| Putting the Network to Work |
| Over the years, it has become obvious to us at the MCN that the true power of our network is connecting people who are solving similar problems but not competing for the same customers. Founders want to talk with other founders — people who understand what it is to build a company and be responsible, for a time, for all the moving parts. We create these conversations through both our mentorship program and our peer-to-peer calls and meetings. As much as I’d love to share these conversations with you, they are by nature private, so that the entrepreneurs can share their real challenges. I can, happily, share what Francie Wasser of FranciePants said after last week’s call among some of our apparel company founders — “That call, of all the similar calls I’ve done, is the one where I had the most in common with the other entrepreneurs. They were good people who offered me both great questions and excellent referrals.” Let me know what you think of our newsletter, and thank you for the work that you do. Ian T Fisk Executive Director The Mentor Capital Network |
| Social Entrepreneurs should apply to the MCN by August 15th In order to accommodate some of our partners, the Mentor Capital Network has moved the application deadline for our latest program to August 15th. Additionally, instead of waiting for all the applications to come in, we are doing rolling interviews, We provide social entrepreneurs with the SPIN that gets them to the next level: Support that doesn’t take you away from running your company Prizes Investor connections Network and mentoring opportunities where you engage with the people who can help you where you right now. |
| Asia / Pacific Incubators & Accelerators should apply to the Frontier Incubator Exchange by July 31stThe Mentor Capital Network has been working with Conveners.org to support the the Frontier Incubators program, which is offering support to social enterprise incubators and accelerators in the Asia / Pacific region. It’s great to see that we’ve reached the point in the industry where there are enough of us who have been doing this long enough to help the next generation learn from our mistakes. When the MCN started, in 2002, we stood on the shoulders of a handful of organizations (SVN, Net Impact, Echoing Green, Ashoka and a few others) but there wasn’t an organized industry resource like that Frontier Incubators has put together. The Frontier Incubator program is accepting applications until July 31. Check it out! On a more local scale, I’ll be a leading a conversation on strategies to support social enterprises at the DC Green Business Roundtable on July 11th from 11:30 AM to noon in downtown DC. The Roundtable is free and open to the public. |
| Alumni in the News The big story in our alumni network is that All Market Inc (AMI), the parent company of Vita Coco, has purchased Runa. Tyler Gage and Dan MacCombie brought their idea through our program in 2011 (where they won the LOHAS, Enjuba Youth Entrepreneur, and New York City prize categories), founded the company in 2012, and are now watching their dream go to scale. Congratulations to the entire Runa team! |
| Startup Cup is coming back to DC! Apply by July 14th.Sponsored by eBay, and managed by our friends at GriffinWorx, the DC StartUp Cup Extreme Build a Business weekend is returning to DC. I worked with them last year and think they have a great program. You don’t have to be based in DC, but you do have to travel there for the roughly monthly events. The DC StartupCup is one of the many programs where we will accept an application you write to them as an application the MCN program. |
| Gathering the network: sometimes it’s as simple as that While most of our work is virtual, we have been hosting monthly get-togethers for our entrepreneurs, mentors, and other friends at houses of our network members. Thanks to Florence Navarro and Steven Doll for hosting our most recent gathering, and Wayne and Dina Curtis for hosting the next gathering n Washington, DC on Saturday August 4th. Let me know if you’d like to join us, or if you’d like to host a gathering in your city. |