They were nine African-American teens who in 1957 wanted to go to the best high school, the all-white Central High, in Little Rock, Ark. It took an order from President Dwight Eisenhower and the protection of the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne to get them inside. These nine heroes were willing to step forward and in doing so, altered the course of history. – via Marquette Magazine

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This picture is not about the University of Michigan. It’s simply about higher education period, and what we must do to place our young people on a path to get there. #Merit

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Merit is building an exclusive online community of fashionable givers. Get your free membership, by invite only, for Merit’s viral invite site!

Looking back on it, I didn’t know what I was doing. Young. Inexperienced. Call it whatever you want to call it. When we began developing IMU, I played a lot of defense. Dwight Howard type. What I mean is that I protected our idea more than I should have. I only let select individuals in on what we were planning, and I was always second guessing myself about telling people. Big mistake. Major mistake.

Why did I feel this way? Well it’s pretty simple, I didn’t want anyone to steal the idea or come out with it before I could. Which makes sense, if I was talking to a potential competitor. But how often is that going to happen? Anything outside of that particular situation, it’s pretty crazy not to be open with the idea. Let me tell you why.

“When we serve others we gain more hope. We gain energy.” – Margaret Wheatley

When we started on this journey a few years back, it was never about making money. Never eva Eva Eva evaa Evaaaa.

Our mission and vision started in a much deeper realm. Our beliefs started on the principle that all our lives are so wonderfully connected, woven, and intertwined with the lives and contributions of others. We simply wanted to make people happy. We simply wanted to make things better. Communities better. People better. We wanted to make ourselves better.

And we felt strongly that we could accomplish our goals by creating a lifestyle brand. IMU. A commitment to make people feel special while serving our customers and community.

This is a follow up to last week’s post: The Bigger Picture – The Get Ready Pt. 2

Watch this video to learn how Merit was born, see the vision behind the brand, and get sneak peeks on exclusive future product. Merit creates fashion forward products that help committed, disadvantaged youth attain a college education. 20% of Merit’s revenue provides college scholarships for underserved youth. You can join the Merit Community here at MeritGoodness.com as we gather the troops and prepare for launch!

Merit rebranded from IMU. Check out the awesome webisode series that revealed the rebrand. – REVIAL Webisode Series Player

Pat Maillet, Editorial Writer for the Michigan Daily, wrote this piece earlier this week, which features an overview of education in America & Merit!

About 7,000 high school students will drop out of school in America today. Unfortunately, today is not a special day or some sort of organized movement. No, instead today is just another normal day that contributes to the more than 1.2 million high school dropouts per year in the United States.

With rising costs in tuition and lower incomes, fewer people are able to afford a college education. And yet, a college education has never been more important. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a person with a bachelor’s degree earned an average of $58,613 in 2008, while those with a high school diploma earned $31,283. Unfortunately, the importance of an education also has serious societal effects. High school dropouts are eight times more likely to go to prison and are 50 percent less likely to vote. We, as a society, are able to advance by allowing more people to attain a college education.

Everything. Leads. Right. Back. To. JOY.

I had more and more questions about agile software development. The lean business model. Business model generation. Whatever you want to call it. Steve Blank’s book, The Four Steps to Epiphany, had sparked this little engine. It was a concept I had been learning more and more about over the last two to three months. On July 1st, I was asking the
right guy. Richard Sheridan is one of the founders of Menlo Innovations, a company widely known for its unique approach to software development. I wanted to get some expert advice on agile development when designing a website/product using freelance designers and developers. So these guys aren’t in house and budget is a concern. (I guess budget is always a concern) Buy-in, another concern as well.

You know those times when you ask someone you respect and admire to give you advice about something specific. And they give you an answer that doesn’t necessarily answer your question, but it somehow answers your question and a plethora of others if you look at it through a bigger lens. Mr. Sheridan’s feedback had nothing to do with software development. It had nothing to do with websites or user tests. Absolutely nothing.

Even before an official brand launch, many have already pledged their support for Merit! Merit creates fashion forward products that help committed, disadvantaged youth attain a college education. 20% of Merit’s revenue provides college scholarships for underserved youth. You can join the Merit Community here at MeritGoodness.com as we gather the troops and prepare for launch.

A staple of Merit. The badge. A badge of service. An identifier. For fashionable givers.

1. Join The Merit Community
- Merit is building an exclusive online community of fashionable givers. Get your free membership, by invite only, for Merit’s viral invite site!