Unreasonable Institute Launches 2011 Application

by Nathaniel Whittemore · 2010-10-01 09:25:00 UTC
Topics:

While I try to look at everything I cover on this blog from many angles, when it comes to coverage of the Unreasonable Institute, I am completely biased. I think that they are filling a vital education gap (and hopefully, increasingly, a funding gap) in our sector with panache and joie de vivre and if you're an early-stage social entrepreneur who wants a significant competitive advantage and amazingly supportive community, you'd be nuts not to apply.

For those who haven't read about the Unreasonable Institute, the program was founded in 2009 and held its first summer incubator in 2010. The program is an 8-week live-in program in Boulder, Colorado. During that time, entrepreneurs live together and learn from one another, and are treated to daily sessions with mentors who are experts in topics ranging from branding to business development and beyond.

In addition to that support, they have the opportunity to come away from the summer with a meaningful dose of new funding. The Unreasonable Institute hosts one of First Light Venture's Village Capital programs, which means that the entrepreneurs actually make the decisions about funding, as well. Last year, funding went to mobile money gateway Kopo Kopo, direct trade coffee company Liga Masiva, and ethical toilet paper company Who Gives A Crap?

Something I think will be different than last year will be an emphasis on curricular trajectory. The program is anchored by the relationships between the Unreasonable entrepreneurs and mentors, but last year, there wasn't a clear, linear path through the content that the mentors we're providing. This coming year, the program will be divided into 5 weeks for business development and 3 weeks on execution and outreach.

The application process -- which has just opened --  involves a first round written application, a second round of interviews, and most interestingly, a third round fundraising battle royale. The program costs $10,000, but entrepreneurs aren't allowed to pay. They have to fundraise it all online in a test of entrepreneurial mettle.

I can't say enough good things about the program and the people behind it. Stop reading now and go apply.

And if you still need convincing, watch the first of ten episodes of Unreasonable TV from the 2010 institute.

Unreasonable TV: Episode 1 - Unreasonable Beginnings from Unreasonable Institute on Vimeo.

Photo credit: Daniel Epstein

Nathaniel Whittemore is the founder of Assetmap. Previously he was the founding director of the Northwestern University Center for Global Engagement.
PREVIOUS STORY:
First Light and the Hub Team Up for $750,000 Seed Fund for Social Ventures
NEXT STORY:
Facing Forward: The End of the Social Entrepreneurship Blog on Change.org

COMMENTS (4)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.