#ShapingtheOdds is a new, professional, peer-to-peer, social networking platform that provides valuable content designed to help entrepreneurs and students from around the world develop professionally and personally. #ShapingtheOdds bridges a gap that we believe exists between Facebook and LinkedIn. Many people prefer to keep Facebook for family and friends and find it difficult to reach out to peers via LinkedIn. #ShapingtheOdds is completely free to join and use, and community members buy into...

Shaping the odds in one’s professional life requires commitment and passion and a willingness to be pushed outside one’s comfort zone, where real growth occurs. In order to shape the odds in our favour we have to be ready to seize the right opportunities, take all feedback constructively and get over any setbacks quickly. Knowing which opportunities are the right ones, being able to take feedback constructively and bouncing back from a knock are not always easy, but you can greatly enhance your ...

We humans are social beings. We thrive when we feel a sense of belonging; belonging to a ‘tribe’, a society, a family, a group. Researchers claim that relationships help people cope with stress and adversity as well as helping them to learn, explore, achieve goals, cultivate new talents and find purpose and meaning in life. Relationships should support a person’s development by helping them seize opportunities and explore, grow and achieve.  We tend to get the most out of any relationship w...

Paying it forward by helping shape the odds for others can take various forms, from simply honing your networking skills so you are easily and comfortably able to introduce people to each other, freely sharing non-confidential knowledge and information, or perhaps even acting as a mentor. Think of how grateful you are when someone goes out of their way to help you get a meeting with a company you want as a customer and think of how great you would feel if you were the person facilitating importa...

First mover advantage (FMA) is a situation many entrepreneurs try to achieve. This can be defined the advantage gained by the initial ("first-moving") significant occupant of a market segment. It may be also referred to as Technological Leadership. This advantage may stem from the fact that the first entrant can gain control of resources that followers may not be able to match. Mechanisms leading to first-mover advantages There are three main mechanisms that lead to first-mover advantages: ...