In November of 2008, Nate St. Pierre attended a leadership conference for work. At the conference he was asked to complete the phrase “Tomorrow I will…” He did, and he finished it with “I will change the world,” and he meant it.
In November of 2008, Nate St. Pierre attended a leadership conference for work. At the conference he was asked to complete the phrase “Tomorrow I will…” He did, and he finished it with “I will change the world,” and he meant it. A few months later he started the company ItStartsWith.Us, and he’s now in search of companies interested in expanding their corporate responsibility policy using his model.
“I spent the last 30 years of my life not pushing myself,” St. Pierre said. “With this model, we literally can change the world in an easy fast and fun way through engaging with each other and this micro-giving concept.”
ItStartsWith.Us is a global community of digitally connected individuals that strive to make a positive impact in the lives of people around them by completing small missions every week.
“People sign up to be a member of the team through our website,” St. Pierre said. “Each week I send out an email to the team with a mission. Each person then completes the mission in whatever way they want.”
According to St. Pierre, the team is up to 2400 people from more than 100 countries across the world and he expects to reach 5000 members by the end of the year.
“The missions are designed to take us less than 15 minutes to complete,” he said. “Every week it’s something different, ‘Help someone;’ ‘Use $2 in your pocket to make a difference for someone else;’ things like that, easy things that don’t take up a lot of time, but that make a huge difference in communities when lots of people are doing them.”
Individual team members have the option of writing in to tell the story of what they did to complete the mission. Some of those examples have been compiled here.
“We’ve pioneered some big effects with this micro-giving concept,” St. Pierre said. “We’ve touched lives and changed attitudes, and we’ve been able to strengthen bonds and the team building experience because its centered around service.”
In a year, the team has grown another subgroup called the Love Bomb team that leaves encouraging messages and notes to people who are hurting, he said. That team is up to 1000 people.
The email list is anonymous, he said.
“I don’t need to know who you are, or where you work,” he said. “I just want you to have a desire to make change, that’s all that matters.”
Realizing the success and appeal of his model, St. Pierre has started working with large organizations to use the ItStartsWith.Us concept within the workplace. He is currently working with a variety of businesses, nonprofit organizations, educational organizations, fan clubs, online communities and volunteer groups.
Most of his clients are nationwide, but St. Pierre wants to reach out to the Milwaukee area community and get things started here.
“I’m interested in working with any large scale business or organization that wants to involve and engage their people to do a little more,” St. Pierre said. “The ItStartsWith.Us concept is a faster, easier, more inexpensive, more engaging and effective way to accomplish any corporate responsibility initiatives.”
Packages start at $15,000 annually and include onsite consultations with team members to decide what the company wants out of the process, he said.
“I’ll come on board, find out what it is they want to get out of it, and then help them train an individual from who will lead the missions from within. That person automatically becomes a member of the ItStartsWith.Us leadership network,” he said. “It’s not a one and done type thing, it’s an engaging process for an entire year, it’s in everyone’s best interest for companies to succeed at doing this.”
The results are incredibly impactful, St. Pierre said.
“I’m a Milwaukee guy and I want to show that this city can be a hub for new technology, innovative ideas and social good,” he said. “I’d love to get a few Milwaukee companies on board and grow that initiative from here as well.”
If your company is interested in working with the ItStartsWith.Us team visit the website and the ‘Work with Us’ page.
