Marco Puccia

Recent Activity

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  Marco commented on the article | almost 2 years ago

  5 Presentation Tips from the Unreasonable Institute West Coast Pitch Fest

  Great post -- I like the pointers a lot! Especially the first one about knowing your audience, and shaping your pitch around what they already know so as not to be redundant. You already have their attention, now get them excited! 

  
  

   

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  Marco commented on the article | over 2 years ago

  A New Type of Exit, A New Way To Frustrate People

  I think the EtherPad acquisition (as well as many other recent acquisitions by both Google and Apple) stresses the point that a company's value is rooted in human capital just as much (if not more) than all other measures. An important consideration for all startups!

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  Marco commented on the article | about 3 years ago

  "Scale" vs. "Diffusion"

  I actually fail to see scale as the bane of evil for social enterprise. I disagree with Erik that scale is all about ego. I think that any development practitioner (social entrepreneurs included) must approach their work as “temporary”. The ultimate goal of the work we do is to work ourselves out of a job! But in achieving that end, scale may be a very reasonable means. 
  Scale gives an organization the ability to effectively get their product/service in the hands of the masses. Erik does, however, make the important point that in achieving scale one should not create dependence.

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  Marco commented on the article | about 3 years ago

  "Scale" vs. "Diffusion"

  Sorry about the spacing, it looked right when I wrote it!

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  Marco commented on the article | about 3 years ago

  "Scale" vs. "Diffusion"

  This was definitely one of the more interesting discussions at GES. Not only because “scale” has been something that has been on my mind as I map out my own venture, but because of the direction the discussion went and the core issues that it raised. I’ve been thinking a lot about this the last few days, particularly in the context of FrontlineSMS:Medic.
  
  While I worked for Development Gateway Foundation (building web-based platforms for aid management and coordination), I first faced the distinction between “scale” and “diffusion”. Coming from a business background and mindset, I saw the huge potential these platforms had both from a product standpoint, and the potential social impact (see Paris Declaration). In my mind, the strategy should have been an aggressive marketing campaign and getting this platform in the hands of as many governments as possible – more of a “scale” approach. DGF, however, took a much more organic “diffusion” approach.   
  DGF largely relied on “word of mouth” – where the government of one country would tell the government of another country about this cool new way they are managing their incoming foreign assistance and how much more effective it is (etc.). Then that government would call DGF for a consultation. Granted, DGF had the benefit of working with governments, which had those mediums for dialogue.   
  In the context of FrontlineSMS:Medic (based on my understanding), that medium for dialogue interlinking communities and naturally spreading the word does not necessarily exist. So maybe a step forward is developing that medium by sponsoring or co-sponsoring “rural health conferences” that bring together current beneficiaries with potential beneficiaries to discuss a range of challenges they face and the ways some have worked to address those challenges (eg. Adopting FrontlineSMS). By simply providing the setting, FrontlineSMS:Medic is not only creating that situation where horizontal diffusion can take place, but is also creating an environment for collaboration on rural health practices (great for your SROI).   
  Something else that we talked about at the table was the issue of a socially responsible application of intellectual property. This actually gets to what Nathaniel mentions above about the “diffusion of innovation outside a traditional institutional model” of enterprise. In our discussion, Josh pointed to the near contradiction of “open source” (his ideal) and “enterprise” (his means). I actually think the two can co-exist peacefully by allowing the core of what you are doing (the fundamental mode of change you are trying to effect) remain “open source” while focusing the “enterprise” on value-added (eg. Access to additional resources).   
  I find it extremely exciting that we find ourselves in such a young field that we have the opportunity to truly define it through the approaches we take with our own ventures and through collaborative discussion such as this.   
  -Marco Puccia