Open Visual Thinkery
I wrote this visual poem in 2014 when the social business I had founded (wapisasa) and its vision were struggling – I had completely forgotten about it until I found it in an old sketchbook, and thought I might turn it into something to encourage others. If it resonates with you, let me know!
Here’s another thought emerging from a conversation at @dotcomrades – with reference to the vote for Independence in Scotland. I’m fascinated by hope – as its relationship with strong leadership…
Having sold a couple of businesses, I’m often asked about the ingredients of running a successful start-up. Well, this may be obvious, but it’s top of my list every time. People. But not just your immediate team (which is of course critical), but those who you sell to, those who support what you’re selling, those who act as advocates for you, and those who build whatever your products and deliver your services. Find good people, and figure out how to play them to their strengths.
After getting wapisasa, a social business (non-profit) focused on developing creative young people, off the ground, I thought that we’d be able to get funding to help us get quickly up to speed. Sadly, this tickly thought is my experience of the funding world – which I suppose is understandable – who wouldn’t want maximum bang for buck? Slow-burning ideas are hard to find funding for.
In order to get a business off the ground, you’re going to need a whole load of stuff (whether you know it or not). A thought after meeting with Lord Young at Downing Street.
Mr Rocketship-of-an-idea. What’s not to like?
After being in business for a 6 months or so, I held a vision day with the team, and out of that day this was created. it aims to support a wapisasa elevator pitch, and enable anyone to talk though the story.
Back in the early days of wapisasa, (mostly spent in my man-shed) I spent quite a bit of time trying to articulate to myself and others what the concept actually was. This was where I settled…
After getting wapisasa off the ground and being in business for a year, I created this graphic to summarise the achievements we made along the way. At that time we were based in Hoxton, East London, which has a very high beard-per-male ratio…
I was struck by the fact that when applying for funding as a social business, that funders seem to be looking for a silver bullet. Unfortunately, wapisasa is far from a silver bullet, going deep with just a few. However, if there were more wapisasas…