First 5 weeks (giving bold ideas legs)

• Skill Development: Based on the advanced curriculum and research of the Transformative Action Institute, Unreasonable Fellows hone their skills to communicate, create, analyze, and problem solve using the most innovative tactics. These intensive morning sessions will focus on entrepreneurial and business development. Imagine up to 25 high-impact, bold social entrepreneurs from around the world brainstorming, criticizing, constructing, strategizing, and designing their models, pitches, and business plans together.


• Designing the business: At the 5 week mark, each Fellow will have developed a thorough, executable strategic and business plans founded on metrics key to their companies, in addition to the high-impact metrics of sustainability within 1 year, scalability up to 1,000,000 people and a new country within 3 years. Each fellow will also have developed an action plan for the following 5 weeks of execution and outreach during the Institute.


• Building a brand: In order to effectively market their ventures, each Unreasonable Fellow will design a world class website and professional business cards and perfect "sticky" pitches and inspirational presentations during the first five weeks of the Institute.

Some Entrepreneurial and Business skills will include (see an expanded list here)

• Implement "agility" and market-driven approach into your organization
• Measure effectiveness
• 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
• Create "luck"
• Hold effective 1-on-1's
• Take smart risks
• Build coalitions/support

Last 5 weeks (running with it)

• Execution and Outreach: After 5 weeks of intensive incubation and skill training, each fellow will be given 5 additional weeks to "run" with their idea. They will have all the tools, skills, marketing materials, and strategic plans they need to be effective. All that remains for them to do - is execute. Fellows will spend this part of the Institute outside its walls, meeting with local experts and realizing their product or service. Be it engineering, software development, service offer design, or customer acquisition - the objective for every fellow is to develop investment-worthy prototypes. "Prototyping with the market" is the theme of the second half of the Institute.

The whole time

• Evening Mentoring: Experts in the fields of business, social entrepreneurship, engineering, design, innovation, international development, poverty alleviation, investment, and the civil sector discuss their experiences in creating social change and offer their guidance to Unreasonable Fellows. Fellows develop lasting relationships and work individually with mentors on their social ventures.


• Weekend Excursions: We venture outside of Boulder and into the greater Colorado community every other weekend to meet with government officials, corporate leaders, and environmental pioneers. We also visit some of the most innovative facilities and organizations in the world. Weekend excursions also offer Fellows time to bond, to work off one another, and to brainstorm outside their traditional setting.