THE MISFIT ECONOMY

Who are the greatest innovators in the world? You’re probably thinking Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford. The usual suspects. This book isn’t about them. It’s about people you’ve never heard of. It’s about people who are just as innovative, entrepreneurial, and visionary as the Jobses, Edisons, and Fords of the world, except they’re not in Silicon Valley.

Around the globe, diverse innovators operating in the black, grey, and informal markets are developing solutions to a myriad of challenges. Far from being “deviant entrepreneurs” that pose threats to our social and economic stability, these innovators display remarkable ingenuity, pioneering original methods that we can learn from and apply to formal markets.

This book investigates the stories of underground innovation that make up the Misfit Economy. It examines the teeming genius of the underground through the eyes of pirates, hackers, gangsters, camel's milk traders, and others on the fringe. Who are these unknown visionaries? How do they work? How do they organize themselves? How do they catalyze innovation? And, ultimately, how can you take their lessons into your own world?

Alexa Clay is a storyteller and leading expert on subculture. She is the cofounder of the League of Intrapreneurs, a movement to create change from within big business and the Founder of Wisdom Hackers, an incubator for philosophical inquiry. Through the collective The Human Agency, Alexa initiates projects that aim to create communities of purpose around the world. When not operating in the world as Alexa, you can find her playing the Amish Futurist, an alter ego bringing Socratic inquiry to the tech scene. She is a graduate of Brown University and Oxford University.

Kyra Maya Phillips is a writer and innovation strategist. She is a co-founder of The Point People, a collective of innovators, thinkers, artists, and entrepreneurs committed to driving systemic change for a more equitable society. Previously, Kyra worked as a journalist for The Guardian, where she focused on environmental reporting, and as a consultant at SustainAbility, a London based think-tank and consultancy. She grew up in Caracas, Venezuela, and is now based in London, where she lives with her husband and son. She is a graduate of The London School of Economics.