Learning from Clément Rames about how projects can be scaled after MDEF.
Part of the Future Talks seminar in which we went to visit Aquí and learn about how one can scale their project in the future.
Beyond MDEF
Clément spent the first part of this talking about Aquí and their journey. Aquí evolved from a project into a non-profit association, focusing on essential elements like accounting and finance. Eventually, it transitioned into a worker's cooperative, emphasizing shared ownership and democratic decision-making. This shift underscores the importance of having a clear destination while remaining adaptable to the journey's twists and turns. It highlights the necessity of resilience, ensuring Aquí's growth and sustainability amidst challenges. I found this interesting to hear about as we are nearing the end of MDEF and it is cool to see how past students have scaled up their projects.
Talking about Scaling Up
What really stuck with me was the talk about scaling up and what key challenges are that can come with this. Scaling requires strategic energy allocation and prompt problem-solving. Despite potential funding gaps, seizing opportunities can lead to rapid progress. Scaling translates to increased impact, from local to global levels, necessitating both quantitative and qualitative impact assessment. The thing with creating a business/non-profit is that it can be challenging and there might be long periods without funding, but then you can rapidly get many projects. This explanation by Clement was food for thought as it caused me to reflect on how I can see this working for myself. Am I ready for the realities of starting something bigger from my initial ideas at MDEF. In the end maintaining a long-term perspective and staying grounded in humility are essential for sustainable growth.
5 W's of Scaling
The second part of the class focussed more on defining our project and seeing how we could scale it up and what we should consider with this. In the end Oliver and I defined the following:
Why
- Because there is no easy access to energy consumption visibility, our total energy needs go up every year as our modern societies become more energy intensive. This growing consumption need is still predominantly fed by fossil fuel energy.
- Because I want to be able to understand how people behave and help shift the way society acts to better the planet, but that do not cause a lot of effort as it is otherwise not sustainable for people. I feel the need to create a project that is leaving something positive behind and not just made for consumption.
- Because we want to contribute to more sustainable ways of living that are easy to implement without affecting our quality of life, because if the sustainable choice isn't éasy to do, then most of us wont do it (ourselves included)
What
- Creating a potential way for people to become more aware of their behaviors and what energy ensumption is
- Researching what people currently do in energy behavior and what Al can bring to this project
Who
- Oliver and Carlotta
- Friends that are designers in the NL & UK
Where
- Barcelona based currently but with reach in UK & NL - project focussed on Europe
When
- I think yes with a bit of lean to the future as we are designing for the transition that is just
Reflecting on Future Talk 3.3
This future talk was one of the more relevant for me as it focused on our project and the challenges we can face once the masters is over. I really enjoyed hearing Clément's experience and how Aquí came to be.
For me the most interesting part of this talk was seeing how we could incorporate the information about scaling, funding and design in our own projects. Not only was this talk focussed on real life challenges of starting a business but Clément took the time to talk to us about our own projects and in which ways the things he has learned could be beneficial for us. While I am not sure about the future of WattWise it was still nice to learn more from another person who has gone through a similar journey as what I am on now.
