Gooroos Just Like You

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‪#‎GooroosJustLikeYou‬ - SocialBrew is a platform that empowers student communities by bringing them together. Check out what the co-founder Matthew says about how they got started!

Gooroo: How did you come up with the name Social Brew?

Matthew: Our company was originally named Knearn, but one day we were at this café called Think Coffee and we liked the idea of getting to know someone over a cup of coffee.

Gooroo: What made you want to pursue creating Social Brew?

Matthew: My experiences in college have led me towards creating Social Brew. Back in 2009, I noticed that there wasn’t a platform for student communities to talk to one another. There were very few inter-organization mixers. My friends and I used Facebook, Dropbox, and a multitude of other platforms to create events and see job listings - it was difficult to connect to others. Even today, it’s hard to reach out to younger generations through Facebook. I remember when I would have to spend 15-20 minutes typing a perfect paragraph to speak to someone for the first time. Today, Social Brew allows you to easily connect with anyone you may want to speak with.

Gooroo: How do you deal with the stress of running a company?

Matthew: Sports, specifically football, golf, and basketball. I love the the competitive nature of these sports. I also like to walk; walking allows me to empty my mind and I will take an hour out of my day to devote solely to walking. I appreciate the simplicity of this activity.

Gooroo: What is your favorite part of your work day?

Matthew: My favorite part of the workday is when I collaborate with my team. We work hard but we also like to relax together. I also like attending work events. Just yesterday, I came back from speaking with student leaders at the University of Toronto. It is a very humbling experience to hear what people think of Social Brew.

MATTHEW IS TALKING ABOUT HOW HE STARTED SOCIAL BREW. PICK UP A FEW MORE TALENTS WITH GOOROO.

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‪#‎GooroosJustLikeYou‬ - Check out what Grant says about how he started Bridge Bands, a website that spotlights street performers in major cities!

"I have been captivated by movies since I was a young kid. Telling a story with visuals in realistic way has always appealed to me. In middle school and high school, I recorded short movies and now, in college, I create more substantial projects. I love the creative process behind moviemaking: taking a simple idea and turning it into something viewable, concrete, and unique. I am working on a big project right now with my longtime friend Tommy McManus. We have started Bridge Bands, a website designed to spotlight street performers in major U.S. cities. Each episode will tell the story of different people working to make a living through performing in public locations!"

GRANT IS TALKING ABOUT HIS WEBSITE BRIDGEBANDS. PICK UP A FEW MORE TALENTS WITH GOOROO.

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We're Gooroo

Gooroo is a new iOS tutoring app that helps you get connected to tutors or students near you. We provide tailored service to meet your academic needs. We cre...

Check out this amazing video from our Gooroo team!

We're here for every individual who needs academic help or simply wants to learn an extra skill; we're also doing our best to help whose who want tutor but do not have access to the student resource.

Share your talents, Gain a few more. Download Gooroo at the app store.

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I love choreographing hip hop because I like using movement and expression to inspire others. My moves are made by adapting from other choreographers and making them my own. There’s no wrong in it; it’s all about how you build each step with creativity and uniqueness. It isn’t a typical hobby that most Asian parents would approve of but my parents aren’t the stereotypical type of Asian parents when it comes to what I want to do. They don’t care if I’m not a doctor or a lawyer. They tell me that whatever I can succeed in, I should go for it.

PC Keith Fung-Sen

ANNA IS TALKING ABOUT DANCING AND CHOREOGRAPHY. PICK UP A FEW MORE TALENTS WITH GOOROO.

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Gooroo: When did you start doing visual art?

Ishita: I informally started doing visual art probably through school- my favorite teachers in elementary school were always the ones that prioritized art within their curriculum. I definitely never felt like I was great at it, but I loved the practice of it. That's what led me to pursue oil painting classes in 6th grade- I was excited about the fact that you didn't have to be skilled at sketching in order to paint, and then I fell in love with the process of selecting and mixing colors, using your paintbrush almost as a way to carve the paint on the canvas.

I took classes with my then best friend two times a week from sixth grade until 11th grade and the combination of that special time for us to connect paired with the actual process of creating a painting was so therapeutic for me. After I graduated high school I didn't have as much access to the quality of materials needed for oil painting, so I got into acrylic and collaging with friends mostly for relaxation and as an outlet for creativity in the midst of all the papers and assignments. I continue to turn to visual art as a way to inspire myself, express myself, and understand myself.

Gooroo: What kinds of skills can people learn through doing visual art? 

