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 fried register error sprinkled with the best damaged data, δυαδικό μπριος, σάντουιτς μνήμης, τηγανητούς ιούς και μία σαλάτα δεσμών ενεργειών με ή χωρίς πολυμορφική σάλτσα και ένα ψητό σουβλάκι κώδικα.
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".
Ο υπολογιστής μου είχε έναν ιό, και προσπαθούσα να τον ξεφορτωθώ, και ξαφνικά σκέφτηκα, κι αν οι ιοί είχαν τον δικό τους μικρόκοσμο μέσα στον υπολογιστή; Ίσως ένα εστιατόριο όπου συναντιούνται και κάνουν κακόβουλα πράγματα; Κι έτσι γεννήθηκε το «Κακόβουλα Πιάτα». Στα τέσσερα μου, ο μπαμπάς μου μού έδειξε πώς να διαλύσω έναν υπολογιστή και να τον ξανασυναρμολογήσω. Αυτό ξεκίνησε την αγάπη μου για την τεχνολογία. Έφτιαξα την πρώτη μου ιστοσελίδα σε HTML, και μαθαίνω JavaScript και Python. Επίσης δουλεύω μία σειρά κινουμένων σχεδίων που λέγεται «Οι Επικονιαστές».
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 clothes and accessories that are environmentally friendly. Now I am 13 and although I started my 2008 business, my artistic journey started much earlier. I have been particularly influenced by art and I wanted to incorporate it into everything I did, even in my business. I found different fabrics at home, and I said, "That could be a scarf or a hat," and I had all these ideas for designs. I noticed that when I wore my creations, the world stopped me and said, "Wow, it's very beautiful.
Where can I buy it?' And I thought, I can start my own business. I didn't have a business plan at the age of eight. I just knew that I wanted to make beautiful creations that were safe for the environment and I wanted to deliver. My mom taught me how to sew, and I would sit in the yard and make little bones out of ribbon, and write the names and the price of each item. I started making other things like hats, scarves and bags. Soon, my items were being sold all over the world, and I had customers from Denmark, Italy, Australia, Canada and other places. I had a lot to learn about them businesses me, like for branding and marketing, to stay in touch with my customers, and see what sells more and what less.
Soon, my business started doing well. And one day, Forbes magazine contacted me when I was 10 years old. (Laughter) They wanted to feature me and my company in their article. Many people ask me, why is your business environmentally friendly? I have had a passion for protecting the environment and its creatures since I was little. My parents taught me early on that I should give back and be a good steward of the environment. I heard that the colors in some clothes or the process of making the items were harmful to them people and the planet, so I started to do my own 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)
