The Life & Times of a Remarkable Misfit

I nomad around the world, and make things happen.

[ajleon]

We made it. #nepal #namaste (at Janakpur Airport)

[ajleon]

On the road again. #goodmorning #doha (at Doha International Airport)

[ajleon]

Ms. @jessiemwhite leading yet another technology implementation of @snapstoryapp , this time at a wonderful little oasis of a school in Kibera, one of the roughest areas of Nairobi. The few hours we spent with them will help revolutionise the way they measure and report impact across all of their programs. #nairobi #kenya #impact #misfitgram (at Kibera Slums)

[ajleon]

Tiny planes. Big Cubans. #nomad #onwords #nairobi #kenya (at O.R. Tambo International Airport)

[ajleon]

Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return. - Leonardo da Vinci #nomad #maseru #lesotho #misfitgram [Shot from the tarmac at the tiny but elegant Moshoeshoe Airport in The Kingdom of Lesotho] (at Moshoeshoe I International Airport)

[ajleon]

I remember the warm summer day in London about four years ago, when I sat at one of my favourite bars in East with old fashioned in hand, and sketched out on a napkin the idea of a technology platform custom built for the third sector that would provide an elegant and easy to use application for NGO's to better measure their impact in the world while facilitating their ability to tell stories in real time from the field. To wake up this morning in the Kingdom of Lesotho, and lay witness to a piece of technology I conceptualised being deployed in yet another country for yet another world changing organisation (in this case @sentebale an @lessons_for_life_foundation_ partner) is nothing short of a dream I dreamed coming true slowly before my eyes. @snapstoryapp was a response to a very real problem I witnessed as I worked with dozens of struggling NGO's in countless developing regions around the planet. But here's the thing. The day I sat there at that bar so many moons ago, and decided that I was going to solve this problem myself, I had absolutely no fucking business thinking I could do that. I had no funding. Had never built a technology company. Knew nothing about Android applications. And certainly knew nothing about deploying them in some of the most remote areas in the world. Nevertheless, I hopped on a call with my VP's Ms. @themelissaleon & @jessiemwhite and shared with them my vision for yet another @misfitinc creation that would find its way into the world. And together, through toil and creativity and grit, we contrived a way to breathe a sketch off a napkin into a reality that in alpha is already being used in Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Lesotho and India. The lesson? Few people who change the world have any business doing so from the onset, they just possess a greater proclivity to ignore the despicably gentle voice whispering in their ear telling them they're simply not good enough to try. Be curious. Be proactive. Be humble. Be bold. But most of all, be Relentless. My dad always told me, boy, you don't listen to me, you don't listen to anybody, and you don't ever stop until you get exactly what you want. #misfitgram #lesotho (at Maseru, Lesotho)

[ajleon]

Boulevardier. #misfitgram (at Half Step)

[ajleon]

Enjoying a beautiful sunny day in Fargo with this pretty girl. Bagels provided by @bernbaums :) #ilovefargo (at Fargo, North Dakota)

[ajleon]

Throwback to one week ago traversing the streets of Paris with this lovely girl. #paris (at Paris, France)

[ajleon]

A picnic on the banks of the River Seine with this precious girl toasting her 33rd year brightening up this lovely planet in the third city of her birthday tour. #Paris #Madrid #Rome #happybirthdaymelissa (at Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris)

[ajleon]

Throwback to the beginning of the most absurd (in a good way) three week long journey which I've been on with my dearest friend and VP at Misfit, Ms. @jessiemwhite tending to @misfitinc portfolio companies, @misfitfoundation humanitarian projects and a handful of our strategic partnerships spread throughout the world. We started in Vancouver, where this shot was taken of us christening the new @misfitpress office (located in Gastown) with a celebratory Caesar. Since that time, in the last 20 days, we've nomaded through London, Milano, Kampala, Doha, Istanbul, Athens, Paris, London (where we rendezvoused with my darling @themelissaleon having @studiomisfit and @misfitlabs meetings of her own), Stratford-on-Avon (for me) & Bristol (for Jess), then back on a plane to Mumbai, where we were yesterday and Coimbatore, where we are now, to meet with our buddy Bharath, CEO of @sankaraeye and the @misfitlabs software engineering team for @snapstoryco . I'll be posting some shots of our journey thus far for those interested in the work we've been doing as well as the shenanigans we've been inciting across the globe. #misfitgram #businesstripsatmisfit #vancouver

[ajleon]

Office in the air. #nomad #misfitgram (at 30,000 feet)

[ajleon]

This girl. (at Perla's Seafood & Oyster Bar)

[ajleon]

Tuesday brunch meetings with the @studiomisfit crew. #misfitaustin #misfitgram (at Elizabeth Street Cafe)

[ajleon]

Wine is constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy. - Benjamin Franklin #cheers #misfitgram (at House Wine)

[ajleon]

According to Orson Welles, "there are three intolerable things in life - cold coffee, lukewarm champagne and overexcited women." I'm with you on the second, have no idea what the fuck you meant by the third, but, Orson, you are truly wrong about the first. #coldbrew #austin cc @seventhflagatx (at Seventh Flag Coffee)

[ajleon]

So, I met this pretty girl in Paris earlier this month who joined me on a whirlwind of Les Marais then randomly bumped into her into her again in Austin where we enjoyed a tame day sun bathing and drinking bone broth. #luckyguy #misfitgram (at le temps des cerises)