This week’s
topic for exploration is Making the
Right Things Happen at the Right Time, and according to all three assigned
readings, thriftiness is a big part of that:
The Art of Bootstrapping - “Cash is not only king, it’s queen and
prince too for a bootstrapper.”
Launching a
Risky Project? Learn from Entrepreneurs in Africa – Rule 3: “Keep
costs low in the beginning and plan for scalability… Start with the smallest version
of the business that has a shot at success, and plan to learn and grow from
there.”
Putting
Discovery-Driven Planning to Work: “Success means generating the maximum amount of
useful learning for the minimum expenditure.”
 |
| Todd Dagres |
For some non-profit start-ups, the financial challenges of launching may
soon be a little easier. The Boston Globe
article “‘Shark
Tank’-style contest may give nonprofits capital” describes Todd
Dagres’ idea for a new ‘venture philanthropy’ competition: “Early-stage
not-for-profit organizations could pitch their missions to investors, who would
vet them on their plans and fund those they consider most promising.” Dagres
aims to “bring financial stability and management expertise to emerging
nonprofits that could eventually grow and benefit society” and to raise
awareness of “how hard and interesting and innovative nonprofits are”.
And
for those organizations that are not selected for the competition? We should
probably plan to live by the art of bootstrapping. My thought on how to apply
this to iCraft Path, for example, is to launch the venture as an online
resource community, utilizing strategic partnerships with existing
organizations. iCraft Path can then be
scaled up to offering personalized services, for needs not being met by
existing organizations. What other ideas do you have for keeping costs down for
your new venture?
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