The Last Step: Scaling the Venture

I guess it's time to wax philosophical about the big picture a little bit, because most of the technical thinking about my venture is alreay done...so here goes. One of the things I have noticed in listening to the other prospective entrepreneurs in this class talk about their venture is that most of them have the desire and a plan to become really big. Especially with the internet-based operations of Enes and Young Suk, Barbara's nationwide Nigerian health program, etc. These are eminently scalable ventures that would have a great social impact. My venture, on the other hand, is tiny and only serves a small portion of a small city.

Needless to say, I've thought a lot about the fact that my venture is not eminently scalable, not only because the business model is dependent on an old and shrinking stock of buildings but also because I'm not particularly interested in this point at making other cities more sustainable. I don't feel, however, that I am falling into any of the tendencies that prevent venture growth from today's article. I don't think I am too loyal to anyone (I don't even have a team in place yet to be loyal to), I am generally not very task oriented (mostly see the big picture), and I'm not working in isolation, because sustainable development in the abstract will increasingly become a salient social and econmic goal and I will be connected into this business world locally.

I think that my biggest issue in the future will be singlemindedness. For instance, I have this venture plan and I have an idea of where its work fits in with the larger goal of sustainable development in Pittsburgh, but what happens if our business model no longer becomes practical or, alternatively, if new opportunities in sustainability arise? Would I be eager to take on new project? Maybe not, because I would be invested in this green preservation and green construction thing. Going forward, therefore, I think the biggest thing I will have to keep in mind is to allow for new opportunities to increase the scope of my venture and scale it up.