Sharing Economy at the BIL Conference

I just returned from the BIL Conference in Long Beach, talking about the new sharing economy on the main stage. What an honor to be amongst so many brilliant, unique people.

Apparently, BIL is a throwback to TED... making it more accessible for anyone to speak and attend. A new friend of mine, Alexis Bright invited me to speak.

At the conference, I was in good company with friends John Roberts of Heal the World and Damian Madray and Alexandros Pagidas of the Glint, also speaking. The Glint has been a TED-like experience, where there is a live/work environment shared with other entrepreneurs, innovators and creatives. I've made a lot of new friends (including Alexis and John) and been inspired regularly by the inhabitants and others who pass through the house overlooking Twin Peaks in San Francisco (more on that and coliving another time).

I also had a fantastic time hanging out with Johnathan Yankovich and Micah Schaffer, who kept me laughing up a storm even as my Macbook took a nosedive and I redo all of my slides at the eleventh hour.

At BIL, I learned about Bullet Proof Coffee from Dave Asprey, more on the paleo diet from Josh Whiton and loaded up historical wonder on the Queen Mary Ship, where the conference was held.

The audience for my talk was small, but the people who came to my talk seemed to have a genuine interest and curiosity in collaborative consumption and how exactly the sharing economy works as well as what the limitations are. I talked about some user stories I've encountered while writing the book... giving examples of TaskRabbit and Airbnb, which have helped better lives socially and economically.

One of my favorite parts was the my discovery and learning of the triple bottom line in relation to the sharing economy... people, profit and planet are the tenants of the triple bottom line. In my talk, one of the slides said: economic, social and environmental impact. Then the human readable version. Save money --> Feel good --> Own less stuff. I like that connection.

Also, a special shout out to Gabriel Stempinski and Alexandra Liss (my co-authors) who were missed.