. Review the story of Sixto Cancel and his journey to developing the social venture Think of Us.
- Consider Sixto's entrepreneurial journey and the development of Think of Us. What types of challenges or obstacles do you think he had to overcome to complete his journey?
- Discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages related to Sixto Cancel's background and his experiences in developing an organization and board.
- Consider how Sixto Cancel developed his organization. Discuss how he followed or skipped any steps of an entrepreneurial journey.
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Sixto Cancel and Think of Us
Sixto Cancel successfully faced the harsh challenges of aging out of the foster-care system without adult support or guidance. He imagined a better foster-care system for young people then cofounded the firm Think of Us. Think of Us is a platform that helps young people in foster care build their own personalized digital advisory board of supportive adults who act as a virtual life-coaching group. The adults guide the young people through the foster-care system and ensure that they are able to become independent when they leave the system at age eighteen. For more information about this venture, visit www.thinkof-us.org.
2.Explore the websites of Cratejoy and Prospurly, which are discussed inEntrepreneurship in Action: Prospurly. How did these venture founders follow the entrepreneurial journey?
Prospurly
Prospurly is a subscription-based company that uses Cratejoy's subscription platform to sell small-batch artisanal products for bath, body, and home, marketing a natural lifestyle focused on the happiness of living a simple and appreciated life. Conduct your own research on Prospurly and other subscription-based businesses. Read the article, "How I Built a Subscription Business That's Made over 50k in 6 Months," on Cratejoy for more information about this company and Prospurly's move from ideation to profitability.
Other ideas for finding funding include applying for grant funding. The importance of cash and cash management requires in-depth coverage, which is presented in Entrepreneurial Finance and Accounting and Business Structure Options: Legal, Tax, and Risk Issues.
The idea of exploring resources includes many other options besides how to fund a new venture. In a trial run, you would offer your product or service for sale within a limited market on a test basis to evaluate what additional resources are needed to support the success of the venture (Figure 2.9). Examples of places where a trial run fits well, depending on your product, include farmers markets, in-home sales, or through friends and family. The idea is to track the feedback you receive about your product or service. How do people react to the price, the quality of the product, the packaging? You can experiment by selecting one variable to adjust—changing the price, the packaging, the sales pitch, the presentation, or the quantity—to track reactions and make improvements based on this feedback. You may then decide to adjust other variables to gather more information, as well as considering what other resources are needed for the success of the new venture. Financing and ideas to preserve your financial stability are discussed more fully in Entrepreneurial Finance and Accounting.