The People Behind MindValley Labs
Vishen Lakhiani Co-Founder
Before MindValley, he was an exec in Silicon Valley and New York for several internet and technology firms. He turned bedroom entrepreneur at 27 and by the time he was 31 had founded 6 web businesses and never had to work a conventional job again.
He holds a degree in Computer Engineering but now specializes in Internet and Technology Marketing. He is one of the world’s top authorities on Social Media marketing and is a sought after expert on taking an author’s work online.
Michael Reining Co-Founder
Mike is an Internet and business wunderkind. In 2004, Mike co-founded MindValley, now one of the world’s leading online publishers and marketers in the field of personal development. Without venture capital or loans, Mike took MindValley from ‘bedroom’ business to multi-million dollar Internet company in the span of a few years.
In 2008, Mike’s passion for innovative management saw MindValley named one of the World’s Most Democratic Workplaces by WorldBlu. Prior to MindValley, Mike served as Head of New Venture Strategy at eBay, the world’s largest eCommerce company. Mike developed and executed a global classifieds strategy that saw eBay enter the local classifieds space, which included the launch of Kijiji.com and a 25% investment in Craigslist.
Mike has an MBA from Stanford University and BBA from the University of Michigan. Prior to Stanford, Mike was an Associate Consultant for the Boston Consulting Group.
Recent Media Coverage
Welcome to MindValley Press Room. Read on what press has to say about what we do and who we are.
Mike Speaks at WorldBlu
November, 2008
MindValley’s Mike Reining recently gave a speech in New York at the WorldBlu forum on organizational democracy.
Talent management ecosystem needed
October 15, 2008
Vishen Lakhiani was mentioned recently as one of the people scheduled to talk at an upcoming major forum on talent management.
“Roshan is one of the 12 speakers who will be discussing key talent management issues and challenges at the upcoming Asia Strategic Talent Management Forum 2008.
Others include organisational and clinical psychologist George Kohlriesser, MindValley chief executive officer and co-founder Vishen Lakhiani, General Electric Co human resource director Anusoorya Themudu.
The Asia Strategic Talent Management Forum 2008, which is organised by training firm Leaderonomics Sdn Bhd, will be held on Nov 13 at the Sime Darby Convention Centre.”
Speakers and Authors Gather at Napa, California
September, 2008
Vishen Lakhiani was invited to speak about social media marketing at Napa, California to some of the world’s biggest names in the fields of publishing and internet marketing. Amongst those who attended the event were Jack Canfield from Chicken Soup for the Soul series, Bill Bartmann of Billionaire Secrets To Success and Gary Goldstein, producer of Pretty Woman.
Marketing Malaysia’s non-business advantages
July 28, 2008
MindValley’s founders sit down with the Malaysian press to share their secrets on how they’ve managed to attract some of the brightest minds from places as far as the United States and Colombia to work in Malaysia. Vishen explains that it has a lot to do with Malaysia’s great non-business advantages.
“Vishen says they chose Malaysia for various reasons, including the fact that Southeast Asia is rapidly emerging as an economic powerhouse, and there are some three billion people within a five-hour flight from Malaysia who are getting online.
But Malaysia also has a non-business advantage that is often overlooked by employers. With its beaches, rainforests and vibrant urban life, it is simply a fun place to be.
Why not offer bright, young talent a career that involves partying in the tropics? A MindValley job ad posted on an online recruitment page that read “Win a free trip to Bali” – referring to a recent annual company trip to the island – attracted a deluge of applications.
“Now, at some point we realised there’s an opportunity here. We can position MindValley as an adventure career. Give up your boring little job in the US or Europe, come live in Malaysia – we’ll give you flexible working hours, you’ve got a lot of holidays, you’ve got a 45-hour work week and in your free time, you can travel, explore Southeast Asia. That was our marketing pitch and people loved it,” says Vishen.”
25 Companies Win Worldwide Award for Democracy in the Workplace
April 30 2008, Atlanta, Georgia
Workplace democracy isn’t only happening in the US. A notable stand-out on the list is MindValley, a self-funded Internet company based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with 25 employees from 17 countries. MindValley’s CEO states, “Most companies end up killing brilliant people. We had to tear down our ideas of what an ideal company is and give them room to build their own company culture. Along the way, our own blend of organizational democracy emerged, and we ended up bending the rules of business in a few crucial ways.”
“Organizational democracy is inevitable,” comments Fenton. “The Internet, the demands of Generations X and Y for meaningful work, and the Gallup Organization,” report that nearly two-thirds of US workers are disengaged at work are causing businesses to rethink their management models and embrace a more democratic style. The companies that choose organizational democracy will lead their industries, boost their bottom-line, and ultimately build a more democratic world.”
MindValley Wins the WorldBlu Award for World’s Most Democratic Workspaces
April 2008, Atlanta
Twenty-five companies are the annual winners in a “Worldwide Award for the Most Democratic Workplaces” competition sponsored by WorldBlu, Inc.
Among the organizations are DaVita Inc., (the first FORTUNE 500® company to make the WorldBlu List), Great Harvest Bread Company, BzzAgent, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, Equal Exchange, Linden Lab (makers Second Life), Pandora, DreamHost, Continuum, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, MindValley, and BetterWorld Telecom
According to US News and World Report
“Democratic companies may be slower in making decisions but faster in carrying them out because employees are invested in them. Workplace experts say the results can often be worth the effort of gathering employee input. In the war for talent, they add, the best and brightest employees will gravitate toward companies where their opinions get taken seriously. The younger generation of workers is accustomed to working in teams and speaking out through blogs”
Denver University MBA Presentation on Innovative Companies
April 2008, Denver University
MindValley is mentioned alongside such companies as Apple and 37 Signals by Victoria Girdziunas at a Denver University presentation on Innovation Drivers at companies.
The Internet Is His Playground
January 2008, Youth Entrepreneur
Give him just few seconds of your time and he will blow you away with his energy, snappy wit blow and rapidly whirring mind. Top student and Valedictorian at University of Technology Sydney, San Francisco State and UC Berkeley.
The internet is his playground. Being 23 he left his brain behind online projects like Project Bazooka, BunchOut.com and theCICAK which made him the Winner of the Klue Blue Chilli Award 2007. He was also the first Malaysian representative to win the 2006 HSBC Young Entrepreneur Award.
Malaysia’s ICT industry – one perspective
November 2007, PC.com
Mike Reining, believer that Malaysia which is becoming Knowledge Sharing country needs an internet start-up success story which will inspire local technopreneurs and developers.
Growing development team from all over the world can pitch the ideas to them and transform it into writing an “under wraps” social app which will be released for internal beta testing in a few weeks. But MindValley is not only huge idea factory but also resource of good and relevant programming languages like PHP and Ruby on Rails.