The Next “-Oportun-ity”

To start off this week, I was able to get on a phone call with my second mentor Mr. Eric Cunningham, who is the Vice President of Collections Operations at Oportun, a financially inclusive company providing affordable loans and other services. This was the first time that I was able to discuss my Final Product with Mr. Cunningham, so I was able to talk a little more about what I was looking to accomplish and where I am at right now in the whole process. I discussed my three month timeline and different research topics I am looking into, such as UBIT, various software platforms, and nonprofit legal structures (tax-exemption status). He was able to give me great insight into these topics as he mentioned what I should look for when deciding on a software platform and emphasized the idea of establishing a strong, central nonprofit purpose and mission. I also spent a lot of this week researching different topics for my Final Product, but I really focused my research on the general retail industry. In connection to my Final Product, I was able to really understand the idea of global economic development, connection, and exchange over time with the introduction of online retail, a subject that was so fascinating to read about.