2013 Scouts in the Field

First Impressions

joondawgin 2013 Scouts in the Field, Joony Moon, Scouts in the Field

Wow, what a whirlwind introduction to life in India! I can’t believe it’s only been less than 3 days since I got here…there’s just been so much going on. I’ll save some material to make sure I have things to talk about in the future, so for now just a few quick bits about my first few days in India and at CIIE.

First of all, the flight — so long…major props to all my Indian friends who make the pilgrimage back to the motherland every few years. This is me at the beginning of the flight, bright eyed and excited:

image

And now by the end of the 30-something hour trip:

imageI still haven’t gotten over the jetlag, but that hasn’t kept me from exploring my new surroundings. Everything from near death experiences I have every time I take an auto-rickshaw (more about this in a future post), to dealing with the ever-looming threats of monsoon season, to learning about the social culture of India (particularly the state of Gujarat, where Ahmedabad is located) has been an eye-opening experience for me. 

The very first thing that hits you is just how lucky we are in the US for the all of the little things we take for granted. Even at a priveliged place like IIM-A, I have a limited supply of drinking water, issues balancing the level of A/C used, and pretty unreliable wifi. This will definitely take some adjusting to, but it’s really incredible to see with my eyes what a developing country looks like. Now that I’m a bit over the anxiety of living here, I think I’m learning to focus less on what I don’t have compared to life in the US, but rather what things India has and where it’s going.

First things first, I have to give a shout out to the food and the general eating culture here. Unlike the US, the dining experience is at a more relaxed pace and is more of a group experience. I was coming back home yesterday from some cafes around midnight last night and saw a group of a dozen or so middle-aged women just hanging out in front of the restaurant where they appear to have been until closing. Tell me, how often do you see our parents stay out until midnight on a Sunday night with their friends? So far my eating experience has been mostly at the mess hall on campus (which I am extremely grateful for) and going out to cafes. It’s not unusual to go cafe hopping, especially since food is cheap in general. I get breakfast and lunch for the equivalent of $1 and a night of cafe hopping will probably get me into the $8 range. Pictures in the following post!

My Love for Technology has Grown Infinitely

It's Me Hans 2013 Scouts in the Field, Hannah Wasserman, Scouts in the Field

I’m three weeks into this Bangers adventure and I must say that my appreciation for technology has grown exponentially. If you’re considering traveling abroad for a long period of time here are two things you should know:

1. If you have an iphone or almost any other smart phone, your GPS works without data. This is a GAME CHANGER. Especially in B’lore where cows are more common than street signs. The little blue dot on Google maps travels with you forever and always. Just look up the route before you leave a precious WiFi zone and you’re good to go. 

2. Viber is Vibing. I’m a big advocate of the app Viber, because sometimes you don’t want to deal with video. Viber is great for messaging and phone calls, in addition, it has some snazzy stickers, which boost any good conversation. 

This is the first post in a series I call, “Travel Tips by Hans”. 

Heading off tomorrow!

joondawgin 2013 Scouts in the Field, Joony Moon, Scouts in the Field

Hey everyone, welcome to my blog where I’ll be cataloging and updating on my time in India!

I will be in India for the next six months as a part of an internship through Village Capital, which partners with various organizations around the world to make investments in some of the best up-and-coming companies that also have a positive social impact. VilCap is a part of a larger movement called impact investing, that operates under the idea that more traditional business approaches can be used to make the world a better place and especially help the “bottom of the pyramid.” Based on that description, it’s not hard to imagine why I found it to be so intriguing considering my background in consulting and my interest in the social sector! The organization I’ll be working with will be the Center for Innovation Incubation and Excellence (CIIE), located on the campus of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM). 

I’ve never been abroad for any extended length of time, so I’m super excited to be living in Ahmedabad. The whole process to get prepared was a bit of a hassle, but it’s almost done now (just need to finish packing). I fly out tomorrow — people, wish me luck!

I’ll be updating the blog at least weekly, so stay tuned for JoonDawg’s adventures!

Building Something New

James Shirreff 2013 Scouts in the Field, James Shirreff, Scouts in the Field

So I’ve already been working with CloudPay for over a month now. It is hard to believe how fast it has gone. Now being at about the half way stage of my placement, the venture is also at a turning point. For a long time, and certainly before I started contributing, the big challenge was getting local businesses to take the leap and sign up for the program. This is an obvious challenge given the fact that the concept is so new, and while it is so promising, and feedback has been nothing but positive, it is as yet unproven.

Now however, a critical mass of businesses have signed up to join us on the journey. And the more that sign up, they easier it becomes to sell to others. Whilst the process of introducing and selling the concept to business owners remains ongoing, my responsibilities are shifting to launching the customers so they can start running sales through the CloudPay network. This involves setting up the merchant accounts, ensuring the POS systems are ready to process payments and training staff on how to use the system and encourage their customers to become members. Like any startup company there will be a significant amount of learning from mistakes and from problems that arise, as well as by doing. But I think that’s all part of the fun and what keeps it interesting! It is really exciting to know that the first transactions, and thus the first donations to the local non-profit community are only days away!

