Jonathan Kalan takes us on his journey of international travel, journalism, entrepreneurship and co-founding “Unsettled”—a global travel community of 2,000+ people from 80+ countries who are redefining the terms of their own work and lifestyle. Jonathan explains how, after college, he moved to Tanzania to open a pizza shop, and eventually transitioned into international journalism for major outlets like the BBC, Al Jazeera, and New York Times. After unexpectedly getting caught up in both the Egyptian coup in 2013 and the Al Shebab attack on the WestGate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, and seeing dozens of people get killed, he began heavily reflecting on his ‘privilege’ and how he could make the biggest impact on the world. He tells the story of meeting his co-founder and ultimately doing a TED Residency to incubate the idea for his company “Unsettled”, and delivering a TED Talk at the end that. Jonathan then talks about the evolution of Unsettled, the steps taken to prioritize diversity and to ensure that participants are connected with locals in the ground, and how they facilitate that in places like Beirut, Lebanon. He then explains the types of travel experiences currently offered by Unsettled for one week, two weeks, and month-long durations. He then explains Unsettled’s virtual “Lifestyle Incubator” program that helps participants audit themselves, envision their ideal career and lifestyle, and then create an achievable action plan with timeline and accountability mechanisms to achieve it. FULL SHOW NOTES AVAILABLE AT www.TheMaverickShow.com
Episode #73: “Unsettled” Co-Founder Jonathan Kalan on Building Lifestyle Incubators and Organizing Transformative Travel Adventures
Episode Summary
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About the Guest
Jonathan Kalan
Jonathan Kalan is CEO & Co-Founder of Unsettled, a global travel community for creative professionals looking to break out of their routine and redefine their own future of work. Unsettled offers travel experiences in some of the world’s most beautiful destinations, and has over 2,000 alumni from 80+ countries that are all passionate about taking their work, life, and adventures beyond traditional borders. Unsettled also offers an online “Lifestyle Incubator” program—a highly interactive virtual retreat where Unsettled’s facilitators help participants envision their dream lifestyle and career (based on their values, interests, and goals), and then design an achievable action plan to make it a reality, with peer to peer accountability and support. Before founding Unsettled, Jonathan was an inaugural TED Resident, founding Editor-In-Chief of the award-winning news app Timeline, and an internationally recognized photographer and journalist. He’s lived for extensive periods of time in Africa, the Middle East and Asia reporting for BBC, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and Foreign Policy among others. He currently lives unsettled, splitting most of his time between Mexico City’s taco stands and Puerto Rico’s surf breaks.
What You'll Learn
- The importance of reflecting on ‘privilege’ when traveling the world
- What a truly transformative travel experience consists of, and how to create one
- How to use a “Lifestyle Incubator” to design and realize your dream life
Links From the Episode
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CHECK OUT THE “UNSETTLED” TRAVEL EXPERIENCES
(Get $100 Off of Any Unsettled Experience By Using the Code “MAVERICK”)
CHECK OUT UNSETTLED’S VIRTUAL “LIFESTYLE INCUBATOR” PROGRAM
(Get $100 Off in this Program By Using the Code “MAVERICK”)
#1 BOOK THAT JONATHAN RECOMMENDS
ITEM JONATHAN NEVER TRAVELS WITHOUT
WINE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
TOP 3 FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATIONS
TOP 3 BUCKET LIST DESTINATIONS
PLACES WHERE THE INTERVIEW TOOK PLACE
OTHER PLACES MENTIONED
- Bali
- Ghana
- India
- Ivory Coast
- Jordan
- Nairobi, Kenya
- Los Angeles
- Morocco
- Nigeria
- Palestine
- Qatar
- Senegal
- South Africa
- Tanzania
WATCH JONATHAN’S TED TALK
CONTACT JONATHAN
Time Stamped Show Notes
[4:14] Jonathan’s Early Experiences with Entrepreneurship and International Travel
- Growing up in an adventurous family
- Working with the progressive media tech venture “Causecast”
- Developing his interests in social entrepreneurship
- Spontaneously deciding to move to Tanzania to open a pizza shop
- Developing his interest in photography and journalism
- Transitioning to pursuing a career as a journalist
- Matt’s experiences in Africa
[17:21] Jonathan’s Journalism Experience In Africa and the Middle East
- Documenting stories of young entrepreneurs around Africa and the Middle East
- Spending a month as a journalist in Cairo documenting the coup in 2013
- Choosing to transition away from journalism as a career
[23:22] Matt and Jonathan Reflect on Privilege and Perspective
[26:13] Jonathan’s Reflections on Covering the West Gate Mall Attack In Nairobi, Kenya
[29:11] Jonathan’s TED Residency and Founding “Unsettled”
- Jonathan’s Entrepreneurial initiatives after his journalism career
- Meeting his “Unsettled” co-founder
- Describing a transformational sailing trip
- Acquainted by Michael a publishing editor at MIT/Innovation Journal
- Being accepted to the inaugural TED Residency program
- Jonathan shares his TED Residency experience in New York
- Jonathan describes his TED Talk
- Incubating the idea of his company “Unsettled”
[37:22] Jonathan Explains the Value Proposition and Offerings of his Company “Unsettled”
- What is the word “unsettled” means for Matt
- Jonathan’s explanation of the philosophy of “unsettled”
- The value proposition and offering of Jonathan’s company “Unsettled”
- Community based experiences and non-traditional travel adventures
- The differences between 1-week vs. 2-week vs. month-long experience offering
- What types of people the “Unsettled” program is for
- Matt and Jonathan talk about their experiences traveling in Lebanon
- Matt and Jonathan talk about the importance of local-community-run travel experiences
[51:09] The Diversity and Inclusivity of “Unsettled”
- How “Unsettled” intentionally cultivates and maintains diversity
- Creating a safe space for women and people of color
- Diversity of professions, age and nationality
- The purpose and importance of the application process
- A curated community of 2,000 alumni from 80+ countries
[1:02:40] Unsettled’s Virtual “Lifestyle Incubator” Program
- Explaining the virtual “Lifestyle Incubator” program
- Who the “Lifestyle Incubator” is for and how the online program is designed
- Explaining the 3 sections of the program and how the learning community works
- Coming out of the program with an action plan and peer-to-peer accountability
[1:09:02] Lightning Round
- The #1 Book Jonathan Recommends
- The #1 Item Jonathan always brings when traveling
- The #1 Travel Hack that Jonathan Recommends
- The Advice Jonathan would give to her 18-year-old-self.
- Jonathan’s Top 3 Favorite Travel Destinations
- Jonathan’s Top 3 Bucket List Destinations
[1:12:40] Contact Jonathan
- Get $100 Discount on an Unsetteld Travel Experience
- Get $100 Discount on the virtual Lifestyle Incubator program
- Check out the Unsettled Website
- Follow Unsettled on Instagram
- Follow Jonathan personally on Instagram
