2014 about using the Good Ones model to work with corporations (specifically @ BCG) to improve corporate cultures, break down silos and create powerful connections. Following up in 2015, Paul was still passionate about helping them figure this out. This project was outlined to help the Good Ones team understand their future direction and positioning Objectives • Define Good Ones core strengths and capabilities • Identify options for moving forward • Identify opportunities for improvement • Begin to develop clear internal and external messaging
Extreme (good) focus on individual connections • Passionate Good Ones team & Founders • Deliver on mission to create meaningful connections • Very strong understanding of what Good Ones creates Strengths • Confusion about What Good Ones as an organization is and the direction it is headed • Clearer understanding of how to transition organization and deciding which path to take • Prioritizing on next steps Development Opportunities
do they do? • “They are really good at connecting people” • “They are good connectors” • “Collect and connect fascinating people” • “Collect people that create synergy” • “Connecting people in organic ways for love, friendship and work”
connections while catalyzing friendships” • “Business, love, friendships” • “Break down barriers” An Open and Creative community • “Enable people to showcase and be open about their greatest talents” • “Build great communities with brightest” • “Enable people to stay in their #1 cities” • “Create amazing environments” Elevate people to new heights • Tell stories of brands, people and venues (people, place and things)
and Creative community • “Enable people to showcase and be open about their greatest talents” • “Build great communities with brightest” • “Enable people to stay in their #1 cities” • “Create amazing environments” What How Impact Connect and create relationships • “Bridge connections while catalyzing friendships” • “Business, love, friendships” • “Break down barriers” Elevate people to new heights • Tell stories of brands, people and venues (people, place and things) • Connections beyond events that add value to communities
• “a social impact company with a global mission to affect change.” • “It is trying to be the tangible version of facebook” • “Our mission is to be offline connectors in a world that is preocupied with technology” • “The Good Ones is a live platform that designs & delivers social networks. Our events are high in personal touch and customer service, resulting in live-interactions that lead to social network cultivation. Our services support the full life cycle of building a social network for the purpose of business, fundraising, romance and friendship” • “The Good Ones is focused on helping metropolitans, construct and maintain their social networks. Led by connectors and entrepreneurs, our Membership monetizes traditional networking, by scaling the delivery of relevant introductions. In beta mode, we are offering parties with three flexible payment options. Our pricing model was designed to easily transfer to three subsequent verticals: corporate, residential and academic.” • “We want to support non-profit charities” • “We are a pro-bono Marketing service”
intrinsically invested in helping people build their social circles in an organic way. The Good Ones positions people to enjoy an environment where the focus shifts from technology -- to live, human interaction. Our community inspires ideas. Our curated events and house parties are designed to spark conversations that lead to lasting relationships. From fitness and fashion, to the arts and venue exploration, we look forward to meeting you. It's time for something new. For business, love and friendship. Our curated events & house parties are designed to spark conversations, that lead to lasting relationships. Private Membership includes access to three (3) social experiences each month. Website
Value Creation Secret Sauce = “Imagine someone who does not have great friends, they do not have someone to talk to about their boring jobs” Our members face these challenges: 1. Identifying who is relevant to them 2. Scheduling meet-ups 3. Developing and maintaining each relationship in a way that is enjoyable, productive, and mindful of life's
confused Boston Community Vetting Process “Good Ones” Value Creation Secret Sauce = “Why are they doing these parties?” “Not sure if they are solving or have identified a critical need”
Vetting Process “Good Ones” Value Creation = Secret Sauce The core team understands the type of people that make up the “Good Ones” and there is a defined process for screening and accepting people
Process “Good Ones” “Carolyn talks about their secret sauce…but I’m not sure what it is?” Value Creation Secret Sauce = => Currently developing standardized psychological test and screening
experiences Boston Community Vetting Process “Good Ones” Value Creation Secret Sauce = • Getting things at no cost • Getting the right people in a room • Connecting diverse and influential people • Breaking down barriers Many things enable them to deliver on incredible experiences Key Question: Are you spending the right amount of time on the “enablers”?
potential to define it… • Quality of people • Social engineering at events • A lot of care and time put into cultivating the “right connections” • Technology • Developing technology platform and app • Psychology driven data assessment • “The Good Ones is focused on developing a Social Webbing AlgorithmTM that includes over 20 variables (ontologies) relevant to producing a cohesive, innovative, and diverse social environment.” • “Development and launch of our home-grown Personality SnapShot survey system, that will pull real time data from our members to supplement information drawn from LinkedIn and Facebook”
should be paying them much more than I do” “The real value is after the event” “I made some real friends that I still hang out with” How to capture this value?
