This is the fourth update (Week #4) as part of our quest to design and build a funding readiness framework. See initial proposal, week #1, week #2, and week #3 updates here.
What we planned to do
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Polish first draft of criteria and write statements for project/evaluator
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Create list of projects for testing
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Run the first test
What we did
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Agreed on and polished the first draft of the criteria
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Team
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Composition
- Who is on the core team and what are their roles?
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Track record & reputation (why this team, why this project?)
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Finance
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Revenue sustainability model (how will you make and sustain revenue)
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Runway
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Planning
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Transparency
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Users
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Who are your target users?
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Addressable market (how many potential users are there and where are they?)
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Traction & churn & stickiness (how many users do you have and how are you keeping them?)
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Risk Assessment
- What risks have you identified and how will you mitigate them?
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Problem Identification
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What is the specific problem that you’re solving?
- Evaluator: This project has articulated an actual problem, not a projected one.
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What is your solution to the problem?
- Evaluator: This project has a viable solution to the stated problem.
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Impact
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Measurements (What metrics do you use to measure direct impact?)
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Evidence of past direct quantitative impact (what impact has been made as per the identified metrics?)
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What are the indirect impacts of your project’s work?
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Proof that funding will enable future impact growth (How will funding enable you to increase those metrics?)
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Product/Service
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Value proposition (What is the core value you offer your users?)
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Viable onboarding means (What are the steps required to onboard users/customers to your solution?)
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What steps have you taken to prepare, technically and operationally, for the next wave of users?
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Meeting milestones
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Marketing
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Narrative
- What is/are your core narrative(s)?
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Plan to attract and scale new potential users
- How do you plan to attract and retain new potential users?
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Wrote statements for projects and evaluators according to the criteria
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Problem Identification
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Project: Please describe and provide evidence for the specific problem(s) that your project solves.
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Evaluator: The project articulates an actual problem, not a projected one.
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Project: Please describe your project’s solution to the problem(s) you identified.
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Evaluator: The project provides a viable solution to the problem(s) it identifies.
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Product/Service
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Project: Please describe your solution’s core value proposition.
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Evaluator: The project provides clear value to its users.
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Project: Please describe the steps required to onboard users/customers to your solution?
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Evaluator: The project prioritizes usability in its solution.
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Project: Please describe the steps you have taken to prepare, technically and operationally, for the next wave of users.
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Evaluator: The project is prepared to handle the next wave of users.
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Users
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Project: Please describe and quantify your target user(s) and target market(s).
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Evaluator: The project understands its target users and markets.
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Project: Please describe and quantify the traction your project has established.
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Evaluator: The project has proved that it can attract and retain users.
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Impact
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Project: Please describe how you measure and verify your project’s direct impact.
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Evaluator: The project has identified meaningful ways to measure and verify its impact.
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Project: Please quantify the impact your project has made to date using the metrics you identified.
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Evaluator: The project has already established a track record of making impact.
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Project: Please describe the indirect impacts, both negative and positive, of your project’s work.
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Evaluator: The project has sufficiently considered the indirect impacts of its work.
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Project: Please describe how an increase in funding will enable you to increase your project’s direct impact.
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Evaluator: The project has a clear plan to increase its impact with additional funding.
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Team
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Project: Please list your key team members, their role(s), and, if possible, a link to at least one social profile.
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Evaluator: The project team has the people and roles necessary to deliver.
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Project: Please describe why your team is the right one for this project at this time.
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Evaluator: The project’s team has the track record and reputation to be successful.
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Project: Please describe your project’s governance structure and decision-making process.
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Evaluator: The project has a clear, functional governance structure and decision-making process.
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Finance
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Project: Please describe how your project generates revenue.
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Evaluator: The project has a viable revenue model.
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Project: Please describe how your project achieves or plans to achieve financial sustainability.
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Evaluator: The project has a viable path to financial sustainability.
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Project: Please describe your project’s fundraising efforts, revenue generation, and current runway.
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Evaluator: The project has proved itself capable of raising funds and managing its budget.
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Project: Please describe your project’s efforts at financial transparency.
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Evaluator: The project is committed to being transparent with its finances.
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Risk Assessment
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Project: Please describe the key risks associated with your project and your mitigation strategies.
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Evaluator: The project accurately identifies the key risks and provides viable mitigation strategies.
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Marketing
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Project: Please describe your project’s core narrative(s).
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Evaluator: The project has an engaging story to tell that resonates with its stakeholders.
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Project: Please describe your plan to attract and retain new users.
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Evaluator: The project has a viable strategy in place to increase its number of users.
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Created a list of projects for initial testing
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M3tering
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ChangeCode
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Somos Axolotl
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CHATAFISHA
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RiFai Sicilia
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ReFi Medellin
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Discussed the scoring mechanism at length, with 5 options considered, and arrived at a conclusion (in order, points for Agree, Neutral, Disagree)
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1 0 0
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1 0 -1
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2 0 -1
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5 3 1
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3 1 0 (Selected)
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Agreed to display results as a percentage as opposed to a score
- For example, a project is 78% funding ready
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Conducted first test based on our own understanding of the test projects
What we learned
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The different scoring mechanisms we tested often produced wildly different results, especially in comparing the projects with each other
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There really is no end to the number of criteria that can be considered when evaluating a project
Challenges encountered
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It was difficult to accurately test without “inside” information from the projects
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It took a while to figure out whether a Neutral score should be considered positive or have no impact on the score.
Next steps
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Review criteria and statements for necessary changes
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Run a second round of testing with help from the projects themselves and other external resources like Karma GAP.