blog posts
Resources
Growing quickly? 5 tips to maintain your startup’s culture
One of the difficult challenges facing startups as they transcend the boundary from concept to small and medium-sized companies and beyond, is the ability to retain the familial vibe and “can-do” attitude that makes their organisations successful. While change is inevitable, just like product development, sales, and business operations, cultural change can and should be planned by making it part of your business strategy. 1) Your culture is your brand In every interaction you have, whether it be a sales meeting or interviewing potential employees, the values and behaviours ... READ MORE
Undercover at Two Feet: Customer Focus & Value Proposition
Welcome to the second instalment of Undercover at Two Feet, where we cover each Two Feet topic as they unfold. From Intent, to Funding and Pitching, to Team and Governance, our Two Feeters are covering a lot of ground this year, and we want to take you inside. This week was Week 2 of Two Feet topic 3: Customer Focus & Value Proposition, read on to go inside the session and find out what happened.. Date: June 6 2017 Location: Sydney Facilitator: Caroline Sanz Session: Customer Focus & Value Proposition Vibe: There was a lot of energy and buzz in the room with a ... READ MORE
Undercover at Two Feet: Intent
Welcome to the first instalment of Undercover at Two Feet, where we’ll be covering each Two Feet topic as they unfold. From Intent, to Funding and Pitching, to Team and Governance, our Two Feeters are covering a lot of ground this year, and we want to take you inside. Last week was Week 1 of Two Feet topic 2: Intent, read on to go inside the session and find out what happened.. Date: May 17 2017 Location: Melbourne Facilitator: Bessi Session: Intent Vibe: experimental, deep, slightly cheeky with a sprinkle of sass Lunch: Pretty gourmet sandwiches served on fancy ... READ MORE
Creative Ways to Refresh Your Business Model
This blog was written by Isaac Jeffries, an associate of TDi. Designing new business models is exciting – conversations full of optimism and intrigue, especially when you get the gut sense that this idea is a winner… It’s important that we don’t fall in love with our first idea. Yes, it’s a good idea, and there are several aspects that will probably succeed. But an idea being exciting does not mean that it has earned permanence. It’s more likely that this idea contains the DNA of a highly successful model, but it needs to go through some refinement in order to get it out. What ... READ MORE
Five Tips from Ben to Broaden Your Network
[vc_row row_height_percent="0" override_padding="yes" h_padding="2" top_padding="5" bottom_padding="5" overlay_alpha="50" gutter_size="3" shift_y="0" row_height_use_pixel=""][vc_column column_width_use_pixel="yes" font_family="font-134980" overlay_alpha="50" gutter_size="3" medium_width="0" shift_x="0" shift_y="0" z_index="0" zoom_width="0" zoom_height="0" column_width_pixel="800"][vc_column_text text_lead="yes"] The lovely folks at TDi have asked me to write this piece because, being new in Melbourne, they've noticed that I've had to rapidly try and build networks in not one, but two ... READ MORE
How to Make Your Organisation Investment Ready
When an investor is looking to make an impact investment, they’re looking for a business that will be able to use those funds to scale something of value that already exists in the business. In other words, when taking on investment, it’s best to take something that already works and make it bigger and better. So how do you make your business investment ready?An investor also wants to see that the business is one that is ready to scale. This generally means your organisation will need to have proved there’s a market for it’s value proposition, by demonstrating that your product or ... READ MORE
The Importance of Your Value Proposition
In every social enterprise, there’s a tension; two competing ideas that will shape almost every decision you make. These ideas are so important that they’re the focus of the first two sessions of our Two Feet Program. The first is your ‘Intent’; why your organisation exists and what change you want to see happen in the world. There’s a skill in creating a clear statement of intent, but it’s also easy for social entrepreneurs to talk for hours about their passion for social impact. I find these sessions quite inspiring. The second is your ‘Value Proposition’ to your customer; why ... READ MORE
Three Unhelpful Obsessions
If the macro problem is: “How do we solve social and environmental challenges with a marketplace approach?” there are three unhelpful obsessions that are read as ‘the problem’ and subsequently lead to unsatisfying outcomes. Finance First A ‘Finance First’ approach takes the macro problem and names the issue as “money”. This leads to “if I had more money I could…”, with the solution then being articulated as “find more money”! This has lead to solution designs like the Social Enterprise Development and Investment Funds (SEDIF). In the case of SEDIF, by focusing on ... READ MORE