Narrator: In 2014, a young Egyptian woman named Manal Rostom created a private Facebook group. She called it "Surviving Hijab" and invited 80 friends to join, hoping to create a supportive space for women who, like her, faced criticism for wearing the hijab. Within months, the group had over 40,000 members. But Manal, an avid runner, didn't stop there. Frustrated by the lack of representation for veiled athletes, she wrote a letter to Nike, asking why their Middle East campaigns never featured women like her. That single letter sparked a conversation that led to Manal becoming the first hijabi woman in a Nike ad campaign and, eventually, to the creation of the Nike Pro Hijab, a product that empowered hundreds of thousands of Muslim women athletes worldwide.

How does one person's frustration transform into a global movement that changes a corporate giant? According to Julie Hollar's book, Be a Movement Starter: An Activist's Guide to Making Change in Any Arena, this power isn't reserved for CEOs or politicians. It lies dormant in ordinary people, waiting for a spark of purpose to ignite it into action. The book provides a detailed roadmap for anyone who has ever seen a problem and wondered, "Why doesn't somebody do something about this?" and is ready to become that somebody.

Narrator: The foundation of any movement is not a grand strategy or a charismatic leader, but a clear and deeply felt purpose. Hollar argues that when people unite around a shared goal, they can challenge norms, overcome stereotypes, and build powerful communities. This principle is demonstrated not just in social activism but also in business. Neil Grimmer, a frustrated father tired of the lack of healthy, convenient baby food, channeled his purpose into creating Plum Organics. His mission—to provide busy parents with healthy food for their babies—was so clear that it fueled the company through immense challenges, eventually growing to an $80 million business that was acquired by Campbell Soup. Similarly, high school student Megan Grassell was appalled by the hyper-sexualized bra options available for her 13-year-old sister. She started Yellowberry with a simple purpose: to create age-appropriate, empowering products for young girls. This purpose resonated so strongly that a Kickstarter campaign, initially struggling, exploded after being shared by the blog A Mighty Girl, tapping into a community of parents who shared her concern. These stories reveal that a powerful purpose acts as a magnet, attracting supporters and resources to turn a personal frustration into a collective cause.

Narrator: A movement begins not with a crowd, but with a single, courageous act. Hollar uses the metaphor of being the "first to stand up and clap" to illustrate the importance of taking the initial step. This act of bravery is what transforms a lone nut into a leader. In 2013, after Turkish police cleared protestors from Istanbul's Taksim Square, performance artist Erdem Gündüz walked into the empty square and simply stood still. For hours, he stood in silent protest. His solitary act was bizarre, then intriguing, and finally, inspiring. Soon, one person joined him, then another, until hundreds of "Standing Men" and women filled the square, creating a powerful, viral image of peaceful defiance. This principle also applies to challenging corporate giants. When 15-year-old Sarah Kavanagh discovered that her favorite sports drink, Gatorade, contained brominated vegetable oil (BVO)—an ingredient banned in over 100 countries—she didn't assume someone else would handle it. She started a Change.org petition. Her clear, simple ask, amplified by media appearances, forced PepsiCo to remove BVO from Gatorade, and later, Coca-Cola followed suit with Powerade. Hollar emphasizes that the most significant barrier to starting is often not a lack of resources, but a lack of self-belief. The most important thing anyone can do is simply to begin.

Narrator: Passion without a plan is like a battery without a device. To be effective, a movement needs a clear vision of the future it aims to create. This vision must be communicated not through dry data, but through visceral, personal stories. After his daughter Kari was murdered in a hotel room, Hank Hunt learned that her 9-year-old daughter had tried to call 911 four times, but the calls never went through because she didn't know she had to dial "9" for an outside line first. Fueled by this tragic story, Hank's vision became crystal clear: a world where any child could dial 911 directly from any phone. This heartbreaking but powerful narrative fueled the campaign for "Kari's Law," which was eventually signed into federal law. A clear vision also allows for strategic flexibility. Chris Ategeka, who lost both parents to AIDS and a brother to a lack of medical care in rural Uganda, had a vision of a world with universal healthcare access. His first attempt was building motorbike ambulances. When that proved insufficient, he pivoted to mobile hospitals, and finally to Health Access Corps, an organization that tackles the "brain drain" of local medical talent. His North Star—the vision—remained constant, allowing him to adapt his strategy until he found the most effective path.

