Andrew Funk
Andrew Funk, U.S., Founder and President of Homeless Entrepreneur
Andrew Funk believes that talent can change our lives. His organization Homeless Entrepreneur is committed to giving a voice to every homeless person who wants to tell their story; it provides these individuals with the opportunity to work toward being active citizens again through access to the right tools, resources and a supportive network.
(A typical day doesn’t exist for me, but this is as close as it gets.)
8:00 The alarm goes off for the last time and I kiss my fiancée before getting up. My day starts with either 80 push-ups or 120 sit-ups while listening to Tyga-Taste or a song by a friend of mine Boss AC-É Pa Ganhar. Then, a hot shower and once I’m dressed, I search LinkedIn for 35 professionals to connect with related to my latest post.
9:00 Breakfast with my fiancée at Tapaspuma or Tahona, usually a ham and cheese sandwich and one or two cups of coffee with a pack of sugar for each one. We normally speak about the latest news, Barça, English for kids and homelessness.
9:30 My first meeting is over the phone with one of our board advisors. I might speak with Manuel Hurtado, the founding president of The Common Good Chain, which implements blockchain and smart contracts for NGOs worldwide, or Renato de Castro, a smart city expert, keynote speaker and world traveler.
10:00-12:00 I respond to emails from potential volunteers; universities inviting me to be a guest speaker (Toulouse Business School, ESADE, UAB, etc.); partners like Factoria f5 to speak about one of the homeless entrepreneurs we are working with together; or Marta Vacas, the financial director, regarding our financial plan for 2019-2021.
Our goal is to turn the association into a foundation. We plan to raise +500,000 euros to consolidate our business model, to ensure sustainable work and dignified housing for the next 60 homeless entrepreneurs in our program, while also creating economic stability for the organization so that we can reach many more people in the coming years.
12:00-14:00 Meetings. I prefer to travel by bus so I can read. (I’m reading now Human + Machine: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI.) I might meet with a sponsor, for instance Oscar Fuente, founding president of IEBS; a manager like Sébastien Bauer, who is co-creating our mentorship program with Ramón, a homeless entrepreneur; or MBA students from EADA who are building a sustainable revenue stream model with us.
14:00-14:30 Lunch: A quick spicy chicken sandwich at home while I respond to approximately 20 different WhatsApp messages. If I’m lucky, my phone doesn’t ring, and I can let my mind rest a little bit.
14:30-16:00 I share one social media post via LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. I always try to update our audience by either sharing an article about us in the press; saying thanks to an amazing sponsor like Invoice Ninja, who is supporting our homeless entrepreneur Gabi; or giving one of our homeless entrepreneurs a voice.
16:00-18:00 I often participate in conferences at universities or companies to raise awareness and funds, gain recognition and create change via social impact. We always bring a homeless entrepreneur with us as a speaker.
18:00-20:00 Meetings with the Homeless Entrepreneur team. This often means long, intense conversations with Mayse Muñoz, the COO, or with homeless entrepreneurs to review our progress, plan future actions and create content for social media. Due to the intensity of the program, continual communication is necessary on all fronts to make sure everyone is aligned.
20:00-21:00 I respond to social media messages. I research homelessness via Twitter to make sure I have a global scope of the problem as well as look for possible opportunities.
21:00-22:00 Dinner with my fiancée. She’s an amazing cook, especially when it comes to Peruvian food and fajitas! We usually watch standup comedy—Kevin Hart is a favorite—to wind down.
22:00-23:00 I do household chores while videoconferencing with Thomas, our representative in Seattle, and I speak with homeless entrepreneurs there like Daniel, whose talent is drawing. Speaking with them as I do chores makes me forget I’m even doing them!
23:00-24:00 This is my favorite time to either read or write articles like this one in the Metropolitan or a pending one I have for Thrive Global.
24:00 I go over my schedule for the next day, set my alarm, give my fiancée a kiss, say goodnight and pretend to sleep until I’m actually able to. Doing what I love makes it hard to disconnect sometimes. But, in the end, we all need to sleep so we’re rested and wake up fresh for another amazing opportunity to make the world a better place!
Homeless Entrepreneur provides homeless people with resources, tools, knowledge, a network of supporters, and dignity to help them become the professionals they were before, be it as an employee, entrepreneur, or business owner.
You can follow Homeless Entrepreneur on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.