Η Maya Penn started her first business when she was 8 years old, and she is thinking a lot about how to be responsible for her clients and the planet. She shares her story - and some of her moving illustrations, and some of her drawings, and a bit of adhesive energy - in this charming speech.
Greek translation by Chryssa Rapessi and editing by Elena Karaiskou for TED Talks.
Waiter: Can I help you, sir?
Client: To see.
Waiter: We have a chewed registry error sprinkled with the best corrupted data, binary diary, memory sandwich, fried viruses and a batch of salami with or without polymorphic sauce and a roast skewed code.
Client: I would like a memory sandwich and a glass of the best 39 Code you have. Waiter: Would you like to be sweet, sir? Our specialty is the watch cookie. Client: I would like some zombie tracking cookies, thank you.
Waiter: They come in immediately, sir. Your food will be served soon. (Clap)
Maya Penn: I've been painting since I could hold a crayon and making philoscopes since I was three years old. At that age, I learned what an animator was. It was a show on TV about jobs that most kids didn't know about. When I realized that the animator was making the cartoons I was watching on TV, I immediately said, "That's what I want to be." I don't know if I said it to myself or out loud, but it was a life-defining moment. Animation and art have always been my first love. It was my love of technology that gave birth to the idea for the "Evil Plate".
My computer had a virus, and I was trying to get rid of it, and I suddenly thought, what if viruses had their own microcosm inside the computer? Maybe one restaurant where they meet and do nefarious things? And that's how "Kakovula Piata" was born. When I was four, my dad showed me how to take apart a computer and put it back together. This started my love for technology. I made my first website in HTML, and I'm learning JavaScript and Python. I'm also working on an animated series called The Pollinators.
It is about bees and other pollinators in our environment and why they are so important. If plants are not pollinated by pollinators, then all creatures, including ourselves, based on these plants, would starve. So I decided to take these great creatures and make a group of superheroes. (Applause) (Heavy Steps) (Music) (Roar)
Painter: The Apolosopranos! I had to understand it! I have to shout the other Pimples! (Music) Thank you. (Clap)
All my moving illustrations start with ideas, but what are the ideas? Ideas can become the spark for a movement. Ideas are opportunities and innovation. Ideas make people come back. If there were no ideas, we would not be here where we are now with technology, medicine, art, culture, and even how we live our lives. At eight, I got my ideas and started my own business, called the Mayan Ideas, and my nonprofit, Maya's Ideas for the Planet. (Laughs)
I make eco-friendly clothes and accessories. I am now 13 and although I started my business in 2008, my art trip it started much earlier. I have been highly influenced by art and wanted to incorporate it into everything I did, including my business. I was finding different fabrics around the house, and I was like, "This could be a scarf or a hat," and I had all these design ideas. I noticed that when I wore my creations, people would stop me and say, “Wow, that's really pretty.
Where can I buy it? "And I thought, I can start my own business. I did not have a business plan at the age of eight. I only knew I wanted to make beautiful, environmentally friendly creations that I wanted to offer. My mom taught me how to sew, and I sat down in the yard and made small ribbon bones, and I wrote the names and the price for each item. I started to make other things like hats, scarves and handbags. Soon, my items began to be sold all over the world, and I had customers from Denmark, Italy, Australia, Canada and other places. I had a lot to learn about my business, such as branding and marketing, to stay in touch with my customers, and see what sells more and less.
Soon, my business started doing well. And one day, the magazine Forbes επικοινώνησε μαζί μου όταν ήμουν 10 ετών. (Γέλια) Ήθελαν να παρουσιάσουν εμένα και την εταιρία μου στο άρθρο τους. Πολύς κόσμος με ρωτάει, γιατί είναι η επιχείρησή σου φιλική προς το περιβάλλον; Έχω πάθος για την protection του περιβάλλοντος και των πλασμάτων του από τότε που ήμουν μικρή. Οι γονείς μου μού έμαθαν από νωρίς ότι πρέπει να δίνω πίσω και να είμαι καλός επόπτης του περιβάλλοντος. Άκουσα ότι τα χρώματα σε μερικά ρούχα ή η διαδικασία για να γίνουν τα αντικείμενα ήταν βλαβερή για τους ανθρώπους και τον πλανήτη, έτσι άρχισα να κάνω την δική μου research, and I discovered that even after the painting is done, there is an issue of waste that has a negative effect on the environment. For example, the grinding of materials, or the disposal of dry materials into powder. These actions can pollute the air, making it toxic to anyone or anything that breathes it. So when I started my business, I knew two things: All of my products had to be environmentally friendly, and 10 to 20 percent of my profits would go to local and global charities and environmental organizations. (Applause) I feel that I am part of the new wave of entrepreneurs who not only want to have a successful business, but also a sustainable future. I feel that I can meet the needs of my customers without compromising the ability of future generations to live in a greener tomorrow. We live in a big, diverse and beautiful world, and that makes me even more passionate about saving it. But it's never enough to just understand what's going on in our world. It must also go to your heart, because when it goes to your heart, then the movements begin. That's when opportunities and innovation are created, and that's why ideas become reality.
Thank you, peace and blessings. (Applause) Thank you. (Applause) Pat Mitchell: So you heard Maya talking about the amazing parents behind this incredible woman. Where is; Please, Mr and Mrs Penn. You - Ah! (Clap)
