Creating a Community Focused Online Platform - How will our small startup turbo charge a community

As a rural entrepreneur, I must ensure that I understand not only social methodologies but also social systems, habits, and a host of community characteristics. I have been told to understand the culture, the history, and a host of culturally rich habits that one needs to respect and imbibe when working with said community.
However, with the good comes the bad, and the bad comes the good. This intertwining ‘dance of the wolves’ creates a blinding light for the community these systems have embedded themselves in.
Problems such as child marriage, dowry, and a host of other evils are part and parcel. The question is: how do we separate the strands that are woven into binds through time?”
Many social organizations fail for one main reason: funding. If you pierce the CSR artery, funds begin to flow — and flow they do. While the 2% CSR mandate provides an exciting opportunity to access capital, the efficiency of these funds remains questionable. Working in the livelihood sector, I see a significant problem: our goal is to create income and employment opportunities, yet the sector is plagued by poor project quality and a lack of sustained demand for products. Often, innovation is missing. Detailed projects that should evolve with the times seem to have ‘jumped the gun’ without a clear long-term strategy

The talk in full flow
For every business, there is a push and a pull: the push to create a product that customers want to pull. Companies that design products to solve specific pain points are positioned for growth and attract investment; however, they also invite competition. In this environment, innovation is not an option but a requirement.
​Many companies are answerable to shareholders, where profitability serves as the primary indicator of organizational health and the basis for valuation forecasts. Factors such as earnings potential, future subscriber growth, and ‘sell-on’ value lead to both quantitative and qualitative assumptions regarding the opportunity for profit. Given this profit-driven framework, how are we to gauge the success of livelihood projects? Where do we create a break-even sustainability point for when a livelihood project becomes sustainable on its own?
​Many companies are answerable to shareholders, where profitability serves as the primary indicator of organizational health and the basis for valuation forecasts. Factors such as earnings potential, future subscriber growth, and ‘sell-on’ value lead to both quantitative and qualitative assumptions regarding the opportunity for profit. Given this profit-driven framework, how are we to gauge the success of livelihood projects? Where do we create a break-even sustainability point for when a livelihood project becomes sustainable on its own?
The Push and the Pull​
On the 12th of January, my team and I released the Global Anglo Indian Network (worldgain.org), an online platform that helps promote the Anglo-Indian community. I have visited many association meetings, and the majority of the time, I hear about the past but not the present — and no clear path for the future. As a man of action who works in the sustainability sector, creating sustained action plans is part of my specialty.
However, if a project is for the community, it must be cemented by the community. Pushing an idea forward requires a corresponding ‘pull’ for the plan; after all, how can I sell a product if there is no demand? Without that demand, the project simply becomes a black hole for funds.
​If we keep providing input, what is the sustained output? We cannot simply finance the same livelihood activities indefinitely without a strategy, nor should we start something just for the sake of ‘doing something’ or ‘making up the numbers’ to fight poverty. This is exactly where our platform differs.
​As I write this, I am in an association meeting. Ideas swirl around me like a tornado, but ensuring my own clarity has all my attention. While the platform is free, it must be supported by the community to survive. We have set the monthly subscription at $10 for foreign patrons and ₹250 for Indian patrons. Think of it as a Kickstarter with a patron-based model. We already have such a large, focused audience to cater to; now, we have the chance to truly put our money where our mouth is.