Call to a bid adventure

Then, one fateful morning her boss asked to see her. “Your project funding runs out in 9 months. We have to win a new grant and our bid writer is on maternity leave. I’m nominating you for the job”.

Our young manager felt a stirring inside. A pull towards the mission. But it would mean leaving her safe, ordinary world of project management. So she resisted. “I can’t do this. It’s not what I am. I’m not a bid writer.”

But then she looked at her happy team and the people they helped, and saw for the first time what would happen if their funding was lost. No one else would step forward to save it. Her world had already changed.

So she stepped over the threshold of her bosses office again, said “I’m in” and began her journey.

A mentor appears

That evening she found a coffee shop and sat down to begin. It was a struggle. Who should she apply to? How would she know what to write? How should she start?

An old man spotted her fear. “Use the bid writing force you must… calm you must be, for the path to become clear”. And so he taught her all he knew.

She learnt about theories of change, how to use quantitative and qualitative data, the difference between problems and issues, the power of testimonials and how to craft a service user’s story.

She returned the next evening, anxious but excited. He taught her how to outline a bid, and the difference between outputs and outcomes, aims and objectives. Then, when he judged her ready he explained the secrets of what funders really want to know.

And so our young bid writing padwan gained new knowledge and skills. But she was still untested.

Then, just as she became comfortable hanging out with this old guy, he told her it was time. Time for her to journey solo and begin her bid writing mission.

Facing her fears

And so she researched, she talked to users, and gathered the best kindest words from commissioners and project partners. She made a shortlist of potential funders and outlined the first bid.

But then, finally, at the end of this process, it was time to face her biggest fear. The blank page of the Empire. The empty screen of her deepest childhood writing fears. It was her father. That screen was her father. Just her and the screen, waiting like an expectant parent.

So she began writing. And the words flowed. They teemed forth from her lightkeyboard. She wrote so much. She felt so strong!

Until disaster struck.

Just when it seemed she had won the day she did a word count. She was 8000 words over the limit. She’d lost focus, rambled away from the questions. Her bid was a mess, lost and impossible to follow. She was lost in the Forest Moon of Bidwriter.

And then she heard it. A forceful stirring inside, accompanied by the voice of the old man “Lost you are not. Bid writing force you must seek, deeper than before…”  

The final battle

And so she poured herself another coffee, went for a walk with her favourite droid and returned refreshed, clear and most importantly, calm. She was ready to re-enter the fray.

The bid writing battle now became a war of editing attrition. She cut back again and again, slaying words until exhaustion threatened her fingers to drop off. At the death, there was just her, and the bid 2 words short of the word limit. With a final heave of her soul she removed the final extraneous ‘to’ and ‘that’.

And collapsed.

She was woken by a hand on her shoulder. Was it Darth Bid Writer, come to judge her effort? No, it was just her boss, with a glass of water. “Are you ok, you fainted”.

“Yes. I’m fine. It’s done”.

Her boss was mightily pleased and sent the bid off.

Tingling for the next episode

For a while our young padwan was lost, bereft of purpose now her bid writing adventure was over. But within a few days she slipped back into the groove of her ordinary job, managing her project and looking after her team. Though her memory of the bid faded slightly she was forever changed. She had new skills.

And at night, just when she was drifting off to sleep she could feel the power of the bid writing force still tingling in her fingertips.

Soon she would be called again to the world of bid writing.

One that was both the above, but didn’t get funded?

It used to happen to me and its probably happened to you too. Chances are you failed to answer one of these 3 questions well enough:

1. Who are you?
2. What’s the need?
3. What’s your approach or project?

Every grant funder asks these 3 questions. But from my experience of reviewing failed bids I’d estimate that less than 20% actually answer these questions in the right way.

In this article I’m going to explain how to answer each in a way that gets under it’s skin and explains to funders what they most want to know. That way when you write your next bid you’ll be more confident about what to say.

1. “How reliable is your organisation?”

Do you seem able and reliable? Can your organisation be trusted to deliver the outcomes you will promise later on?

These are some of the unspoken questions in your funders head when they ask the question ‘Who are you?’.

They want to know about your values, capacity, track record and people for sure. But most of all they want to know if you can be trusted to deliver.

That’s why some funders like to repeat fund organisations they are familiar with. Because they know they can be relied upon.

But what if you’re not already known to them? To show you’re trustworthy your answer needs to include your best:

• Examples of past success – what were your aims and objectives, and what did you achieve? Describe the measurable outputs and outcomes.
• Comments and feedback from trusted sources – exactly what did they say about you (try and avoid generic sounding quotes).
• Examples of awards received – what did you win? Why did you win it?
• Stories of how you went the extra mile to make sure you made a difference to someone – tell the story as succinctly as possible.
• How you’ve overcome challenges or problems through being smart and innovative – describe an example that shows you can think outside the box.
• Examples of other funders who’ve trusted you – how many similar grants have you held and what did funders say about your work?

