Entrepreneur Ryan Allis Makes Philanthropic Appeal in New Book

from WRAL

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Ryan Allis, the young lion who along with co-founder Aaron Houghton is building a big success story at iContact, is going international with his hopes of helping others.

Allis’ new book, “Zero to One Million,” goes on sale today at Amazon.com and other places. He has a high profile publisher in McGraw Hill. And Allis has already received a great deal of media attention for his remarkable success as a very young entrepreneur.

The book recounts the story of building iContact, which provides a wide variety of e-mail and other communications services, intul a profitable multi-million dollar business. He and Houghton launched the business before either could purchase an adult beverage.

In an appeal to friends, colleagues and media contacts, Allis is asking them to help promote the book. Proceeds will go to charity.

“While I am optimistic, I am distressed by the state our world is in today. I am distressed by two simple facts,” he wrote in his appeal.

“First, while we have prosperity and opulence in many parts of our world--49,000 humans, people just like you and me, die each and every day from starvation and preventable diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, AIDS, and diarrhea. Second, while we live in comfort, 2.7 billion humans live on under $2 per day.

“These numbers are Purchase Power Parity (PPP) adjusted--meaning that 42% of the humans in our world must live a FULL day on the same $2 that you and I would use to buy half a latte at Starbucks. These facts come from the World Bank and the World Health Organization, respectively.

“When I learned these facts in Economics class at Manatee High School at age 17 from an inspirational teacher Robert Fletcher, I couldn't ever afterwards pretend as if ‘I didn't know.’

“I've read a lot over the past six years about the topic of human poverty, global politics, and economics--inspirational books like The End of Poverty, The White Man's Burden, How to Change the World, The Bottom Billion, Globalization and Its Discontents, The Lexus & The Olive Tree, The Road to Serfdom, Atlas Shrugged, Confessions of an Economic Hitman, The Secret History of The American Empire, The Fortune at The Bottom of the Pyramid, and The Mystery of Capital.

“I've come to one singular conclusion..I am going to dedicate the rest of my life to reduce poverty and hunger and increase access to education, healthcare, technology, and entrepreneurial opportunity here at home in North Carolina and the U.S. as well as in developing countries. This is not charity--this is humanity. We will never have a secure world when half of our brothers and sisters do not have access to basic human needs like shelter, food, primary education, and preventative medicine.”