GOING FOR THE ONE - Introduction
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In the summer of 1998, I asked Bill Gates to donate $35 million to save the endangered Mountain gorilla. Getting there took three years, standing on the shoulders of giants, and a business plan forged in the white heat of the Internet revolution. Douglas Adams made all the introductions, opened the doors to the titans of tech. I was the parrot on his shoulder. How could we fail with such an A-list of advocates and advisors as Eckart Wintzen, who donated $50,000 to prepare the plan; Ian Charles Stewart, who honed it to a standard that suited the mindset of the Microsoft CEO; and Mike Backes who travelled around the world in eight days asking our gorilla gurus to commit to camera why these great apes needed to be saved. This is the story of how, with instinct, serendipity, and a stack of celebrity endorsements, a self-taught fundraiser pitched an eight figure appeal to the world’s richest man, and failed.
Part 1 - Don't PanicPart 2 - Gorillas From SpacePart 3 - Shine On You Crazy DiamondPart 4 - Virtual Africa OfficePart 5 - Time to ActPart 6 - The Wizard of DOSPart 7 - Digerati In The MistPart 8 - Hello, (again)Part 9 - Hello, (again) continuedPart 10 - Oh No, Mr Bill!Part 11 - Baby You’re A Rich ManPart 12 - My DNA
In the summer of 1998, I asked Bill Gates to donate $35 million to save the endangered Mountain gorilla. Getting there took three years, standing on the shoulders of giants, and a business plan forged in the white heat of the Internet revolution. Douglas Adams made all the introductions, opened the doors to the titans of tech. I was the parrot on his shoulder. How could we fail with such an A-list of advocates and advisors as Eckart Wintzen, who donated $50,000 to prepare the plan; Ian Charles Stewart, who honed it to a standard that suited the mindset of the Microsoft CEO; and Mike Backes who travelled around the world in eight days asking our gorilla gurus to commit to camera why these great apes needed to be saved. This is the story of how, with instinct, serendipity, and a stack of celebrity endorsements, a self-taught fundraiser pitched an eight figure appeal to the world’s richest man, and failed.
Part 1 - Don't PanicPart 2 - Gorillas From SpacePart 3 - Shine On You Crazy DiamondPart 4 - Virtual Africa OfficePart 5 - Time to ActPart 6 - The Wizard of DOSPart 7 - Digerati In The MistPart 8 - Hello, (again)Part 9 - Hello, (again) continuedPart 10 - Oh No, Mr Bill!Part 11 - Baby You’re A Rich ManPart 12 - My DNA
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