In Chapter 1 of 16 in his 2010 Capture Your Flag interview, Music for Myeloma Cancer charity founder and startup IndieGoGo entrepreneur Slava Rubin answers "Based on Your Experience Starting Cancer Charity Music Against Myeloma and Co-Founding Indiegogo, What Have You Learned About Connecting People to Causes?" Rubin shares how he gets people involved in causes. Leading by example and getting something started proves to be the best approach Rubin uses with both philanthropy and media endeavors. It is about acting on passion and not begging, demanding, or expecting help from others. Rubin sees initiative as key to gather momentum and invite others to join the cause.
Slava Rubin is CEO and co-founder of Indiegogo, the world's largest crowdfunding platform. Indiegogo empowers anyone, anywhere, anytime to raise funds for any idea—creative, cause-related or entrepreneurial. Prior to Indiegogo, Rubin worked as a management consultant. He earned his BSE degree from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Transcript:
Erik Michielsen: Based on your experience starting cancer charity Music Against Myeloma and co-founding Indiegogo, what have you learned about connecting people to causes?
Slava Rubin: Well, you definitely can`t force anybody. This goes back to pitching an idea, you have to have passion. One of the best things that I've learned, partially by accident partially on purpose, with Music Against Myeloma is I definitely do not beg or demand anybody to help me. There are a lot of people that come out of the woodwork and say, ``Oh, I’ve been impacted by cancer, I've been Myeloma, I`d like to help.``
``Well, how can you help?``
``Well, I have a design background and I do web design.``
``Well, you can help with our website.``
The amazing thing is that if you don’t start that little snowball moving, if you don`t make that initial spark, those other people can`t get out of the woodwork, they can`t find you to say that I can help you with this because they didn't know it was happening. So, similarly with Indiegogo, as soon as the ball starts rolling about there`s a website out there that`s trying to support the film world, the creative world, the music world, the book world about funding, finally people starting coming out of the woodwork and saying, ``Hey, I have a project too.`` ``Hey, I can help with this. I can do this.`` And they all get involved. The key is to just get it started. I know this sounds cliché with the whole Nike concept of ``Just Doing It`` but that really matters to get other people involved. Leading by example and then showing them that something is happening.