Starting small businesses to provide employment for the neurodiverse
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MISSION
The mission of Autism Forge Launchpad LLC is here to start and support businesses run by or for people with neurodiversity. Our goal is to create jobs for neurodivergent people and make sure these businesses can support themselves financially.
VISION
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It is envisioned entrepreneurs can launch new businesses and that current business owners can launch adjacent businesses that empower neurodiverse employees to provide value to customers.
It is envisioned that the businesses launched by Autism Forge Launchpad will form a regional network in Philadelphia that will support each other through shared business and resources.
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It is envisioned that the operations of Autism Forge Launchpad will expand beyond the Philadelphia region.
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It is envisioned that the Autism Forge Launchpad LLC will grow from a workshop based launchpad to include business incubation and pre-revenue seed fund financing.
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WHAT WE DO
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Do you have a passion for providing sustainable employment for the neurodiverse? Do you have an initial business idea but you are unsure of how to make this idea a reality? Do you own a business and wish to expand to include a neurodivergent friendly enterprise? You may be a candidate for the Autism Forge © workshop.
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The Autism Forge © workshop has been designed by Dr. Thomas V Edwards, Jr. and Margaret Monaghan. Tom is a successful business executive who did doctoral work in management near the conclusion of his business career. He now teaches engineering management at Temple University in Philadelphia. Peg was a pioneer of the Autism@Work movement during her time at SAP and is now an employment advisor at the Drexel University Center for Autism and Neurodiversity in Philadelphia. Peg and Tom developed the workshop by pooling their respective experiences and interviewing the founders of successful neurodiverse-friendly businesses.
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WORKSHOP FORMAT
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The Start-Up Essentials Program of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) has facilitated the launch of many small businesses. The Autism Forge © workshop is designed to supplement the SBDC program. The SBDC program is a terrific guide to the basics of starting a business. The Autism Forge © workshop provides the additional insights required to start and grow a successful business that provides employment opportunities to the neurodiverse. The Autism Forge © workshop consists of five all-day workshops.
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WORKSHOP LEARNING OBJECTIVES.
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Prior to starting the Autism Forge Workshops, it is recommended that participants take the one evening SBDC course Business 101: Ready for Entrepreneurship? [Start-Up Essentials] that can be found at https://pasbdc.ecenterdirect.com/events/30984 and the one evening SBDC course Business 102: Ready to Business Plan? [Start-Up Essentials] that can be found at https://pasbdc.ecenterdirect.com/events/30985. These courses are free and can be attended online.
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Workshop 1 is two full days on subsequent Saturdays. The learning objectives are:
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Understand the unique challenges of neurodiverse employees
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Leadership 101
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Applied creativity (the development of unique and effective business models)
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Legal forms of business organizations
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Buying an existing business
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Workshop 2 is a full Saturday. The learning objectives are:
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Financial models
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Case Study
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Reverse Income Statements
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Scaling to financial break-even
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Introduction to crowdfunding
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Workshop 3 is a full Saturday. The learning objectives are:
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Employment Law
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Brainstorming neurodiverse business operations
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Introduction to required business services
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Introduction to the Neurodiversity Employment Network
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Workshop 4 is a full Saturday. The objectives are.
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Review your business model and launch plan
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Each team will pitch their plan to an expert panel for feedback and suggested action plans.
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After completing the Autism Forge workshop series, it is recommended that participants take the SBDC course in BRIGHT business planning, FOXSBDC0027 - BRIGHT: Business Resilience, Innovation, Growth, Hustle, Transform. This course consists of online classes held on one evening per week for six weeks. The costs of this course is $200. Details can be found at https://noncredit.temple.edu/search/publicCourseSearchDetails.do?method=load&courseId=7206561.
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At the completion of the Autism Forge Workshop series we will meet with each participant about post-launch support for their business.
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Note that the SBDC Start-Up Essentials offers additional one-evening courses that participants can take at no extra charge. These are meant to reinforce additional topics of need or interest. they include
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Legal Formation
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Small Business Finance
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Pitching Your Business Part 1: Creating your pitch
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Pitching Your Business Part 2: Pitch Practice
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COST
The full cost of the Autism Forge© workshop is $2,000 per two-person business team. However, significant scholarship assistance is available to the inaugural class of Autism Forge© workshop. Please indicate if you would like to be considered for a scholarship when you apply for the workshop. A commitment to attend all workshops and the appropriate SBDC Start-Up Essentials Program is required. Note that the cost of the SBDC program is approximately $200.
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NEXT STEPS
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Applicants must be a team of two. We will accept nine teams in this first cohort. Please write up a one page description of your idea. The one page description should focus on two things. First, the value proposition to potential customers, or why will people do business with you? This could range from superior IT services to delicious cupcakes! And secondly, what are your preliminary thoughts on how to deliver this value to customers. Any sustainable business is based on delivering value that customers are willing to pay for. A neurodiverse-friendly business delivers this value by empowering neurodiverse employees to make their contribution to the value proposition. Also include resumes or a description of relevant experience of the two primary team members. Please note that while business-specific experience may be helpful it is not the only relevant experience for success in this endeavor. Also indicate if you wish to be considered for scholarship assistance.
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Please email the one-page description and resumes or experience descriptions to Tom Edwards at tve@temple.edu. Please include Autism Forge in the email title.
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Accepted teams will be notified one month prior to the start of the next scheduled workshop.