The Problem:

The typical start-up team with a great idea needs relatively small (<$250k) seed funding to get started :: the typical investment manager is looking at investing more than $1m. And it's not worth their time to research a smaller investment. There is plenty of venture capital supply, desperate demand, and they're not meeting: how do you invest a hundred thousand dollars without spending too much time researching the company?

Village Capital's Solution:

Create a cohort of entrepreneurs, a 12 week combined education, collaboration and competition, and let the entrepreneurs pick the best.

16 For-Profit Social Ventures go in, 3 get $75k selected by their peers. Basically the entrepreneurs who generate the most respect within the team get funded.

It's a bit like the developing world investment circles that work on a much smaller scale, deciding whose small business get funded.

PS. Would this work for single-bottom-line, non-social-venture efforts? Or is it another place where giving a damn will mean more success?