Don’t just explain what you do. Instead, show that you can be relied upon to deliver on your promise.

2. “Why does the need remain unmet?”

Do you understand the issues underlying the need you describe? Do you understand why other approaches have failed to solve the problem?

These are some of the questions you need to answer when your grant funder asks you to ‘Describe the need or problem’.

Its not enough to only describe the problem or need. You must separate out the problem and its underlying issues, and then show your understanding and insight.

Otherwise your approach will seem like a poorly applied sticking plaster to the problem.

How can it work if you don’t understand the day-to-day life of your beneficiaries? You need to understand the experiences and frustrations that come together to cause their problems.

How can it work if you don’t understand why other approaches have failed or only partially succeeded? History will repeat itself…

Separate problems and issues

When you describe the need in your application form, separate out the problems and the issues. For example:

“The problem: young people in deprived areas have 27% more mental health problems than young people in more affluent areas. We need to tackle these.

The issues: negative role models, lack of positive opportunities, inadequate youth support services, lack of resourcefulness (for example).”

When you’ve done that go on to describe:

• Why do these issues resist solutions?
• What makes them thorny?
• How have other approaches tried to tackle them?
• What have other approaches failed to understand about those issues, but that you have?
• How will this understanding make your approach more successful (give a hint to your approach but don’t jump ahead too much!)

To make your answer more vivid describe what its like to be a beneficiary, experiencing the issues in their day-to-day life. For a gold star you could also describe what’s likely to happen to them (and others) if the need doesn’t get met.

3. “Why will your approach work?”

How do you know this approach will work? Why is it the right approach in this context? What is the evidence that it will both reach your users and tackle their needs? What are the potential roadblocks and how will you overcome them?

Every grant funder has known projects that failed. Though its likely to happen again they’ll be doing their damnedest to minimise how often it does with their money.

So when they ask you to ‘Describe your project or approach to tackling the need’ what they really want to know is why it will work.

Describing your approach is usually fairly straightforward. It’s a series of objectives, activities and methods. The slightly more complex part is explaining why; weaving into your description a rock solid rationale for the way you’ll do it. This will be easier if you already have a robust theory of change.

That rationale involves describing how your approach is informed by:

• Empathy: an understanding of the underlying issues and everyday lives of your beneficiaries
• Creativity or innovation: rethinking or redesigning ineffective methods
• Previous experience: what you’ve done before that worked or didn’t
• Other’s good practice: don’t be afraid to copy. Genius steals.

Show, don’t tell (again)

And because you’ve got to show, rather than tell, here are some specific things you could show in your answer:

• A deep understanding of your service user’s needs and behaviours, informed by robust user research. Show the research findings.
• Evidence of the approach being effective in similar situations. State the evidence.
• A design-based approach, using design thinking tools. Show why these tools are effective
• Involvement of beneficiaries in co-designing the approach. Evidence the outputs of your completed co-design work.
• A robust approach to using data and evidence to fine tune your methodology as the project develops. Show how you’ll do this.

For the win…

For the win consider how your approach might include an element of risk reduction or reversal. Outline how the project might fail then explain your approach to mitigating those risks.

Hint: if you’re struggling to explain why your approach will work then either:

1. You don’t understand the issues enough and this is making it difficult to ground your rationale within your answer to the need/problem question
2. Your approach is misplaced and unlikely to succeed

If either of these is the case then STOP! Don’t go any further until you’ve reviewed what you know about the need and your approach is clear. Otherwise you’ll be wasting your time.

What will you do in your next bid?

Are you thinking about how you might answer these questions in your next bid? It’s not easy to do at first, but it makes a difference. If you’re serious about winning funding then make sure you tackle them.

Click here to read 7 smart ways to improve your next bid.

I think that’s baloney.

I’ve seen novices write bids that got funded and supposedly nailed on bids from experts get rejected. Hell, I’ve been both!

The truth is, I believe anyone can write a winning funding bid. You don’t have to be a great writer, all you need is to understand what makes a great bid.

So here’s some smart things you can do to improve your next one.

Let’s go.

1. Begin with a bang

2. Tell a story

3. Describe the issues, not only the problems

4. Write a theory of change first

5. Find brilliant testimonials and use them

6. Get your stats in order

8. Show, don’t tell

That’s 8, not 7.

Plays and poetry. Romance and non-fiction. Even historical novels. Though he could deliver a killer detective story, Arthur could also craft love poetry.

Which was rather fortunate, because when he killed off Sherlock in 1893 he had to write in other styles and for other audiences just to make ends meet. He relied on writing to survive.

Funnily enough, if he was alive today he’d be just the guy you’d need on your tech for good team.

But he isn’t. So it’s up to you to be like Arthur.