Value Creation Secret Sauce = What critical problem are we solving? How do we make this as efficient as possible? What does the ideal “Good Ones” community look like (size, location, experience, price point)? What is the experience we are delivering and what makes it special or scalable? How do we better capture the value we are already creating and continue to add value to the community?
challenges to reflect on… Really good at what you currently do • “I think they are having too much fun, there is not enough pain” • “Great at what they do” Hard to transition to a new type of organization? • “Don't see it as a services organization, see it as a sales organization” • On business: “They don’t have experience facilitating events, they can host the event. Hard to translate to organizational learning – a different skill Focus • “#1 Issue – scaling” • “Wants to do everything. Needs to pick a lane”
the top priority? Various stated goals (website, interviews and documents) • “Increasing membership and scaling quality without losing skill” • “Good Ones is focused on generating revenue to improve technology and expand our team.” • Short term growth will be contingent on attracting top “connectors”, who will advocate for our brand and apply their talents to be impactful.” • “Having served over 3,000 individuals in Boston, we are focused on expansion to 20,000 members over the next two years.” • “We want to work with organizations to help them break down barriers and create a better workplace”
focuses require different organizations • Build technology platform • Add value to current members and recruit more • Deliver Services • Businesses • Residential • Colleges/Universities • Sales & Events Organization • Current events model • Charities? Add value to high profile events
core processes that can scale in different markets Capabilities Required: • Building technology platform • Scalable internal processes • Defined Sales Goal: Add incremental value to organizations to deliver on their unique mission or goals Capabilities Required • Organizational learning • Business relationships • Business sales approach and impact ($$) focused pitces Service Goal: Scalable technology platform that adds value and makes core processes more efficient Capabilities Required • Continuous improvement of technology aligned with learning • Talented technology talent ($$) Technology
business • Define process for membership growth • Align on right pricing model • Get technology right • Scale and focus 100% on growth Metrics • # of members • Member satisfaction (core strength) • Revenue growth _ + • Build on successes building this business • Profitable growth with enable other potential investment opportunities • Not able to deliver on other options immediately • May be hard to shift organizational strategy once aligned around membership growth
Use current platform to fund pro-bono or no risk experiments aligned around learning and testing of new business direction • Low-risk way to test and experiment and align for future growth • May not be able to devote adequate resources to new ventures while also growing core model at the same time 2. Scale current business • Define process for membership growth • Align on right pricing model • Get technology right • Scale and focus 100% on growth • Pilot experiments testing new business model in business, residential, schools Metrics • # of members • Member satisfaction (core strength) • Revenue growth • Metrics to assess learning (Lean startup approach)
events and shift focus • Standardize business operations • Identify one focus (business, residential, etc..) and dedicate 50%+ time on understanding the model and building that business Metrics • Impact to clients • Revenue potential • Speed of learning _ + • Clear focus on delivering value to EXTERNAL organizations rather than building out Good Ones community • Will be able to learn very fast • Potentially much higher revenue potential • May not have the right organizational capabilities to quickly shift to new type of delivery model • Level of talent needed hard to find • High-risk – may lose focus on core membership platform and not be able to continue to grow
some hard questions? 1. Why do you want to move to delivering services to businesses, residential communities, universities? 2. How are you measuring your learning from experimenting with the new business model? 3. What specific outcome of pilots with new business model would give us the information about moving forward/not moving forward? 4. What capabilities do we need to add to get to where we want to go?
While IVY has a very different core value… • Not focused on individual connections (figure it out later mentality) • Scaling globally, add services later …they have done a good job of developing a consistent message Source: IVY.com
and sparks world-changing collaborations. BELIEFS & MISSION • We believe everyone has limitless potential. Our mission is to trigger transformative ideas and collaborations that lead to unprecedented human unity, progress, and fulfillment. Through meaningful experiences with inspiring individuals, IVY provides a lifelong supply of new friendships, opportunities, and ideas. VISION • Our vision is to build the world's most impactful community across 50 global cities, and unite everyone who is passionate about creating a better world. Source: IVY.com
the world's first Social University, created to unite thoughtful individuals through a lifetime of new inspiration and connections. Our curriculum is focused on Arts, Entrepreneurship, Policy, Well-being, and Social Impact. Every month, IVY members are invited to a wide variety of IVY Gatherings that include salon discussions with distinguished thought- leaders, art nights, cocktail and dinner parties, film screenings, theater and symphony performances, fitness and wellness activities, and getaways. IVY.com provides a dedicated portal for our members to engage with our community, and IVY Magazine showcases the most compelling stories from our members and thought-leaders. • All prospective members are interviewed one-on-one prior to joining, and they commit to supporting each other's endeavors to the best of their abilities. Everything we do is highly social, intellectually stimulating, culturally enriching, and professionally rewarding. Our mission is to spark unprecedented human unity, progress, and fulfillment. Source: IVY.com
energetic, and intellectually curious individuals who are driven by a fundamental desire to make a positive and lasting impact on their communities. Our members represent a diverse range of industries, backgrounds, and interests, but share a distinctly innovative and collaborative spirit Source: IVY.com
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