The other part of my job this summer is working with Village Capital as a Frontier Market Scout. Northern California doesn’t necessarily meet the description of a ‘Frontier Market’, but it has been a great experience nonetheless. Of course, the San Francisco Bay Area already has an extremely developed market for social enterprises. It seems every next person is an entrepreneur, works for a startup, is a Silicon Valley tech superstar or even an investor. Because of this, the challenge is not so much to find budding enterprises and find out where they are working (as is the case for many of my colleagues overseas in emerging markets) but to really identify who is the best fit for VilCap’s programs, and who is making the greatest, or has the potential to make the greatest social impact. Who is out there that will benefit the most fromm the Village Capital model?

I have met and talked to some really exciting entrepreneurs. Given Village Capital’s previous programs in the Bay Area, many are already familiar and excited to learn more, and talk about their companies. Regardless of the incredible resources available in the Bay Area, the challenges to budding entrepreneurs with a great idea are the same as anywhere else … mentorship, support, access to capital, and realizing their dream on a shoestring budget.

It has also been great having the support of other scouts in the area, and made for some great Village Capital Mondays … our weekly happy hours hosted at various locations. This week we were in Palo Alto, with a great turnout of 10 – 15 people working in the social enterprise space, plus myself, Kate, Serenity and Anu.  Next week will be in San Francisco, and I am looking forward to meeting more entrepreneurs! Stay posted for another update soon!

Looking In. To the Lens.

jknochejr 2013 Scouts in the Field, Jeff Knoche, Scouts in the Field

Part of my job here involves identifying entrepreneurs who would be a good fit for the VilCap/GrowthHub accelerator program.  This involves countless emails, phone calls, sales pitches and hopefully meetings that eventually result in an application submission.  This can set the stage for making so many contacts and connections that you don’t truly make any.  Fortunately, a few weeks ago I was able to meet an entrepreneur whose story gave me chills and that touch of realness that I seek.

This entrepreneur was a photographer.  He was telling me of his struggles and eventual successes.  He’s a self-taught, self-made success story, now shooting for weddings, magazines, as well as other media outlets.  He also teaches, and has moved into the multimedia space as well.

As he was telling me his vision for a photography school, he spoke of bringing in kids from the slums to work and learn about photography.  I said imagine how much more meaning a picture of the slums would have, if you knew it was taken by a kid who grew up in the slums.  Just thinking about it impacted me to the point where my heart started beating a bit faster.  Then this young man, all of 27 years old, told me his story.

He was that kid, he grew up in a slum in Kenya, he barely graduated high school, he had to choose work over college to help support his family, and pay for his brother’s schooling who was getting better grades.  He worked his way up from selling bookmarks for the equivalent of 5 cents, to becoming a self taught web designer and photographer.

I instantly got the chills and was reminded why this space means something to me.  It’s about the people, the connections, the story, and eventual empowerment from within to help the country’s economy grow and create opportunities for locals.  I left inspired.

When are we Going to Drop the “Social” off of “Social Entrepreneurship”?

It's Me Hans 2013 Scouts in the Field, Hannah Wasserman, Scouts in the Field

I would like to preface this entire post with saying that for the past 4 or so years I have been preaching the gospel of social entrepreneurship, social innovation, social enterprise, ice creams socials, etc. However, after really diving into this space, looking at more business plans and seeing the questions investors ask, I’m wondering when we’re gonna drop the “social”.

Let’s be honest with ourselves, the hype around social entrepreneurship and impact investing is overkill. This is not our silver bullet to solving all the world’s problems. In fact, the hype is detrimental to these businesses. Too much is expected out of these ventures. High returns, lifting thousands of families out of poverty, oh yea, and staying in business. Furthermore, most of these businesses are built around selling a product. At the end of the day, the people at the Bottom of the Pyramid can only buy so much. 

Of the businesses that are successful and really are able to make money and provide a product or service that helps lift people out of poverty or improves their lives in some meaningful way— what is the difference between those businesses and your normal, run of the mill company? Both have found a opportunity to provide something that people are willing to pay money for. The former is not supposed to be an asshole, but really the latter shouldn’t be an asshole either.

Are we putting the social in front of enterprise in order to allow for a shittier business with far smaller margins? At the end of the day, to survive and especially to get funding, you need a solid business, that maintains market rate returns. So maybe we should drop the social, look for market opportunities and all stop being assholes. 

**These are just some initial thoughts I have that I may or may not believe next week. This article from the Economic Times started me on this brain tangent. Let me know your thoughts and maybe I can actually form an opinion.** 

The Indus Entrepreneurs

Natalie Cox 2013 Scouts in the Field, Natalie Cox, Scouts in the Field

Screen Shot 2013-07-26 at 5.58.55 PM

Since arriving in Bangalore almost four weeks ago, I have attended two events at the offices of The Indus Entrepreneurs, or TiE. The first was three weeks ago, a panel discussion on scaling social enterprises. Neelam, my host, was one of two panelists, speaking about her Mother Earth success story. The other panelist was from Vaatsalya, one of the leaders in affordable healthcare in rural India.

