In 2014 I applied to participate in a global program to volunteer to travel to rural India to train young business people on financial literacy and business development sponsored by Inuit Inc. I was one of 10 winners selected out of over 250 applicants! This project known as the We Care Give Back - Bold Experience was an inspiration to me as it gave me the opportunity to represent Intuit by sharing our business leadership globally.

1. WCGB Project BOLD
India
Advancing Entrepreneurship
Trip Report
April 21-30, 2014

2. WCGB BOLD – Our Journey
• In FY’13, Bill Campbell introduced Intuit to Team4Tech, a nonprofit focused on creating
sustainable change in developing countries through corporate partnerships, technology
and immersive leadership experiences
– This nonprofit was inspired from the popular Intel service model and was the
result an Aspen Institute leadership project.
• Today’s emerging volunteerism/leadership development trend has roots in Future
trends in leadership development by Petrie, “Give and Take” by Adam Grant, and
“Multipliers” by Liz Wiseman.
• In November, 2013 Intuit accepted an invitation to experience first hand this type of
immersive, cross-border program in action.
– Four Intuit team members joined Team4Tech, Intel, Bechtel and Facebook
employees in Tanzania, Africa for two weeks to support a World Vision project.
• The experiment above inspired WCGB BOLD; Intuit’s first cross border volunteer
program designed to develop global mindset, leadership skills & capabilities, deeper
customer empathy, diversity & inclusion, and innovation/collaboration
• In April 2014, 10 globally sourced Intuit employees embarked on an opportunity in
Utter Pradesh, India
– These employees mentored women & youth entrepreneurs in Marketing,
Business Strategy & Product Design while also growing their own skills as global
business leaders of the future

3. India Project Overview
• Project Objectives
– Provide business training to ~100 micro-
entrepreneurs in the Ghaziabad region of Uttar
Pradesh via the RUDSET Institute
– Help them launch and grow small scale
enterprises
• Team
– 10 Intuit volunteers
– 3 Intuit staff
– 2 Team4Tech staff
• Timeline
– April 21-30, 2014
• Success Metrics
– Entrepreneurs indicate increased confidence in
launching or growing their businesses
– Intuit volunteers gain insights into needs of
small scale entrepreneurs in rural India

4. The WCGB BOLD Team
Team of 10 Globally Sourced Employees from different BUs - Selected from 250 applicants.

5. The Investment
• 10 Intuit Instructors (selected out of 250 applicants)
from 4 countries (India, US, Canada, Singapore) for 9
day commitment
• Funded jointly by Team4Tech, Intuit, & Connecting
Dreams and the Rudset Institute
• Cost to participant’s BU $5k plus travel
Teaching Team:
• 14 Hours Team Briefing Meetings – Pre-Trip
• 45 Hours Lesson Plan Preparation – Pre - Trip
• 6 days FMH, Lesson Delivery and 90 day plan
preparation
• 24 Hours in Transit per person
– And Daily commutes 2 and 3 hours north of Delhi

6. Our Approach
• Empathetic observation:
we learn from listening and
observing
• User-centered design:
Learning is only effective if
relevant and easy to use
• Local enabling:
ultimate goal is to empower
client to decide on next steps

7. What Our Students Learned

8. Putting Learnings to Work: Action
Plans

9. What We Learned

10. Small Business Insights: India
Manage
Customers
Get New
Customers
Get Paid
Manage
Finances
Manage
employees &
vendors
• Most businesses have a loyal set of customers
• WOM and local foot traffic are considered sufficient for customer acquisition
• Few businesses have started using tools like JustDial to get new customers
• Good service and variety of products are considered primary retention drivers
• Customer details & appointments are maintained in handwritten notebooks
• Most payments are made in cash, either to avoid taxes or because of lack of credit cards in lower income
consumers
• Informal credit is commonly given to loyal customers
• Almost all businesses have hired an accountant due to perceived complexity
• Bookkeeping is done in handwritten notebooks
• Awareness of Tally is high but business owners have rarely used it
• Business loans are hard to come by and many want to avoid debt altogether
• Employee management is informal, building relationships is more important
• Hiring is based on loyalty and trust more than skill
• Business owners don’t look for vendors; vendors come to them
Get advice • Owners usually start businesses in areas where their family or friends already have experience and they
remain primary means of obtaining advice
A
B
C
D
E
F
10

11. Indian
Culture

12. Leadership Learnings: Pivoting and
Flexing

13. To Teach and Learn

14. To Empower

15. To Empathize –
Entrepreneur
Visits

16. About Hope

17. Instilling Confidence

18. Connecting

19. To build
friendships and
memories