Dear Holly,

We both enjoyed reading about your novel concept – based in large part on your own personal experience. Thanks for submitting it to the competition. We are encouraged by your strong passion for the concept, good understanding and discussion of your target audience’s needs, and financial potential.

As we read through your piece, a few observations came to us:
1) As a new social entrepreneur, it often helps clarify your purpose when you walk though the exercise of building a theory of change and logic model. If you are interested, we just recently posted a general piece on the contest criteria – innovation, scale, and impact – that might be helpful to you. (see http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/729#comment-2686.) While producing the logic model, it may be helpful to simulate how you get from multiple short-lived, but meaningful interactions with professional women to higher college participation rates. It would be important to ensure a direct link between the interaction and the long-term outcome. You might also want to research other mentorship models (Big Brother, Big Sisters) to better understand how they work.
2) While you represented one side of the demand (young woman professional), the other side (young girls needing mentorship) is not as well represented. While you may have already done this, but it might help to reach out to existing organizations who serve these young girls and conduct a focus group (both of the NGO staff and girls themselves). You may find key insights that would propel the model forward. Some organizations that might be helpful would be: Girls on the Run, YMCA Teen Centers, & Junior Achievement.
3) Since your strategy is hinged on corporate support, what does that support look like right now?

If you have specific questions on this posting, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Sincerely,

Paul Bloom
Senior Research Scholar of Social Entrepreneurship and Marketing
Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship
Duke University – Fuqua School of Business

Suzanne Steffens
CASE Scholar
MBA Student, Class of 2008
Duke University – Fuqua School of

Hi Holly,

thanks for your answer! Let me go on to point you to cameron´s Theory of Change statement over at Boxgirls:
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/2279#comment-3571

I´m right now excited about that, because the question of how we can achive what we´re claiming to achieve with our projects has emerged as the most interesting question for me around cm. Boxgirls has nailed some of that, and also made me read up about TOC a bit on the web. There´s lots of stuff out there, some of which I´ve referenced here:
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/4192#comment-3574

Would love to hear some of the assumptions about social change that inform your project, as well as means and goals - and what you think on TOC in general.

Jasper Nicolaisen
Free University Berlin
University Challenge

Hi,

ambitious project, but well thought out. We now have a couple of projects on cm coming up with ideas revolving around a pssoible merger of (Nike) technology, public space, networking and health promo aspects (like, say, a little project called "Boss Run": http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3235), and this one looks like it might actually work, even though it´s still at concept stage. However, I kind of had a similar question in mind like Heather. How is this crossing class boundaries, and how will it get young women going, apart from just showing them some examples (as valuable as that might be already). How about those running guides actually got paid for doing their guiding work? I mean, someone who spends money for a hotel gym can spend some money on a fun personal trainer, right? And then, how about these professional women sit down after training for a moment with their guides and tell them a little about how they would invest that money? Or all the money a girl made during this month? That could be an eye opener.

Jasper Nicolaisen
Free University Berlin
University Challenge

Okay, I know this is about social entrepreneurship, but on the side of revenue generation and sustainable funding streams, the target audience is the professional female traveler. i just saw an ad for the Hilton on page 19 in this month's fast company that shows that this is an awesome idea!! It has a woman on a treadmill in a hotel gym and the tagline is: "tomorrow's a big day" and the following sentence reads: "and the best way to get rid of any butterflies is to chase them away" i.e. chase them away by running that is. They advertise a "stay fit kit" http://www.stayhgi.com/en/gi/promotions/stayfit/index.jhtml?adId=StayFitKit,Mini&cid=OM,GI,StayFitKit,Mini#find

I think you are on to something by targeting the hotel chains as a potential buyer of the service for their guests.

Hey Holly! I also fit the target group for Sprint Sisters and would love to meet ambitious young women to go run with when I was travelling on business and could well imagine helping them start their careers or focus on school. I would also like to extend the invitation of the boxgirls roadwork running programme so far in Berlin and Nairobi (but later in many other world capitals) to help establish the programme where we are active. I especially agree with the point that girls need to take back the streets. That is also a key point of our project to make girls more confident using public space for recreation.

Our runners both young and old would love to share our cities with visitors and I am sure our girls would benefit from the perspectives of bright, successful, young women moving ahead in their careers and give them a good run in the process.

I am wondering how this initiative will "cut across all economic classes"? How will you encourage disadvantaged girls to come into the luxury business hotels and feel comfortable with women from a very very different world view. I think it will be a huge challenge in places like Berlin, let alone places with greater social disparity like Nairobi. I would love to hear your ideas on this.

Congrats on a great entry

Greetings from Berlin
HC

Heather Cameron
Free University Berlin
University Challenge

Hi Holly,
I'd like to say that I love the idea you created. I think it is terrific proposal, and hope to see that it does well. I was wondering that once this program gets started for girls, do you think one can be created for boys? Because I believe that both boys and girls should be allowed the opportunity to run and participate in the program as well as have the chance to have the scholarships and benefits. Another question is how are you going to spread the news across the country and get many cities involved? And where will they be running? But I love this idea and hope it succeeds!
Good Luck to You,
Vicky Liwush

love the interaction sides of this project...could City Girls Benefits include other stuff than 'scholarship' funds e.g internships, entry level employment ops, other networking meetings etc?
Schools & YMCA & Boys&Girls Clubs involvement?
Sure some branding and design'd make this FLY on highschool message boards cross country...
Best o Luck

Holly,
I will be the instigator here because (full disclosure) I am familiar with the project idea somewhat... Can you go into a bit more depth on the financial model and scaleability?

Also, I was thinking of how this could be enhanced even further, both in terms of deepening the connection to NIKE and also the potential social impact. On the Nike side: any thoughts on how this might add a nike plus component? And do you think the regular running runs that the Niketowns currently organize could be another feeder group?

On the social impact side, it seems that one of the benefits could be a "take back the streets" component as an unintended outcome. Many young women do not feel safe to run in urban cities at dusk or the early morning hours and these running groups could be a way to create options that could reverse that reality.

Cheers,
Z