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on Million Dollar Ideas?
That's a great TED talk Noir. Cameron Herold is a very good friend of my business partner at NedSpace.
posted 2 years, 10 months ago
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on Million Dollar Ideas?
Micro Venture Finance & Innovation Centers for Social Entrepreneurs
Social entrepreneur business innovation centers offer a new type of place for local social entrepreneurs to gather and work in a collaborative and open environment.
Micro Venture Finance offers a different type of capital investment instrument. There are over 10,000 microfinance institutions worldwide with less than 5% of those being financially sustainable. Within the realm of microfinance 9 out of 10 borrowers would rather have a job, than borrow thru microfinance and be "entrepreneurs". Micro Venture Finance aims find local and innovative entrepreneurs and business models focused on building products and services with market demand targeting when possible scalable models for social innovation.
Micro Venture Finance addresses incubation, acceleration, financing, guidance and growth of early stage local innovative business models. Initial Micro Venture Finance would be done in investment tranches of $10,000-$25,000.
Innovation centers would provide social entrepreneurs with a location that has great quality Wi-Fi appropriate technology, low cost portable furniture for easy collaboration, and experienced startup entrepreneur to help guide the startups. We would also work to build solid development of meaningful collaboration partnerships with such organizations as Ashoka.org, Endeavor.org, Kiva.org, Ycombinator.com, Globalgiving.com that would add great value to all parties.
The innovation center would optimally be at cash-flow positive and totally self-sustainable within 3-6 months of launch (already done this). Social entrepreneurs and businesses within each center should all have a working prototype of their business model within 16 weeks of launch. Following the rapid 16 week prototype businesses would either be taken to the next level of financing with local angel/VC's, or they would be guided into execution and development of building a solid, ongoing cash flow positive business that hires and grows locally.
Step one of measurement will be traditional financial return on investment (ROI) methods. Equally important a second level of measurements will include social return on investment (SROI).
posted 2 years, 10 months ago
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on Million Dollar Ideas?
aoxomoxoa, this is a totally dialed in idea. Centers like this provide open collaboration and peer to peer support that are hard to find elsewhere.
posted 2 years, 10 months ago
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on Million Dollar Ideas?
Great idea Jacob! Teaching entrepreneurship to youth is critical for development of small (and large) businesses in Oregon in the future. And you're also right, a little money is huge to youth, and overall young people are incredibly creative, something that is very important to early stage companies as well. Thumbs up.
posted 2 years, 10 months ago
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on Million Dollar Ideas?
I’d like to invite people here to please read and comment on this proposal: Micro Venture Finance & Innovation Center for Social Entrepreneurs
http://www.ideas4oregon.org/forums/59917-million-dollar-ideas/suggestions/895815-micro-venture-finance-innovation-center-for-soci?ref=title
The idea hits many of the Meyer Memorial Trust "hot spots"
posted 2 years, 10 months ago
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