Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/54913
technology Startups, Start Your Networks! IN JANUARY, the Unreasonable Institute, a startup accelerator launched last year in Boulder, Colorado, put the ideas of 45 entre- preneurs on its Web site and asked a global Internet audience to vote for the best ones— with their wallets. For 50 days, site visitors could back any of the ideas with funding. The first 25 social startups to raise US$8,000 were accepted into the Institute's six-week mentoring program, where their founders will receive training, attend workshops, and seek guidance from a wide range of mentors. The Institute imposed a US$10 contribu- tion cap in the first week and increased the cap incrementally over the course of the con- test. That prevented any team from securing the full US$8,000 from a single investor, and assured that each plan would have to win the support of hundreds of people through mar- keting and social media. The 45 projects chosen for the voting pro- cess were selected from more than 300 appli- cants in 60 countries. Each project had to be scalable to serve at least 1 million people, demonstrate market feasibility, and show potential to be self-sustaining. The finalists included a Chinese engineer who had designed a water- less composting toilet, a Kenyan who has distributed more than 10,000 solar lan- terns, and an American who has developed a water puri- The Institute's "Finalist Marketplace" tests the entrepreneurs' ability to rally support behind their ideas. fication system that rolls up to the size of a ruler. The Institute's "Finalist Marketplace" tests the entrepreneurs' ability to rally support behind their ideas, says Daniel Epstein, founder and president of the organization. The extent of public support, he adds, "offers a real-time measure of success." This was an inaugural competition for the Insti- tute. The entrepreneurs who entered raised more than US$160,000 from nearly 3,000 supporters in 130 countries. Donors also had an incentive: They 68 May/June 2011 BizEd received a point for every dollar they contributed to a project, and two points for every dollar contributed as a result of their telling others about the project through social media. Top point-earners received prize bundles from HP, the Unreasonable Institute's first corporate partner. HP also is contributing technology and a scholarship fund for the entrepreneurs. To learn more about the Unreasonable Institute, visit unreasonableinstitute.org. To read about the con- test, visit marketplace.unreasonableinstitute.org. JUSTIN LEWIS/GETTY IMAGES