To me it feels like it’s bigger than just Cancer Research – it feels like the way to do things in the future.
Bianca Cawthorne, Participant
NESTA, 100%Open, leading charity Cancer Research UK and online collaboration experts mo.jo worked together to build a community of people with ideas to create new viable businesses which could generate funds of £10m per annum. The uniqueness of the Open Venture Challenge lay in building and supporting a genuine community of entrepreneurs with a common interest in helping to cure cancer.
The challenge comprised four parts: kick-off, ideation, team building and business development. At each stage community feedback was used to judge and prioritise the ideas, leading to the short listed teams pitching to Cancer Research UK’s Venture Board for the chance to partner with the charity and/or receive £10,000 in investment to pilot the idea. The challenge achieved over 600 registered users, 160 listed ideas, 23 venture applications, 6 shortlisted candidates and 3 supported ventures:
- Extraordinary Experiences is a national raffle venture that could win you a ’money can’t buy’ experience of a lifetime.
- Project Rose was started by Lizze McLean when she was 13 years old and her mum was diagnosed with breast cancer. For a cost of £2.50 students in secondary schools and colleges can pre-order silk roses that are delivered anonymously to their friends or secret love on Valentine’s Day.
- Open Gym is a network of outdoor fitness groups, providing weekly exercise classes in local parks across the UK. Qualified fitness coaches provide one hour outdoor workouts every week and all the profits go to Cancer Research UK.
Building on this experience, 100%Open is now confident that Open Venture Communities ™ are a new and effective way to crowd-source and start businesses.
