THE POWER OF MISFITS Alexa Clay | Presentation at DIY Days

No monopoly on innovation

What do pirates, terrorists, computer hackers, and inner city gangs have in common with Silicon Valley? Innovation. The Misfit Economy is a book exploring

emerging forms of underground innovation happening in the informal and black market

economies.

The journey…

What I like is the space that we create to carve out intention and

then slowly let those intentions ooze into our habits and behaviors... this recognition of the prison of perfectionism and the need to always be out there share share sharing.... I'm eager to take on the world ... not hide myself away in this sacred / private

imaginary realm. but just own my weirdness. 

Some unlikely brands

The trouble with misfits is you never know if they are swimming in the

right direction

Yet many have come to shape

history

Innovation from the Fringe

A “factory for misfits.” A curriculum for pop-up education seeking to bring insights from the underground world.

Teachings: -  Art of Hustle -  The Entourage Effect -  Copycat Etiquette -  Guerilla Governance -  Gaming the System -  Spirit of Informality -  Rabbit holes

Rabbit Holes

“The answer lies in my ability to find my way back from the rabbit hole.” – Zach Verdin, Founder @ New Hive

The Entourage Effect Less than two blocks from Hemingway's table, what was left of Charles Baudelaire and Guy de Maupassant lay beneath stone

memorials in the Montparnasse cemetery. A five-minute walk down Boulevard Raspail, Gertrude Stein and Alice Toklas were planning their Christmas meal. Close by Ezra Pound was reading through a

bit of manuscript left him by a young friend with exhausted nerves, Tom Eliot, on his way to a rest cure in Lausanne. Eventually Eliot would call it The Waste Land. Less than two blocks from the Hemingway's hotel, James Joyce was dressing to attend a party at Sylvia Beach's bookstore, Shakespeare and Company, where he would celebrate the final revisions to his manuscript Ulysses.

Entourage – Rules to Live By

+ De-couple your ego & your entourage + Foster a feeling + Set boundaries + Chill & stay informal

Art of Hustle + Passion + Resilience a.k.a. the persistence and tenacity to pick yourself up in the face of repeated failure + A willingness to do “the dirty work” + A flexible mindset which allows you to move seamlessly from one world to another + A mentality of resourcefulness and frugality, cleverly using everything at your disposal + The interpersonal skills to build a broad network, and the ability to leverage those relationships when required + A willingness to take measured (but not reckless) risks

Redeploying Misfits

Redeploying Misfits

“The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You trade in your sense for an act. You give up your ability to feel, and in exchange, put on a mask. There can't be any large-scale revolution until there's a personal revolution, on an individual level. It's got to happen inside first.”

- Jim Morrison 

Unleash your inner misfit

The banality of institutions

We need intrepreneurs like Richard Branson

corporate misfits

Navigating neo-tribes

Org. models for collaboration

HUMAN AGENCY -  Good governance -  Reduced hierarchy -  Shared ownership

-  Develop potential / up-skilling -  Human rhythms

-  Common operating infrastructure -  Pooled resources -  Rapid prototyping

Misfit Factory

#1 Real Hustlers

A reality show where streetwise hood entrepreneurs pitch business plans to a panel of underground dons.

#2 FORDLANDIA An Electro Musical

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#3 Everyone an Economist

#4 Markets for self-expression

Thank You! Join us: www.misfiteconomy.com @misfiteconomy @alexaclay alexa@misfiteconomy.com