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Peter Sims (writer)

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Peter SIms
Sims in 2015
Sims in 2015
Born (1976-07-29) July 29, 1976 (age 48)
OccupationAuthor and entrepreneur
Alma materBowdoin College, Stanford Business School
GenreNon-fiction
Notable worksTrue North

Little Bets

Black Sheep
Website
www.petersims.com

Peter Eagle Sims is an American writer, entrepreneur, and investor. He authored three books including True North (2007), co-authored with Bill George, which was among the Wall Street Journal bestseller books.[1] Others include Little Bets (2011)[2] and Black Sheep (2024).[3] Sims has been praised as "one who knows his way around disruptive ideas."[4]

Sims is the Founder & Chairman of BLK SHP (Black Sheep), a place and platform for small bets and investing. Previously, he worked as an investor at Summit Partners in London where he co-founded the firm's European office. He has also been an advisor at Google[x], The Moonshot Factory, Alphabet's semi-secret innovation laboratory.[5]

Additionally, Sims was part of the founding team for GivingTuesday,[6] the philanthropy movement that has become a globally recognized day of giving to charity.[7] GivingTuesday is the first Tuesday after the United States' Thanksgiving, and has raised more than $13 billion for nonprofit causes to date.[8][9][10]

Investing

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In 2024, Sims' company established an investment arm called BLK SHP Ventures.[11][12] Founding partners included J. Taylor Crandall, a founder of Oakhill Capital,[13] Pixar co-founder and long-time President Ed Catmull, and former Autodesk CEO Carl Bass. The inspiration for "black sheep" came from Pixar, a phrase used by Director Brad Bird for "restless contributors with unconventional ideas."[14] Sims, Catmull, and Bass worked together as advisors at Google[x].[15]

Life

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Sims is a graduate of Bowdoin College and Stanford Business School. He grew up in the rural foothills of Northern California, where his father was a county judge, and he attended Colfax High School.[16] His mother is a photographer and practicing Buddhist who worked closely with Pema Chödrön, the American Buddhist teacher, on several books.[17]

Sims has a daughter, Riley, who appears in Black Sheep, and for whom he dedicates the book.[18] He is sixth generation Californian. His 3rd-great grandfather, Jacob Gundlach, founded Gundlach Bundschu Winery in Sonoma in 1858, now the oldest family-owned winery in California.[19]

Film

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Sims and Orlando Bloom served as executive producers for the documentary film Earthbound.[20] Directed by Farhoud Meybodi, the film explores the life of Nzambi Matee, a Kenyan innovator and entrepreneur who is tackling the plastic waste epidemic in her hometown of Nairobi. The film won numerous awards, including a 2023 Tribeca X Award in the feature film category.[21][22]

Works

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  • True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership, ISBN 978-0-7879-8751-0, with Bill George, 2007.
  • Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries, ISBN 978-0-7879-8751-0, 2011.
  • Black Sheep: The Quest to Be Human in an Inhuman Time, ISBN 978-1-939714-25-1, 2024.

References

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  1. ^ "True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership — Book — Faculty & Research — Harvard Business School". www.hbs.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  2. ^ Sims, Peter (2011-08-06). "Daring to Stumble on the Road to Discovery". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  3. ^ Haislip, Barbara. "Entrepreneurs talk about the self-help books that actually helped them". WSJ. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  4. ^ Buchanan, Leigh (May 3, 2011). "Book Review: Little Bets". Inc. Magazine.
  5. ^ "Peter Sims". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  6. ^ Epstein, David (2024-05-28). "Pitching Collective Purpose". Range Widely. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  7. ^ Piper, Kelsey (2020-11-30). "Giving Tuesday, explained". Vox. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
  8. ^ Lerner, Jamie (2022-11-29). "The Unequivocal History of Why We Donate on #GivingTuesday". Distractify. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  9. ^ "Why GivingTuesday is the Social Innovation Idea of the Year | Management Innovation eXchange". www.managementexchange.com. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
  10. ^ GivingTuesday (2023-11-30). "$3.1 Billion in Giving & Millions United Around Generosity to Celebrate GivingTuesday 2023". GivingTuesday. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
  11. ^ "blk shp ventures". BLK SHP. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  12. ^ "Disrupt Yourself Podcast with Whitney Johnson: 363 Peter Sims: A Practical Guide To Sparking Your Humanity "In An Inhuman Time" on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  13. ^ Solomont, E.B. "Bay Area Estate Asks $16 Million More Than Its 2020 Sale Price". WSJ. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  14. ^ "Innovation lessons from Pixar: An interview with Oscar-winning director Brad Bird | McKinsey". www.mckinsey.com. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  15. ^ Bush, Isaac (2024-03-12). "Beyond the doomscrolling – movement building for positive change". Rita McGrath. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
  16. ^ "Colfax High announces 2019 Hall of Fame inductees". goldcountrymedia.com. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  17. ^ "Black Sheep: The Quest To Be Human In An Inhuman Time Peter Eagle Sims - Google Search". www.google.com. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
  18. ^ Sims, Peter (2024-05-07). Black Sheep: The Quest To Be Human In An Inhuman Time. Tom Rath. ISBN 978-1-939714-27-5.
  19. ^ DOYLE, SARAH (2023-03-01). "Sonoma winery launches wine brand geared toward 20-somethings". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
  20. ^ "Peter Sims | Producer". IMDb. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
  21. ^ "Tribeca X 2023 Official Selections". Tribeca. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
  22. ^ "Farhoud Meybodi - Awards". IMDb. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
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