Not long ago, as the Taproot Foundation considered expanding, it envisioned a long, expensive journey. Since its beginning in 2001, the foundation had become a certified success, helping some 300 nonprofits a year connect with business professionals eager to do pro bono projects in marketing, information technology, and other areas where talent is pricey.
To support more groups, the foundation considered building a bigger footprint, with teams on the ground in most major cities. But Taproot found a faster, cheaper way: a Match.com-like online platform through which nonprofits and volunteers connect. And because the foundation embraced a “lean start-up” mindset popular among entrepreneurs, its expansion unfolded with startling speed.
Launched in late 2014, the website, Taproot+, in its first year doubled the number of nonprofits the foundation serves, to 600. This year, Taproot aims to help 5,500 groups using the website, plus another 1,800 through its traditional programming model and newly created daylong conferences.
Here are some of the key steps the group took to create its new product.
1. Apply the principles of “lean start-up.” Lean start-up is a corporate strategy popularized by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Eric Ries. Its proponents eschew the traditional five-year business plan and full product development before launch. Instead, a company releases a series of quick, relatively cheap products almost as trial balloons. With each, it collects customer reaction, identifies problems, and redesigns its product for the next test.
By starting “lean,” Mr. Ries and others argue, the company collects data to guide development — and avoids throwing big money after ideas that look good on paper yet fail in the marketplace.
Alethea Hannemann, Taproot’s vice president for national programs, is a lean-start-up evangelist. She says many nonprofits misread the strategy as a means to cut back and operate leaner. “It’s really a way to get better, faster, and bigger,”she says.
2. Question old assumptions. Taproot initially was built on an extensive, “high touch” model. The foundation served almost as an account manager; it collected and curated a pool of talent, recommended volunteers to nonprofits, created detailed project outlines, then assisted throughout the work. Expanding this labor-intensive model would have required a hefty investment, so Taproot leaders posed the question: Could we get the same result if we were less involved?
3. Start with a small test. To gauge whether a more laissez-faire model would work, Taproot connected a few volunteers and nonprofits by email, then stepped back. It did little to help design the individual projects and offered support only when asked. “We had to keep reminding each other to back off and let them tell us what they needed,” says Matthew Hayto, the Taproot+ project manager.
Afterward, follow-up surveys suggested everyone liked this “low touch” approach. Nonprofits and volunteers enjoyed designing the projects together, says Ms. Hannemann. “They very much owned what they were doing.”
4. Learn from mistakes. The email test did bring to light a fundamental problem. As with its old model, the foundation put nonprofits in the driver’s seat of the process; groups were given a list of volunteers and asked to evaluate and interview candidates. But this didn’t work well: Nonprofits didn’t have time to screen lots of candidates, and many of the most passionate, highly skilled volunteers were overlooked.
Given this, Taproot made a pivotal change and flipped the process. Rather than ask nonprofits to pick volunteers, Taproot sent volunteers possible projects and asked them to choose. Pitch the nonprofit, candidates were told, and explain how your talents and skills are a good match.
“This works well because we know the volunteers are really motivated by their desire to do that particular project,” Ms. Hannemann says.
5. Move fast. Taproot’s next step: Put together an online platform where nonprofits could showcase potential projects and create a “shopping” experience for volunteers. With seed funding from Citi Foundation, PwC, and others, Taproot turned to neo, a New York firm specializing in lean start-up, to build its website. The initial version was developed in 10 weeks. “That’s lean to the extreme,” says Ms. Hannemann.
6. Evolve. The start-up of Taproot+ cost about $500,000. It was a soft launch, with little marketing or promotion, yet today the site hosts more than 200 projects.
The foundation is continuing to test new features for the site. One that may be coming soon: creative incentives for volunteers to increase their hours and do more projects.
