Guest Blogger: Ibrahim Zafar

We have all heard the infamous tale about a young John Lennon who was asked by his school to write down what he wanted to be when he grew up. Instead of the typical response – “I want to be an astronaut” – Lennon thought outside of the box and simply wrote down “I want to be happy”. This quote, while simple in nature, has challenged a generation – our generator -- into really considering whom we strive to be when we are older, rather than simply what we want to be.

RESQD, a startup company founded at North Carolina State University, has taken the concept of happiness within children and has printed it right on the shirt you wear on your back. The concept is simple: RESQD asks young children around the globe to draw what makes them happy, prints the drawing onto a t-shirt, sells the t-shirt, and uses the money made from the sale to help fund orphans around the globe. Ladies and gentlemen, it does not get simpler than that. The impetus behind Jordan’s idea is that he wants to empower orphans around the globe, and show them that their idea of happiness can not only bring a change within the lives of others, but it can help in providing them with financial independence.

I had the chance to sit down with Owen and his friend, Tasso von Windheim, to take more about RESQD. While Jordan has high visions for RESQD, he has made it a priority for himself and those around him to have fun along the way. Jordan believes that if he can retain his passion for his company, he will soon reach success. But unlike many others, Jordan is not concerned about financial success. Rather his definition of success lies within changing the lives of the orphans, and he won’t stop until his goal is met.

Like many start-up companies, RESQD could use the help of our Wolfpack community. And that is where you, the reader, come into play. RESQD has an online campaign which they are using to gather any donations to help the company out of the start-up phase. You can go here (http://www.indiegogo.com/resqd) to learn more about RESQD and how you can help.

Thank-you to guest blogger Ibrahim Zafar for this posting!