There are a lot of things Kevin Starke wishes he could tell his 21-year-old self when he started his first social venture.
The co-founder of Gridbid, a tech startup specializing in auctioning roof space for solar panels, originally had the idea of doing a carbon offset development project in South America.
“A team of people, quite young, in Vancouver — not really the ideal solution to be working on,” the now-27-year-old admitted.
“We made so many mistakes. No. 1 was just (ensuring) you can actually fulfill a market need. Don’t go out, build a huge solution without identifying people who really want it.”
It’s those lessons Starke wants to impart on the next set of cohorts going through the Build a Profitable Social Venture program he co-founded.
The program runs for five Wednesdays beginning January 21 and teaches students about the business skills needed to get a social venture off the ground. Phone scripts, sales tactics and best practices are provided to participants.
Meanwhile, cohorts are also exposed to guest speakers such as d.light founder Sam Goldman and The Next Big Thing Foundation co-founder Meredith Powell, who help students figure out how to identify viable social venture and go about securing their first customers.
“When people think about social ventures, they don’t immediately think of making them profitable but that’s what you need to do so you can actually continue to make an impact on people,” Starke said, “Because if you go out and have a fantastic idea but there’s no way to monetize it, there’s no way for you to keep that idea growing and growing so you can increase the impact.”
The program’s first cohorts began in November and Starke recalled being surprised by how successful the students have been so early on in their entrepreneurial careers.
He said part of the reason why is the program can get the most out of students is all the classes are interactive and the courses include specific steps applicants must complete to keep them accountable.
“We all want to make a difference. We all feel the value in giving back,” Starke said.
“And there’s a lot of ways to do that but we feel the best way most people in Vancouver can do that is (to start) their own business where they can solve problems for people and actually make money.”
The program accepts just 10 applicants per intake, while the deadline for applications closes Wednesday (January 15). The course costs about $500.
Starke said the Build a Profitable Social Venture is looking for young people who have a genuine desire to make change, have shown a willingness to get involved in the community and are OK with testing out their ideas on friends and family.
