Accelerators at TDi

Since TDi’s inception in 2010, accelerators have been a core part of what we do.

Two Feet is an accelerator for enterprises looking to do good and make money. Two Feet has been built for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs and addresses some of the key barriers that mission-led organisations often face: developing a sustainable business model, growing a strong team and management, understanding investment and other funding options and measuring social outcomes to ensure your good intentions are producing reliable outcomes. Through our Two Feet accelerator program, we work with dozens of entrepreneurs every year to ensure they have sustainable business models. One such social enterprise from our 2018 cohort, is Big Little Brush. They sell bamboo toothbrushes in an effort to minimize plastic waste, and 50% of their profits goes to Red Dust, a health provider for remote Indigenous Communities. Founder, Joel Hanna said of his time in Two Feet:

“There’s two key moments that stand out as being influenced by our time in the program. Firstly, our ability to identify and test many assumptions that we’d made about our business model. Secondly, the Business Model Canvas helped us to reassess our growth strategy.

Originally, we intended to grow by increasing our product lines, however, using the Business Model Canvas allowed us to both identify and articulate alternative, leaner growth opportunities which we ultimately ended up following.

Since the program, I’m pleased to say we’ve grown, both in revenue and number of customers. We’ve also developed a better relationship with our partner Red Dust.

If I was to summarise it, I would say,

 

because of the Two Feet program, we think better about business and the tools we picked up help us do better business.”

In 2019, TDi ran an accelerator aimed at those in the Not-For-Profit sector. It’s becoming harder for NFPs and charities to secure substantial and long-term donations and funding as Government is restructuring many parts of the sector. As such, more NFPs and charities are exploring social enterprise as a way of generating revenue. Through the accelerator TDi worked with the entrepreneurs to assess the desirability, feasibility and viability of their social enterprise idea, and mapped a plan for the immediate months following the accelerator. The timing of the accelerator delivery meant that entrepreneurs had the opportunity to apply their learnings in between blocks.

TDi’s accelerators create an environment where entrepreneurs are supported and are around like-minded people, sharing ideas with each other in a small group setting. 

 

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