Yancey Strickler

There’s no denying that we live in a wealth-obsessed world. What would it be like if we focused on something beyond the bottom line? In his new book and the bold talk based on it, Yancey Strickler—co-founder and former CEO of Kickstarter—lays out an inspiring vision for the new world we have the power to create. Is the current system of self-interest (that only really works for a few people at the very top) the best we can do? Surely there’s a better way to balance our individual aspirations with the values, society, culture and well-being we want? As jobs become fewer and inequality grows, what if there’s a different way forward for the rest of us? Strickler urges audiences to think big. When he founded Kickstarter in 2009, sceptics said it wouldn’t work. It has now received over $1.9 billion in pledges from 9.4 million backers, and brought thousands of brilliant ideas to life. In this optimistic, timely, and action-oriented talk, Strickler reveals a world of cooperatives, new communities, smart pricing and bold new ways to measure success. Hopeful but firmly grounded, full of concrete solutions and bursting with creativity, Strickler brilliantly dissects the world we live in and shows us a road map to the world we are capable of making.

Kickstarter has not only changed the landscape—our very lexicon—around funding, patronage, and entrepreneurship, but it’s also remained as a steadfastly ethical company: an organization with a true moral compass that blends artistic vision with street-cred cool. In this keynote, entrepreneurship speaker Yancey Strickler reveals how three creative people came together to build a business that would define a generation: by being passionately idealistic, deeply generous, and never, ever selling out. Of course, as with any business talk, Strickler offers sage advice for entrepreneurs, start-ups, and industry giants—anyone, really—on executing on your own terms, hiring people with the same values, creating a vibrant and diverse corporate culture, and scaling growth while ensuring sustainability (that the bankbook doesn’t dry up). But he also shows why having a social conscious—doing good for the community, and your own employees—can also have enormous benefits. As a public benefit corporation, Kickstarter fights for diversity, equality, transparency and accountability, blazing an alternative path for other groups to follow, and showing why moral clarity is not only great for your image, but the right tonic to unrestrained capitalism—to “monopoly or bust,” as Strickler says. Meaningful public stances signal exactly what you’re about—they energize and empower your community. And they’re not a throwback or flash in the pan: they’re a way to shift the culture. This isn’t all about individuality and buzz. Strickler’s on a bigger mission: he’s hoping that with every success story following in his wake, being good will become the new norm.

Grads entering the workforce today know turbulence. They also know anxiety. The financial collapse still haunts the economy. Disruptive technologies—especially A.I. and robotics—threaten all jobs. Climate change and rising political unrest means there’s no promise of an easy life. So, as a young writer, Yancey Strickler also faced the great unknown. When the idea for Kickstarter was hatched, he had no business training (even buying a white board was a novelty!). He was of course wary. But his eventual success stands not as a freak stroke of fortune, but a testament to what can be achieved with passion, dedication, and a belief in making the world a better place.

In this inspiring talk—perfect for students launching careers, or anyone seeking the courage to begin the real work of their lives—creativity speaker Yancey Strickler tells his own story of entrepreneurship and achievement. It’s a story about making a leap of faith—even if it’s scary—to do what you’re meant to do, and to pursue the things that actually matter (“Nothing happens unless you do it,” he says. “If no one is pushing the rock up the hill, nothing will happen.”). But it’s also a nourishing reminder that art and community are essential, “no matter what the economy tells us,” he says. While quite new, Kickstarter is all about patronizing the arts: a very old practice indeed. It’s about artists, appealing to their peers, sharing their ideas, and asking for help—not from the super-rich, but through friends and family. Through fans. Ultimately, this emboldening talk helps us put the things that matter at the core of our being. To ask, and attempt an answer, to the hard questions of life. And to take comfort in Strickler’s evolution—remembering that even the most disruptive paths are often well worn.