Narrator: Many movements picture a "David and Goliath" scenario, where the goal is to defeat a powerful adversary. Hollar argues for a more nuanced approach: reframing decision-makers as potential partners. This requires understanding their motivations, pressures, and spheres of influence—a process called "power mapping." A masterclass in this strategy was the campaign to end the Boy Scouts of America's (BSA) ban on gay scouts and leaders. Instead of just protesting the BSA's national board, the movement targeted key points of leverage. They petitioned the CEOs of AT&T and Ernst & Young, who sat on the BSA board, forcing them to publicly address the discriminatory policy. They persuaded corporate partners like Intel and UPS to speak out. They mobilized local Scout councils across the country to pressure the national organization from within. This multi-pronged strategy created a groundswell of internal and external pressure that made the old policy untenable. The goal is not always to shame, but to persuade by making it easy for the decision-maker to say "yes." Amanda Nguyen did this when she championed the Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act. She and her team didn't just show up with a problem; they arrived with a fully drafted bill, data on its financial benefits, and answers to every conceivable question, making it almost effortless for Congress to pass the bill unanimously.

Narrator: A movement starter's most critical job is to inspire their team. Hollar breaks down motivation into three core drivers: Purpose, Growth, and Connection. Purpose is the unifying force. After the brutal murder of Özgecan Aslan in Turkey, activist Gözde Salur started a petition to end lenient sentences for violence against women. The shared purpose of seeking justice for Özgecan united over a million people from diverse backgrounds. To keep this purpose alive, leaders must constantly connect the team's work to its real-world impact, as Neil Grimmer did at Plum Organics with his weekly "Love Bomb"—a story from a family whose life was made easier by their product. Growth involves setting high expectations and empowering individuals. Hollar advocates for "90/10 decision-making," where team members are trusted to make 90% of the decisions related to their job, fostering autonomy and skill development. Finally, Connection is about building psychological safety—a state Google's research found to be the top predictor of team success. This is built on trust, vulnerability, and the leader's willingness to lead by example, work hard, and demonstrate that they are part of the crew, not above it.

Narrator: The path to change is paved with obstacles, failures, and criticism. Hollar stresses that resilience is not optional. A key part of this is learning to "fail well." The author's own experience co-founding The Dealmap is a prime example. The company went through three different products—Fatdoor, Center'd, and Center'd 2.0—that failed to gain traction before they finally pivoted to the idea that became a massive success and was acquired by Google. Each failure was not a defeat, but a data point that guided the next step. The book advises that failure is not falling down, but staying down. Equally important is learning how to handle criticism, or what Hollar calls "haterade." While it's crucial to filter out destructive trolling, constructive feedback is a gift. For truly vitriolic opposition, the book offers a radical approach: the "bear hug." When students at New College discovered their classmate Derek Black was a prominent white supremacist, one student, Matthew Stevenson, chose not to ostracize him. Instead, he invited Derek to his weekly Shabbat dinners. Over months of shared meals and conversations, the human connection dissolved the ideology of hate, and Derek eventually renounced white nationalism publicly. This demonstrates that empathy can sometimes be a more powerful weapon than anger.

Narrator: The single most important takeaway from Be a Movement Starter is that leadership is not a position but an action. It is the decision to transform frustration into a vision, to take the first step even when afraid, and to build a community around a shared purpose. The book systematically demystifies the process of creating change, showing that it is a skill that can be learned and practiced by anyone, anywhere.

Ultimately, the book leaves readers with a profound and inspiring challenge. You may never know the full extent of your impact—the person who read your post, saw your protest, or was moved by your story. The goal is not to measure the ripples, but to have the courage to be the stone thrown in the water. The real question is not whether you can change the world, but whether you are willing to try.