GUARDIANS OF DREAMS- The Journey of getting through the IIM-B Incubator program
Guardians of Dreams was started two years ago by a group of people who wanted to create an impact in the society especially in the child care space. There is gap in the amount of information about what goes on in the orphanages and what happens to the children. The team with a strong vision to bridge this gap started Guardians of Dreams to safe guard the children in the orphanages and create a better future for them. Guardians of Dreams has a four-member founding team who have about 6 to 10 years of experience in the child care space. The organization works on improving the quality of child care homes across the country. They currently have their operations in Bangalore, Chennai and Kochi. It’s the personal experience, association with the child care homes and the passion of the founding team that led to the start of Guardians of Dreams.
The journey of Guardians of Dreams has been quite interesting. Within a short span of time they were able to get into two incubator programs, The Boot Camp by Encore Business Incubator Program and the IIM-B Incubator Program for NPO’s. Being in a space which is still nascent in India with very less incubators or launch pad programs, the journey of how Guardians of Dreams made it to the IIM-B Incubator program is very inspiring and has a lot to learn from.
SUPPORTING PROGRAMS IN INDIA FOR NPO’s:
In India the social entrepreneurship field is still very nascent and doesn’t have many supporting incubators or launch pad programs. There are many struggles that a NPO Start up might have to face in its first three years because of the tons of regulations. But these days change has come and many incubators with keen intentions for NPO’s to do well have come up. The key thing here is to look around, search for the options, use your networks and grab the best opportunity, like how Guardians of Dreams did.
OPTIONS ARE LIMITED YOU NEED TO LOOK AROUND…
Being a Social Entrepreneur is not a easy task, the journey will be much more difficult than the others. In India since when the start up bug hit the world, the visibility given to the Non- Profits has always been less. Even today there are very less incubators, launch pads or support programs for the NPO’s. But yes, it requires a little effort and networking to find the programs that will be best for your organization. In case of Guardians of Dreams, the IIM-B Incubator program was referred by their mentor when they were looking for opportunities. IIM-B Incubator program was an exciting opportunity not just because it was a social incubator but also because it was a reputed university that was offering it.
THE SELECTION PROCESS:
Getting into an IIM-B Incubator is obviously not a cake walk, especially when it is the first time that the NSRCEL had announced this incubator program specially for the Non Profit organizations. The selection process for this program was like any other launch pad or incubator programs. It started with the application process with a bunch of 6 to 7 questions which had some of the key questions which required details like Vision, Clarity, Direction in which you want to take the organization, The team behind the start-up, Scaling model, Sustainability model etc. Out of the 200 applicants 25 were shortlisted for the 12-week incubation process. There were a couple of sessions they had with the IIM-B Faculty, and the start-ups were evaluated based on how they would use the content, the frame work and their clarity. At the end of the 12th week there was a pitching session in front of the steering committee which also had MSDF (Michael & Susan Dell Foundation) who were also the partners of the program. Guardians of Dreams got through the process and became one among the 8 organizations to get into the incubator program.
CLARITY IS THE KEY
The key thing in cracking these application in a lot of ways is the clarity of thought. At the end of the incubator application process like this, whether we make it or not what really matters is whether these questions makes us think and whether they help us get clarity of thoughts.
THE PITCH
The beauty of the elevator pitch is that you will have to communicate clearly the important things about your organization within two or three minutes. It becomes a big struggle, when you are a founder who has invested so much on shaping the organization and you have so much to talk about.
The key thing to make the most ideal Elevator Pitch is to Learn By Yourself.
Guardians of Dreams initially had a pitch which went on to about 30 Minutes. They had initially put everything that they planned for the next 20 years. Which they figured out was a terrible mistake. What we are going to do right now is the most crucial thing and that is what that has to be communicated in the elevator pitch. The team of Guardians of Dreams learnt this by themselves and made their final elevator pitch by peeling off all the unwanted details. They removed all the details and just communicated “Transforming the Quality of Child Care in Children’s Homes” which is simpler and easier to understand even by a person who is new to this space and that is what clicked for them.
THE THREE STEP FRAMEWORK FOR THE FINAL PITCH
1. Talk about the next 1 to 2 years in a simple language using simple vocabulary.
2. Bring in the conviction and passion.
3. Use it to connect with the audience. Ask a couple of questions to draw them into the issue.
The bottom line is Keep it simple, convey passion & conviction, connect with audience and make them feel it’s a super crucial problem.
WHAT MAKES A START- UP STAND OUT
Any incubator looks for three main things before selecting a start up for the incubation program.
