I make an effort to escape as often as possible to reconnect with my more natural side. Climbing mountains, swimming in wild rivers, and diving into ice-cold lakes is what I love. This earth is a monument to the power of the universe and its infinite range of beauty.
When I was in grade school, we were warned about the environmental destruction we were causing on this planet. This destruction is still underway as I write this, and we do little about it. Facebook's newsfeed reports to us the daily destruction and extinctions. We comment and react with hearts, care, and sad emojis. Then we quickly scroll on looking for something else that catches our attention.
We must build a better world. Silence produces nothing and maintains the status quo. We must inspire people to stand up for what they believe in, empower their voices, and give them the courage to act, even if they are discouraged.
Building a startup has required that I develop the courage to move beyond rejection and doubt. Our job is to experiment with what works and what does not, and then to envision and encourage new and better behaviors.
Success only comes with drive and the persistence to take another step forward. Too often in the startup world, success seems to be totally focused on the glory of completing a raise and having a profitable exit. To me success is an emotion, the feeling of accomplishment from doing the right thing.
We started Geopogo to change the status quo for the better. Geopogo is about collaboration, accessibility, and creativity. We built the tools to give people all over the world the power to create and visually express their ideas and vision-- to make a better world through better design. Design that reduces pollution and waste. Design accessible to all, serving society better through the better ideas that grow from collaboration.
We do not need to continue this world of deforestation, urban sprawl, and poor design because we could not envision a better idea that would have made a better future. Geopogo is our better idea.
Michael Hoppe
Creative Director