MADE Magazine Global Impact Issue | Seite 3

MADEXXXX PUBLISHER’S LETTER K ris C hristian I’ve found that during our early years most people are still trying to figure “it” out. But, exactly what is “it”? That “it” is what most people are seeking that will suddenly make them happy, fulfilled and content. And almost most of the time, it involves feeding a need of someone outside of our own personal desires, utilizing our passions and innate gifts. As a millennial entrepreneur, I am passionate about supporting rising entrepreneurs and have found their two biggest pain points are access to capital and limited networks. On a quest to feed this need of rising entrepreneurs, it dawned on me that if we forged conversations to collaborate and built support systems to generate more capital through shared resources from a global HOW ARE YOU SPENDING YOUR TIME FULFILLING A NEED OF SOMEONE ELSE? perspective, these issues would become less painful. MADE decided to travel outside of our own neighborhood of Chicago to connect to creative entrepreneurs of the diaspora. We visited innovation hub, Johannesburg, South Africa, to build with founders through the IGNITE Global Connection platform. In this issue, you will find contributions from South African writers, profiles of South African entrepreneurs and a section curated from our guest editor, Stefanie Jason. From this unique experience, it was confirmed that if we gather our resources collectively to contribute to a need, the “it” that we are searching to find, may indeed surface. How are you spending your time fulfilling a need of someone else? Let your intuition guide you. Kris Cheers, made-magazine.com | 3