Ishita: I've used and observed art therapy with individuals with special needs from age three to high school. Beyond the actual artistic skills (composition, color theory, proportions, etc.) art can be highly modifiable, tangible, and social, which makes it very beneficial to individuals with special needs. I have used art as a platform to increase social communication in a toddler with autism. I have also observed art therapy being used as a platform for expression and self awareness for older students. Depending on the individual, their needs and goals, and the ability of their instructor to improvise, visual art can translate over into many categories of skill sets.

Gooroo: What do you enjoy most about visual art?

Ishita: I love that it is such a personal experience (both to make it or view it), yet it lends itself so well to building connections with others. I think, or hope, that everyone has had that moment where they view a piece of visual art and just feel something inside of them, good or bad. To me that's amazing, that something someone created and that exists on the plane of a canvas can stir the depths of our beings in ways that we can't always articulate. I love that every culture in the world has their own rich history of visual art that is geographically and socially distinct. Like music, dance, and writing, visual art has its own ability to be reflective of our lived experiences and I think that is powerful, beautiful, and necessary.

For more information about Gooroo, check outhttp://www.gooroo.com

ISHITA IS TALKING ABOUT SPECIAL NEEDS AND ART THERAPY.

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KeaneEar

KeaneEar is for all music lovers.

Gooroo: What made you want to start this website?

Ciara: I started KeaneEar as a forum for my close friends and me to share music we love. It eliminated our need to send each friend a separate playlist and provided the means for making sure that we are always up to date with music. And so, KeaneEar project enabled us to share our passion for music allowing other people to find happiness while discovering new songs and artists.

When KeaneEar went live, it was immediately welcomed with a ton of positive feedback. This helped me realize that people beyond my close group of friends would appreciate the kinds of sounds that I covered on the website. With all the encouraging feedback KeaneEar received, I was further motivated to implement an idea I had experimented with in an article I wrote -- playlists based on location, rather than genre. In other words, I began to craft playlists that catered to the listerner’s whereabouts and activities, moving away from the groupings by music style.

My love for music not only helped me create KeaneEar but also fuels me to improve on my initial ideas. Unlike that of most other music blogs that post regarding recent releases, KeaneEar ensures that every song, new release or not, will be a banger.

See more stories: http://officialgooroo.tumblr.com/ For more information about Gooroo, check out http://www.gooroo.com

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Gooroo: What made you want to cofound the company, Pixlee?

Awad: First and foremost, we’re millennials. We’ve grown up with technology and understand how it has changed the world we live in. Around the time we created the company, we noticed that our peers were discovering and exploring trends in new ways: not only by seeing product ads on TV or the internet and crawling through product catalogs but also on their mobile phones, following fashion and fitness bloggers, connecting with like-minded peers through social networks like Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, YouTube, and messaging services like WhatsApp and WeChat. So in effect. And so, we already knew what the future would look like.

Gooroo: Where did you acquire most of your knowledge before you decided to invest your time into a start-up company?

Awad: Let me backtrack for a minute and note that when we were younger, we ran some companies and projects in high school. That’s when we basically created the first version of Pixlee without even realizing it — when you’re trying to promote something like a t-shirt company but can’t afford anything on ads, you turn to your customers to share their photos modeling the products on social media to help generate awareness for your brand. So I guess you can say we’ve been thinking about this for a long time. Combined with that knowledge, experience, and opportune timing specifically from the explosion of photo-based communication, we had the perfect storm of events that led us to create Pixlee.

Gooroo: What is your favorite part of the day?

Awad: The crux of a company is its people. Every day I am impressed and inspired by the people who show up and do the most incredible work. Whether it's delivering innovative products, helping customers come up with creative use cases, or closing that important deal, the people at Pixlee are best in doing what they do and it's a real privilege to get to work with them every day.

For more information about Gooroo, check ou thttp://www.gooroo.com

AWAD IS TALKING ABOUT HOW HE STARTED PIXLEE. PICK UP A FEW MORE TALENTS WITH GOOROO.

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“I started beatboxing at the age of 14. Beatboxing isn’t just something that I consider to be a hobby, but something that brings forth a community. It has driven me to leave a mark on the body of musicians. I came up with the idea to create a website for beatboxing, so that the community could be updated with the hottest beatboxers, styles, and events. This is how I started Wetalkbeatbox.com. It paved a path for me to network with individuals in the beatbox community that I only thought I would admire from the sidelines. Now I have the chance to work alongside them towards something that we all love. I also created this website to become the voice of the Beatbox Community, and to inspire young people to take up something that may potentially give them a brand new direction in life. For me it was beatboxing, but maybe for others, something on a whole new spectrum.”

See Jon's website at: http://Wetalkbeatbox.com See more stories: http://officialgooroo.tumblr.com/

JON LOVES BEATBOXING. PICK UP A FEW MORE TALENTS WITH GOOROO.

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"My parents immigrated here from China when I was 3. They started from scratch and worked in restaurants for years before launching their own. Growing up in that environment, my favorite childhood memories were receiving graphic tees from my uncle every Christmas. I was always into graphic tees and knew I wanted to start my own retail line. It was a mix of my passion for awesome tees and my parent’s entrepreneurial spirit that paved the road for me to start my own business.

Two years ago, I began speaking with several manufacturers in order to finalize the right material and ink. However, some of the issues I encountered were finding a manufacturer that printed with a “no-feel” ink, the different fit of different tees, and pricing. That was the moment where I knew there was a gap to fill. I began doing my due diligence and tested several types of ink and tees from various manufacturers. After a year of testing and hundreds of tees later, I finally launched my product and service. I knew that there was a growing need for this type of product and service in the market, so I'm starting with the people around me to make sure their needs are met first. I recently began offering my product to organizations, clubs, businesses, etc. and they're loving it."

Ben’s Instagram: every.design.matters

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BEN IS TALKING ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE IN DESIGNING AND MAKING TEES. PICK UP A FEW MORE TALENTS WITH GOOROO.

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"I remember writing my first song in the 8th grade, I printed it out, brought it to school and my friend clowned me because it was so corny. It ended up becoming one of my favorite hobbies though, something I’m truly passionate about and practice everyday. Washington D.C. is a hub so rich in hip-hop culture its bound to rub off on you. It’s now a medium my friends and I use to connect with one another; I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by people who have a serious appreciation for music, people who are driven to understand all of its subtleties.

Writing lyrics requires an understanding of melodic and rhythmic principles, but more importantly it requires a true mastery of your language. You can’t write it if you don’t read it, and you can’t sing it if you don’t speak it. Making music started out as a fun experiment for my friends and I and then became our social pastime--now I’ve got friends working with serious equipment producing amazing songs on a regular basis…It’s a beautiful thing. Music has consistently spurred, challenged and driven my creativity, not only musically but also socially and academically. It’s all about bringing out the best in people. Encouraging success, stimulating creativity, inspiring dreams. I figure if I can do that, then other people are going to do the same for me. As far as I’m concerned it’s always been a two-way street."

For more information about Gooroo, check out gooroo.com

DAVID LOVES WRITING HIP HOP SONGS. PICK UP A FEW MORE TALENTS WITH GOOROO.

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We’re interviewing Richard Tam today, the founder of Brooklyn Wolf. Brooklyn Wolf is a company that provides better-fitting trousers designed for the modern professional without the premium price. 

Gooroo: Could you tell me a cool or interesting story you’ve had when you were initially starting up your company?

Richard: I do a lot of traveling to get inspirations. While I was traveling and meeting with our manufacturers, I worked out of my backpack and laptop for two months. Backpacking through Japan was an incredible experience. In my three weeks there, I'm lucky to have had the opportunity to absorb Japanese culture and design.

Gooroo: What made you want to pursue creating pants?

Richard: I was frustrated with the price, style and fit of dress pants. As a working professional, I was in these trousers for 5 days a week and not once was I excited about putting on a pair of pants to go to work. I had a hunch I could make a better product at a better price point. Below is a review given by one of our customers. This is the feeling I'm after and is what motivates me to grind out the long hours working as an entrepreneur.

"These trousers are exemplary of individuals who care and are passionate for the products they sell. A finer, better fitting pair of trousers I have never owned."

Gooroo: How do you deal with the stress of running a company?

Richard: I rock climb to de-stress. Rock climbing is similar to the day to day ops of running a company. You break problems down into actionable steps and complete them. When I rock climb, I'm in a state of meditation and all the stress that comes with running your own business kinda fades out.

Gooroo: Was there a specific moment when you felt your company had really begun to change for the better?

Richard: Yep. My good friend TT (yep we call her TT) put it best. She said, "I know your brand is turning the page because people don't refer to your product as your trousers anymore. They ask, have you heard of BROOKLYN WOLF trousers?" That was incredibly humbling to hear.

