Welcome to the 2010 Summer Institute

The first Annual Summer Institute will be held in the summer of 2010 in the beautiful, entrepreneurial city of Boulder, Colorado (ranked as 2008's most intelligent city in the United States by Forbes). This intensive, 10-week institute will unite up to 25 young social entrepreneurs with bold ideas from around the world. At the institute, we will train, incubate, support, and finance our Fellows to give their ideas wings.

i. Mentors.
Integral to the success of our Fellows will be daily interaction with experts and innovators. Leaders in the fields of business, social entrepreneurship, technology, engineering, international development, poverty alleviation, investment, and the civil sector will speak to our Fellows on a nightly basis. Each mentor will spend at least one evening at the Institute and will present to, engage with, and personally mentor our Unreasonable Fellows.

ii. Skill Development.
The Summer Institute provides rigorous and creative entrepreneurial and business skill development to take you and your company "from good to great".

Some examples of business development include:

  • Develop strategic and business plans
  • Implement "agility" and market-driven approach into your organization
  • Measure effectiveness
  • Create business models that meet high-impact objectives
  • Integrate quality within your business processes
  • Use data to drive decision-making in your company
  • Build innovative supply and distribution chains
  • Design and integrate Customer Feedback Loops
  • Translate customer voice into meaningful products or services
  • Pitch to investors
  • Conduct market research and benchmarking
  • Craft budgets and financial projections

Examples of personal and entrepreneurial development:

  • Solve problems creatively
  • Create "luck"
  • Hold effective 1-on-1's
  • Deliver elevator pitches
  • Take smart risks
  • Build coalitions/support

iii. The Goods.
Each Fellow will receive "The Goods" - resources crucial to giving their ideas wings. "The Goods" include:

  • The opportunity to invest and receive seed capital (through the Unreasonable Village Fund and First Light Ventures)
  • Financial Plan Development (by our partners from For-Impact)
  • Product Design Consulting
  • Marketing Strategy Development
  • Web Design and hosting
  • Legal Advice

Institute Timeline

  • March 22th Up to 25 Fellows are selected and announced!
  • May 28th 2010 Opening reception and inauguration of 1st annual Institute in Boulder, CO
  • August 7th Closing pitch fest and commencement of Institute

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