EXPLAINING A NEW BUSINESS MODEL

Pitching the Community Food Hub to Funders

 

CHALLENGE

Just Food developed a viable model to address a complex food systems issue with partners. They needed to quickly explain the business model to potential funders so they could easily grasp what the new enterprise would do and where it would create value within the local food system.

There were many related storylines, and it was critical to select just the essential ideas.

They were too close to see what someone on the “outside” needed to understand to support the initiative.

SOLUTION

We pared down the details to the bare essence and illustrated the flow of work and value.

We talked, listened, asked questions, and challenged each other with a refreshing intensity until the mess of ideas gelled into a cohesive whole.

In the co-creative process, The Executive Director clarified her thinking and improved her ability to present her ideas coherently. She found the simple language she needed to explain a complex topic and transformed her initially complicated proposal into a clear and concise funding request that made sense to everyone. As an added benefit, she came to understand the food insecurity problem better, even after years of dedicated focus on it.

Just Food received funding from three different organizations within just three months of presenting it at a grant-making competition. Another leader - who had been hearing about the problem and the proposed business model before - said this was the clearest he had ever understood the problem and the project.

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