Last Thursday, the Patricelli Center, Career Center, and WAPPS hosted a workshop entitled “Social Entrepreneurship Bootcamp: Business Plan Essentials” featuring philanthropist, investor, consultant, and business leader Steve McCarthy ’75. Here are some highlights of my notes from Steve’s talk:

 

General advice-

Be a salesperson, know your audience and tailor your pitch to them

When you get money, immediately go get more; use your grant to leverage other impact investors and philanthropists

Line up advisors; be sure to include a legal advisor

Social metrics are critical; know how you will measure your success

 

PowerPoint advice-

9 slides

First three create empathy, get them hooked, show the status quo, observation, tell the story

Next three slides dig deeper and show the analysis and opportunities

Last three are solutions, advantages, plan, ethos

Last slide is the “money slide” – leave it up, show how the money will make big change

Have readily available backup to explain your slides, appendix, links

 

Articles, videos, and websites that Steve recommends-

In Search of the Hybrid Ideal

A Guide to Social return on Investment

The Metrics Challenge: Assessing “Impact Capacity” at the Firm Level

A Framework for Action: Social Enterprise and Impact Investing

Twenty-Five Years of Social Investing: Four Lessons from the Front Line

Dan Pallotta’s TED Talk

TRASI (Tools and Resources for Assessing Social Impact) http://trasi.foundationcenter.org/

Business Model Canvas http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/canvas