Introduction
Acara Challenge 2011
Acara: Introduction
Acara was created to tackle some of the largest
challenges facing the globe, by connecting
individuals and organizations with an interest in
creating practical business solutions.
Goals:
• Social Change – Focus on the Big Issues
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Water
Food
Health (medicine, nutrition, hygiene)
Energy
Education
• Business Solutions – Lessons/Best Practices learned
from Industry
– Self-sustaining (support through profitability)
– Self-growing (single business, franchise, copies, etc)
Acara is part of IonE/Minnesota
Acara’s Mission
• Acara’s mission is to develop practical business solutions that
address global societal challenges.
• This mission has two components
• Acara education goals
– Educate and inspire the next generation of leaders
– Bringing the classroom into real global challenges, that require all their
academic skills plus teamwork, customer research, multi-cultural
understanding and real world deliverables.
– Partner with universities and university funders
• Acara impact goals
– Implement the best ideas
– Partner with funders, NGOs, incubators, investors.
Programs
Acara Challenge (AC)
• Develop practical social business models
Sales for Social Impact (SSI)
• Develop sales plans for existing social business
products or services
Summer Institute / Proto-businesses
• Incubate the best
Acara Corps Fellowships/Interns
• Give Acara alumni an opportunity to continue to
contribute
Online Presence
• Build a community
ACARA CHALLENGE
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The Acara Challenge
Goal
to create viable businesses while providing
participating student teams with real-world
commercialization opportunities.
Inputs
an initial problem space I background and resources I
framework I mentor network I exposure to
industry and to venture capital.
Outcome
the anticipated outcome is a range of business
concepts that are ready to be brought to
“realization” by the students on the teams or by
other interested parties.
2011 – Food and Water Security
• Food and water security are vital issues 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. “
• Water security is an analogous situation, namely that people should have at
all times, access to safe and clean water. According to the UN, 900 million
people globally do not have access to clean water.
• The Challenge would be to address a problem related to food and/or water,
and could be related, but not limited, to the production, transport,
marketing/selling, processing, storage, treatment or consumption of food
and/or water.
2011 – Food and Water Security
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Production: Irrigation, seeds, pest control, fertilizer, harvesting
Transport: getting crop to market or water to consumer
Marketing/selling: how is it sold, to whom, where, middle men
Processing: how is raw harvested crop converted to something else, or how
is water treated.
• Storage: Storage of food or water by end consumer or someone else in the
value chain.
• Consumption: How do consumers buy it, prepare it.
• Poor nutrition, lack of enough food or water, wasteful practices, poor
infrastructure, and poor market information, all contribute to lack of food or
water security.
US Universities, 2011
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Arizona State University
Cornell
Duke
Roosevelt University, Chicago
University of Hartford
University of Minnesota
International Universities, 2011
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India Institute of Technology – Roorkee
KJ Somaiya Institute of Management, Mumbai
Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), Bhubaneswar
TERI University, New Delhi
Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore
• Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico
What do Teams do?
• The deliverable is a business model and plan
• Teams are comprised of students from two
universities (one US, one international)
• Research a community, close to the international
university, with respect to the Challenge topic
• Identify a problem
• Create a solution, one that you can create a financially
sustainable business model around
• Best teams will receive funding and invitation to
Summer Institute in India
Acara Challenge Emphasis
• Acara focuses students on some basic, practical questions:
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What is the problem?
What is your solution to the problem?
Who is your customer?
Why will they buy it?
• These seem simple, but answering them well is hard.
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 focuses students on the four in the top right.. Source:
Business Model Generation, written by Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur
et. al
Judging process
• Midterm presentation – to Acara to get feedback, NOT part of competitive
results.
• First round presentation – each team will present to a panel of judges
(online) during the week of May 2.
– Written business plans are due on April 29.
– Presentation is 20-25 minutes.
• Second round presentation – Selected finalists teams (up to 8 teams) will
present at the final presentations May 16, at University of Minnesota, St.
Paul.
– Revised written business plans are due on May 13.
– Teams will send one team member.
– The judges provide feedback and eventually decide which teams move
on to the Summer Institute
Judging Criteria
• What’s the Problem?
• What is your solution?
– What is your value proposition?
• How do you make money?
– Who is your customer?
• What is the social impact?
– What is your social value proposition?
• How well did you communicate your ideas?
After the Challenge
• The four top teams will be awarded a grant of USD
$5000 each and an opportunity to participate in the
University of Minnesota Acara Summer Institute.
• The UMN-Acara Summer Institute will be held in
TERI University, India in June-July 2011.
