2010年，凯斯顿·沃尔金斯（Kheston Walkins）在攻读神经医学本科学位期间，对平面图绘设计发生了浓厚兴趣，并决定自己创办公司。但当时朋友们都不理解他为什么要冒这种风险。

他说,“大多数特立尼达人不愿冒险——他们希望的是风险最小化而收益最大化。”但是沃尔金斯不是这样。他说，“我不在乎冒经过掂量的风险……因为我认为它是一个学习过程。”

沃尔金斯最终证明朋友们错了。他在家乡查瓜那斯（Chaguanas）创办了Raiora Data Services数据服务公司，从事出版和市场推销业务，包括为特立尼达和多巴哥各地提供设计、视频和语言服务。

28岁的沃尔金斯希望最终将他的业务扩展到医学技术领域。目前他在为一个叫做Communicare的应用软件项目筹资。2011年，在一个熟人因中风引起并发症去世后，他开始投入这项开发。

Communicare软件目前仍在开发阶段。软件的目标是采用眼球跟踪技术帮助在中风或脑创伤后有语言障碍的人表达自己的需要。沃尔金斯希望让患者能够通过用眼睛注视电脑屏幕上的选项来表达希望吃东西、喝水、洗澡或其他需要。

经验体会

沃尔金斯表示，创业让他懂得了人们互联相通的重要。

在特立尼达和多巴哥，推广一个产品的关键是“你认识什么人和什么人认识你”。他参加过的美洲青年领袖倡议（Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative）试点项目帮助他结识了拉美和加勒比地区的其他年轻创业人，其中一位来自厄瓜多尔的同行现在正在帮助他建立Communicare的交流平台。http://r.photo.store.qq.com/psb?/V13Rrarc03mULP/pOtD*eTmWRlJNdccoxqBND6b4c7KF4pPJvGwUgc8EoI!/o/dAcBAAAAAAAA&bo=gAOAAugDygIFAAE!

他的另一个体会是，要能让人们共享他的产品——也就是他所说的要积累“社会价值”。他说，当你的应用软件或服务项目不仅对人们的看法产生影响，而且改善了他们的生活和“促使他们与其他人分享【你的产品】时”，你就是在积累社会价值。他说，“一旦做到人们相互分享……你的业务就会突飞猛进发展。”

沃尔金斯希望继续与这一地区的其他创业人建立发展关系，牵线搭桥。他说，“我们需要登上……我们自己设计的列车。我们之间有许多共同之处，我们可以一道前进。”

Could an app help the speechless communicate? This Trinidadian thinks so.
 

In 2010, when Kheston Walkins was pursuing his undergraduate degree in medical neuroscience, he discovered a passion for graphic design. He decided to start his own company, but was discouraged by friends who didn’t understand why he was taking the risk.

“Most people in Trinidad are risk averse — they want the lowest risk but the highest reward,” he explained. But Walkins wasn’t like that. “I don’t mind taking calculated risk … because I see it as a learning process.”

Walkins proved his friends wrong by launching Raiora Data Services, a digital publishing and marketing company. Located in his hometown of Chaguanas, the company offers design, videography and language services throughout Trinidad and Tobago.

Walkins hopes to eventually branch into medical technology. The 28-year-old is seeking funding for a project called Communicare, an application he started building in 2011 after an acquaintance died from complications brought on by a stroke.

Communicare is still under development, but the plan for the app is to use eye-tracking technology to enable patients whose speech is impaired by stroke or traumatic brain injury to communicate their needs. Walkins hopes patients will be able to simply look at different options on a computer screen and convey whether they want to eat or drink, take a bath or request other types of assistance.

Lessons learned
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Walkins said that launching his ventures taught him the importance of making connections.

In Trinidad and Tobago, getting a product known is about “who you know and who knows you,” he said. His participation in a Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative pilot program helped him connect with other young entrepreneurs across Latin America and the Caribbean, including one from Ecuador who is providing the communication platform for Communicare.

Getting people to share his product — or building what he calls “social currency” — is another lesson he’s learned. This is when your application or service not only affects the way people think, but also makes their lives better and “encourages them to share [your product] with others,” he said. “Once you get people sharing … it makes your business grow exponentially.”

Walkins hopes to keep building bridges between himself and other entrepreneurs in the region. “We need to get on … a train of our own devising,” Walkins said. “We have a lot of commonalities between us, and we can move forward together.”