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RICHARD IS TELLING US HOW HE STARTED BROOKLYN WOLF. PICK UP A FEW MORE TALENTS WITH GOOROO.

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"I enjoy developing my unique recipe to eat healthy. It’s not only about keeping fit but also how you feel about yourself. I believe in the saying that you are what you eat . Simple and nature food is helpful in a lot of ways. They improve your mood, your skin, and hair. Actually you can train your taste buds to get used to anything. For example, I used to take aloe-vera shots every morning to help with my overall health. I hated it in the beginning, but then I liked it when I got used to it after weeks of getting used to the habit. I make most of my own recipes now and one of my favorites is my coconut cake. I make it with coconut oil, coconut flour, egg, almond milk, and stevia. Sometimes I put pumpkin or cinnamon in it to change it up a bit. This lifestyle makes me feel so much better. It clears my mind and helps me exercise better. It makes such a big difference in my daily life that I just don’t want to stop."

For more information about Gooroo, check out http://www.gooroo.com

RACHEL LOVES EATING HEALTHY. PICK UP A FEW MORE TALENTS WITH GOOROO.

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I didn’t enjoy golf when I started playing 7 years ago. There was a middle school program at Chelsea Piers where I got free training sessions. I’ve probably practiced golf for 5000 hours all the way through high school. I remember the excitement and confidence that winning the first match brought me. I believe that golf is one of the hardest sports. It’s a mental game where you’re always playing against yourself. When you miss a shot, you can choose either to accept it or get angry at yourself. The key is to not be a prisoner of the poor swings that I’ve made in the past and focus on the present. Although the game itself is about the individual, there was a great sense of brotherhood among us players in my high school team. We trained together, competed in PSAL matches, and shared the same sense of competitiveness. We remained undefeated in the regular season for the last two years. I’m planning on building a golf team at Baruch in the near future.

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BRANDON LOVES PLAYING GOLF. PICK UP A FEW MORE TALENTS WITH GOOROO.

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I took a gap year to volunteer at a clinic in Korea. With the help of a pediatric therapist, I diagnosed and treated children from 6 to 10 years old with autism. Autism hadn’t been given much attention until recent years in Korea, so the system for helping children who have the disease wasn’t the most efficient or organized. The children were socially awkward with short attention spans and communication difficulties. When I would have sessions with the children, some of them would hide, yell, or even roll themselves up in a corner. My job was to keep observational journals so that target behaviors could be found, observed, and treated. Sometimes I would even use food or toys to help them focus and feel rewarded. I’d say that it’s my personality that led me to this career. I like helping and encouraging children, and it’s really rewarding to see a child get better and learn to behave in a more socially-acceptable way. I didn’t see much daily progress during the 6 months I stayed there, but I was encouraged when I looked back to see some of the students mature and fulfill more of their potential over my entire stay.

JI YOUNG LOVES HELPING AUTISTIC CHILDREN. PICK UP A FEW MORE TALENTS WITH GOOROO.

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I started to train for the biathlon in Geneva at the age of six. It’s a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. I trained myself very hard to be on the French National Team, and It was once my dream to compete in the Olympics. Biathlon is traditionally a European sport. I learned so much about the the rich cultural background behind it. Years of training in biathlon also helped with other sports I’ve done later, including the Marathon, which I started two years ago. I ran in New York last fall and I want to compete in Boston in April this year. The competitiveness entices me to do it. Now, I run 45 miles every week in central park. I also do interval, endurance, and core strength training. For Marathon, it’s revitalization. It’s therapy. When I run I don’t think about anything else and I just run for myself. I’m challenged to do this and the sense of pride of the endeavor is unparalleled. Running is part of my life now.

OLIVIA LOVES BIATHLON AND MARATHON. PICK UP A FEW MORE TALENTS WITH GOOROO.

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Nelson Mandela once said, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” My travels in Asia and America have equipped me with the ability to speak multiple languages. Whether it’s Korea, Arizona, Mexico, India, or New York., everywhere I go I pick up the language there, and I also try to establish emotional attachment with people speaking that language. The most important thing is to break through that bubble, and to be sincere and adapt. I still remember my first day at an American school bowing to the teacher, and him simply waving back saying hi to me. You learn by putting yourself out there and making mistakes. The next language I’ll probably learn is Russian. I want to find out more about their economy, their history, and their rich culture of literature, philosophy, and art.

TAEWAN LOVES LANGUAGES. PICK UP A FEW MORE TALENTS WITH GOOROO.