พฤษภาคม 18, 2008 - 3:10pm — fabalyss21
could I do this?
Hi Everyone!
My name is Alyssa, and I have an idea for a great socially conscience business, but I'm not sure if I would qualify for a venturer for several reasons, and would greatly appreciate some guidance.
To start out, I'd like to provide a little information about my idea. I'm a college student studying Journalism wiht a concentration in Public Relations and Advertising. I'd like to combine my interest in these areas and my desire to gain experience in them with my love for community minded projects/groups/businesses by starting a media company (providing mostly PR and Advertising but some event planning, consulting, graphic and web design etc) for non-profits and other socially conscience businesses and groups ONLY. I have very little experience in these areas outside of my schoolwork and would just like to start by building a solid portfolio, so I'll be working for free or for a very minimal cost to start out, but eventually I'd like to charge for my services, while still keeping them affordable for the types of clients I'd like to serve.
There are a couple things that make me uncertain of my eligibility. First of all, I'm 19, to turn 20 in September. Would Youth Venture still fund me even though I'm so close to their age cutoff? Also, I'm currently a one person team, and I know Youth Venture looks for groups of 2 or more. I'm considering partnering with a 21-year-old graphic designer from Australia who will handle the art portion of my business, but since he's above the age cutoff, would this even work? I know that the cutoff is different in different countries but am not sure what it is in Australia, or if this would even matter as I'm in the US and will be serving US customers. The idea of setting up a sort of student-run agency at my university (University of Wisconsin) has crossed my mind and I think it would be great to get other like-minded students who want to gain experience involved, working as sort of employees in the agency, but I'm not sure how this would work out for me as this business is something that I'd like to continue pursuing after college and turn into a career, and I most likely won't be staying in Madison (nor would most of the students who would become involved).
So I guess I am asking a couple questions. First, does my general idea make sense as a venture or am I off base? Second, am I still eligible though I'm so close to the age cutoff and it may take me until I turn 20 to get my venture going? Third, is there any exception to the team of two or more rule? If not, would my alternative solutions work (graphic designer, expand to other students)?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Alyssa
Re: could I do this?
I forgot to add that you can also email me at vandeleest@wisc.edu with any suggestions/feedback!
Re: could I do this?
Hi Alyssa,
I can't answer all of your questions but I can answer some of them. I would also discuss these questions with the person you submit your application to.
Yes, the general idea makes sense as a Venture.
One of our teams is Rubber Ducky Studios and they function as a business and produce free and low cost commercials for nonprofits to benefit the community. If you do a search, they do have a profile on this website.
The cutoff age is 20, not 19. So you are able to launch a team while you are 20 and before you turn 21.
But the concern is that it doesn't sound like your Venture would be led by a committed team if it is just you and someone in Australia. I can't answer the geography question, but it sounds like you need more of a team, and that is part of the YV criteria. If there were two or three people here and one person in Australia, I think that would be ok, even if the person is 21. But, be sure to check with someone else.
My other feedback would be that the Venture would need to be sustainable for a minimum of one year. It sounds like the Venture may be more sustainable if you get people at the University involved and continuously recruit new students. But, I don't want to talk you into something you really don't want to do.
There are no exceptions to the two person rule.
I know this doesn't answer all of the questions, but hopefully this helps!