Why you need to be like Arthur

Don’t worry. You don’t need to invent a detective, or tell Mary Celeste’s story. But if you’re serious about success, then you’d do well to beef up your copywriting skills. It’s a guaranteed way to make your tech for good product more successful.

Maybe you can already write a little. But are you able to write in different styles, for different audiences? If not, then like Arthur you’ll need to blend both the killer and the poet in your writing.

Do this and you’ll make gains at every stage of your project. Ignore it and you’ll suffer.

Let’s investigate the case for improving your writing a little more closely.

Applying for funding

If it’s to be more than just a pipedream, your tech for good project needs money. Unless you’ve a rich benefactor (Arthur didn’t have one either) you need to find funding.

Maybe you’ll write a funding application or script a video pitch. Maybe you’ll be applying to Social Tech Trust, Comic Relief or a traditional trust or foundation.

Either way get your best bid writing shoes on and write a passionate, well-researched and persuasively crafted bid. Find a pain-free writing process. And write with a bang.

Done this? Congratulations, you’ve been awarded the case! (Now you can buy that deerstalker you always wanted).

Building your audience

You’ve got funding. Woo-hoo. Now you need to find your first fans.

You need to build an audience of people who care about what you’re doing. They could be your first research subjects, your beta testers, or just people concerned about the problem you hope to solve. Gather them under your flag and they’ll become your first users, your best advocates, and maybe even paying customers.

Here’s what to do:

• Blog – create a simple website, publish interesting content, let people subscribe, send them your updates. Let them share your journey.
• Learn basic SEO – learn how Google uses keywords to rank pages. You needn’t be an expert, but you must make your site visible to people searching for your subject matter
• Do social media – Twitter can be great for raising awareness. It doesn’t run deep but if you craft your tweets well, you’ll gain a good reputation and draw people to your blog.
• Pitch your idea – sometimes the only way to reach your audience is by going to them. Find the project partners, internal managers and external stakeholders who need to be onside. Use sharp words to script your pitches then knock ’em dead with your delivery.

If you grow your fanbase early then all the time you’re building your product your fans will be spreading the word. They’ll be the best advertising that money can’t buy.

Well done. You’ve found your John Watsons and kick started the investigation!

Building your tech for good product

Every product needs copy.

Good copy makes it look professional. Bad copy makes it look amateurish. Even worse, it repels your users.

Unfortunately the copy benchmark is set by Facebook, Snapchat and co. And they’ve got whole teams of multi-skilled copywriters to call upon…

You don’t. But that’s OK.

It really is OK. Because what you do have is help to understand the problem and design insightful, user-centred solutions. When you do this well, choosing the right words becomes much easier.

Here’s the two most important types of product copy:

1. User stories – these help your development team understand what to build. Use your research to articulate your product requirements in precise, well informed and powerful statements written from the user’s perspective. Your dev team will love you for them and in return they’ll build a better product.

2. Product copy. From user interfaces to explainer videos you’re going to be busy. Learn the basics of front loaded micro copy. Learn to write in natural, super-simple language. Your users will love the fluid experience it gives them.

Well done. You’ve combined your powers of Holmes-like logical deduction and Watsonish creativity to solve the case!

Pitching, selling and growing your product

Did you think the writing was over?

Sorry.

At this point, you’ll have launched a product (probably an MVP). But you’ll still be building your audience (sorry, that never ends) and iterating your product (never ends either).

Only now, you won’t have any money left to do it!

Hopefully you began pitching, selling and looking for other means of generating income before product launch. Hopefully you will have articulated your USP and tried at least one of these:

• Written more funding bids
• Created an investment proposal (maybe for social investment)
• Identified a sellable product feature or value to other services, and written persuasive sales copy

If you’ve tried then your writing will be better and you’ll talk more confidently about your product’s value. Then when people hear you they’ll become inspired. Your fan-base will grow and money will be easier to find.

Now you’ve built a reputation for solving complex cases. Congratulations!

It takes practice. And you won’t get it right first time.

Yay, you made it this far! It wasn’t elementary to get here, and you may not have caught Moriarty (yet). But you’re on your way!

Arthur didn’t get it right to begin with. And you don’t need to either. You can even cheat and hire a copywriter or bid writer. But if you do, study how they work. Ask questions. Learn from them.

And study the competition. Next time you’re on Facebook look at its interface copy. Why does the app use the words it does? What words start its sentences? The same goes for bid writing, building an audience, and writing persuasive copy.

Make a start on your tech for good writing journey. Arthur will be cheering you on, wishing he was alive to share the adventure.

Like this? Read more tips about building your tech for good project here.

To criticise them for when their user participation is tokenistic, or when they ask people what they want, but then can’t deliver it. Or even worse when they deliver what people say they want… but it turns out to not be what they need…

But criticism is unfair. Participation work is often underfunded and service cultures still resist user-driven change. And no one’s told them why they would be better off using human centred design principles instead.

