How What You Buy Can Change The World with Leila Janah, Chase Jarvis

There's a common misconception that artists have a monopoly on creativity… But the very act of making waves—no matter the career—is a creative one. The Chase Jarvis LIVE Show is an exploration of creativity, self-discovery, entrepreneurship, hard-earned lessons, and so much more. Chase sits down with the world's top creators, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders and unpacks actionable, valuable insights to help you live your dreams in career, hobby, and life.

About this episode:

I know many of you – like myself – are passionate about social impact, and I really love Leila’s perspective on this. “Social entrepreneurship” is a bit of a buzzword these days, but she is 1,000% the real deal – and as you’ll find out from this conversation, the way she’s thinking about this stuff is just light years beyond the standard first-order logic. These problems aren’t simple, and that means the solutions aren’t going to be simple either – they’ll only be solved by brilliant people like her applying some really rigorous thinking to them. Her core ideas of “giving work” and “beyond charity” are – while super simple on their face – very nuanced and sophisticated. Super inspiring stuff, but beyond that – full of sharp insights and tactical advice that you’ll want to apply to your own business whether it’s about social impact or not.

• She tells the story of how Samasource came to be, which I love because she was so goddamn scrappy and just did literally whatever it took to get this idea off the ground – like sending Reid Hoffman a message on LinkedIn (which he replied to)
• We talk about why it’s super limiting and ultimately a non-solution to operate from the idea that handouts are the answer to poverty – why “giving work” is the real answer
• The power of surrounding yourself with the right people – people who have achieved the things you want to achieve and can be not just inspiration but templates

About Leila:

Leila Janah is a human dynamo and one of the most exciting voices in the world of social entrepreneurship. After starting her career in management consulting, she quit to pursue her passions full-time and has founded TWO companies. The first is Samasource, a non-profit that lifts people out of poverty via hiring them to do data work – and their clients now include the likes of Walmart, eBay, Google. And more recently she started LXMI, a luxury skincare brand that sources rare ingredients from poor countries and thereby helps lift women out of poverty. Oh – and in case she didn’t have enough on her plate she was also the author of the book Give Work (2017), the thesis of which is that giving work is the most powerful solution for ending global poverty.