LA Fires: The Flame That Ignited Us

We built the KINN in order to create noble, innovative impact solutions.

And after the Palisades fires, it’s evident how important this idea has become.

We need to think long-term about how we’re living, what we’re working towards, and what we’re building along the way.

Society can’t continue to be this short term-ism of cutting costs and chasing profit at all costs.

Because, bottom line…

That’s just not sustainable for businesses, nor the communities they operate in.

The houses that were built in the Palisades went up in flames because of short term thinking.

And we should be thinking of entrepreneurship in this same future-oriented way.

You could argue the houses built in Palisades never should have been built there. 

Research shows that the Palisades area is a high fire risk zone.

There’s been past fire damage there.

And the closeness to wildlands made it extremely risky with the high possibility of wildfires rapidly spreading from the brush to developed areas.

Although it’s possible that many of these houses were built before the understanding of fire risks, that’s exactly why we need people looking at all potential future possibilities before committing to projects in natural disaster-prone areas.

So here’s what the KINN did to help:

• We opened up a space for people to come for meals, essential supplies, and for front line workers to recharge

• We did a “Hot Meal” initiative with members of ours, Eric and Oliver – chefs who provided hot meals for about a thousand people.

• We hosted an air purifier initiative spearheaded by Stanley Bishop from UCLA, and raised over $9K to build hundreds of air purifiers for schools in and around the west side.

So many people from the community who really, truly wanted to help came together to donate their time and effort. Far more people offered to help than we could accommodate (in the hundreds). 

We all know the typical stereotype of people in LA being “selfish” or “surface-level…” but that wasn’t the case at all.

During an emergency, this city came together, caring about the well-being of others, wanting to be of service.

It was amazing to see.

Something else that really struck home to me from all of this is the fact that in an emergency, we can’t only rely on the government.

We also need to rely on conscious entrepreneurs, private businesses, and donors with community help in mind.

California Senator Ben Allen spoke at a startup cafe with KINN back at the end of January.

I’m paraphrasing here, but he said that in his eleven years working in politics, he’s never been asked such informed and insightful questions from entrepreneurs.

He’s used to talking with residents and in town halls, but it was refreshing for him to see entrepreneurs wanting to see how they can support the government through business solutions.

We also met with councilwoman Traci Park not too long ago for a conversation on entrepreneurship and economic revitalization.

We at the KINN see the importance of entrepreneurs working together with members of government in order to create a more sustainable, healthier future.

Neither conscious entrepreneurs nor the government can do it alone.

If we want to improve our world, we need to work with each other, not separately.

And the future, the long-term, must always be not only top of mind, but top priority.

This is the way forward for a better tomorrow – not just for the government. 

Not just for people in business. 

For everyone.

Oliver

P.S. Conscious Founders has recently reached 10,000 subscribers! We’re extremely grateful, and are thrilled to keep working with entrepreneurs and innovators who want to make the world a better place.

P.P.S. If you’re looking for an opportunity to pitch your groundbreaking startup to a distinguished panel of investors and innovators, we’re hosting an Impact LA Demo Day at the KINN in Venice on Wednesday, March 12. Hope to see you there!