The Most Fortunate Person in the World

One man's pittance is another's fortune.  While I might not have been happy with the quality of the pizza I ate Friday night out with the family, for many in our communities, that pizza might have been the only meal they would have had all day.  Maybe, for several days.  It puts things in perspective.  Mine are first-world problems, when many here in North America suffer what we would consider third-world problem, but the awareness of the issue is low.

Andre Angel of TangoTab, Jay Ratliff and Cliff Geathers of the Dallas Cowboys at Minnie's Food Pantry

As we approach summer, the problems of hunger in North America get more difficult.  Food bank shelves are challenged.  Many kids who rely on school meal programs no longer know where food will come from some days.

Last month, we took the kids and friends to see the opening of the Calatrava bridge in downtown Dallas.  As we drove on the highway, the bolt on the bike rack came off and a bicycle flew off the rack to oncoming traffic behind us.  It happened in an instant, and we were in panic.  As we pulled off the road and looked back, we were amazed at our fortune.  All the cars avoided the unintended projectile.  No one was hurt.  Even my son's bike survived unscathed.  I still can't believe it, but I am so thankful that nothing bad happened.

Accidents happen to people all the time.  The recession has humbled and hurt many.  You may never know, because they hide their troubles behind their pride.

Look in the mirror.  Count your fortunes in small denominations and be happy and appreciative every day.  Others are not as fortunate, but we can do very easy, simple things to help them.

Donate.  Volunteer.  Use free services like TangoTab, and help feed the hungry, just by dining out like you normally do.  You will feel wealthy regardless of your financial status.

Taking the Plunge, Again

Only now, as I look back, do I realize how fortunate I was to work for a startup so early in my career.  It was part-MBA, part mom-and-pop shop, part family, and a whole lot of fun.  It engrained so many values into me and I learned so much.  A lot of long hours, hard work, lifelong friendships, and some occasional stress as pressure mounted, especially that last Christmas holiday before we were purchased trying to get the product ready.  I didn't know, when I returned from vacation, if we would still be in business, so I took a programming book with me to study in case I needed to find new employment.  Who can resist such adventure?

Because...when you eat, they eat, too!

So, when I started to look around for new challenges, I knew I wanted to get back to the startup vibe.  My friend and the CEO of my first startup experience (Pixel), Jim Fontaine, introduced me to Andre Angel, the founder and CEO of TangoTab (and founder of CODEKKO, NTRglobal, and Work Meter).  Andre founded this venture that not only promised the excitement and challenge of building a new business, but an innovative service that uses a portion of its proceeds to fight hunger.  Wow!  And, it revolves around restaurants and dining out, a couple of my core passions.

TangoTab is a marketing tool for restaurants that allows them to make a controlled amount of offers to their customers, many times the same offers they are making anyway, and only when a customer redeems an offer, they pay TangoTab.  No risk.  The fun part starts from there, as TangoTab then donates a portion of the proceeds to the local food banks and hunger charities in the cities where we are deployed.

So much fun.  So useful.  So gratifying.  And, that is why I have taken the plunge, again.

Go check out TangoTab yourself and learn about the fight against hunger.  We're still working out some kinks, so register and access us via the website, as we need to post a fix for the iPhone app.  If you are in an area that we currently serve, try the service, and I'd love your feedback and your wish list of restaurants.  If you are in an area where we do not currently serve, let me know, along with your favorite restaurants, and I will let you know when we launch in your area.  You can reach out to me via twitter.

Because...when you eat, they eat, too!