Editors’ Picks: Top 16 Posts of 2016

As a multimedia platform, Unreasonable.is is dedicated to driving resources, knowledge, and exposure to entrepreneurs on the front lines solving the most seemingly intractable social and environmental challenges of our time. This community is impressive. It consists of serial entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, and issue-area geniuses who contribute content with the goal of open-sourcing wisdom for entrepreneurs everywhere.

To commend the work of our writers, we’ve compiled a list – in no particular order – of our favorite posts from 2016. We consider these articles highlights from the past twelve months and trust that you will find as much value in them as we do.

Rajesh Anandan, serial entrepreneur and SVP at UNICEF Ventures, reminds us that building a strong culture isn’t easy, but it’s one of the most important things your team should focus on. Citing Bill Aulet, Anandan explains why, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast, technology for lunch, and products for dinner…”

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Now, when information is so pervasive, how do we make sure our stories rise to the top? Holly Gordon, co-founder of Girl Rising and former producer for ABC News, shares seven principles that guide her in getting the message out.

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Paul Polak is a global pioneer when it comes to how companies design, price, market, and distribute products to benefit the over 2 billion people who live on less than $2 a day. In this post, he reminds us that we can learn a lot about how to make products radically affordable by simply taking a closer look around us.

We have to mimic Mother Nature and select the most efficient growing systems she produces—it’s essential to the design process. Tweet This Quote

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For entrepreneurs especially, time and energy are precious resources that always seem to deplete quickly. A pioneer in social impact design, Cheryl Heller challenges us to consider what happens when we stop wasting our own energy and treat it as a precious resource needed for survival.

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Despite the popular narrative, solar and wind manufacturing are thriving in the U.S., creating jobs and driving substantial economic growth. Jigar Shah – serial entrepreneur, investor, and expert in all things renewable energy and climate change – intelligently questions, why does mainstream media seem to have the story all wrong?

Independence is the heart of American identity. Clean energy is independence turned into electrons. Tweet This Quote

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Toni Maraviglia is the co-founder, former CEO, and current Director and Board Member of Eneza Education in Kenya. She argues that it’s imperative for CEOs in Africa to share data in order to set a baseline and move the ecosystem along—the future depends on it. In this post, she leads by example.

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David Howitt, serial entrepreneur, consultant and author, reminds us of the following: In your company there will be the easy, practical, “this is what we’ve always done” posture. Challenge yourself by asking, “Is this right, or is this easy?”

Within the confines of what’s familiar, we limit the potential of us and our businesses. Tweet This Quote

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This story is a message to all entrepreneurs raising money. Mike Quinn, CEO of Zoona, makes the case for picking the right investors who will help see you through a crisis because one day you’ll have one. He should know after what his company faced.

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Luckily, Mike Quinn picked the right investor in Arjuna Costa, partner at Omidyar Network. This time, through an investor’s lens, Costa shares what Zoona did right in order to resiliently deal with the above crisis – a unique double-sided look at the rollercoaster ride of early-stage investing.

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Mark Moore, co-founder at MANA Nutrition and Calorie Cloud, says that it’s actually quite difficult to find smart people who aren’t jerks. He uses the parable of the Good Samaritan and some points from his company’s own “Mana-festo” to guide you in finding good people who aspire to greatness. Only then, he contends, will you be unstoppable.

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At Project Literacy Lab, Unreasonable Media had the chance to sit down with several mentors. We asked them hard questions about failure, uncertainty, and measuring success. This short video, featuring legendary entrepreneur Jeff Hoffman and venture capitalist Mohanjit Jolly, is all about how you know you’re chasing the right North Star.

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Ned Tozun, CEO of d.light, shares his company’s story of international scale: building a team of 400 people across three continents. He shares one of their biggest mistakes along the way and what he’s learned about fostering a unified team culture across borders.

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Chris Good, Creative Director at One Workplace, is an expert when it comes to spatial design and how it influences the way organizations function. He argues that sometimes we forget the people we are solving problems for. In this post, he offers a useful five-point framework to ensure we consider the true needs of people.

Be careful not to invent solutions in search of problems. Tweet This Quote

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Patrick Hanlon, founder of Thinktopia and branding guru, provides a well-researched snapshot of the great challenges we’re facing as a world today. But, underneath daunting challenge lies boundless opportunity. As he concludes, “Start thinking differently, talking differently, and acting differently. Who’s going to save the world? You are.”

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From staging fake drug deals to spamming her own network like a Nigerian prince, the author of The Misfit Economy, Alexa Clay, shares how guerrilla marketing helped along the success of her book launch – and what other entrepreneurs can learn from such underground tactics.

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This is a deeply human story about an entrepreneur’s biggest failure and biggest regret. Rafe Furst, champion poker player, serial entrepreneur, and investor, shares how his life was turned upside down. Here, real lessons about transparency emerge.

If there’s one piece of business advice that stands out for me it’s this: Lean into transparency. Tweet This Quote

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In the spirit of transparency, we as an editorial team are constantly seeking ways to improve. We invite you to comment and tell us what you would have included in this list, or even what kind of content you would like to see in the New Year. At the end of the day, our goal is to remain resolutely entrepreneur-centric. We exist to serve you.