No one’s explained to health and social care services why human centred design improves services more than user participation does.

Even today, 5 years on from my first experience, I still find it refreshing to experience design led approaches. Whether you’re working in health or social care services; tech or service design; running participation groups or usability testing: here’s why I believe human centred design creates better services.

1. Human centred design is more flexible

Health and social care services lack shared participation principles. There’s no minimum expectation of how or when to involve users. It’s up to each service’s discretion.

Because of this user participation usually happens when it’s deemed advantageous by the service. This could be for consultation or feedback, to follow a new policy, or to show they are trying to improve.

But human centred design (HCD) follows a set of universal principles. And it doesn’t rely on the same group always being involved, or a minimum number of consultees. Instead it involves users throughout the design process in ways that suit them. Users can take part in user research, build user-driven personas, join ideation sessions, or build and test prototypes. And when different people take part in each event the process is even better.

HCD also records what happens at each stage, creating a continuous narrative. So when participants change it doesn’t matter; the narrative is robust enough for new participants to easily get involved.

2. Human centred design understands what people need, not what they want

User participation is good at giving people a voice. It lets them share their experiences and put forward ideas to make services better. This is important, especially for marginalised people.

But the approach is poor at understanding people’s experiences and why they want what they say.

And it’s taboo to consider that those people might even be wrong. Yet evidence consistently shows that what we say is rarely what we actually want.

Evidence consistently shows that what we say is rarely what we actually want.

It’s a tragedy, but by being focused on what people say they want user participation misses the chance to understand what they need. It doesn’t use good research, nor does it try to observe actual behaviour. And worst of all it doesn’t try to understand the context of people’s lives: the tasks they are trying to perform (e.g. use a smartphone to make an appointment), and the environments they are trying to do them in (e.g. a chaotic home life).

HCD is different. It tries to understand the needs, emotions and full context behind what people say. And it’s always asking ‘why?’. By doing this it builds a comprehensive picture of what it’s like to be someone interacting with the service.

This leads to the next difference.

3. Human centred design builds more empathy

HCD is always asking “what’s it like to be the service user?”. It’s the first and the last question a good designer asks. Inevitably it generates empathy.

User participation can also build empathy. But it’s difficult to get into the hearts and minds of service leaders if they disagree with service users’ views. While such disagreements can positively challenge the power imbalance between them they also create tension and can harden attitudes. In this environment empathy can’t flower.

HCD avoids this and instead focuses on building empathy for a user’s whole experience rather than only their views. It tries to build a strong body of empathy building evidence.

HCD does this by using tools such as personas, user journeys and prototype testing (even for services). It forces a spirit of humble enquiry on the designer and generates powerful insights. These can be expressed in helpful, de-personalised forms called user stories. These are easier for service leaders to understand, and when backed up with evidence from the design process are much harder to disagree with.

4. Human centred design is more thorough

User participation gives users a platform to voice issues they are unhappy about. It opens the door to more feedback (that’s good!).

But services often only ask people to talk about one element of their experience. By setting the agenda in this way other important elements are ignored.

HCD is more thorough because it seeks to understand the user’s entire service journey. It’s always interested in mapping journey stages, understanding how each one relates to the other, and uncovering the chain of cause and effect. To do this, it uses tried and tested tools.

But it doesn’t stop there. After implementing changes a good human centred design process measures the results. Then it iterates the design until the service is consistently delivering a good user experience.

Because human centred design is all about impact.

Which one creates more impact?

Human centred design is a method for creating a better service experience for users.

And user participation isn’t. It’s a means for involving people in services so they have more of a say.

You’d think both would lead to better services. But there hasn’t been enough research into either to prove it.

I’d wager that HCD creates more impact because designers are accountable for the end result being better services. Whereas participation workers are accountable for the result being that people feel more involved in service improvement.

A good design process will always generate a solid evidence base and a clear rationale for its recommendations. This gives leaders more confidence than people’s views alone ever will.

What do you think?

If you’re a participation worker or service leader, then I hope this article has challenged you to consider the role of design in your services. Have you ever worked with a service designer or tried any HCD methods? I think they might inspire you. Learn more here and here.

Or for an alternative view try this.

And if you want to go really wild then read about the case for going beyond Human Centred Design.

It’s how you begin it.

Because even in the world of bid writing first impressions matter most. A brilliant opening sentence casts the rest of your bid in a glowing light. Whereas a dull opening condemns your reader to a dull experience, no matter if your bid shines later on.

Those first few words of text massively affect your bid’s chances of success.

Your bid assessor has probably got fifty other funding bids to read today

Imagine your assessor reading your bid. It’ll be one among a whole pile of others that they need to get through. Those bids are going to vary in quality and interest, and so is your assessor’s attention. They’re only human after all. This is bad for you because it means that unless you stand out you’ll end up in the big ‘No’ pile.

