How might we BUILD NEW TOOLS FOR alternative business models?

In August - December 2021, I worked with a group of transdisciplinary designers to explore ways of making alternative business models accessible to small scale entrepreneurs. We wanted to research how we might spread awareness of lesser known models that fell outside of the traditional binary of for-profit/non-profit, VC vs 501(c)3.

We began our research by looking at alternative approaches to theories of business and markets of exchange. We proposed the concept of a “Business Forest” that outlined an interwoven mesh of businesses that mimicked natural rhythms in ways that were resilient, regenerative, and relational.

After this research direction, we created a set of cards that broke down different models in a clear, concise way that a small-scale entrepreneur could browse through and combine to make innovative, alternative business models. We tested these cards with various stakeholders who either worked in business, were business scholars, or were working in economic innovation.

Feedback on the cards expressed that they were simple, exciting, and spurred curiosity into real-world examples. The next set of cards will include real-world examples of each model.

We then turned our focus to prototyping. Our proposed user was small scale entrepreneurs in India. Entrepreneurs and small business owners in India tend to rely on social communication channels such as WhatsApp to share knowledge. We developed a chat bot that would walk a starting entrepreneur through a flow chart that would suggest different types of business models according to their needs and wants. Through focus groups and expert interviews, we learned that one of our biggest barriers was the transition from knowledge to implementation, and a decision was made for future cards and chat bot features that would show current-day case studies to both show examples and build communities of knowledge interested in similar alternative economic and business models.