A year-long educational curriculum, School of Food offers interactive and educational programming for food entrepreneurs. The organization fosters a food learning environment that empowers people with the skills, knowledge and experience to make their mark in the kitchen — and on the world.
Problem
Kim Bryden is the co-creator of School of Food and CEO of Curate, a strategic consulting company for food and beverage business owners. While the program was a success in Baltimore, Kim was now tasked with launching the first DC School of Food cohort at Union Market. She needed local leaders to help shape the experiences for the entrepreneurs. Hearing of my work in introspective brand development through Thinkory, Kim asked me to come speak to the group about meaningfully and sustainability defining the mission of their companies.
Thinking
After meeting with Kim and discussing the purpose of the program, I thought it more beneficial to the cohort to develop a talk/workshop hybrid experience. One that taught the early stage founders a fundamental skill through practical application.
Designing the Presentation to Guide
The presentation was designed to aid the conversation in the room – and it had to drive an important point home. It had to help the cohort understand that a clearly defined mission gives shape to the differentiating characteristics of their companies. Characteristics that drive consumer preference and grow businesses.
The Presentation’s Dual Purpose
The first function of the presentation was to help me facilitate a no fluff, no jargon talk to help the cohort think through an honest articulation of core principles. Principles that could instill pride in their teams and focus the efforts of their companies. But the presentation also needed to help facilitate several steps of an exercise.
I designed, printed, and handed out a three-page worksheet that participants would use to define their company's mission step by step. The slides below were designed to help me lead the audience through this part of the hybrid experience with several pauses and opportunities to get feedback from those around them. (That part was really fun!)
Result
The talk/workshop was a great success and the first DC School of Food cohort was off to a fantastic start. The presentation helped me stay on point, engage with the audience, emphasize key principles of the process, and help each founder build business more intentionally. Each slide allowed me lead the audience through defining the purpose-fulfilling, value-honoring mission of their companies during our time together.
A Photo by Kim Bryden of me conducting the workshop at Union Market in Washington, DC.
Project Stats
Length of project:
About 4 weeks
About 4 weeks
Skills used:
Research, Lesson Planning, Copywriting, Photo editing, Graphic design
Research, Lesson Planning, Copywriting, Photo editing, Graphic design
Tools used:
Photoshop, Illustrator, Powerpoint, Keynote, Adobe Acrobat, Typekit, Unsplash
Photoshop, Illustrator, Powerpoint, Keynote, Adobe Acrobat, Typekit, Unsplash
