So how do we learn?

Campfire
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21

Perhaps another place to look

https://skollworldforum.org/forum-2015/sessions/  and track back some of the speakers?

Then there is http://www.ffwd.org/programs/accelerator/ but I have to say UI looks better at first and second glance…

22

Fair point

Yes, that’s fair. If you/nadia/whoever want to go through an accelerator, I am in favour of you going ahead and doing so. The reservations people have are much smaller than the benefit of you doing something that’s aligned with what you want to be doing.

23

I wonder if it might make more sense to do it through a non-ER vehicle, though:

  1. much of the value comes from building up knowledge/contacts/experience. The ER community will benefit from that, regardless of whether you are formally doing it as ER

  2. ER is a sprawling community – an accelerator will naturally focus on a single project

  3. Doing something as ER brings so much baggage, and the problem you mentioned of creating a divide between the people doing the accelerator and the rest.

24

Nope :slight_smile:

No, I do not think so. The way I see it, whatever we do now should clearly focus on developing the consultancy business, because:

  1. It is the "trunk" from which the "branches" of the projects can and do depart.
  2. We already have a solid proof-of-concept. 
25

unreasonable institute

…

26

I’m an idiot smiley

27

Some more options and some action I took

The more I look at it the more I like UI. Their report seems very convincing. Average 9x increase in revenue two years after the lab? And with a “take the course, then pay if you are satisfied” guarantee?

But we could also:

  • partner up with others and launch our own Unreasonable Lab. Advantage: we get to use it! And benefit from networking! Disadvantage: lots of work.
  • take a slow-burn approach and apply instead to Erasmus for Entrepreneurs. Today I fired emails to two local contact points in Belgium, startups.be and impulse.brussels, to ask for information. 
28

Regarding the guarantee - if there’s no nasty small print, that is a very good point. The 9x revenue is not such a strong point in my opinion - if you squint a little on the numbers of early stage companies it does not say a whole lot, I think.

What was the part about the taking a % of the revenue I think you mentioned. Or did I confuse something there.

The labs would be a natural for partnering up. Pause through the vid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pc-0--Pf9c and check if you can see (a part of) ER doing it. I can but I am not sure it is cost effective use of time (it may very well be).

29

The one who does the work…

What I’m thinking, particularly having read the comments by @danohu , is that if Alberto and Noemi are willing to invest their time in participating in a programme,  having researched it and having been able to give good reasons  to justify the expense, after having been questioned by the community,  then I wouldn’t get in the way.

Theoretically, I am dreaming of some more perfect programme out there somewhere.  In practice, I am happy to support a reasonable investment in a programme designed to bring clarity and focus.

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