20130705_170452Yesterday evening, I attended another TiE event, a Pitching to Mentor Panel session. It was a closed door session, but a TiE staff member was nice enough to let me linger in the hallways an harass… I mean, chat with… the entrepreneurs before and after their pitch session. I met 6 entrepreneurs working across sectors, in affordable education, solar technology, IT, and mobile market linkage. Two notable enterprises were Lumos, solar powered gear, and ScrapeHere, an innovative eCommerce enterprise that is ostensibly not Pinterest. Good luck to all!

Pondicherry, Auroville, and Unlimited Tamil Nadu

Natalie Cox 2013 Scouts in the Field, Natalie Cox, Scouts in the Field

This past weekend, I took the 10-hour train Friday night from Bangalore to Pondicherry, to visit the coastal town with its French colonial past, and also to visit some pioneering social entrepreneurs from Unlimited Tamil Nadu, in the universal alternative-living enclave of Auroville.

20130720_092936Saturday and Sunday I spent touring Pondicherry. I strolled along the Bay of Bengal, examined geologic specimens from all 28 Indian states at the Pondicherry Museum, soaked in the sights and

20130721_094053_Richtone(HDR) sounds at the Grand Bazaar, and hung out in the evenings on the guest house terrace with a raucous group of retirees from Bretagne in France. On Saturday I also went to Auroville for the first time and visited the Matrimandar, the gleaming spherical center of the

20130720_144015

Aurovillian utopia. I was pleasantly surprised to speak more French than English, with the combination of my Parisian-couple-run guest house, and majority-French volunteer cohort at Unlimited.

Monday and Tuesday I spent in Auroville with

20130720_151413_Richtone(HDR)the Unlimited Tamil Nadu team, and several of their entrepreneurs. In Auroville, I also visited a spirulina farm (and brought home some tasty spirulina balls!), organic farm attended by an international bunch of tanned WOOFers, the 20130722_113015Center for Scientific Research and the Earth Institute (which promotes natural and appropriate building materials and clean energy). I zipped around Auroville on a combination of scooters, motorcycles, and auto rickshaws, and also slugged a bit on foot for a few long hours. Tuesday evening was spent at the home of Gijs, the Unltd TN founder. Gijs made a wonderful soup of Aurovillian vegetables and sliced Auroville bread while the Dutch girls and I 20130722_135841spent a good 45 minutes grating a massive beet for the salad, and chatting about their farming experience in the universal city. With our hands died perfectly magenta, we ate happily and discussed the Unltd business plan with several of the French volunteers.

20130722_120359_Richtone(HDR)

The Unlimited Tamil Nadu incubatees were a diverse group of

entrepreneurs, tackling social challenges from public health to sustainable food chains, and

20130722_141634

from waste reduction to market linkages for garmentproducer groups. One notable entrepreneur I met was Jessamijn, of EcoFemme. We chatted for a half an hour in her small, colorful Auroville office about the washable sanitary napkins she was producing with SHGs in rural villages. While EcoFemme is sold to

20130722_123842_Richtone(HDR)

mostly online and export markets in the US and Europe currently, the pads are produced in rural India. She has a team doing some research in villages, and may start sales aimed at Indian markets in the near future.

 

Jaaganauts & Human Centered Design

Natalie Cox 2013 Scouts in the Field, Natalie Cox, Scouts in the Field

Screen Shot 2013-07-26 at 12.47.07 PMAlong with another FMScout, Hannah, and my host’s son, we have formed a group to complete the IDEO Human Centered Design course. Week one was full of insights, as we were tasked to designScreen Shot 2013-07-26 at 12.46.53 PM safer, more pleasant commutes for our teammates. Our team, the Jagganauts, met at a trendy co-working space, Jaaga, in the center Bangalore to begin the journey. Jaaga’s open 

Screen Shot 2013-07-26 at 12.49.34 PM

architecture, low cost membership, and hip café (serving the best lemon tea of my life) made it my new favorite co-working space. I look forward to continuing the course with the group in the weeks ahead.

Idiom & Spring Health

Natalie Cox 2013 Scouts in the Field, Natalie Cox, Scouts in the Field

20130702_184727_Richtone(HDR)Harnessing the power of design and design thinking in crafting business models and scaling social enterprises is foundation of Impact Edge, the incubator/accelerator program being launched by my host and summer boss, Jacob. Jacob founded Idiom Design, the premier design and consulting firm in India, which works with diverse clients across sectors. Some notable projects include business schools in Bangalore, the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, and some of the largest Indian retail outlets such as Big Bazaar and Hometown. We visited Idiom for a Spring Health meeting early in July.

Screen Shot 2013-07-26 at 12.26.33 PM

As a serial entrepreneur, another one of Jacob’s ventures along with visionary Paul Polak, is Spring Health, a clean drinking water distribution company, revolutionizing the way BoP customers and entrepreneurs are engaged in rural Orissa.  They work in around 50 villages currently, with the ultimate goal of providing safe, affordable drinking water to 2 million customers in 10,000 villages.