Entrepreneurs

What We Do

• Connect social entrepreneurs to mentors who have dealt with similar problems but are not competing for the same customers. We tailor teams of experts to provide written and video-call feedback on your ideas. Then you and your potential mentors chose each other based on how useful and interesting you found each other. Think of it like a (non-romantic) dating site.
• Help companies succeed. Companies that we work with, as opposed to companies we almost worked with (that were qualified, and we would have worked with if not for space, timing, etc.) are 32% more likely to be in business when compared year-by-year. Read what our alumni have to say.
• We do NOT, alas, directly provide funding. So do not submit a funding request to us. Some of our partners do (see “Who Should Apply (Preferences)” below) but we are not part of that decision process.
• A detailed operational overview of our process is available here.

Who Should Apply (Requirements)

Entrepreneurs who are (1) Building for-profit companies that has social and/or environmental values built into how the business makes money, (2), open to feedback on their business model, and (3) who can commit to the following actions:

• Four phone/video calls – 2 with MCN team, 2 with prospective mentors.
• Submit a business plan or detailed pitch deck. Ideally, in English. We can work with Spanish in a more limited capacity. At least one team member must be able to communicate in English.
• Review the feedback we provide on your documents.
• Follow up with all of your reviewers — either with a simple thank you for their time, or to begin a mentoring relationship with those you found particularly helpful.

Alumni

MCN alumni including companies that are addressing some of the most important challenges in the world. A list of alumni companies still active under their own names can be found here. Some examples include:

• Increasing the amount of healthy food and healthy farmers in our world, like Ignitia.
• Bringing healthy food and drink to your table, like Kuli Kuli or Back to the Roots.
• Providing access to financial services, like Tala, First Access, & Kopo Kopo.
• Improving the quality of, and access to, health care, like Access Afya, PACE MD, Sproxil, & Maternova.
• Creating safer living and working conditions for women, like Wello Water, & Pinkcollar.
• Generating affordable, clean, and renewable energy, like Husk Power Systems, ARED, & Gham Power.
• Cleaning the water, air, and/or environment for those who need it most, like Chakr Innovation, and Sanivation.
• Creating a path out of poverty for employees, like Wash Cycle Laundry,
• Training and educating people to make their way in the world, like GogyUp 
• Designing sustainable products, like WholeForest, & Yellow Leaf Hammocks.