list so that you can be notified of future 1K programs.

Mike Ma is a former financial marketer turned funeral startup guy. In the 1K program, he and his business partner Jae Rhim Lee launched a Kickstarter campaign for Being Dennis, a documentary about the first customer of their mushroom-laced funeral suit for people seeking an eco-friendly burial. During the course, he also made the first public announcement about the company he and JR are starting, Coeio.

Follow him or Coeio on Twitter for FUNeral puns (I tried) and updates on the documentary and the mushroom suit.

Hi Mike! What are you most excited about with regards to your project?

The most exciting aspect is finding out that people are excited by the story. I have always feared that the story that we are trying to tell is fringe or freakish, but almost every time that I share what we are doing I at least find people are interested. Sometimes, they even want to help and volunteer their time.  For instance, that a filmmaker like Grace Lee wanted to work on this project and was so moved by draft materials still amazes me.

What was the hardest part of launching for you?

The hardest thing has been trying to get everyone aligned on what we are creating but also leaving room for people to interpret and negotiate such a sensitive project so they can be heard.  From working with the family to an award-winning filmmaker, it is a challenge to find the area that everyone is excited about.

What’s your biggest takeaway from the 1K program?

Speed kills. I fancy myself someone who has moved fast in my career to ship, but fast is never fast enough.  That's what you need a coach and a community for; otherwise, you plateau.

We’re profiling each of the students from the June program of the Orbital 1K and their amazing projects. If their stories resonate with you, sign up for our mailing list so that you can be notified of future 1K programs.

Ajay Revels is a design researcher, illustrator and biology geek who creates tools, games and characters to generate insight into difficult to understand questions. In the 1K program, she launched a Kickstarter campaign to explore the next steps for Arborella, a tree character she created.

Follow her on Twitter or Tumblr for tree puns and news, and to see where Arborella might pop up next!

Hi Ajay! What are you most excited about with this project?

It’s extremely gratifying to have launched the Arborella blog which readers tell me is inspiring and beautiful. I love the sense of growing momentum around Arborella and the rapid pace of learning. Arborella gives me a portal through which I can meet other people who are passionate about trees, animals, water, bugs and who want to hear their stories. Ultimately, the most exciting thing is that I’m pursuing interesting design + biology questions that will help me create an ecosystem-centric design practice down the road. I’m jumping off cliffs I didn’t even know were there! I’m happy. I’m outpacing resistance! haha! Catch me now sucka!! (^_^)

What was the hardest part of launching for you?

I came into the program with a costume and a hunch but I didn’t have a traditional “product” with a clear value proposition or user need. During the course I created 5 iterations of possible ideas. None of them worked! At the very end of the 3rd week, right before launch week, I wrote up lessons learned and decided that the project was a failure. But as with all good failures, I learned, with Gary’s help, that the answer was to reframe the project as a question. I’m very happy with where the project landed and I’m very excited to see what happens next! The absolute most challenging thing was learning to let go of what I wanted or thought or imagined and instead, follow what the project wants.

What’s your biggest takeaway from the 1K program?

First, study with great teachers! Christina and Gary are amazing teachers. And by amazing, I mean people who are able to apply their deep knowledge and experience to adult learners in a very insightful, graceful & impactful manner. They were able to simultaneously tutor 14 people in near real time and make it look easy. They are the coaches you always wanted. Great teachers will surround themselves with great mentors and in this regard, the Orbital mentors were laser focused, kind and insightful.

Second, launching is a practice that requires a support system. Creators need flexible guard rails that channel movement forward and an accountability system that will keep us honest. I learned to create the support system,  then create the “product”. Never launch alone. Be embedded in a community of both expertise + support from which to launch often and quickly.

Third, give, give, give, give. I learned to stop hoarding that all those clumps of links, reports, ideas and insights that I have been holding onto, waiting for the perfect venue to unveil them. Like giving away that new coat you never wear, I learned to find someone who could use a particular chunk of information and I gave it away. That kind of gesture frees the receiver to move forward with their work. It also frees up my brain space to take in something new!

Fourth, I’m just a vessel. My ideas have a life of their own; they have their own friends, their own habits, their own dietary restrictions. Plan accordingly!

I’m also thrilled that the Orbital 1K program has given me a template that I can apply to the numerous (63 and counting!!) other side projects waiting in my notebooks.