69 Day Giving Challenge – Day 5

On Halloween night our dear friend the Potenza’s invited us into their home for a quick beer/glass of wine.  Doug and Traci are great people and have a beautiful family. They live just up the street from our home in Chappaqua, NY.   Traci mentioned that she had been following along with my challenge, and said she had an idea for me.  We all got a bit too involved with our beer/wine before she could tell me her idea. The next morning via Facebook Tracy sent me this note:

Hey. Good to see you guys last night! Thanks for coming by. I never told you my idea for your charity work. You could ask the question “how much good can you do with 69 dollars?”. You can challenge others or ask for ideas. I had to do this once (with 35 dollArs) and I found this charity called Secret Smiles where they could buy a backpack and fill it with school supplies for $35. So I asked 35 people for 35 dollars for 35 backpacks. Secret Smiles is still out there, I think they donate beds to needy kids. You could ask them or another charity what you can do with $69. Just a though and hopefully it makes sense

I loved the idea, but I’m not as smart as Traci, so I took the shortcut and just donated $69 to her suggested charity “Secret Smiles.” They’re doing amazing work, and you should all check them out here.   If you feel so inclined, I dare you to see what good you can do with $69 of your own …let me know how it turns out in the comments.

To learn more about why I’m giving a gift every day for 69 days, please read this If you have any ideas where I can give, what I can give, or how I can go about giving please either email me at chrisdessi@silverbacksocial.com, text or call 646 645 4171, comment  below or find me on Twitter @chrisdessi

Who’s the Coach?

I’m Chris Dessi.

Tech entrepreneur. Author. Talking head.
But before any of that—I’m a builder.

I’ve spent the last 20+ years helping companies grow:
From dot-com chaos to SaaS scale-ups to AI-powered everything.
I’ve sold software across continents. Closed $32M in deals using AI.
Built and exited businesses. Bombed a few too. All of it made me sharper.

Today, I run Torque AI, a marketing automation platform built for the 99%.
Small business owners. Solopreneurs. Operators with too much to do and not enough support.
We give them AI superpowers—without the hype, the jargon, or the BS.

I’m also the founder of AI Summit NYC, where real business owners come to learn how to actually use AI to drive revenue.

When I’m not building, I’m writing books, speaking on national TV, and coaching execs through reinvention—with a baseball bat in one hand and a meditation app in the other.

I believe reinvention is our greatest asset.
I believe AI isn’t the threat—it’s the test.
And I believe if you’re not adapting, you’re eroding.

Let’s build something that matters.

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