The best way to stand out is by grabbing their interest at the start; immediately letting them know that your project is exactly what they are looking for. Do this and your assessor’s energy and attention will be stimulated for the rest of your proposal.

On the other hand, losing their attention at this point is the worst possible place to do so. Even if the rest of your bid is brilliant you’ll be making your assessor work uphill to recognise it, making you less likely to get good marks.

But if you can fire their synapses first and make the rest of your bid pretty jolly good then you’ll deliver an easy and inspiring reading experience for your assessor. And if it inspires them then you’re much more likely to get funded.

How to create an explosion in your bid assessor’s mind

You want to drop them into your bid with a bang and get right to the point. That way you capture their interest and pull them deeper into your bid. This takes creativity and courage. Here are five ways to do it.

1. Address the funder’s aims directly

However you begin your bid those first few words must reflect the funders aims and agenda. Whatever they are that’s what you need to talk about, using their terms, not yours. No distractions.

If their funding programme aims to strengthen and connect communities then you need to state in your first few words and paragraph that you do exactly that. If the programme aims to create system change then you need to state that you do that.

And if you can’t talk about your project in their terms then maybe your project isn’t a good match for their funding programme.

2. Cite a statistic

What are the interesting statistics about the need you’re trying to meet? What’s the worst part of the problem and how many people does it affect? Using a unique or startling factoid in this way will generate emotion and interest. The statistic should be directly relevant to the problem you’re trying to solve.

Once you’ve stated it, quickly describe the impact you’re making on the problem.

3. Share a quote that brings the problem to life

Does the problem have a high profile? What have authorities said about it, or about your success in tackling it? A well sourced quote from an authoritative source can hold attention and build engagement in the same way as a statistic. Make it short and direct, no more than 3 lines. Then follow it up with some context that connects it to the rest of your bid.

4. Tell a story through the eyes of a beneficiary

Telling a quick story about the problem you’re trying to solve can bring it so vividly to life that it immediately establishes empathy with the assessor. It shows you’re in touch with the problem. This builds trust. And trust builds engagement with your bid.

Your story could include how you solved the problem, or you could leave that part to later on in the bid.

4. Give a glimpse of the future

Creating a vivid mental image in your assessor’s mind is a powerful way to communicate your project’s ambition.

Ask them to use their imagination. Do this by using invitations e.g: “Let us take you on an imaginary journey three years into the future.” or “It’s 2022 in Tower Hamlets and…”. Then succinctly and vividly describe that future in a way that reflects the funder’s aims and agenda.

5. Use analogy, metaphor or simile

Analogies, metaphors and similes are powerful because they stimulate mental imagery. Like anecdotes they can bring your problem vividly to life. They are easy to engage with because they tell a story.

However, they also need to be used sparingly and with care. This isn’t an exercise in creative writing. Metaphors should enhance, not distract.

What to do when your application form won’t let you begin in the way you want

The first question on your application is likely to be a variant on one of the following:

• Describe your organisation
• Describe the problem
• Summarise your application

However, sometimes it won’t be, or the way it’s worded won’t, at first, seem easy to answer with a bang. If that’s the case then you’ve got to be creative while still answering the question and addressing the programme aims, all within the first few words.

There will always be a way

Here’s an example of how to do this for a funding programme that aims to improve the lives of people with learning disabilities, and an application form where the first question is “What is the aim of your project?”

Version 1:

Our project will aim to improve the transitions experience of 4000 young people with learning disabilities in the West Midlands. This will lessen the negative repercussions of transition that can last into adulthood. It will help them to have a better transitions experience so they become more confident, empowered and less service dependent.

Compared to the more effective version 2:

Every year over 4000 young people with learning disabilities have a negative experience of transitioning into adult services in the West Midlands. The process can have devastating repercussions that last throughout adulthood. Our aim is to transform their experience so they become confident, empowered, and less service dependent adults.

Do you see the difference? Version 2 is punchier, more vivid and uses less words. If you wanted to improve it further you could use a quote, a story, a more specific statistic, or you could describe the future.

Did this article’s opening lines make a bang for you?

Hopefully by now you’ll be convinced of the importance of your bid’s opening words and you’ll have some good tricks to use the next time you write one.

Looking back, can you see the techniques used to start this article. Think about how you felt and how you reacted when you read the first few words. Did they work for you?

Want more advice? Check out 7 Smart Ways to Improve Your Next Grant Funding Bid That Anyone Can Use.

Maybe that’s because selling can feel coercive, or maybe we lack self-belief. Either way, finding online resources that teach how to sell a tech for good product is tricker than finding the truth on Donald Trump’s twitter account.

