Hey everyone!
Just wanted to throw in a quick, last-minute note to let you know about the REDTalks — the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s Unversity’s main alumni speaking event — coming up later tonight (April 17) at 7:00pm CST.
After the cancellation of last year's event, Joe Caughey (my co-founder) and I are excited to finally share a snippet of Triink LLC's founding story with you all. Ever since launching Triink — a company that designs and builds multi-tools for non-traditional multi-tool users — as sophomore college students in 2018, we have, among other things, done the following:
sold more than 12,000 multi-tools
been named the Venture of The Year by the Donald McNeely Center for Entrepreneurship
all while having other full-time commitments, working on Triink part-time
There’s so much to Triink’s founding story that I look forward to sharing here in the coming weeks and months. Nonetheless, tonight’s speech will not necessarily focus on the business itself, but more on the odd couple that has made it happen.
The reason Joe and I have and continue to work well together is not that we are alike — conversely, we challenge each other constantly. In fact, many mentors associated with Triink feared that my personal differences with Joe, who (seriously) was my freshman-year nemesis, would serve as the downfall. Remarkably, time has proven the antithesis. Our differences, both in skillset and perspective, have been our strength. Joe and I are proof that ‘different is good’, and it’s a sentiment we would like to share with you all in our own, odd way.
But, the REDTalks aren’t all about us! Other amazing alumni and alumnae will share their stories, and although I have not had the privilege of getting to know all of them, I can speak fondly of my experiences with two fellow Johnnies — Muqka and Mike.
Muqkadeen Poole — my friend and fellow Entrepreneur Scholar, who goes by Muqka — is a true community builder. During our time in college, beyond all his on-campus activism, Muqka co-founded an initiative called The Move. Back then, The Move sought to provide education, through engaging presentations and workshops, to ignite conscious conversation about community and how to foster it in a given environment. To my delight, The Move is still going strong, and I look forward to hearing Muqka share his vision. Although the remote format never will do great performers justice, I hope it won’t take away too much of his energy (you should see him in person!). Be sure to check out his blog, while you’re at it.
Mike Reilly is the current Assistant Director of Saint John’s Benedictine Volunteer Corps, and — more importantly — one of the most selfless people I know. In a year of unprecedented turbulence, Mike took it on himself to ensure that all new volunteers, like me, could focus on providing value to their respective communities without getting distracted by the nature of their ambiguous surroundings. This, after having his own mission in Uganda cut short and coming back to Saint John’s to contribute in ways only he can. Without his calming presence and help in navigating the difficulties of this pandemic, my volunteer mission would have been near impossible to complete. I can’t wait to hear about his experience, and how it has been integral in shaping him as a human being.
I look forward to hearing the amazing Jackie Hayden, Kia Lor and Mary Uran speak as well. Reading their bios and getting a small preview of the important work they are doing has me genuinely excited to tune in and learn something new about youth and girl empowerment, intercultural education, and everything in between. Don’t miss out.
Was this a good enough pitch for you? If so, don’t hesitate to sign up for the event, and join us live! I hope to see you there tonight. Thank you to everyone who made the event possible despite the challenging conditions.
/Bardi