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Abby Falik
Founder | Speaker | Seeker | Reimagining how we learn, launch & lead
Abby Falik is a renowned social entrepreneur, education innovator, and movement-builder who is reshaping the landscape of higher education.
Recognized for her groundbreaking work, Abby has been named one of the 'Most Creative People in Business' by Fast Company and selected as one of Goldman Sachs' 'Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs' multiple times.
Her achievements have garnered attention from prestigious publications such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, solidifying her status as a thought leader in the education sector.
Abby's dedication to social entrepreneurship has earned her accolades including being named an Ashoka Fellow, a Draper Richards Kaplan Fellow, and a Harvard Business School Fellow.
As the founder of Global Citizen Year, Abby raised and deployed over $65M in scholarships to empower young leaders and has continued her mission through The Flight School, redefining the traditional 'gap year' experience.
With a B.A. in International Relations, an M.A. in International Comparative Education from Stanford University, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, Abby brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her endeavors.
She currently serves on various Advisory Boards and is a Visiting Fellow at Stanford University, contributing her insights to key educational initiatives.
Abby's passion for education and social impact has made her a sought-after speaker at global conferences and a member of Fast Company's Impact Council, highlighting her influence in driving positive change.
Residing in Oakland with her family, Abby Falik continues to inspire and lead the way in transforming education and empowering the next generation of changemakers.
Highlights
Lessons from the King of Flight
A few weeks ago, I received a wild invitation: Richard Branson invited me to a gathering of changemakers to explore how Virgin Unite, the foundation he co-founded with the incomparable Jean Oelwang, could amplify its impact. Despite the serious logistical gymnastics required (😜) my answer was immediate & obvious 😉
The days were magical ✨ and my time with Richard offered lessons that resonate deeply with what we’re building at The Flight School.
🌍 Leadership matters.
When Gen Z is asked about leaders they admire, the silence is disconcerting. Years ago, Richard and Jean convened The Elders—a council of global leaders, including Nelson Mandela, Mary Robinson, Desmond Tutu, and others, to serve as a conscience for the planet. How can we connect today’s moral leaders with the rising generation?
💛 Happiness is an inside job.
Richard is one of the most contagiously joyful people I’ve met—and it’s not because he’s a billionaire. He’s learned that purpose, not profit, gives life meaning. At 74, he’s in stunning shape and chooses to do what bring him joy—whether he’s caring for flamingos 🦩 or teaching people to swim. His life is a testament to alignment: How do we ensure our words and actions align with our purpose?
⛰ Risk-taking is a muscle.
Richard’s motto, “Screw it, let’s do it,” is more than a saying; it’s a life philosophy. His memoir's appendix, “79 Ways I’ve Almost Died,” shows that risk-taking is a muscle he’s built over time. What if we taught young people to embrace risk rather than avoid it?
⚖ People are people, no matter their status.
I was admittedly intimidated on arrival—it’s easy to feel small among those with more money, power, or fame. But Richard’s humility shines through and puts others at ease. Whether driving a taxi in disguise or treating his staff like family, he reminded me that our character is revealed in how we treat those with less power. What if humility and humanness grew with status?
🚀 Our differences are our superpowers.
Dyslexic and labeled “dumb” by his teachers, Richard dropped out of school at 15 to start his first business. Now, he’s convinced LinkedIn to create a “dyslexic thinking” badge, recognizing different ways of seeing and learning can be superpowers. What other superpowers should schools and employers start acknowledging?
Richard has generously offered to be an ally to The Flight School and we’re over the moon to bring him into our orbit 👏👏👏
He embodies everything we’re committed to building in our next-gen leaders:
🌟Comfort with ambiguity 🌟Confidence to chart one's own course 🌟Courage to take risks, fail, and rebound 🌟Commitment to a purpose beyond oneself
Here's to saying YES to invitations – and building the plane while flying 😎
The sky's the limit, and we’re just getting started! 🎈 ✈️
#ThisIsLeadership #LearningOnPurpose #TakingFlight #DyslexicThinking #Courage #Innovation
✨ From the moment I met Michaela Horvathova, I knew we were kindred spirits.
Michaela doesn’t just dream about the future of education—she’s building it. Her work at BE Beyond Education isn’t about incremental change; it’s about a complete reimagining of what school can (and must) become in the 21st century.
Beyond Education has developed the world’s first scientifically validated measure of "soft skills"—though let's be honest, these are the real power skills, are they not?! While traditional assessments still focus on measuring KNOWLEDGE (what we know)— something AI can already outcompete us on -- BE’s approach expands the lens to measure the learning that matters more:
☑ META-LEARNING: How we reflect and adapt
☑ SKILLS: How we apply what we know
☑ CHARACTER: How we engage with the world
This couldn’t be more aligned with what we’re doing at The Flight School to ensure our next gen leaders are equipped for the future.
Today, our team is thrilled to announce our partnership with Beyond Education. Together, we’re not just talking about the future of learning—we’re creating it. ✨
#LearningOnPurpose #PowerSkills #TakingFlight #FutureofEducation
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Mesh works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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Mesh is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Yes, Mesh offers extensive integration capabilities. Mesh introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Mesh supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Mesh also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Mesh is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Mesh stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Mesh excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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