If you don’t know me, let me introduce myself. I am Aaron King, and I have the illustrious honor of being Better World Books’ first full time employee. If you ordered any books from us way back in 2003, there is a pretty good chance that I personally packaged them. It has been a pretty cool journey watching us grow from a small basement warehouse (where we had to hand carry every single box of books up and down the stairs) with a few thousand books scattered around to our massive operation today that holds over 2 million books at any given time.

I like our company concept a lot. Why, might you ask? Well, to be consistent with how we have branded this blog, allow me to give you a n#mb#r#d list.

1. I am all about books. I am not going to say “I heart books”, because I personally thing the entire “I heart this and that” concept is a little over done these days, but I definitely support books. Not just books, but reading too. Growing up as a fat kid*, I did not get out much. In fact, my best friend was the library, and I would pump through literature the way a fat kid could plow through a buffet line. (Disclaimers: Since I fully own up to growing up as a corpulent, obese, portly lad, I : A. am allowed to joke about being fat, and B. am fully aware of the voraciousness with which a fat kid can put a buffet owner out of business). My exposure to the world through reading actually inspired me to get out and be more active, turning me into the studly man beast I am today. And my vocabulary was augmented to distinguished levels. (I can use big words and stuff)

2. I hate to see anything wasted. Part of this stems from my dad being the world’s largest packrat. I don’t think he has parked his car in the garage since the late 1990’s. And no, “park his car in the garage” is not some clever euphemism, I literally mean he has too much stuff piled up in there to allow a vehicle to fit. I know, I know, obsessive hoarding is a disease, and I have fought hard to keep some semblance of order in my life; however, I did learn the value of not just trashing things, but to cherish real treasures. As they say, sharing is caring. And caring is good. Just yesterday, I mailed a box of my old Cds to a good friend who I know will appreciate the music. I don’t need them cluttering my life, I listen to nothing but iPod these days. Why didn’t I give him any books you might ask? Obviously, I give all my extra books to Better World Books

3. I love turning chaos into order. It’s a personal obsession, I know. But Tetris is my favorite video game of all time. What we do with books is kind of like Tetris:
We take books in random order and arrange them in such a way that they form straight lines(on our neatly arranged shelves)…and then they disappear! (when you buy them). Ahh, the magic of e-commerce.

I think 3 is enough points for now. I need to look into writing more features for the kids. My friend and colleague Chip has been a great writer on here, and he really wanted me to join him in his quest to bring more and more entertaining content here. Since today is his Birthday, I thought I would help him out. Have a good weekend everyone.

* I linked to the book “Matilda” here because the supporting character Bruce is one of the greatest fat kid characters of all time. I heart Bruce….
(I hope you all caught the joke of how I mocked the “I heart” nomenclature earlier, then blatantly used it here… trust me it is hilarious)

I wonder if I set a record for number of links within a post…

Lastly, did anyone see how many people tweeted about our TechCrunch story yesterday? I counted over 100… crazy. Check out the tweets at http://search.twitter.com/search?q=better+world+books

It’s not often you take the time to tell someone how important they are to you.  So first things first, we’d like to say thanks for all you do. Literacy has been recognized as a human right for over 50 years, yet 1 in 7 people is still illiterate. Illiteracy is at the heart of poverty, hunger and war from the Congo to California. Six years ago, we were just two recent college grads running a single book drive, and we didn’t think we’d have much impact past the community center in South Bend. Since then you’ve taken us from Sudan to Brazil to Mexico, showing us the incredible power that social entrepreneurs can have in building a more literate world.

Since that first book drive, you have raised over $4.6 million for literacy by making the conscious choice to buy from Better World Books. Each book bought has been another book in the hands of someone like William from Malawi, (see attached picture) who built a windmill in his village solely based on a picture in a donated engineering book! Each book bought is another day that a girl in Vietnam goes to school (see other picture). Who knows what will she be capable of? There are too many more stories to tell and people to thank. 

They say the best part of the holidays is giving, so this is the part where we ask you for a favor. It’s now, in these crazy economic times, we need your support more than ever. Anyone can help when times are good, but it’s these times of adversity when those who are without need us most.  It’s hard to ask any more of you, so we’ll make this part easy with three things you can do to make an even bigger impact for those in need:

1. Watch the new video from Invisible Children to see why it matters where you buy your books.

2. Forward this e-mail to at least 10 friends & family. You’re our marketing department.  Help us spread the word.

3. Buy BetterWorld.com gift certificates as gifts for your loved ones this Christmas. They get to choose from millions of new and used books while funding literacy. It’s the simplest way you can support our movement.