1. The Team: Incubators and Investors invest in you and not your ideas. They should get the feeling that, ‘This team with this idea will be successful’. A lot of investors put their trust on the credibility of the team. In case of Guardians of Dreams, having the experience of previously running the organization ‘Make a Difference’ came their way and helped them to get through.
2. The Clarity of Vision: The next thing they look for is the depth of the vision and the depth of the knowledge that the team possess. The team of Guardians of Dreams had about 10 years of experience in the child care field.
3. The Sustainability Model: Generally, the NPO’s do not really think about their sustainability model. They might have a great idea, a great solution to a crucial problem that might create a great impact but it is important for them to figure out how these NPO’s will sustain. The incubators look for how the NPO’s will sustain, raise funds and gather their resources. Having a great sustainability model helped Guardians of Dreams to get through the selection process.
BENEFITS COVERED BY THE IIM-B INCUBATION PROGRAM
It was an 18 months incubation program. They provided 18 Lakhs Grants which was dispersed in three installments as 6 Lakhs each. Some of the great advantages of the IIM-B Incubation program are:
1. The best is the IIM-B Tag that increases the credibility of the organization.
2. Mentoring by the IIM-B Alumnus & Faculty which is very helpful for the organisation, as it provides wisdom and knowledge from a vast set of successful and experienced people and thus help the organisation to scale at a fast pace.
3. Access to lot of facilities which are very helpful for any early stage start-up.
4. Another important benefit of the IIM-B incubator is that it helps in networking and building relationships with lots of people from the industry.
THE TWO QUESTIONS:
Mistakes are subject to every person and every organisation. But before applying to any incubator program it is important to understand what the organization is going to get out of the program. The organization must be able to leverage the opportunity and make the organization better.
The two questions to be asked to our self before applying for any incubator program are,
- What do they offer? Do they offer what you need at the phase you are in. Most incubator offer networks, mentors and credibility that leads to fund. It is important to know whether the offer made by the incubator matches the needs of the organisation.
- Does the incubator cost you something? Such as Equity stake or They might want someone from incubator team to be in your team.
The most important thing here is to choose what’s the best for your organization.
CLOSING THOUGHTS FROM THE FOUNDER:
“Credibility of the people backing the incubator is very important. People outside your circle should recognize the quality of the incubator. The fact that we got into IIM — B incubator carried the weight. If u can get an institution or person who is well known or who people recognize and has incredible credibility then joining the person’s team or being a part of the incubator really helps to propel your work or project your work. They project their credibility on to you. Borrowed trust and credibility which really goes a long way.
Go for the ones that are best in the world, Internationally well recognized and skip the ones that people are not aware off. Incubators like Y Combinators which are best in the space, are the ones worth getting into.” — Gloria Benny, Co-Founder, Guardians of Dreams.
MORE ABOUT GUARDIANS OF DREAMS :
CURRENT PROJECTS:
There are three main projects that Guardians of Dreams is currently involved in,
1. Shelter Renovation: The 100 odd Child Care homes each in Bangalore, Kochi and Chennai are visited and their state of infrastructure is evaluated. If they are poor in terms of safety, sanitation or hygiene support is provided to renovate it.
2. Identity: Getting ID Cards and Certificates sorted. The documents can either be misplaced or inaccurate. Guardians of Dreams assess the state of documentation and help them procure it.
3. Guardians Scholarship: After 18 years , Transitioning out to the society becomes difficult for the children. Guardians of Dreams supports them by providing Financial Support to top 50 students via scholarship programs.
SCOPE FOR STUDENTS TO VOLUNTEER WHILE STUDYING:
Guardians of Dreams mobilizes volunteers in every city they are in. They believe that, Everyone in the community have to understand the problems of the others and they are the best folks to solve. The students who can spend about 6 to 7 hours a week can join as volunteer. It is the best platform for them to learn about how child care space looks like in India. Strong Volunteer base is one of the success factor for Guardians of Dreams.
VISIONS AND PLANS FOR FUTURE
Guardians of Dreams is now not planning to scale up geographically but is planning to Scale in depth with programs that extend to Education, Health Care and Nutrition and Improving Staff in the child care homes.
After the next 3 years once it proves to be successful, Guardians of Dreams will scale up geographically.
The journey of Guardians of Dreams and their experiences of getting selected to the IIM-B incubator program has a lot to learn from for any person who is looking to be a Social Entrepreneur. Well if you want to be associated with Guardians of Dreams, log on to their website www.godreams.org, apply for their volunteer program and Make a Difference.
