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Michael William Sweeney, Director of Online Strategies at OutsideIn Research, talks Investing in Afghanistan: "My personal belief is that it's all about timing. Right now is a very unique time. Afghanistan is getting a lot of negative press right now, and there's a belief that it can't be saved. So now, you have very niche media like Film Annex Buzz that's doing small investments in Afghanistan. I think it's a very interesting time to invest in Afghanistan in a calculated way without getting beyond your means." Here's what we asked Mike Sweeney: What is your perspective on the Film Annex Initiatives in Afghanistan? What do you think of investing in the education of the Afghan youth and women? Our goal is to increase the average yearly income in Afghanistan from $900 to $8000. How long do you think this will take? What's your opinion on (G.I.V.E.) Global Initiative for Veteran Entrepreneurship? Michael William Sweeney is the Director of Online Strategies at OutsideIn Research. Since the Spring of 2010, Michael has built out the online networks platform at The ProActive Network and now he brings that expertise to Film Annex. Mike has over fifteen years of experience in financial markets at Waterville Research and at Stanhope Capital, a private equity firm which focused on Small-Cap technology and medical companies. Prior to Stanhope, Mike worked at Shearson Lehman Brothers and Chase Securities. In the technology field, Mike was the Co-Founder of 4th Peripheral Technologies, a wireless speech/telecommunications company in Silicon Valley that was taken over by a management team from Motorola and Lucent. Mike received his M.B.A. in 1989 from The Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University, and his B.A. in 1984 from Boston College. He is very active in a number of Autism causes and charities including The Hawthorne Foundation, a pioneering school for Autistic children in Manhattan and Westchester. The Sweeney's also participate in the Simons Simplex Collection at Columbia University Medical Center.