Without you, none of this would be possible. We wish you well these holidays and just wanted you to know that we’re thinking of you. 

Thanks for all you do,

Xavier & Kreece, Founders of Better World Books

I would like to claim that I stole the show, but that honor goes hands down to Tom Szaky of Terracycle. In a true show of audacity, he proposed the elimination of the concept of waste in favor of “upcycling”. In his company, Caprisun pouches are turned into tote bags and old floppy disks into jot pads. What separates Tom is not just that he’s a visionary, but that he’s scaled his enterprise, growing over 100% a year and working with some of the biggest names in packaged goods.

I was wondering where my Amiga 500 version of Dig Dug ended up.

Being eco-friendly has never before left such a sickly sweet taste in the back of your throat. Capri-Sun, you are the new soy milk.

Ending the concept of garbage completely… I think that rivals ending illiteracy by selling books in the audacity department. Congrats to Tom and his team for everything they’ve done.

David is speaking in a session on “pitching your ideas”. On the panel with David are:

Ben Black from New Cycle Capital. New Cycle just closed a $30 Million fund to invest in conscious companies.

Karyn Barsa, CEO of Investors Circle, was formerly CEO of Smith & Hawken and COO of Patagonia. Investors’ Circle is a network of socially conscious angel investors.

Moderating is Tess Reynolds from New Door Ventures.

Interestingly, I bumped into a fellow couchsurfer, Jon Gosier, in the audience. He’s doing fascinating things with incubating programming talent in Kampala, Uganda.

Ben says that a warm introduction is key. In this day of LinkedIn and Facebook, any entrepreneur worth their salt ought to be able to make a connection with the funder you want.

David stressed the point about building a long-term relationship with a funding source. At Better World Books, we knew the team at Good Capital for nearly 18 months before we agreed to a deal where they would invest to help grow Better World Books. Over that time, we grew a level of trust and a depth of personal relationships.

Ben says that its very important to match the stage your venture is at with the funding you need. If you are just starting up, you don’t want to contact an expansion stage fund.

Karyn says to start a pitch with an eye-catching stastistic. What is the magnitude of the problem you’re trying to solve? At Better World Books, one of our core stats is that 1 in 7 people worldwide can’t read. Another is that books are the most purchased product online in worldwide.

Ben wants to know exactly who you are as a person. If you invest in a business, you’ll be joined at the hip with a person for seven years. You want a record, starting from high school, of tenacity. He also wants to hear about the team. Who are the all-stars who you’ve surrounded yourself with?

No matter how long you are told that you have to pitch, you really have 5 minutes, says David. During that first five minutes you have to establish a story. In the case of Better World Books, the story is all about how in college, you probably paid too much for textbooks and felt like you got next to nothing when you brought them back to the bookstore. The segues to the first book drive we ever ran, at Notre Dame’s campus for the Robinson Community Learning Center.

Ben says you’re going to get a lot more nos than yeses, but each meeting is a great opportunity to learn more about your business and make further connections.

Question to Karyn – what about the current economic situation? Karyn says that multi-stakeholder investment is the future. We’re going through a financial reordering, and that is a lot of what we’re working on with Social Capital Markets. She and Ben are still out there looking for deals.

Question: what’s a “social deal” and what’s a “regular deal”? Ben says that they look for businesses that have more positive social impact the bigger they get. They’ve invested in a company that helps people get out of debt and another one that promotes energy efficiency.

Question: how do you judge risk in a social investment? Ben says that part of the question is how big can your big wins get? 40% of venture-backed businesses will fail, so you obviously are taking on risk.

We need to turn this economy around and I’m an ardent believer that a truly green economy is our answer. The economic opportunity to reuse items (such as the Better World Books model), to build renewable energy sources, and to make our homes and businesses more energy efficient is a trillion dollar opportunity that can’t be outsourced. I believe Better World Books is a perfect example of this. We’ve taken over an old packaging plant in post-industrial Mishawaka, Indiana and created a lot of jobs. These aren’t just your standard warehouse pick-and-pack. They include high-paying jobs in technology and analytics.

Van Jones’ book about the Green Collar Economy could not have come at a better time. Driven by Van’s considerable evangelization skills, Green Collar Jobs have become a widely known concept. You may have noticed that the presidential candidates have integrated Van’s rhetoric into their own stump speeches and platforms. His book is selling briskly, and it is highly worth a read.

People are so used to bad marketing that they often don’t recognize good marketing as marketing at all. Every time someone walks into our office, that is marketing. Every time they meet a member of the Better World Books team and have a positive impression, that is marketing. Every time a customer is flabbergasted, they are going to tell people, and that endorsement won’t cost us a dime. It’s awfully tough to fake authenticity and passion,and that’s why I believe that everyone in a company is working in marketing, whether they like it or not.

