What all entrepreneurs can learn from scaling non-profits
Reid Hoffman
Co-Founder, LinkedIn & Inflection AI. Author of Superagency. Investor at Greylock.
Even with access to capital, resources, and talent, it's incredibly hard to scale a technology startup. Just imagine trying to scale up a non-profit organization without the advantages of the for-profit world. Like the famous comparison of Ginger Rogers to her dance partner Fred Astaire, non-profit entrepreneurs have to do everything that their for-profit siblings do, but backwards, and in high heels. The degree of difficulty involved in almost every aspect of scaling a non-profit is much higher -- from raising money to recruiting & retaining talent, to pivoting toward opportunities. My friend Nancy Lublin, who has successfully scaled three different non-profit organizations, is truly a master of scale. Her secret? Grit.
On this week's Masters of Scale podcast, you'll hear how grit — one part determination, one part ingenuity, and one part laziness (in the best sense of the word) — allowed Nancy to scale Dress For Success from three nuns and a law student in Spanish Harlem into an organization that serves women in 145 cities across 23 countries; lift Do Something out of bankruptcy into a movement powered by 5.5 million young people; and grow Crisis Text Line into a service that's processed more than 30 million text messages since its founding.
Along the way, you'll learn the secret to getting people to help your cause, how to ask for more than seems reasonable (and why you should), how Donald Trump passed on helping Dress For Success but ended up inadvertently supercharging Crisis Text Line's growth, and why Nancy's fear of ending up as a Scooby-Doo villain (!) turned her into a serial entrepreneur.
How can you apply the power of grit in your own endeavors? Who are the people and organizations who can take your idea forward, and how can you get them on your side?
Please write a short post on your LinkedIn newsfeed to share your answers with the wider community. Tag your post #mastersofscale so I can find it. And if you’d like, Tweet it at me (@ReidHoffman) and @MastersOfScale.
Leveraging Neuroscience and Design to build thriving social good organizations │ Based in US and EU and working across the globe
7 年Thank you Reid Hoffman for not only highlighting the power of grit in leaders but also the many challenges of scaling--in nonprofits especially. Too often the challenges of nonprofits are attributed to lack of talent, hard work, or intelligence. An HBS professor once told me that he loves working with nonprofit leaders because most businesses are like playing checkers, but nonprofits are like playing chess...blindfolded.
Top 5% Global Fortune1000 CEO, CMO, CTO, COO, SVP | Top 100 World-Wide for Innovative Solutions | AI | E-Commerce | Brand Champion | Quality Improvement | Musician | Athlete |
7 年More Women need to be included in the Most Admired Companies. Too often I see women being driven into non-profit or charity roles. This is wrong. It has nothing to do with their passion or capabilities and 99% due to their husband feeling like this is a safe zone for his wife. I will make the money and she will give back to society. How about they both make the money AND both give back to society! Non-profits and charities are important. As women we should also be supported and encouraged to create and build Fortune 100 companies and have opportunities in the Most Admired Companies.
Founder at RLabs
7 年Nancy Lublin is without a doubt such an inspiration and really enjoyed this Reid Hoffman
Co-Founder + Chief Experience Officer at Goodworld
7 年Good stuff, Reid. We're barreling through the unique challenges of scaling a for-profit that exclusively serves the nonprofit community. Think LinkedIn meets Venmo for philanthropy. Always looking to keep our focus sharp so thank you for all you do and share. I can be reached at [email protected] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gMqr0gCd9k