– Some classroom time, most time in the field, working on
business plan.
• Introductions to potential funders
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.
“WHAT DO WE
ACTUALLY DO?”
What do Teams do?
• The deliverable is a business model and plan
• Teams are comprised of students from two
universities (one US, one international)
• Research a community, close to the international
university, with respect to the Challenge topic
• Identify a problem
• Create a solution, one that you can create a financially
sustainable business model around
• Best teams will receive funding and invitation to
Summer Institute in India
International Partners
Research: Identifying the
Problem
• Research one of the themes
• Understand the environment: culture, economy,
climate…
• Obtain insights from real people through field visits:
observing their behavior, talking to them
– This will be conducted by the teams in India & Mexico
• Obtain general and statistical information through
secondary research (online, libraries)
• You will need to understand the technical aspects of
the problem as well as how people perceive it
Brainstorming & Ideation
• Working with your teammates, you will come up with many
possible solutions to the problem you have researched.
• You will refine your solutions into what you see as a viable
business idea.
• Keep your team mentor involved.
Business model and plan
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What is the problem you are addressing?
What is the value to the customer, value proposition?
How will you make money?
What is the expected social impact or social return on
investment?
Past Project Example - myRain
• Drip Irrigation is gravity fed and delivers
directly to the root system. This
technology ensures lower strain on the
water table, less money spent on
irrigation and higher yield. This team
from IIT Roorkee and University of
Minnesota, plans to partner with IDEI
(International Development Enterprises,
India) for manufacturing and distribution
and handle Sales and Marketing by
themselves.
• Status: Had a US team member in India,
set up eight farmers with training and
drip irrigation kits. Working on hiring an
India operations manager. Acara angel
investors have committed $10K USD to
get team to next step.
All previous business plans on the Acara Institute web site.
SOCIAL VALUE IN
YOUR BUSINESS
PLANS
Social Ventures
• A Social Venture or Social Entrepreneurship seeks to
use business skills to solve social problems
• They seek to be sustainable but measure success not
[only] in monetary but in social terms
• Can be for-profit, non-profit [501(c)3 in the US] or
co-operative business venture
Outputs
• Outputs are the direct measurable output of the social
business; for example, the number of products sold
Source: Catalog of Approaches to Impact Measurement. Assessing
social impact in private ventures Version 1.1. Rockefeller Foundation,
2008.
Outcomes
• Outcomes are the ultimate changes one is trying to
make in the world, as well as the intended and
unintended side effects of the business. For instance,
improved nutrition or decreased incidence of waterborne diseases.
Source: Catalog of Approaches to Impact Measurement. Assessing
social impact in private ventures Version 1.1. Rockefeller Foundation,
2008.
Social Value
• Social Value or Social Impact refers to the portion of
the total outcome that happened as a result of the
company’s activity, above and beyond what would
have happened anyway. The impact may not always
be positive.
3 Broad Categories of Impact /
Outcomes
• Economic: Financial impacts on parties other than the
owners or investors of the enterprise, and other than
the financial performance of the business itself,
– Changes in the income or financial stability of employees
or community members
– Changes in public expenditures
– Providing local jobs
3 Broad Categories of Impact /
Outcomes
• Social: Impacts other than economic or environmental
experienced by stakeholders of the enterprise
– Changes in physical and mental health
– Changes in quality of life
– Changes in attitudes or behaviors.
3 Broad Categories of Impact /
Outcomes
• Environmental: Impacts having to do with the status
of natural resources and ecosystems, such as
– Changes in carbon emissions related to climate change
– Changes in water quality
– Changes in biodiversity
RESOURCES
PROVIDED
Outside Help For Each Team
• Each team will have access to several types of outside
advisors who are eager to help with various aspects of
Business Plans
• It is YOUR responsibility to engage them when you
feel that it is necessary
• They have signed up because they want to help, so do
not hesitate to ask!
• The Student Handbook has more guidelines on
working with advisors
Team Mentors
• Each team will be assigned its own mentor. Mentors
are experienced business people who can provide
valuable outside perspective at all stages of your plan
• Mentors will provide general guidance on your
approach, Sales Plan, etc.
• Contact can be in person or via phone or e-mail
• Teams should check in regularly (weekly is
recommended) with your mentor; it is YOUR
responsibility to contact them
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
• SMEs are specialists in one (or more) particular
field(s)
• They will be available on an as-needed basis, based
on their area of expertise
• They are a shared resource available to all teams
Student Handbook
Other Student Resources
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Online Curriculum
Program Managers
Lecture Series – Thursdays, 9:30 Central time
Strongly recommend this book.