That being said, we need to do a lot better. We need to wear our hearts on our sleeves and show people why they should care about us every day. We do need to do a little more traditional advertising to let the right people, who are already predisposed to like us, know about us. We need to get better at communicating to all of our supporters, and let them know the impact that they are creating. And if we do that well enough, I hope that before too long, we will be much more of a household name.

With that, here’s a short list of a few things I’ve learned from my experience with Better World Books.

1. A great customer experience makes marketing a lot easier. Get your customers in a room, have them fill out online surveys, and ask what you can do better. Thanks to my friend Mark Hurst of Good Experience for being a tireless evangelist of customer experience. Check out his book Bit Literacy in our bookstore. Looks like we’ve got a used copy for 40% off as I write.

2. There’s no substitute for just getting out there in the world and talking about what you do. As Woody Allen said, “80% of life is showing up”. For Better World Books, that takes the form of dozens of events every year, from the Green Festivals, to the American Library Association.

3. Manage your relationships, they are one of your company’s most valuable assets. We heart Salesforce.com, which has made an incredible commitment to B Corporations (For Benefit Corporations, in which Better World Books is one of the founding members).

4. Word of Mouth is the king of all marketing mediums. The more clutter there is in people’s media environment, the more they trust their friends. We assiduously cultivate word of mouth around here. Word of Mouth Marketing by Andy Sernovitz is the finest book on this that I’ve read.

5. Guerrilla Marketing is free and people generally love you for it. Check out Chris, Rudy and Dustin promoting the Great American Book Drive.

However, if you have Finnish under control maybe you can tell us what this awesome full page pull out says in KD or as they know it “Kristillisdemokraattinen viikkolehti” (yes, that is the title of the newspaper… seriously).  So far on the site I’ve ascertained that “Etusivu = homepage” and “Arkisto = archive.”

If you can find it, in the March 30th edition we got some awesome press (I think…):
“Lukutaidon edistamiseen jo mlijoonia dollareita: Haaveilen jo koulussa yrityksesta, jonka toimintaan liittyisi erottamattomasti hyvantekevaisyys, sanoo Xavier Hegelsen.”

Hey… I recognize something there!

[Update, I think "Haku" is search but I have yet to find the article in the archives... I'll keep you posted!]

[Update 2: This is an interview with Xavier!  Scandanavia loves its own!]

For more press about Better World Books go HERE.

Good times! They kinda were quick with the whole “Oscars thank you music ending” though, no?

For more info check out his previous post.

We’re hoping to fund a lot of girls’ scholarships through Room to Read’s “Room to Grow” program. We set up a mini-bookshop of about 150 carefully selected titles, and of course people could shop BetterWorld.com if they couldn’t find something on the shelves.

I’ll be posting much more from the festival soon. For now, a few photos:

Some new friends showing off their “Speak softly and carry a bag of books.” tote bags from Better World Books.

Well Read indeed! The Book Throne: it’s everywhere you want to be.

*November 12, 2007

Rain is soaking the red dirt roads and we are exhausted as we head to the fifth and final school of the day, Nomevu High School. We are running late because of a long presentation at Mafunda HS, but the students at Nomevu are waiting for us, even though many have quite a walk home ahead of them. Alone on a grassy hill, this school has just one building. There’s only room for the 8th and 9th graders, so they’ll have to drop out by 10th grade.

Teachers greet us at Nomevu High School.

Thankfully, ECAG-USA, an non-profit building classrooms in this area and that organized our Africa trip (see their website or read the previous post), has placed this school as #1 on the waiting list for more classrooms, so that the students can graduate.

The process for a school to get new classrooms is that the school’s home community puts up a $1000 payment per classroom, and then, through fundraising and donations, ECAG sponsors the additional $11,000. The classrooms have a standard design, so the materials are accountable to the last brick and can house around 50 students comfortably. They are built with electrical wiring, but adding power is an extra for the school to pay. What happens if ECAG doesn’t build? That’s it; no new classrooms. The kids don’t graduate, or in some cases, have no school at all. Many students in this area still learn under a tree, but on a rainy day like this, it’s a day off. Cool! say the American kids, but think of how often it can rain in a season here! And, no desks, no library.. hardly a good learning environment.

