Lunch Talks

Steve Daniels

Founding Director, Makeshift
February 21, 2014

“The more you dig into informal economies the more you realize…that they hack society”

Steve Daniels is passionate about using technology to transform society. He’s part of IBM‘s design leadership team, responsible for driving a culture of design and innovation throughout the company. He is also the founding director of Makeshift, a magazine and think tank dedicated to uncovering creative solutions at the economic fringe.

Steve has received awards and patents for his work at IBM on Smarter Cities, the Watson question-answer system, an SMS App Store for emerging markets, and enterprise crowdfuning. He is the author of Making Do, which catalogs his research on Kenya’s jua kali roadside engineering culture. As an undergraduate, he founded the annual Better World by Design conference, ran Brown University’s chapter of Engineers Without Boarders, and developed an entrepreneurship center and curriculum for at-risk teens. He has spoken at TED, PopTech, and the New York Forum.

  • Two men are standing in a kitchen, having a conversation. One man in a blue shirt is leaning against a white refrigerator, while the other man in a gray sweater is gesturing with a bottle in hand. The kitchen is cluttered with various items and papers.
  • A woman with a bun hairstyle is holding a beer bottle in one hand and looking at her phone. She is wearing a cardigan. Another person in a white top and scarf is standing nearby, holding a plate with food. A wall with the word "BEER" and an arrow are visible.
  • Two people, one in a beanie and backpack, and another in a gray coat, are conversing while holding plates with snacks in a room with bookshelves and colorful decor. More people are seen engaging in the background, suggesting a casual social gathering.
  • A man in a green jacket and glasses holds a bottle of beer and smiles while looking towards a woman drinking beer from a bottle. The woman has long hair and wears a patterned skirt. They are standing near a white wall with a red cross marked "BEER.
  • A person with short dark hair stands indoors, smiling and holding a silver tumbler. They are wearing a patterned dark blue shirt. The background features a window with blinds and part of a white wall with an electrical panel visible.
  • A man is in the foreground looking at a projected image on a screen. The image shows two men sitting outside, with one holding a notebook and the other relaxed. The text "Deep hanging out" is displayed prominently on the screen.

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