Caitlin Dean, founder of Girl Guides USA, sounds off on the NYWSE Incubator

The NWYSE Incubator program participants will be publishing to this blog in order to let the world in on their varied experiences through the program's duration. Some women will discuss how they overcame challenges, others may address their personal growth and how their ventures evolved.

Caitlin Dean, founder,  Girl Guides USA

My blog post: The two greatest lessons I have learned through the Incubator Program.

I’m starting Girl Guides USA, a non-profit outdoor teambuilding and leadership program for girls based on the Girl Guides program I was part of in Belgium for years when I was younger.  Girl Guides was one of the best experiences of my life, and I’m thrilled to be bringing it to girls here in the States.  But without a doubt the main challenge I’ve faced in launching the pilot program has been getting the word out and attracting the people I want to target (6th-10th grade girls).  Publicity would of course be easier if I had an unlimited budget, but still, I’ve been able to overcome the challenge (or, rather, I’m in the process of overcoming it) and I’ve learned a couple of lessons along the way…

Women's Education Project creator, Zoe Timms, on the Incubator Program

The NWYSE Incubator program participants will be publishing to this blog in order to let the world in on their varied experiences through the program's duration. Some women will discuss how they overcame challenges, others may address their personal growth and how their ventures evolved. 

Zoe Timms, Founder and Director, Women's Education Project

My blog post: How have I developed my knowledge about marketing through the Incubator Program.

Many have said that being a social entrepreneur is a lonely business - but as part of NYSWE's incubator program, and following their many leads, I have realized that the city's resources and many inspiring professionals makes this an exciting and permanently renewing process. 

PublicStuff Needs You!

by Lily Liu, NYWSE Incubator Participant

The Web is truly an amazing thing, which is no revelation, I know. But how often do we ask ourselves how this powerful tool can be utilized to create social change? If masses of people can organize online to create things like an encyclopedia (Wikipedia), successful networking sites (Facebook,MySpace), a mutual fund, media (YouTube), an operating system (Linux) and even a physical thing like a motorcycle, what can people do when it comes to interacting with their local leaders to create positive and collaborative community change? Go ahead—really think about the possibilities, and you’ll be amazed at how many things we can do by using available web resources.

I would have never predicted this trend, but it’s true. Millions of people have already collaborated towards creating goods and services that rival those of well financed enterprises, and it’s just a matter of time before that trickles down to government. This nexus of transformation and opportunity is what PublicStuff.org is all about. We are focused on connecting people with their local governments to increase civic participation, transparency and quality of life in communities across the nation.

We are currently participating in the NYWSE Incubator Program. Through the program, we found out about the Startup Nation Elevator Pitch Contest, which allows entrepreneurs across the country to submit an online video or audio pitch about their business venture. The top 5 applicants will have the opportunity to conduct a full presentation to a panel of venture capital investors. We took this opportunity to apply to the contest, and also see it as a great way to get our message out. So, please take a moment to check out of video and vote for us while you’re there—we can’t do this without you! There is no need to log in—just visit the website and submit your vote. And you can vote once per day, so if you really believe in our idea, vote often!

 

VOTE FOR PUBLICSTUFF.ORG HERE!

 

This contest is a great opportunity for us to begin fully developing the pilot program and implementing it in key cities across the nation, so that eventually we will be able to provide a refined product for every city across the nation! We want to show that we can do well, by doing good, and improve the quality of life in our local communities while making government responsive, efficient, and accountable to the people! We hope you will take the time to vote us and please also link this in your blog and/or forward it to your friends and family. The more people we get to vote, the better our chances are!

Thank you all for your support. And thank you for making PublicStuff truly a collaborative process. If you want to stay updated on our launch or want to know how you can help or get involved, click here to sign up for our contact list.

 

The PublicStuff vision is to create an online portal that allows people to connect directly with their local government in order to keep our elected leaders responsible and accountable to the needs in our local communities. Whether you want to file a noise complaint, or your local park needs renovating, or that street lamp or pothole has not been addressed in 5 years, PublicStuff is here to empower you to have a voice and make our leaders work for you 24 hours a day--- not just from 9-5 Monday through Friday.

 

Cities will be able to purchase the PublicStuff software package that will enable them to bring and manage all services online-- you will be able to submit and manage individual requests, receive status updates, hear what your neighbors are saying all at the same website no matter what city you live in---- and all without having to stand in a long line at your lunch hour. With dynamic maps, forums, and online video, PublicStuff will make it easy for you to let our leaders know what they need to address in our neighborhoods and cities.

Quarterlife Crisis Affecting Your New Venture?

Your alarm goes off at 6:45 a.m. and, after hitting snooze exactly three times, you begin mentally preparing yourself for the day. Only, you know your day is not going to be what you want it to be:

• You're totally unsure of the direction in which your new venture is headed
  
• You feel overwhelmed by the myriad decisions you need to make in your personal life
• You find yourself plagued by a series of existential questions related to your purpose here on earth

How come your twenties haven’t been easier?

NYWSE Launches Incubator Program

Boldly challenging today’s tough economy, New York Women Social Entrepreneurs (NYWSE) is launching an initiative to develop new female-led social ventures through its new Incubator Program.

The Incubator Program provides six budding social entrepreneurs a six-month immersion environment complete with the support of mentors and apprentices (i.e. junior partners) who, as a three-person team, work to realize the entrepreneur’s social venture. Founder and Program Manager Allison Lynch and NYWSE Director Natalia Oberti Noguera have designed the Incubator Program to provide maximum support to ensure entrepreneurs’ sustainable success. The incubator initiative also includes entrepreneurship training and development, access to information and other business resources, as well as networking.

