Successful start of the first edition of Impact Lab and Impact Bootcamp
We started our workshop series with the first edition of our Impact Lab and a week later it took place the Impact Bootcamp at our location in the Unicorn – Startup & Innovation Hub. We support (prospective) founders of a social or green business in letting their ideas grow. In the Impact Lab, our experts work together with the participants to identify a social challenge as such, to find possible solutions and to analyze whether an impact-oriented business model can be developed from it.
The Impact Bootcamp gave us three intensive days full of innovative projects and exciting ideas. Around 20 committed participants shared their ideas and concepts for solving social and ecological problems with us. The workshop was open to participants who were about to start their own company, as well as teams who already had concrete ideas but had not yet dared to take the step of founding a company. One of the main points was the conception and creation of a social business model canvas, but the program also included specifying the vision and mission of the prospective company and defining its goals.
With the help of expert input and knowledge from our side, thanks to a wide variety of group tasks on previously analyzed topics and to the networking opportunities among each other, the participants in the workshops were given the necessary know-how to further develop their project and successfully mature it into a social business. The workshop concluded with a pitch training, in which the participants were prepared to successfully present their ideas and projects. All teams had the opportunity to present their projects briefly and concisely in five minutes and then get valuable feedback from the other participants and the experts.
During the three days, we particularly noticed the participants’ great commitment and willingness to work. We were impressed by the strong will and motivation with which they work on their projects and how they are willing to respond to the changing framework conditions of everyday business thanks to their high level of flexibility and innovative thinking. Exactly the right mindset to get started as a social entrepreneur.
The aim of the Impact Lab and Impact bootcamp is to prepare the participants for our 12-month Impact Incubation program, which starts in early April. The program is aimed at prospective Social & Green Entrepreneurs who have started their business in the past 12 months or plan to do so in the next 12 months. The Social Business Hub Styria supports the prospective world rescuers for up to 12 months with individual advice and expertise as well as support from mentors and helps to build up know-how. In addition, the prospective founders can benefit from the extensive network in the ecosystem and the contacts in the social business community and receive an office workplace on the premises of the Unicorn Startup & Innovation Hub . The aim is to found a social business and to launch the first products on the market.
The jury meets twice a year to decide whether projects will be included in the incubation program. To prepare for this pitch in front of a jury, interested parties can take part in the Impact Bootcamp. Participation in our workshops is not mandatory in order to apply for the incubation program, but they teach important basics and tools that are helpful for the start-up phase of a company.
We are pleased that we have been able to support so many people on their way through our workshops over the past few weeks and hope to see one or the other of the participants again at the incubation program and take the next steps together.
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