Causes | JUST CAUSE (beta)

Entrepreneurs Anonymous
Posted May 14th, 2008 by Alyssa Royse
Before getting the seemingly crazy idea to start JUST CAUSE IT, I never would have thought that I was someone who loved business. I mean, business? Aren’t business people those uptight men sitting in offices and doing, I dunno, boring business stuff?
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The Lying Pitch We All Throw - Now Will You Please Invest In Me?
Posted March 6th, 2008 by Alyssa Royse
For those of you who are sane enough to never start a business, I can't resist giving you a glimpse into a day in the life of en entrepreneur. For those of you who share my affliction for starting businesses, laugh with me....
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What if there isn't a solution?
Posted February 6th, 2008 by Alyssa Royse
It's been a while since I posted a blog. It's not that there hasn't been tons to say (there has) but not enough time in which to do it. And I've been lacking a sort of crystal clarity in terms of what exactly I SHOULD be saying.
The stated mission of JUST CAUSE is to share stories about innovative solutions to the world's problems. We look at solutions.
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A 15 year-old From Norway Made My Day
Posted December 8th, 2007 by Alyssa Royse
We all have those "now I know I've made it" moments. And they are widely varied.

A 15 year-old from Norway delivered me one of those moments in my inbox last week.
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I Can't Imagine NOT Succeeding
Posted November 29th, 2007 by Alyssa Royse
I've never started a business before. I've never really played a leadership role in one either. Nor have I wanted to. Don't get me wrong, I love business. I am a hardcore capitalist, and yes, I am well aware of the porn connotations in the terms "hardcore," i use it on purpose. I get that excited about a good business model, a deep revenue stream, and the frenetic frenzy of launch.
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DUDE! We're (like totally) a KILLER STARTUP
Posted November 14th, 2007 by Alyssa Royse
Anyone who's ever started a business - or done anything that feels akin to pushing spiked boulders up icy hills barefoot and in the dark - knows that the little victories along the way make it seem palatable. The necessary delusion of entrepreneurhood is the belief that the blisters really don't hurt THAT badly.
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I Am SOOOOOO Easy to Make Happy
Posted November 10th, 2007 by Alyssa Royse
Are any of you old enough (or maybe young enough, depending on which side of "my age" you are standing) to remember Nirvana?
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JUST Keeping In Touch - JC Newsletter
Posted November 7th, 2007 by Alyssa Royse
JUST Keeping in Touch
It's been about 3 weeks since we opened the virtual doors to JUST CAUSE. We were more than a little nervous - hadn't finished painting all the walls and there were exposed outlets, not to mention that we hadn't hung any art yet.
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Embracing Imperfection
Posted October 22nd, 2007 by Alyssa Royse
I've been thinking a lot lately about imperfection, and why it's important. Certainly, as we launch a new company, it would be only natural to be acutely aware of how far from "perfect" we are. (There is a list that reads more like a novel, of all the features we need to fix, as well as the features we want that we don't have.)
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Under Construction!!!
Posted October 16th, 2007 by Matt Freedman
The official beta test launch of the site is today -- now the fun begins. We know we have a huge amount still to do to turn this into the site we are all envisioning, and putting it out there now feels a little bit like those dreams of showing up to school in your pajamas, but it is time to get some real users on the site. So please check it out, and please pardon the glitches!
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Strategic Philanthropy - What is it?
Posted October 15th, 2007 by Byron McCann
Given the plethora of important issues and noble causes in our view today, how does one begin to approach making the world a better place? How does one effectively focus their energy and money?

Strategic philanthropy looks at the root causes to problems, and finds the highest leverage points in order to begin solving those problems - now and for the long term.
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So What? Who Cares?
Posted October 8th, 2007 by Alyssa Royse
I was having coffee with my friend Earl Sedlik this morning, and he, as usual, imparted some sparkly bits of wisdom that made some big questions suddenly seem small and manageable.

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Where Are All the UberBabes in Business?
Posted October 2nd, 2007 by Alyssa Royse
Are you an UberBabe?
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Hurry Up and Wait
Posted September 26th, 2007 by Alyssa Royse
Some of my friends have reported that they never hear from me anymore, that I never go out anymore, that I have virtually dropped off the face of the earth. "Where are the long letters we used to get?" "You haven't had a party in a while."
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Big Sky Venture Capital Conference
Posted August 24th, 2007 by Alyssa Royse
Byron and I have spent the last day and a half at the Big Sky Venture Capital Conference at the Big Sky Ski Resort outside of Bozeman. I have to say, if one has to do the VC circuit, doing so in the world's most beautiful places really takes the sting out.
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Beware the Purple People Eaters
Posted July 25th, 2007 by Alyssa Royse
I was driving my daughter to soccer the other day, enjoying the altogether rare silence in the car (and in my life in general) when, out of the murky quiet, my daughter's 7 year-old voice asked "mommy, what's a blue state?" A poet at heart (though utterly without talent,) I began formulating answers about sadness and desperation, when I looked at the car in front of us and saw the bumpe
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