But, as my Grandad used to say, “there’s nowt wrong wi’ sellin’ someat people want”. And we’re good at building things people want, so we just need to get better at asking for what we need in return.

If you don’t then your tech for good project won’t last. You, or someone who knows your product well, must learn how to sell.

That’s selling with verve, acumen and honesty. Especially honesty, because people in the social good sphere see through sales b*** better than most.

There’s one firm principle I found always works, at every stage of developing a tech for good business model. Fortunately its one that comes easy to us tech for gooders and, when done right, will even do the selling job for us.

It’s getting potential customers hands-on.

Hands-on wins

Hands-on so they can touch, feel and experience your product. In that moment of touch your product changes from something they only heard of into something they have experienced.

That moment is critical because its when their ideas about your product get replaced by a tangible experience.

If you never give them a hands-on experience, then you’ll never be able to judge their willingness to stump up. Nor will they be able to decide whether to buy.

Customers could be end users, but more likely they’ll be other third or public sector organisations (or even commercial ones).

Using the lens of Progressively’s useful impact model for social tech products let’s look at how this principle works at  each stage.  Those 3 stages are:

1. Developing a business model hypothesis
2. Proving the business model
3. Establishing financial stability

1. The invisible product. Hands-on at the ‘business model hypothesis’ stage

At this point you’ll probably have only a handful of concepts and hypotheses. That’s OK. In the same way you might use a prototype to test your product’s user value you can test its financial value.

That could be by asking your product testers how the prototype compares to other tools or services they pay for (a type of analogous research). But more likely it will mean getting your business model canvas in front of potential customers and gaining feedback.

How you do this will depend on what you’re selling and to whom. You could use a co-design style workshop or conduct a series of 1-1 walk-through interviews. I find it best to provide a physical, tangible replication of your model that they can interact with (think large scale printout or post it style mapping). That way they’ll give you better feedback and help uncover the points of value they might pay for.

I say ‘might’ because at the end of this stage your business model will still be unproven.

2. The first kiss. Hands-on at the ‘business model proving’ stage

At this point your concept will likely have evolved into a beta product. You may have partners testing its value and functionality. Their experience will help you refine the model, but until your first sales leads get hands-on consider its financial value shypothetical.

These first leads may be ones you’ve approached or ones who’ve found their own way to your website. Either way they need to be able to get on a demo, a free trial or a freemium version of your product. Onboarding needs to be easy and offer a good interaction experience.

Get it wrong and you won’t have a proven track record or evidence of impact to convince them to try again.

Get it right and it may be all you need to turn them into paying customers. However you might be selling into an organisation. In this case you’ll want these first leads to go away and tell their bosses good things about your product. Good enough things that they’ll let you come and pitch to them as the financial decision makers.

This is when the hands-on principle matters most. When you’re face-to-face with budget holders. It’s also the moment of truth. Does your product hold enough financial value to be worth paying for? The best way to find out is to build your pitch around a hands-on demo. This is more than ‘show, don’t tell’; instead it’s giving them a tangible near-to-real-as-possible experience of your product.

The MOMO sales pitch example

At MOMO (my last tech for good project) we gave sales leads that experience by arriving at pitches carrying mobile WiFi and tablets pre-loaded with demo app accounts. We gave senior children’s service managers the tablets, and they used the app as if they were a young person. Afterwards they observed the output of their experience in the form of real time service analytics and an online workflow that delivered their output to workers. Their first-hand experience of the app articulated MOMO’s value better than we could ever have.

The other valuable aspect of a hands-on sales pitch is that it’s a good test of your product’s usability. If your product isn’t easy enough to use when you’re there then it sure won’t be when you’re not.

3. For the win. Hands on at the ‘establishing financial stability’ stage

Congratulations! Get to here and you’ll have achieved tech for good nirvana: a product with proven financial value, and a predictable revenue stream.

But for a full win make your product so easy to use that your new customers can get their peers’ hands on and tasting its value.

This will tell you if:

• your product is easy enough for later adopters to use
• its clear enough for them to understand its financial value
• it’s delivering enough social value that your existing customers are keen to recommend it to potential customers.

Even better your customers will be selling your product for you!

Delightful experiences sell

If your product is good, and even better if it delights at first use, then it’ll be much easier to sell. It’ll be doing the sales job for you. And that’s cool, because then you can talk less about why they should buy and do more of the things you prefer than selling tech for good products!

You’ve got a fundraising strategy.

You’ve got strong evidence your project’s needed and a list of funders to apply to.

You’ve checked their guidelines and know you fit them. You know your project and your approach. You know what questions you must answer.

You’re ready to go. All that stands between you and a world-beating bid is a blank page.

This is the hard part; where the pain begins.

But it needn’t be so difficult. And it can be less painful. There’s a simple process that can make writing the bid easier, help you feel in charge and save you time. Here’s how.

My bid writing process, in tasty Yorkie size chunks.

1. Get it out of your head

If you’re clear on your project’s approach and details, then you’re ready to take this step. If you’re not, then you should still do it anyway and notice the gaps.

You need to capture all the bid related thoughts, ideas and questions that are in your head. They are better off somewhere you can see them. I usually dump everything into a rough spider diagram – but you could also use post its, a wipe board or mind mapping software.

Start with a question or statement written where you can see it in the middle of your board or paper. You might take the first question on the application form, or a question of your own.

Then look at the question and as you consider it capture the thoughts that surface.

Write everything down. Dive as deeply as you can.

Repeat for each of your bid’s questions.

2. Get another head involved

Don’t be alone. Two brains storm better than one.

Rather than only having a question to stimulate your ideas you’ll have your friend/colleague/boss person to spark off too.

Bounce ideas around. Connect your thoughts and burrow into each question. Share the pain and capture the inspiration together.

You may find that if you’re the one making notes then, in the moments when you are scribbling, your partner will think very productively. It’s almost as if having a witness makes them focus better. Swap roles if it helps.

Brainstorming is best done without censorship. So don’t question your ideas. We’ll do that next.

3. Process and plan

Got everything out of your head? Now it’s time to process it.

Here you’re trying to take what you’ve captured and shape it into a skeleton or outline response to each question. You’re taking what came out of your head and ordering it into a logical narrative. Some of this will have occurred while you brainstormed but most of it will need fitting together in a way that’s going to make sense to the reader. Often its helpful to start with the general and move towards the specific.

Use a computer to do this. It produces a cleaner and tidier output, ready for later.

I use sub headings for main points or paragraphs, and bullets for the details. Full sentences aren’t needed. Don’t be tempted. Stick to keywords and phrases.

Consider any word limits provided by the funder. Look at how many points you’re making for each question. One main point or a medium sized paragraph is about 100 words, so don’t be afraid to ditch the least important ones. They’ll never survive later edits, anyway. Trim the chaff now and it’ll save you time later.

4. Hold off until you’re at max revs

By now you’re probably itching to write that first sentence. But its better to hold fire until you’ve finished processing your outlines and are comfortable with the bid’s overall narrative.

But don’t hold off so long that you lose momentum. If you feel resistance to writing those first proper sentences then I’m afraid there’s no pill for it. You’ve just got to bite the bullet (or the end of your pen) and commit.

5. Write drunk, edit sober

Don’t take this literally. Alcohol may ease the pain of bid writing, but it’s also likely to make a mess.

The principle behind Ernest Hemingway’s words is that you’ve got to sound real. Your words must have passion. Funders need to see that you believe in your work.

Do this by writing as you, rather than in an adopted or overly formal style. This can take a bit of practice. However, there’s nothing more authoritative than our own voices and a cause we believe in. Funders get turned on by a bid with personality and passion. They feed off your enthusiasm. Use your outline as a guide and just tell them what you want to say.

Release your passion and just write. Even if its a little ott. Because it’s easier to edit passion out of a bid than edit it in.

6. You can’t plan everything you will write

You’ll never dive more deeply into a bid than when you’re in the real blood and guts act of drafting it. Submerged in the flow you may have your biggest Eureka moments. The best inspiration is often found in the deepest, most pearly depths. Sometimes these flashes lead to a rethink in your bid’s content or approach. But usually they slot in and enhance it. When they come, let them flow. Don’t stop writing. You can review and edit later.

7. Edit. A few times.

People ask me how many times they should edit their bid. I don’t think there’s any limit.

But there will be a limit to your attention and your writing momentum.

When you’ve completed your first draft, ask someone else to read it. Ask them “is it coherent? Are its ideas and terminology congruent? Is its logic clear and plausible?”.

Then redraft.

Keep drafting as much as time allows. You may find it helpful to redraft within 24 hours of the previous one, or you may prefer to leave it a week. I prefer to leave it a week if I can. Other prefer not to leave it that long.

Was that useful?

Hopefully. Try it and see how you go. Chat to me about it, or ask me to outline a bid for you.

It was quite a journey.

As the main founder I was at the centre of both product and business development most of the time. Just like other first time founders I experienced a huge amount of learning. Here’s a short introduction to 3 things I did that contributed most to our success. Each one could help you on your own tech for good startup journey.

1. I worked to the Pareto Principle

I used to be a perfectionist.

Then I decided I’d rather be a success.

See, the trouble with trying to perfect your design, products and processes is that the closer you get to perfection the less extra value your time and effort generates. That’s why MVPs and lean processes work.

Pareto’s Principle reckons that 80% of the value of an investment is achieved through 20% of the time or effort invested. This principle really works. In a startup you don’t have time to do more than 20%, and usually, to make the next step, you only need to get to 80% good enough.

