You don’t have to be Jeff Bezos and fly to space to make ‘important news’

Is it time we reconsidered what counts as ‘real news’? Good stories shouldn’t just come from those privileged enough to grab our attention, writes Andrew Buncombe

You don’t need to follow Jeff Bezos in a spacecraft to reach for the stars (Getty)

I have a a friend who works in marketing.

David often represents companies doing progressive things – recycling or working on vaccines or other healthcare stuff. Sometimes he suggests stories that I’ll listen to but invariably decide are not quite right for The Independent.

He is also the co-founder and executive director of a non-profit group, Community Carrot, that identifies young entrepreneurs from poor or otherwise challenged backgrounds and helps them to start their own businesses.

“A good idea can come from anyone,” David says. But the major hurdle for would-be entrepreneurs from poorer backgrounds is a lack of business education, mentoring, and the absence of hard capital.

That is where his group comes in: it offers a dozen or so young entrepreneurs a 16-week coaching and teaching programme, during which time the young adults are encouraged to develop ideas and build their confidence. They also all receive $1,500 (£1,092) to invest in their business.

And at the end of the course, they get to pitch their ideas to a small audience of their colleagues, as well as members of the business community.

Recently, the group held its presentation in Seattle. Did I want to write about it, David asked?

I ummed and aahed. I said it sounded interesting, but was not really sure it was something of national or international interest.

Also there was a lot of other “important news” going on – Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson’s space journeys, the latest Capitol Hill twist in the saga of Joe Biden’s infrastructure programme, and lots other stuff I cannot remember now. I did, however, promise my friend I’d watch the video of the presentations.

I am very glad I did. Those young people were all utterly marvellous.

Thalia Perez, 24, talked about her project, PNW Starshots, which tries to recreate the Sears family photograph experience – long a mainstream of American culture – with a modern twist.

Her businesses, which includes a photo booth that can be transported to events, is booming. “I am proud that I come from White Center,” she said, referring to a working class neighbourhood of Seattle.

Andrew “Andy” Bryan, 24, is the new CEO of Emerald City Embrace, which creates and sells T-shirts with messages that unify Seattle. Another impassioned presentation to the crowd was made by Sandra “Yaki” Garcia Lopez, also aged 24, a dental hygienist who wants her “Say Cheese” business to make it more affordable for people to have their teeth professionally whitened.

“I found that 70 per cent of women say good teeth are one of the first things they look for in a partner,” she said, to laughter.

There were no winners announced on the evening, but the entrepreneur who got the highest score from the judges was Lexus “Lexi” Morgan.

She is creating an app-based business that will help African-American salons to be more profitable, while also making it easier for Black women to get the hair styles they want. Currently, she explained, customers have to shop for hair “bundles” or weaves in one store, then take the product to the salon and have it put in. Her idea will streamline the process. She earned a loud round of applause when she ended her presentation.

I am glad I watched the video, and was inspired by the stories I heard. But I am concerned I really should have written something earlier.

For while Bezos and Branson, ageing billionaires who originally made their names as radical entrepreneurs, were flying high above the Earth in their space vehicles, a group of the next generation of business people was reaching for the stars, with their feet fixed to the ground.

The lesson of all of this? Namely, a reminder that everybody has a story to tell.

And that one person’s struggle against the odds to pitch a winning business idea that could change their lives, and that of others, is just as important as any other “important news”.

Indeed, if the audience is there – and that includes readers of The Independent – smart ideas and intriguing stories can emerge from any environment, and not just from those privileged to have the means to get our attention

Yours,

Andrew Buncombe

Chief US correspondent