Acara Challenge 2011
Preparing for Finals and Summer Institute
Business or Charity Alone Isn’t
Enough to Solve Wicked Problems
Combine the Best of Both
How Do We Create These
Leaders?
Passionate
Student
Effective
Leader
Acara’s Mission
Acara’s mission: to develop practical business solutions that
address global societal challenges.
This mission has two components:
• Acara education goals
– Help educate and inspire the next generation of leaders
– Bring the classroom into real global challenges; these situations require
academic skills, teamwork, customer research, multi-cultural
understanding, and real world deliverables
– Partner with universities
• Acara impact goals
– Implement the best ideas
– Partner with funders, NGOs, incubators, investors
ACARA CHALLENGE
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Theme: Environmental Sustainability
• Focus : Food Security
• If community need is greater in another environmental
area other than Food Security, that is an acceptable
solution. Examples include, but are not limited to:
– Energy
– Transportation
– Carbon emissions
– Water
– Public Health
2011 – Food Security
• Food security is a vital issue for global peace and
security.
• According to the 1996 World Food Summit of United
Nations:
– "Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and
economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their
dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. “
• The Challenge would be to address a problem related
to food, and could be related, but not limited, to the
production, transport, marketing/selling, processing,
storage, treatment or consumption of food and/or
water.
US Universities, Fall 2011
•
•
•
•
•
Cornell University
Michigan Tech
University of Cincinnati
University of Hartford
University of Minnesota
India Universities, 2011
• India Institute of Technology – Roorkee
• KJ Somaiya Institute of Management, Mumbai
• Kalinga School of Rural Management (@ KIIT),
Bhubaneswar
• TERI University, New Delhi
• Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
• Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar
• Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore
Focus on Basic, Practical Questions
Validate
and
move on
How do
you make
money?
These seem simple, but answering
them well is hard. By forcing
the students out of their comfort
zone, they are forced to work
hard to understand these issues,
hence learning the skills.
What’s the
problem?
• Economic Value
Proposition
• Social Value
Proposition
Why
will
people
buy it?
What’s
your
solution?
Who is your
customer?
A Business Model Template
Customer
Relationships
Key Activities
Customer
Segments
Key Partners
Value
Proposition
Key Resources
Channels
Revenue Streams
Cost Structure
Efficiency
Value
Together, the nine building blocks make up a “canvas” to help you plot out your
business model. Acara Challenge focuses students on the four in the top right..
Source: Business Model Generation, written by Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur et. al
DELIVERABLES AND
JUDGING
Judging process
• Midterm presentation – to Acara for feedback, NOT part of
competitive results
• First round presentation – each team will present to a panel of
judges (online) during the week of Dec 5 - 16
– Written business venture plans are due on Dec 2, 8 pm
Central Standard Time
– Presentation is 20 minutes plus 10 minutes Q&A
• Second round presentation – Selected finalists teams (up to 8
teams) will present at the final presentations Feb 3, at
University of Minnesota, St. Paul.
– Revised written business plans are due on Jan 27
– Teams will send one team member (US student
representative)
Business/Venture Plan
• Due 8 pm Central Daylight Time, Friday, 2 December.
Electronic delivery to Dropbox folder. Late delivery
severely penalized.
• Size limit: Max 10 pages of main text. Including
appendices beyond the 10 pages is ok. File size less
than 5 MB.
• Plan needs to list entire team (India and US members)
and acknowledge their mentor(s)
• Acara website has many examples from previous
years. Look at them!
Plan Contents
• Executive Summary: Clearly summarize the problem,
your solution, your objectives. Personalize it.
• Introduction and Background
• Proposed Venture: Describe the value proposition,
how it will work, what is compelling, what is the
competition, etc.
• Social value proposition
• Assumptions and risks. Very important. What are the
primary assumptions you need to validate.
• Financial projections.
• Funding request and next steps
Common Failings
• Is this a business that works outside the single
community you are currently working in?
• No feedback from potential customers on your
proposed solution.
– Else can you find a similar business model?
• Are you solving a problem people care about? Enough
to spend money on?
• The document doesn’t clearly communicate your plan,
and background knowledge.
• Appendix should have some details.
First Round Presentations
• Presentation times will be scheduled.
• Presentations will be made from US universities and
webcast using UMConnect.
• 3-5 judges online. Judges are a mix of business, NGO
and academic, from multiple countries.
• Judges will receive the plans on Dec 10.
• Presentation time per team 30 minutes. Devote 15-20
minutes to your oral presentation, and the remaining
10 - 15 minutes for Q&A.
First Round Judging Groups
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
UMN - TERI - 3 teams
Cincinnati - Roorkee - 3 teams
Cornell - Somaiya - 4 teams
Hartford - XIMB - 1 joint team, 3 XIMB teams
KIIT - 3 teams
TISS – 4 teams
Michigan Tech – 1 team
Advance best teams from First Round
Post first round, calls with teams to give them
feedback on their plans/presentations.
Judging Criteria
• What is the problem? (1-10 points)
• What is your solution? (1-10 points)
– What is your value proposition?
– Evidence: why do you think this solution will work?
• How do you make money? (1-10 points)
– Who is your customer?
