If We Ran the World
Posted: 12 Mar 2012
Date Written: October 28, 2011
Abstract
Cindy Gallop launched If We Ran the World (IWRTW) in February 2010, as what the tech world called minimum viable product, in order to real-world test Gallop's "business of the future" concept while development was ongoing. IWRTW was conceived to bring together human good intentions with corporate good intentions, to activate both into shared action, against shared goals, to deliver shared and mutually accountable results. She wanted to make "doing good as sexy as hell" for both individuals and businesses, to make it quicker, easier, and simpler to turn intention into action, one "microaction" at a time. In January 2011, Gallop's key challenge was how to amplify the IWRTW experience in a way that would make it a more valuable-and immediately understandable-business proposition to a brand. The idea behind the venture was only as good as its business model and its execution.
Learning Objective: This case provides a vehicle for analyzing a business model in an environment with network effects. It shows that every decision that the company makes has both positive and negative consequences. The students are asked to improve the business model so that it emphasizes the positive and mitigates the negative consequences, by building reinforcing feedback between decisions.
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