These fledgling female-run social ventures are a mix of not-for-profit and for-profit business models featuring a double bottom line of financial sustainability and social impact. They include: 

 

Early Earners – Online education destination for youth and families promoting positive financial habits

Girl Guides USA – Outdoor program that develops girls’ environmentalism, leadership and teamwork

Out Against Abuse - Online resource to stop domestic violence in the South Asian community

Public Stuff –  Software to connect government and citizens to improve services and community life

Start Your Engine – Exercise, nutrition, stress and time management program for low-income women

Illume – Online mentoring and career resource for young women from illiterate families in India

The Incubator’s principal provider of business training is the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College and its Small Business Development Center, providing core technical training in entrepreneurship and follow-up consulting. Baruch is joined by Geri Stengel, Adjunct Professor of Social Entrepreneurship at the New School and President of Stengel Solutions and Ventureneer, who provides marketing training. Another program highlight is professional development training provided by program partner and inspirational entrepreneur Angela Jia Kim. Kim is a concert pianist, owner of the luxury and eco-friendly skincare company Om Aroma & Co., and founder of Savor the Success. 

 

NYWSE Incubator Team Profiles

Early Earners:

Keren Perry-Shamir, entrepreneur, Columbia Business School graduate, and Product Manager at Tacoda, is Co-manager of Early Earners with her business partner, Ami Desai, who founded the company. Early Earners is an online destination which develops financial skills and investment among youth and their family members. Team mentor Geri Stengel, President of Stengel Solutions and Ventureneer, has long been nurturing nonprofit and for-profit enterprise growth through her business solutions and marketing expertise and also served as a long-time board member of The National Association of Women Business Owners in New York City. The team apprentice is an analyst at a New York City financial firm and a former director of the MFY Affordable Legal Services Program, bringing her finance industry and consulting experience to the team.

Girl Guides USA:

Caitlin Dean is the entrepreneur behind Girl Guides USA, an outdoors activity program with the purpose of empowering young women with the values of environmentalism, leadership and teamwork. Dean is a Yale University alumnus, French teacher, public policy maven, and journalist. Jacqueline Muna Mustiiwa Esq. is team mentor and is experienced in counseling start-up enterprises in company formation and contracts and also teaches International Law at Central Michigan University. Rachel Netski, apprentice, is contributing her unique perspective and diverse skill sets as a graduate of New York University with a Masters in Educational Sociology and is also an internet Marketing Manager and wine connoisseur.

Illume:

Zoe Timms, University of Wisconsin graduate, is the Founding Director of the Women’s Education Project and most recently founded Illume an international web forum that invites successful career women to share their stories with young women from illiterate and impoverished families in India for the purpose of career development and mentorship, as well as collecting online resources for these young Indian women. The team mentor is Sarah-Leah Gootnick who has designed and implemented several nonprofit and for-profit organizations such as Secretary in Israel LLC and also has expertise in marketing and communications. Erin Ewart is the team apprentice and is currently attending Columbia University Business School; she has experience in building corporate performance metric systems, recruitment and training, and was a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Embassy in Panama.

Out Against Abuse:

Sabrin Chowdhury, a University of Texas graduate with a professional finance background, founded of Out Against Abuse - an interactive online resource that connects domestic violence abuse victims, scholars, and advocates with the purpose of engaging and educating the South Asian community to stop domestic violence. Team mentor Alison Woo is President of NewMediaMavens.com, a communications consulting firm targeted at growing small businesses through marketing strategy and technology capability and has authored articles and books in the realm of finance, marketing, and communications. Shubha Balasubramanyam is currently a graduate student at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, was formally with Villai LLC providing business consulting services to improve their productivity, and worked at Engineers Without Borders. Balasubramanyam will be bringing her public and private sector expertise in efficiency improvement, team management, and policy advocacy as team apprentice and has worked internationally including Nepal, Canada, and India.

Public Stuff:

Lily Liu works for the New York City Department of Education and is the entrepreneur behind the online resource Public Stuff, founded to bridge the gap between the public and government through interaction and feedback to improve services and community life. Lily graduated with a Masters from Carnegie Mellon and also studied at Harvard. Helene Heller, a seasoned public sector executive with strategic planning, governance, and operations experience, is the team mentor. Currently Senior Adviser to the City of New York Department of Aging, she also held senior positions with the New York Housing Authority and Cisco Systems and has been a leader in introducing information technology solutions to improve public sector operations. Morena Vattuone is the team apprentice and brings a wide range of skill sets from her various experiences, such as work as a market research analyst, television reporter, health policy adviser, case manager with Consumer Action, and senior health researcher.

Start Your Engine:

Anastasia Holmes created Start Your Engine, a program that aims to reduce obesity among low-income women through a holistic program of exercise, nutrition, and stress and time management. Holmes is a nonprofit management consultant with the Families of September 11, has many years of experience in the psychosocial support sector, and holds a Masters Public Administration. Elizabeth Weinmann is the team mentor and founder of Weinmann and Associates, a strategic consulting firm for nonprofit and for-profit enterprises. Weinmann has over twenty years of experience and expertise in strategy, management consulting and marketing for Fortune 500 companies and trade associations.  Maria Roker, junior partner, is currently studying for a Masters Degree from Chatham University in Wellness and is experienced in designing and implementing programs within the education and healthcare sectors. Roker has also worked directly with at-risk children to educate them and their families about health to support community-based awareness.