– Why will they buy your solution?
• What is the social impact? (1-10 points)
– What is your social value proposition?
• How well did you communicate your ideas? (1-5 points)
• Total points possible : 5- 45 points.
Presentations
• Same items as plan
• The presentation is your chance to sell yourself, your
team and your plan.
• Focus on the key points, the details are in your plan.
• Judges/investors base much of their assessment on
you (are you believable, do they believe you can do it,
do they believe you understand the problem).
• For the Final Presentations, your plan for going ahead
is very important
• Have one or two people give the presentation, not
everyone
Criteria Questions
• What is the Problem?
– Is it based on field study? Does the community agree it is a problem? Is
it widespread or only in that community? How many people does it
impact?
• What is your Solution?
– Is it feasible? Why hasn’t it been done before? What is the next best
alternative to your solution and why will people choose your solution?
• How will you make money?
– Do potential customers accept this? How do you sustain financially?
What is it you are actually selling and who is the customer?
• What is the social value proposition?
– What is the social benefit? Who does it impact?
After the Challenge
• Awards
• Participation in the Acara Summer Institute
– India in June 2012
– Some classroom time, some time in the field, working on
business plan.
• Introductions to potential funders.
• ALL teams may apply to attend the Summer Institute
(winning teams will receive some scholarship support
but other teams must entirely fund themselves).
• SI is also open to non-Acara teams.
Awards
• Team awards are a mixture of
– In-kind Scholarship (Tuition and Room/Board) to the Summer Institute
– Value of tuition is ~$1800 per student
– Room and board value is $500 per student
• Cash Award
– Cash scholarship from Acara
• Matching Award
– Acara will additionally match cash raised to a specified limit. For ex., a
$1500 match means for every dollar the team raises, we will match it,
up to $1500.
• We are spreading awards across more teams.
Awards
Prize
In Kind Prize - Scholarships
Team 1, 2
Team 3, 4
Team 5, 6, 7, 8
2 (Tuition & R+B)
2 (Tuition & R+B)
2 (only Tuition)
Cash Prize
$1,500 + $1,500*
$1,500*
$1,000*
• * = matching
• For example – Teams ranked 1 and 2 in Finals:
–
–
–
–
–
Tuition x 2 = $3,600
Room/Board x 2 = $1,000
Cash prize = $1,500
Potential matching up to another $1,500
Total award up to $7,600
SUMMER INSTITUTE
UMN- Acara Summer Institute
Goal
to transition best business plans from school
project to a proto-business ready to fund.
Inputs
Business plans I committed team members I
framework I mentor network I exposure to
industry experts and venture capital I angel
investors
Outcome
the anticipated outcome is a “fundable” plan and
a team ready to launch.
Post Classroom:
Acara Summer Institute 2012
Challenge Final,
Feb 3
Field Work
I
Pre trip
Assessment
Classroom
June
• Pre-trip Assessment, approx. 1
week after Challenge Finals
(discuss with team what their plans
might be)
• By March 1, let us know if you are
considering attending SI.
• In March, review team plans for SI.
• March 30: deadline for teams to
decide if they will attend the SI
Immersion
June
•
•
•
•
On the ground in India
Mix classroom and field work
Classroom in Bangalore
Before SI: minimum 1 week
field work
Pre Trip Review Teleconference
• Cultural, travel issues
• Who is going to India/Bangalore and when
• Host plan in India – the plan at the university, includes lodging,
transportation, food, how to visit community
• Business plan objectives
– Assumptions and risks to validate
– What to determine before the SI classroom portion.
– Identify weakness so we can recruit right mentors/advice for them and
determine social ventures to visit.
– Validate the major points- the problem statement, solution tested, customer
validation of offering.
• Plan needs approval from mentor and professor, on both sides, then by
Acara, prior to receiving the award.
• Need to spend at least 7 days in their community of study prior to the
classroom portion of SI.
Summer Institute
• What do you learn in the field?
– Spend more time on voice of the
customer
– Validate business plan assumptions and
risks
– Team building
• What do you learn in the classroom?
– Assess field learning and implications
– Focused work on business plan
– Guest speakers and instructors
• Goal: to move from a class project to
a proto-business.
SI Agenda 2011
• Two day design thinking workshop by Quicksand.
• Half day workshop on community relationships by Sridhar Pabbisetty, CHF
International.
• Three to four days onsite with CCD - Madurai or Samuha - Bangalore to
observe in depth a successful social venture.
• Regular interactions with technical and marketing experts from Honeywell
India.
• Interactions with venture experts from the University of Minnesota,
including post the SI.
• Other speakers and guests from social ventures in India (Ashoka, Arghyam,
etc.)
• Review in front of potential investors.
Post Summer Institute
• What do you need to cross the chasm?
–
–
–
–
Time to refine plans and assumptions
Some financial support
Mentoring
Seed funding
Beginning
of class
End of
class
Summer
Institute
Post Institute,
working to launch
SUMMARY
How Do YOU Do This?
How Do YOU Do This?
• “Be the change that you want to see in the
world”
– Mohandas Gandhi
• "We all have dreams. But in order to make
dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot
of determination, dedication, self-discipline,
and effort.”
– Jesse Owens