If you want more of a peek behind the scenes of this project, and our curious about the concrete things that have worked and not worked on along the way... here is and article I wrote up with all the experiments we've run (17 of them!), and learnings we've generated, over the past 14 months: https://open.substack.com/pub/emilykerrfinell/p/17-migrant-microbusiness-projects

@Wormhole That's a good question. Something I've been experimenting with for sure -- the idea of a "micro-VC" or "pay it forward" model in which we provide the program for free -- and then once the entrepreneur is profitable, they contribute a small percentage of profits to pay for others to go through the program.

@AntonMakiievskyi Ok great. Thanks for your thoughtful response -- and I'll be sure to post updates as we go.

@AntonMakiievskyi Thank you for your support of this project. I noticed you've invested fairly widely throughout the platform so I have a question for you. In the months since I put together this proposal, I have evolved how I'd like to use the funds raised -- but I wasn't sure if it's OK to update that, at this point (since a handful of people have already made offers.)

In the project above, I say I will use the funds for video production and for in-person microbusiness incubators. Those were needs we had a few months ago, but we're iterating quickly and I see a better opportunity to use these funds in a way that will multiply them, rather than just use them up.

I'm seeing a lot of success with a remote (not in-person) 3-week program that helps new migrants start a profitable microbusiness in 3 weeks. And I'm seeing some promising things around a "pay it forward" model in which we provide the program for free -- and then once the entrepreneur is profitable, they contribute a small percentage of profits to pay for others to go through the program. So I'd like to use the Manifund funding to "seed" that pay-it-forward model (paying for the program, delivered one-on-one via WhatsApp) for about 50 people... and then have those 50 people fund the next cohort of ~75 people.

Does it feel consistent with the ethos of this platform... and OK to you as an investor... if I were to go ahead and update that "uses of funds" section with that updated intention?

@Jason Hey Jason! This is a great comment. The short answer is that continued success and expansion is contingent on covering the time and costs related to delivering the model. We run very lean and can support folks in starting profitable microbusinesses really efficiently, so that's good. But we certainly can't reach the scale we want to (tens of thousands of microbusinesses formed per year) with just my unpaid time. (And on a personal level, I'm not able to continue indefinitely in that way.) It's worked well to just jump in with, as you said, my sweat equity -- but my intention is to iterate to where we have a consistently successful program and funding model. There are two revenue sources that seem promising. First, our local county is sponsoring "seats" to our program -- and I think that county/state government sponsorship is something that could work as a funding mechanism more broadly. Also, and most excitingly, I'm seeing some promising things around a "pay it forward" model in which we provide the program for free -- and then once the entrepreneur is profitable, they contribute a small percentage of profits to pay for others to go through the program. Curious to hear any other thoughts you have. And thank you also for offering funds! It's great to be connected.

@nontyn Thank you so much. It's nice to hear from someone thinking along similar lines. And interesting to think about applying the model (eventually) to people getting out of prison. A lot of times, I think about the migrant folks we serve as "people with high potential and high obstacles" -- where there are a lot of problems to move past but the potential reward (for them and for their country/community) is very high. That description may apply to some/many people getting out of prison as well. Thanks again for your kind support and for touching base.