Giving Back

Maverick Business Adventures® Giving Back Forward Programs

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Painted Picture and full mission

Maverick Business Adventures® members believe in abundance instead of scarcity and are eager to share their time, treasure and talents!

Members fully embrace giving financially by funding and supporting entrepreneurial and self-sustaining charities such as Village Enterprise Fund, Virgin Unite (Sir Richard Branson’s charity), Caring House Foundation, Microgiving.com, Tony Hawk Foundation and more. As a direct result of our fund raising and contribution effort over $750,000.00 has been raised to date.

"Maverick members and Centurion MasterMind members came together on Sir Richard Branson's private island, Necker Island, to help raise over $450,000 in one week."

Yanik Silver, with founding Maverick member, Mike Filsaime, after their 30,000 foot HALO (High Altitude, Low-Opening) Skydive “Fall-a-thon” to raise funds for Virgin Unite. Yanik and Mike become private citizens #40 and #41 to do a tandem, military-style HALO skydive.

For example, for each Maverick Business Adventures® member accepted we will fund and support 3 micro businesses in East Africa together in partnership with Village Enterprise Fund.

VEF's mission is to break the cycle of poverty in East Africa by providing business training, seed capital and ongoing mentoring to rural entrepreneurs to start income-generating small businesses. To date, more than 17,100 businesses have launched since 1987 which has significantly improved the standard of living of 430,000 people. This has provided better nutrition and housing, improved health and education for children, and a sense of hope for hundreds of communities.

Giving Forward Through Real-World Entrepreneurial Education

On many adventures there is optional time set aside to teach the next generation of Maverick Entrepreneurs working with children and young adults in the community we are guests of during our adventures. This has a major impact on the local areas that normally don’t have the resources or real-life successful examples to learn business principles from.

Maverick members are recognized as the top of their respective professions ranging from online pioneers, INC 500 companies, multi-national manufacturers, heads of financial institutions, renowned experts to International real estate developers and restaurateurs. And they come eager and excited to impart experiences, knowledge, insights and mentorship.

Dean of Mexico’s Tecnologio De Los Cabos, thanking Yanik Silver and members for their real-world, practical advice for a head start in business.

These unique real-world learning workshops and sessions is an experience many members love the most. Here's what Maverick Member Drew Kossoff said about this from our first Baja experience...

"The session we did for these young students here in Baja to teach them about entrepreneurialism was tremendously rewarding, to be able to share all these insights and knowledge that we all have with some people who are just starting out. I want to do more of that when I go back. I'm going to take that home with me and continue it."

At a recent workshop in Aspen, CO we met 12-year old Garrett, who already has a little online business going. He was just one of about 70 young students in the audience (aged 12-18). If you were there, you would have seen the light bulbs going off in Garrett’s head, while furiously scribbling notes, as members shared their real-world entrepreneurial advice and stories. It was incredibly gratifying walking out knowing we made a potentially profound difference in a few lives there - one that might even be the catalyst for a bigger future than these students ever imagined. In fact, here’s part of the letter we received from 12-year old, Garrett’s mother, Cynthia:

"My son was among the young people who attended and I can tell you he hasn’t been the same since. Since your [presentation], he has begun his own website and has even begun to make money with it using some of the advice he received...I believe that the seminar your group so selflessly presented has altered the course of at least one young entrepreneur.  I can’t thank you enough."

Maverick members lead an entrepreneurial round table with young, aspiring entrepreneurs in Aspen, CO.

What does a Young Entrepreneur Session Involve?

Depending on time available these Young Entrepreneur sessions involve everything from:

• Round table discussions with Maverick members shattering common myths and excuses
• Speakers discussing their real-world success stories.
• Breaking up into groups of 5-8 to start working on and formulating a business idea (1 or 2 maverick members are dispatched to assist with each group depending on size)
• Groups present their business idea for feedback/brainstorming by Maverick panel
• Maverick members fund $500 start-up capital for best ideas. (This is not a loan or to own a percentage of the business.)
• Maverick members will coordinate with each group leader to stay in touch with the group on progress via virtual mentoring.

In addition, each of these learning sessions are recorded and will be made available as part of an online learning center accessible to the general public.

Program Recommendations & Feedback:

Our Maverick Young Entrepreneur program works directly with community leaders, local colleges & high schools and youth programs. Here are just a few of the recommendations & accolades received for the program:

"...May serve this letter to the best purposes of our friends from Maverick Business Adventures; as an educational institution, CETYS University thanks Maverick for sharing an extraordinary business vision through their Giving Back Program."
— Carlos Garcia, Vice-president of CETYS Uniiversity
(read the full recommendation letter here)

"...the members of Maverick struck me as role models for aspiring entrepreneurs of all ages. As a life-long educator, I appreciated their emphasis on pursuing higher education for kids. I was equally impressed with the genuine way each member connected with our young participants. Encouraging our youth to imagine unlikely dreams, and framing those ideas in a way that gave them potential for success, was an inspiration to all those present, myself included."
— Evan Zislis, UpValley Division Manager, Youth Zone
(read the full recommendation letter here)

"...Your message in your presentation was powerful for my group, they finally get it! We've had discussion about the Maverick presentation and they are inspired to think out of the box… I hope Maverick continues to speak to young people and combining the message of financial opportunity, social value, and how it can become a their legacy."
— Christopher Tribble, True Media Foundation
(read the full recommendation letter here)

Mentorship with Branson School of Entrepreneurship

Maverick members are also part of a trial program with virtual mentorship between members and Branson School of Entrepreneurship top students. (Note: When the Branson School was launched in October 2005, it was the first time, anywhere in the world; Sir Richard Branson lent his personal name to a project.)

Working together with the Branson School we created the "Maverick Legacy Program" which is where members real-world lessons in business and life to encourage & educate the top students at the school in South Africa. In addition we are planning a live educational outreach in 2010 to coincide with the World Cup.

Here's a snippet of our Young Entrepreneur Program.

Be Heard TV – Aspen Young Entrepreneurs Program

Click here for the Maverick Business Adventures® Young Entrepreneur Online Learning Center