Social Sabbatical at SEED — part II

We are now at SEED since three weeks and for me it is already time to say goodbye — today is my last day at SEED. We can truly say that all the positive moments we have experienced in the first week continue.

In the past three weeks we had more than 20 Interviews with stakeholders, government, startups, startup ecosystems and company organizations, adding a lot more information to the 9000 words we already collected in the first 1.5 weeks. We have been able to get more in contact with the startup organizations, that are part of the current batch at SEED. It is really exciting to learn about their business ideas and creativity. We can really say that a lot of these business models and application ideas are really spot on, addressing very relevant business requirements we look into as well — but maybe on a different scale or with a different focus.

In our work we helped SEED to better identify and measure the impact they have on the society, the local economy and the startups. In this context we have developed a methodology to measure the social impact and the economical success with KPIs. We have provided the organization with surveys they can use to collect the needed data from startups, the ecosystem and other stakeholders.

We know that this is only the first step on a longer journey they have to undertake to now collect the data and use it for internal prioritization and external marketing, but we should have provided a good foundation for that journey.

We have been able as well to explore over the weekends a little more the beauty of this country. We decided not to fly out for that to other areas and cities of Brazil, but to stay in the wider area of Belo Horizonte. I have been personally impressed by Inhotim, a great mixture of botanical garden and art exhibition, that I have not seen before anywhere else with such a variety. At the second weekend we visited Ouro Preto and Mariana and have been able to learn more about the gold mining history of this area — obviously with all nice and impressing and as well critical elements (like slavery). Unforgettable is the local “guide” in Ouro Preto (a friend of our hosts here, called on that day at 8h Sunday morning and asked to take us around, which he did for the whole Sunday morning and afternoon with real passion — and we hope fun for him as well).

As stated above, I have to leave already this weekend after three weeks down here in Brazil. Despite the fact that we of course as well have seen the challenges this country is facing, I am leaving it with many good and long-lasting impressions, giving me hope:

• meeting people down here that are really passionate for their country and people, working hard to improve the social and economical situation of this country
• experiencing the atmosphere of creativity and passion of the startups in the shared working area we have joined for these weeks
• last, but not least: meeting impressive colleagues from SAP, from other areas and other geographies, and having the pleasure to work with them for a few weeks on topics that are not related to our daily business.

Uwe