By going from the bottom-up again, we see where successes work, and you can also see where the status quo can be the biggest obstacle or roadblock to success. The kind of entrepreneurs in whom we need to invest are the kind who are willing to fight that status quo, bureaucracy, complacency, and corruption.

Nothing important happens in life without a cost.

The poor also are willing to make, and do make, smart decisions, if you give them that opportunity.

People have to understand that unless social enterprise is experimental, it will not succeed in making a difference.

The human spirit is extraordinary. If we give the 3 billion people who live in poverty the opportunity to change their lives, they will. For too long, we've looked at needing to "save" these people - with an emphasis on "these people" - rather than removing the constraints keeping them from solving their own problems.

I feel like I'm a relentless, pragmatic, determined optimist.

Human beings want to see each other. We want to be heard by each other.