Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
Taking Risks
John Kennedy said that there is risk and cost to a program of action, but it is far less than the long-range risks and costs ...
Kim Smith
New Schools Venture Fund
Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
Hybrids: Entrepreneurs Must Lead People from Radically Different Sectors
Kim Smith, co-founder and CEO of NewSchools Venture Fund, is a leader in a hybrid environment between business people and educators, who speak different languages ...
Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
Founding of Teach for America: Entrepreneurs Envision What Others Say is Impossible
Smith talks about how a series of experiences prepare an entrepreneur to found a new venture. Entrepreneurship is about solving a problem in a better ...
Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
A Theory of Change = Business Model + Strategy
Smith explains that a theory of change in the social sector is roughly equivalent to a combination of the business model and strategy in the ...
Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
Focus
Smith talks about how focus is crucial for entrepreneurial leadership. It is impossible to do everything so the core beliefs of the venture provide the ...
Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
Hybrid Leaders
Smith talks about how hybrid leaders are crucial problem solvers because they are able to think outside the box. It is very difficult to have ...
Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
Education: Shift From Culture of Compliance to Culture of Performance
There is a current shift in K-12 education from a culture of compliance, says Smith. Compliance is not a high enough standard and should not ...
Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
Venture Philanthropy
Smith explains that venture philanthropy means investing in ventures that lead to greater changes in the overall system to improve education for kids. The entrepreneur ...
Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
New School Venture Fund History and Operations
New School Ventures is a non-profit public charity with the sole purpose of creating better opportunities for children who are not currently being served by ...
Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
New School Portfolio
In five years, New Schools has given 10,000 kids access to new schools, says Smith. Public charter schools provide an alternative to government-run schools by giving ...
Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
Strategic Investment Analysis Via a Hybrid Partner Group
Smith believes that since their monetary values are not large in comparison to the size of the education industry, investments must be leveraged to get ...
Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
Leadership, Communication, and Facilitation Skills
Smith says that John Doerr, renowned venture capitalist at KPCB, attributes his success to his ability to communicate and facilitate, above his technological expertise. Technical ...
Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
Funding for arts and sports
Smith believes that extracurricular activities are essential. Funds are being cut currently because, in trying to achieve funding equity, everyone's funding was reduced instead of ...
Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
Achieving Profits Through Customer Focus
Smith poses the question: How can companies be profitable in the education sector? She discusses how education is more recession-proof than other industries and how ...
Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
Forming the Founding Team
Smith believes that the most successful teams combine someone who has experience within the system, someone who understands technology, and a sales expert. The environment ...
Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
Measuring Social Return for Investors
New Schools is non-profit fund with only a social return; any earnings are reinvested into the fund, says Smith. Ventures are chosen for their social ...
Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
Venture capitalists as incubators and co-creators of new ventures
Smith talks about how New Ventures aims to create systems that are K-12 to provide a coherent experience to children. Incubation is important. New Schools ...
Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
Charter Schools – encourage diversity in the approach
The charter school system allows the alignment of all the stakeholders: the board, the management, the teachers, and the kids, says Smith. They all are ...
Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
Parents as part of the K-12 learning community
Smith belives that parents sometimes do not know what is best for their children. GreatSchools.net aims to make parents more informed about their education ...
Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
Fixing problems in K-12 education
School finance is inequitable between low- and high-income communities, says Smith. Is it better to try to fix the system or provide alternatives? New Schools ...
Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
The investor community for educational ventures
Smith explains that fundraising is very hard in the non-profit sector. New Ventures typically co-invests in A rounds with other venture capital firms, typically newer ...
Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
Scalability and Sustainability in non-profit sector
Scale is very difficult in the non-profit sector, says Smith. The franchise model is not successful because there is no authority or ability to take ...
Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
VC Values impact on education and non-profit world
Smith talks about how the VC model allows for larger investments over a longer period of time. Also, the investment tends to be in organizational ...
Kim Smith,
New Schools Venture Fund
Measuring success
Smith explains that New Ventures measures success in four layers. The first layer of success is immediate outcomes for the kids served by current ventures. ...
