Two weekends ago, Patrick and I got together to step back and explore the long-term vision of Kip. For the last few months, we’ve been caught in a whirlwind of new clients, a new team, and a new product opportunity. Concerned with the day-to-day, we’ve inevitably had to put the strategic and vision planning on the backburner. But, it had become clear that the vision needed to be cleared up as we move forward toward our full-time summer work.

In Boston, we met some of our fellow entrepreneur friends and our Boston team, Monica and Cynthia, to bounce around some ideas and really nail down where we want to take Kip. We had some great candid discussions and brought all issues to the table. We got some great feedback and realized our main gap has been customer validation, and testing would need to be our next step to development.

As we parted ways once again, we were clearer in our vision, but not ready to engrave it in stone just yet. This past week was filled with more brainstorming, deliberation, and feedback that have allowed us to focus in on our core passions and ideals for Kip.

What we’ve learned:

1. Vision is vital. It inspires, directs, and drives a business and its team. Without it, it’s easy to lose the way.

2. Learn to distinguish between assumptions and truth. What you think is best may not really be best for whomever you’re planning to help. You may build an ideal, perfect business, but if it’s of no use to your customers, it’s…well, useless.

3. Meeting in person brings in a beautiful, intangible dynamic that e-mail doesn’t allow. It seems obvious, but if you’re doing most of your work online, make sure to meet your teammates in person from time to time. It can make the biggest difference.

4. The hardest part is balancing idealism and pragmatism. Build a team that complements each other in this regard. Find the good cop and the bad cop.

We’re more excited than ever and plan to unveil a brand new Kip 2.0 very soon! Stay tuned. We’re ready to take on the world.

—Sonia Chokshi, COO and Co-Founder

Although the KIP team is located all across the US, this summer we will finally all be together in Berkeley, CA, where we will work and live together to focus on KIP Solutions. The California team (Erica, Anu, Jackee, Patrick) got together on March 16^th to tour co-working spaces and speak with the people at Lemon, a tech startup based in Palo Alto.

To start our day, we toured The Hub, a co-working space in downtown Berkeley. Located between good eateries and only a few minutes from the BART station, The Hub’s location is unbeatable and teeming with energy. As we came in, we were introduced to Jeff Shiau, the Director of the Berkeley Hub, who graciously offered us coffee and talked with us about what it’s like to be a member of The Hub. Not only do members get to mingle with other budding startups, members also get access to cool perks like yoga classes and massages! The vibe is amazing, and the layout of the office invites inspiration and creativity. Since KIP is all about being young and hip, we fell in love with The Hub.

((At The Hub. From R to L: Jeff Shiang, Patrick Ip, Jackee Rodriguez, Anu Prasad, Erica Lee.))

After The Hub, we drove to Palo Alto to speak with Lemon. I interned for them over winter break, and since they’ve done so well with their startup, the team thought it would be helpful to ask them for advice about our own. Lemon is a smartphone application that digitizes your receipts so you can throw away the paper, keep the important data, and generate reports to see where you spend your money. As we sat in their conference room overlooking University Avenue, we discussed legal status, management, product development, and other important issues for new startups. After a very insightful session with Lemon, we left feeling energized about the future of KIP….so energized that we decided to check out the new iPad and get dessert at Paris Baguette across the street! Work hard and play hard, right?

((At Paris Baguette for post-Lemon dessert. L to R: Anu Prasad, Erica Lee))

We ended our trip at Filippos, an Italian restaurant and Berkeley favorite in Elmwood, where we met with Patrick’s parents to debrief about our amazing day. We’re so excited about KIP Solutions and its future…stay tuned for more adventures and updates!

—Erica Lee, Strategic Analyst

Today is the nineteenth (!) celebration of World Water Day. First introduced by the UN in 1993, World Water Day raises awareness for the importance of clean, sustainable freshwater resources. Each year the UN designates a different theme for World Water Day, such as Water for Cities, Water Scarcity, and International Year of Sanitation. This year’s theme is Water and Food Security. Go ahead and read why the UN chose this theme here. 

Also check out this infographic on the Huffington Post courtesy of Whole Living to see how much you know about water consumption and get a few tips about what you can do to help end the world water crisis today.

So now we want to know: what will YOU do to end the water crisis? Send us a message on Tumblr or tweet us @KIPSolutions with your answer. 

—Kip Team

Welcome to the Kip Solutions blog! We’ve tried our hand at Facebook, Twitter, and Wordpress, and now it’s time to roll out Tumblr. 

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Kip, we consult on social media with nonprofits, NGOs, and social enterprises. Using social media, we amplify these organizations’ social causes and increase awareness for them. 

We hope our blog gives you a better look at what exactly we do at Kip and inspires you to use social media for social good! On the blog we’ll keep you updated on the happenings at Kip, news from our clients, and anything else we think you’ll find interesting. 

It’s been real, Tumblr. Until we blog again…

—The Kip Team