The talk was given at a Local TEDx event, produced independent of the TED conferences.

Ben Pietrzyk founded ondawave to create healthier lives by increasing access to proper, effective care in rural Dominican Republic. Through his work at the Uncommon Individual Foundation, he learned the best practices of entrepreneurship and uses that expertise to lead the Caruso Challenge, where he teaches problem based entrepreneurship to youth in Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey.

In this talk, Ben shares the importance of understanding key business assumptions as a roadmap that helps entrepreneurs understand the value of marrying the problem and dating the solution as a success method of problem based entrepreneurship. Benjamin Pietrzyk is a social entrepreneur, professor and program director. As the Director of Entrepreneur Mentoring at UIF, Ben has advised 80+ ventures in the greater Philadelphia area, helping them create hundreds of jobs and raising millions of capital. Through his work, he has learned the best practices of entrepreneurship and uses that expertise to lead the Caruso Challenge, where he teaches problem based entrepreneurship to youth in Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey. Outside of UIF, Ben co-founded ondawave, a cross cultural organization that executes asset-based community development in the rural Dominican Republic. Currently, ondawave is launching a medical clinic in Angostura that brings accessible and effective care to rural communities. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx