| The Contrepreneurs® Corporation |
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TO: For-Profit Companies, National and State-level Public Organizations, Corporate and Private Investors and High Net-worth Individuals
FROM: The Contrepreneurs® Corporation
SUBJECT: Getting more value for your social dollars by creating opportunities for physically, sensory, and socially challenged individuals to participate in America’s Free Market Economy.
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Contrepreneurs® is a word we hope you won’t easily forget. It is a contraction of two words, “contrary” and “entrepreneur”. This word is the key word in a new approach to viable access to the American dream of business ownership for people who are physically, sensory, and socially disadvantaged. The Contrepreneurs Corporation is a for-profit enterprise whose intention is cause magical partnering and miraculous partnerships that change lifes and shift the world.
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Did you know...
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For the United States to survive and continue its economic and political leadership in the world, we must see entrepreneurship as our centeral comparative advantage...In short, entrepreneurship in our businesses and universities: in our approach to both government and foreign policy; and in our personal lives is the only answer if we hope to continue to survive." (Schramm, Carl J., The Entrepreneurial Imperative, HarperCollins, 2006).
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Small business provides jobs for over half of nation's private workforce and that small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all firms, they create more than half of the private non-farm gross domestic product, and they create 60 to 80 percent of the net new jobs? Source: Small Business Profiles for the States and Territories, 2005 Edition from the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
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What is the Social Challenge We Want to Address?
Everyone knows that entrepreneurship is a cherished American opportunity. However, too often, entrepreneurship is denied to people who are socially or physically challenged. Americans and American businesses are by nature generous and choose to be socially responsible. With great generosity, they provide resources to assist those in need. Rarely, however, are economic opportunity and social responsibility combined to provide the opportunity for Business Ownership: thus, The Contrepreneurs Corporation and The Contrepreneurs Project
In short, our intention is to cause magical partnering that results in miraculous partnerships that change lives and shift the world.
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Why is it a Challenge?
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It’s too hard, not sexy, high risk
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The institutions and resource channels don’t exist
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The disenfranchised are difficult, problematic, too banged up
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There are more lucrative and exciting targets of opportunity for investors
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No clear, standardized process for identifying, vetting, potential Contrepreneurs
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Odds are in favor of failure
- The world is a difficult place, especially for those with disabilities
Why Do We Believe Improvement is Necessary?
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Self-respect and self-esteem accrue to productive members of society
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Opportunity to demonstrate that the free-market economy does not discriminate
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Entrepreneurship produces Jobs, Income
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Challenge non-productive, disruptive, anti-social attitudes
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Overcome incredible hardship and, in some cases, grief
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Transcend difficulty, adversity, and pain
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What is The Contrepreneurs® Corporation?
The Contrepreneurs Corporation is a revolutionary new approach that causes opportunity, responsibility and courage to intersect to create new possibilities for the physically, sensory, and socially challenged.
What is Our Objective?
Establish The Contrepreneurs Corporation to mobilize resources and dollars to provide economic opportunity for people who, despite social or physical challenges, have what it takes to realize the American dream of business ownership and prosperity.
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Goals
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Define roles/responsibilities necessary and sufficient for successful execution of the Contrepreneurs mission
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Invent and continuously re-invent The Contrepreneurs Corporation to consist of the most qualified people and reward them generously for their contributions to our mission and our success
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Develop, coordinate, deploy procedures that control operations
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Install streamlined, flexible, modern business practices and processes
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Formalize, implement and continuously improve Contrepreneurs business development
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Establish and maintain performance measurement using modern corporate dashboard tools
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Be the model for-profit component of a world-renown social venture.
Concept of Operations
- Partnering and Partnerships. Everything Contrepreneurs takes on will involve causing partnering and creating partnership. Each Contrepreneurs project will be a team of teams.
- Contrepreneurs Projects: Teams of Teams that are the necessary and sufficient ingredient for entrepreneurial success
- Fellows (Physically disabled, Sensory challenged, Socially challenged Veterans/First Responders
- Cohorts (spouses, family members, partners, employees)
- Guidance Teams, or G-Teams. Each Contrepreneurs project will be led by a G-Team. This G-Team will consist of volunteers who have experience in the business being created as well as some core functions, such as financial management, program management, etc. supplied by Contrepreneurs.
- Volunteer Teams, or V-Teams: These teams take on the day-to-day support functions. V-Teams enable Contrepreneurs to focus its attention on its vision and mission of changing lives and shifting the world.
Criteria for Success
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More Of
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Awareness Of Existence And Mission
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Exposure Through Public Media And Name
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Recognition of Difference-making Impact
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Multi-faceted Participation
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Credibility And Confidence We Can Deliver
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Less Of
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Difficulty Enrolling Partners
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Ambiguity Regarding Definition of Beneficiaries
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Standing Starts
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Unknown-unknowns as they relate to Business Creation and the Free-Market Economy
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