Poverty, lack of education, access to clean water... These social concerns strike a global chord. If an entrepreneur conjures up a workable solution, why not scale that up with a smart mix of hand-picked mentors, funders and a worldwide network? That’s exactly what the US-based Unreasonable Institute chose to do with a new experiment, the India partner of which is the city-based Deccan Centre for Innovation and Design (DCID).
Founded in 2009 in Boulder, Colorado, the Unreasonable Institute is a nonprofit organisation geared to accelerate the growth of social entrepreneurs solving the world’s biggest problems. Simply put, the Institute’s objective is to put entrepreneurs in touch with mentors and investors, provide them the resources required to boost their postive effect exponentially.
Last year, the institute launched a global experiment called Unreasonable labs, where teams worldwide are equipped to run a five-day hyper accelerator in their respective city, country or region. The idea was to boost the growth of the local entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The essence of the Institute’s unique name is indicated in Bernard Shaw quote: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in adapting the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
Business Model Accelator Lab
Unreasonable’s tie-up with DCID has kickstarted the ‘Business Model Accelerator Lab,’ aimed at early or idea stage entrepreneurs from India/South Asia, who are seeking to tackle social or environmental problems through their startup ventures.
The Lab, as the DCID directors explained, is designed to help these entrepreneurs rapidly identify and validate the foundational assumptions of their ventures – captured in questions such as: Who is the customer? What is her/his problem? Do I/we have a solution? What is s/he willing to pay? Will I/we be able to break even?
Participants will undergo a step-by-step methodology culminating in the creation of a six-month operating plan. Located at the DCID facility in Indian Social Institute, Benson Town, Bengaluru, the Lab will be held for five full days from June 20 to 24, 2016. The Lab capacity is 25 to 30 participants.
DCID is a community and skilling hub for entrepreneurship, in particular social enterprises. It offers a set of short-term training/skilling programmes aimed at startups/enterprises at all stages of their lifecycle – from inception to maturity. More information can be accessed at www.dcid.in