I have mentioned that all primary students are fed a meal each day at school. What we learned today is that the government doesn’t sponsor high school students, so that means these kids at Nomevu had been waiting for us, without eating all day. Our hearts are breaking for these humble, appreciative students. Sorry this post might be a downer, but after we’d fallen in love with so many kids all day it was really hitting us, how hard life can be here. On the way here, on the radio, the newscaster announced that HIV/AIDS is the #1 killer of children in South Africa. How were these kids today so full of life?  I had to wonder if they thought our visit meant that we would be able to solve their problems, or if it was, you know, just a lot of fun.  I certainly had a wonderful day, but still I felt a bit guilty.

The end of a long day, Nomevu HS.

Like at every school, the students had songs and dances ready for us, including  the native costumes for the girls. I don’t feel comfortable posting video of the girls to BWB because they are topless, but I did think they were so beautiful. My favorite choral performance of the day, however, was this one:

Let it shine in Zululand video. (youtube)

The teachers provided a snack for us of sandwiches and chicken in the other classroom. Knowing the kids hadn’t eaten, and since we’d had snacks all day, nobody made a move for the spread. Some of the ladies in our group whispered we had to take something to not be rude, so begrudgingly, we did. More guilt… Anyway, we unloaded the sandwiches and drinks we had in the vans. With that and all the leftovers from the snack, there was enough for a small meal for each student, and we felt better knowing they had eaten.

What a day! We are overwhelmed but ready to help these students graduate. If you’ve been following this blog, you remember that at the end of this day, after Nomevu HS, we went to visit the student Nomkhosi’s family.

Xavier and Erin, bottom left, and the ECAG and Books for Africa group, enjoy the show.

*November 12, 2007

If you’ve noticed it’s been Nov. 12th for a few posts, you are not crazy and I am not mistaken; as I mentioned earlier, we went to five schools and visited a student’s home all in the same day! There is so much to cover that I had to break it up into several posts.

After Thembalisizwe Primary, we headed to Emasundwini Primary school. We’re not cruising around a town to get there; we drive on small country roads, through hills dotted with clusters of straw-roofed huts (don’t forget the zebras by the roadside). At the school, are six buildings, green and white this time.  This is another Books for Africa school and we visited the new library.

Emasundswini Library.mov (3.38 MB)

Additionally, some of the group, including Xavier, taught the students a small lesson using a world map (”Can you tell me where South Africa is?”). The teachers surprised us with finger sandwiches, which we ate tentatively (would we get sick?).

[I have to note, looking back, that nobody did get sick from the food. I was expecting to, since my world travel experiences have taught me that when one travels, one spends a day not eating if you know what I mean.]

I think Xavier needed to work off his sandwich, so he challenged some kids to a footrace. Note how he thought the finish line was a bit earlier than the kids.
Xavier races kids 3.mov (2.18 MB)

Next up was Gqokinsimbi High School, a very special one to our leader, Henry Bromelkamp. He has personally sponsored a classroom here through ECAG-USA. He started this organization after visiting the area and learning about the original organization, Eshowe Community Action Group, whose purpose is to build classrooms in the rural area around the town of Eshowe. Henry founded the US arm so that American donors could give money more easily and be able to write off donations at tax-time.  This all begs the question, Why doesn’t the South Africa government build classrooms in Zululand? Exactly. The government, possibly via some lingering racist sentiment (this authors opinion), doesn’t build here, but if ECAG does, the government will provide teachers and daily meals for primary students.
About the school name: I think the letter q stands for a click sound. Awesome!

I like this video because it shows that high school kids are truly the same everywhere.
video of Xavier talking to a cute girl at Gqokinsimbi HS. (youtube)

Barb Ryan, Xavier and Henry teach some maps at Mafunda HS.

Later on was Mafunda High School, with slogans “We Live For Tomorrow” and “Conquer the World Through Education” displayed near the entrance. Here again, our group taught classroom lessons, this time using photos of Minnesota (where most of the group hails from), showing seasons and such. Not one student answered affirmatively to the question, “Has anyone seen snow before?” None of us thought a description alone can really convey what snow is like, but the students did enjoy seeing pictures of snowmen and discussing what makes our countries similar and different.
Here again, we were treated to food and drink and a very detailed PowerPoint of the school’s goals through 2010.  These included the idea that the “doors would never shut” because the school would create an adult ed. program in the evenings, and sponsor community meeting space.

Here are some guys with beautiful voices and sweet moves. The ululations you hear are typical of how girls sing while guys dance here.
video of boys performing at Mafunda HS. (youtube)

Okay, one more school today… in next blog entry.

Girls perform at Mafunda HS.

Teacher at Mafunda HS.