Try applying the principle to all your startup activities. Create just enough value to do the job e.g. just enough user research or testing to build the next iteration, or just enough blogging and social media activity to build an audience.

The Pareto Principle fits neatly alongside agile principles too. If your development approach is agile (why wouldn’t it be?) then it will help you approach your other project functions in the same way.

Use this approach across the board and see how your team culture evolves and their decision making improves.

2. I focused on our business model from the beginning

One of the most common tech for good startup mistakes is neglecting your business model and over-prioritising your product. It’s easy to do when your mission is socially focused. And let’s face it, products are also more sexy and interesting than business models.

I’ve been there. I’ve neglected business development and lived to rue it when the money ran out. Neglect your model and you’ll be desperately playing catch up when the money runs out.

Your business model needs the same amount of research and development as your product. At MOMO I focused unrelentingly on the business model, right from the start. My discipline was forged in the furnace of past mistakes.

Don’t wait until you have a product that people want to use. You need to be researching and testing your model while your product takes shape. Just like user and social value, there’s always a point of financial value to be found. To help you find it there’s a tonne of tools and guidance available.

3. I hired specialists and learnt from them

During those four years we hired both freelance specialists and full-time specialists. We used these experiences to turn our staff team into generalists, people with a rounded skill set who were able to apply principles and practices from different roles and disciplines.

Firstly we hired the excellent Neontribe, specialists in tech for good web development. Through our work with Harry Harrold and his devs we learnt a huge amount about agile processes, feature prioritisation and product management.

At specific times, and for specific challenges we also hired specialist service design and UX people to give us short-term help. We used them to move the product forward, watched what they did, asked them why and grew our own skills in those areas.

We also made use of advice and guidance from helpful people in the Tech for Good scene. Kieran Kirkland and Dominic Campbell were particularly helpful, while six monthly conversations with Paul Miller of BGV helped me stay ahead of the learning curve. Back in 2013 I was also lucky enough to gain deep insights through writing about the progress of Comic Relief’s 7 Innovation Labs projects (this blog!).

Through all of these folk and some good reading we built up an internal experiential understanding of UX, product sales, business models, audience building, product design, and agile and lean methodology.

Then, when we’d grown enough to hire full time internal folk we targeted young, hungry staff with the intelligence and potential to learn about both product and business processes. Our new sales, product, service design and account management people quickly became generalists, comfortable working closely with external specialists and able to contribute strongly across the breadth of Mind Of My Own’s work – from internal sprint planning sessions to local authority sales pitches.

Only three?

Of course there’s more. With each passing month I seem to get new insights. Next month I’ll be sharing some of these with Bethnal Green Ventures’ latest accelerator cohort. When that’s done I’ll post a summary of my talk here.

(You can get a free copy here.)

The guide is the summation of what my co-author James and I have learnt while delivering, observing, and in James’ case evaluating, the Innovation Labs.

The Labs initiative was a Comic Relief and Nominet Trust funded 4 year programme of ideation, incubation and development of seven apps and websites to improve young people’s mental health. Its final product launched last June though I will continue running the Labs blog until April next year.

The Labs website is well worth a visit but if you’re planning to build or looking to fund a social tech project then this guide is probably the easiest place to start.

By social tech I mean ‘any digital product or service with a social mission’.

It could be an app or just a content-based website.

It could be an interactive online service or a full gamified life simulator.

The principles are pretty much the same.

Here’s what you get in the guide.

Guidance for Funders

1. What we got wrong – How we would have funded the 7 projects differently
2. Understand social tech funding formats – so you can pick a format that suits your approach
3. Get to know tech development processes – so you can talk the same language as bidders and techies
4. Learn about development cycles – so you can assess progress and structure funding to fit them
5. How to assess applicant technical capabilities – so you can sort those who really know what they are doing
6. Provide mentoring – your projects will need it more than they think
7. How to make learning immediately actionable – so that projects make better decisions before launching

You’ll also get guidance for delivery organisations.

Guidance for Delivery Organisations

1. Understand the Principles – digital projects are different to human powered ones.
2. Get Funded – how to write a better bid or make a better pitch
3. Choose a Technical Partner – not all web developers are created equal. Sort and choose.
4. Understand What Developers and Software Engineers Do – you’ll save time and make much better decisions if you do
5. Choose a Development Methodology – that way you’ll know what you’re doing
6. Start with Customer Research – don’t assume, understand the problem better
7. The Value of Storyboards and Customer Journeys – why you’ll need these tools
8. Prototyping – why it saves time and money and leads to a better product
9. Maintain a Roadmap – why it helps and why its better than a project plan
10. Think Adoption Before Marketing – how to build a core fan base from Day 1
11. Start with a Business Model – why you need to design your product with a model in mind
12. Measure Lean and Smart – knowing what to measure and how is easier than you think

The guide is free. To get your copy click here