Starting A Commercial Venture
Presented by Geri Stengel, Ventureneer
June 15, 2016
Presented in collaboration with The Foundation Center New York
This workshop from Ventureneer’s Geri Stengel explored the fundamental questions that should drive a nonprofit’s development of a commercial venture.
Top 3 Takeaways:
1. No one size all approach works for everyone. Do your homework.
2. Look at what commercial ventures other similar organizations are doing or other other nonprofits that you think are doing something really interesting. Understanding marketplace trends may help you develop a business idea. They will also help you size the opportunity.
3. While it isn’t necessary to do a formal business plan, you still need to go through the process of thinking every aspect of a business plan through. Document in slide deck. Get Backed: Craft Your Story, Build the Perfect Pitch Deck, and Launch the Venture of Your Dreams, Evan Baehr and Evan Loomis is a great resource for doing this.