That’s right, it’s Better World Books’ own, co-founder Xavier Helgesen!  Xavier, on top of a throne of Reader’s Digest books that resides in our “Fortress of Solitude” (ok, it’s just the warehouse) is the image of the hot new topic:

Strategies: Mission Possible
Making money while doing good isn’t easy, but more companies are proving it can be done.  Here are some successful strategies. (article by Anne Field)

Pick up the issue at newsstands (or wherever you pickup up your glossies) and read about it.  If print journalism doesn’t float your boat you could always root around for it online at their website.

I know Henry through my work on the Board of Books For Africa. It’s a collection of truly dedicated and passionate professionals who come together on their nights and weekends to help end the book famine in Africa. Henry’s a traveler after my own heart, preferring backpackers’ hostels to any hotel that brags about its star rating. He invited a number of his friends and business associates along on the trip, and over the weeks, they quickly became new friends. Although I normally abhor group travel, it made a lot of sense for this trip. The logistics of all the school visits and book recipient visits would have been daunting if we had not banded together. Another unexpected benefit was that I got to drive a rental 6-speed Mercedes mini-van on the left side of the road all over South Africa. Fun! I hate cars for the damage they do to the environment and culture… but I love to drive, especially in unfavorable circumstances. Consider it a guilty pleasure.

I blocked off what was easily my longest stretch away from the office since we founded Better World Books five years ago. The whole month of November I would be largely offline, with the exception of a few phone calls and email checks. A trip like this would have been inconceivable a few years ago, but thanks to the incredible team we’ve built at Better World, I didn’t sweat it in the least. I knew the ops would keep humming under Kreece’s leadership, BetterWorld.com would keep getting better thanks to Dale, Geoff, and Justin, and on and on. I think everybody was glad to not have to humor any of my crazy ideas for a whole month.

Speaking of crazy ideas, I had high hopes of being able to live-blog this trip from a OLPC, the $199 laptop designed specifically for the developing world. Sadly, the OLPC people didn’t have pre-release laptops available, and at any rate, Africa’s low Internet connectivity wouldn’t have permitted much blogging other than a few quick posts. So, loyal readers, you get the next best thing. Think of this as a time-delayed live-blog. We’ll be blogging with videos and photos and get as close as we can to bringing you along on the trip.

Also speaking of crazy ideas – we’ll be launching a customer loyalty system for Better World in 2008. Rather than give away blenders, coffee mugs, and similar rubbish, we thought that a few loyal customers should come to Africa with us to visit the literacy projects in person. After all, it’s customers that make this whole thing possible. Why should Better World employees have all the fun? This idea deserved a beta test. My friend and longtime Better World customer Erin Fleming agreed to join me and help document the trip. She’s typical of our customers – well read, globally minded, socially conscious, (and cheap!). Her perspective will really bring the trip to life for you.

Keep tuning in over the next month as Erin and I travel Zambia, South Africa and Malawi.

To whet your appetite, I’ve attached a few Youtube videos. These are from Erin and I hitchhiking in Malawi. Don’t worry – our traveling companions took a lot of convincing to leave us by the side of the road in Malawi.

Check it out, the self-proclaimed leader in city blogs (with the data to back it), Gothamist LLC, posted an interview with our own Xavier Hegelsen, now Director of Business Development. Xavier is currently “bik[ing] around town, writing his first book” and living in San Francisco. Hop over to SFist for the good word.

“As soon as I found out about BWB I began telling my friends to order from you in the future. If our money can not only purchase books but encourage reading programs, why wouldn’t we support that?”

“ The Better World Books philosophy matches several of my personal ethics very closely. I hate waste, I support recycling, I love books/reading/literacy and I support pragmatic, intelligent aid systems, especially those where the purchaser gains something of value as well as feeling they’ve helped others. Keep it up, folks. Peter Bryenton www.brypix.com”

“I would recommend Better World Books, because your prices are good, you send orders out quickly; I love to read and feel strongly that everyone should have the opportunity to discover reading, so I love knowing that by buying from you I am helping that happen.”

In that regard, few book shipments have warmed my heart more than this one. Late in 2006, a shipment of 15,000 books direct from the Better World Books warehouse arrived at the Ahfad University for Women, a private, non-sectarian University with 5,000 students. Sudan and its people have been victims of a corrupt and genocidal ruling regime. I’ve always believed that regime change is more likely to succeed by educating minds than toting guns. I wonder if the next generation of leaders in Sudan may include women educated at this University.

Below are some pictures from the book distribution. These are exceptionally high quality and recent textbooks, which students in the USA and Canada originally paid about $1 Million for. All it took was a lot of gumption on the part of everyone involved with Better World to get them to Sudan.