WCGB Project BOLD India

Advancing Entrepreneurship

Trip ReportApril 21-30, 2014

WCGB BOLD – Our Journey• In FY’13, Bill Campbell introduced Intuit to Team4Tech, a nonprofit focused on creating

sustainable change in developing countries through corporate partnerships, technology and immersive leadership experiences– This nonprofit was inspired from the popular Intel service model and was the

result an Aspen Institute leadership project.

• Today’s emerging volunteerism/leadership development trend has roots in Future trends in leadership development by Petrie, “Give and Take” by Adam Grant, and “Multipliers” by Liz Wiseman.

• In November, 2013 Intuit accepted an invitation to experience first hand this type of immersive, cross-border program in action. – Four Intuit team members joined Team4Tech, Intel, Bechtel and Facebook

employees in Tanzania, Africa for two weeks to support a World Vision project.

• The experiment above inspired WCGB BOLD; Intuit’s first cross border volunteer program designed to develop global mindset, leadership skills & capabilities, deeper customer empathy, diversity & inclusion, and innovation/collaboration

• In April 2014, 10 globally sourced Intuit employees embarked on an opportunity in Utter Pradesh, India– These employees mentored women & youth entrepreneurs in Marketing,

Business Strategy & Product Design while also growing their own skills as global business leaders of the future

India Project Overview• Project Objectives

– Provide business training to ~100 micro-entrepreneurs in the Ghaziabad region of Uttar Pradesh via the RUDSET Institute

– Help them launch and grow small scale enterprises

• Team– 10 Intuit volunteers– 3 Intuit staff– 2 Team4Tech staff

• Timeline– April 21-30, 2014

• Success Metrics– Entrepreneurs indicate increased confidence in

launching or growing their businesses– Intuit volunteers gain insights into needs of

small scale entrepreneurs in rural India

The WCGB BOLD Team Team of 10 Globally Sourced Employees from different BUs - Selected from 250 applicants.

The Investment• 10 Intuit Instructors (selected out of 250 applicants) from 4

countries (India, US, Canada, Singapore) for 9 day commitment

• Funded jointly by Team4Tech, Intuit, & Connecting Dreams and the Rudset Institute

• Cost to participant’s BU $5k plus travel

Teaching Team:• 14 Hours Team Briefing Meetings – Pre-Trip

• 45 Hours Lesson Plan Preparation – Pre - Trip

• 6 days FMH, Lesson Delivery and 90 day plan preparation

• 24 Hours in Transit per person– And Daily commutes 2 and 3 hours north of Delhi

Our Approach• Empathetic observation:

we learn from listening and observing

• User-centered design: Learning is only effective if relevant and easy to use

• Local enabling: ultimate goal is to empower client to decide on next steps

What Our Students Learned

Putting Learnings to Work: Action Plans

What We Learned

Small Business Insights: India

Manage Customers

Get New Customers

Get Paid

Manage Finances

Manage employees &

vendors

• Most businesses have a loyal set of customers• WOM and local foot traffic are considered sufficient for customer acquisition • Few businesses have started using tools like JustDial to get new customers

• Good service and variety of products are considered primary retention drivers• Customer details & appointments are maintained in handwritten notebooks

• Most payments are made in cash, either to avoid taxes or because of lack of credit cards in lower income consumers

• Informal credit is commonly given to loyal customers

• Almost all businesses have hired an accountant due to perceived complexity • Bookkeeping is done in handwritten notebooks• Awareness of Tally is high but business owners have rarely used it• Business loans are hard to come by and many want to avoid debt altogether

• Employee management is informal, building relationships is more important • Hiring is based on loyalty and trust more than skill• Business owners don’t look for vendors; vendors come to them

Get advice • Owners usually start businesses in areas where their family or friends already have experience and they remain primary means of obtaining advice

A

B

C

D

E

F

10

IndianCulture

Leadership Learnings: Pivoting and Flexing

To Teach and Learn

To Empower

To Empathize –Entrepreneur

Visits

About Hope

Instilling Confidence

Connecting

To build friendships and memories