GIRLSTAKEOVER.ORG: NON-PROFIT CRITICAL PROOF-OF-
CONCEPT AND ADOPTION STRATEGIES CASE STUDY
SOLUTION
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SYNOPSIS
In September 2022, inspired by personal experiences, marketing executive Nicole Bezinski decided to set
up GirlsTakeOver.org (GTO) after recognizing that teenage girls and young women in high schools and
n
colleges in the USA were lacking coping mechanisms to help them manage increased stress and
performance pressures. While schools received numerous new education program ideas annually, they were
tio
highly selective about which programs met the stringent criteria and were accepted. Consequently, Bezinski
found herself with the challenge of proving that non-profit GTO offered students the self-management and
coping benefits they needed. A high-impact proof-of-concept model was critical for GTO to receive serious
lu
consideration and acceptance by schools. Acceptance would lead to support, advocacy, and critical financial
sponsorship from numerous stakeholders to enable GTO to launch and run operations in the first year.
So
Bezinski had to finalize her proposal including the proof of concept before schools began accepting new
education program applications.
OBJECTIVES
• explore the opportunities and challenges specific to non-profit organizations that strive to exist, expand,
and grow in terms of revenues and programs;
• define new product and service adoption and diffusion tactics that offer proof of concept to various
stakeholder groups;
The Case Solution Starts From page 5
,ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS
1. Why was GTO set up and what problem was it designed to solve? What sets GTO’s mindfulness
education product apart from its competitors’ products?
2. Determine which factors would influence GTO’s rate of market adoption and diffusion. Consider
relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability.
3. What are the specific opportunities and challenges for GTO?
4. Who were GTO’s internal and external stakeholders? What did GTO provide and receive from each of
these stakeholders?
e
5. What strategy and proof-of-concept tactics should GTO consider to secure sustainable short- and long-
term financial support?
pl
6. Optional: Recommend a draft plan for early outreach to potential investors and program participants
for GTO to effectively communicate its concept and to gain support and enlistment.
m
Sa
n
tio
lu
So
2
The Case Solution Starts From page 5
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pl
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Sa
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ANALYSIS
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1. Why was GTO set up and what problem was it designed to solve? What sets GTO’s mindfulness
education product apart from its competitors’ products?
So
This assignment question serves to focus the class on GTO’s mission, which may at first seem to students
as straightforward as “doing good” in the school system. It is a complex issue, with the need to prove that
the GTO concept is valuable in overcoming direct and indirect competition while offering free services.
From the case information, students will identify that GTO is a non-profit organization founded to help
girls and young women in high schools and colleges by equipping them with the necessary coping skills to
aid them in their academic performance and in making career choices.
• Why GTO was set up. GTO was founded by Bezinski based on the scientific evidence that mindfulness
and meditation could have a positive effect on mental health. At the same time, there were many other
non-profits also focused on this area.
• Why GTO was different from its competitors. Implemented by certified practitioners, the GTO program
serves a wide age range of girls and young women (aged 13–22), and offers mindfulness skills to help
with test preparation, as well as career counselling in high schools and colleges.
•
•
The Case Solution Starts From page 5
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pl
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EXHIBIT -2: GTO’S STAKEHOLDERS AND VALUE EXCHANGE
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Stakeholder Provides Receives
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Students (users of • Support and encouragement for • Education and information
GTO’s services) individuals affected by mental health • Friendships and socialization
issues • Sense of purpose and belonging
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• More awareness of the issues • Psychological support
• Reinforcement of the strength and • Sense of belonging
So
power of GTO’s community • Improved academic performance
Collaborators (medical • Mental health experts provide •
professionals, specialist knowledge
psychologists, •
instructors, educators)
•
The Case Solution Starts From page 5
CONCEPT AND ADOPTION STRATEGIES CASE STUDY
SOLUTION
e
pl
m
Sa
SYNOPSIS
In September 2022, inspired by personal experiences, marketing executive Nicole Bezinski decided to set
up GirlsTakeOver.org (GTO) after recognizing that teenage girls and young women in high schools and
n
colleges in the USA were lacking coping mechanisms to help them manage increased stress and
performance pressures. While schools received numerous new education program ideas annually, they were
tio
highly selective about which programs met the stringent criteria and were accepted. Consequently, Bezinski
found herself with the challenge of proving that non-profit GTO offered students the self-management and
coping benefits they needed. A high-impact proof-of-concept model was critical for GTO to receive serious
lu
consideration and acceptance by schools. Acceptance would lead to support, advocacy, and critical financial
sponsorship from numerous stakeholders to enable GTO to launch and run operations in the first year.
So
Bezinski had to finalize her proposal including the proof of concept before schools began accepting new
education program applications.
OBJECTIVES
• explore the opportunities and challenges specific to non-profit organizations that strive to exist, expand,
and grow in terms of revenues and programs;
• define new product and service adoption and diffusion tactics that offer proof of concept to various
stakeholder groups;
The Case Solution Starts From page 5
,ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS
1. Why was GTO set up and what problem was it designed to solve? What sets GTO’s mindfulness
education product apart from its competitors’ products?
2. Determine which factors would influence GTO’s rate of market adoption and diffusion. Consider
relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability.
3. What are the specific opportunities and challenges for GTO?
4. Who were GTO’s internal and external stakeholders? What did GTO provide and receive from each of
these stakeholders?
e
5. What strategy and proof-of-concept tactics should GTO consider to secure sustainable short- and long-
term financial support?
pl
6. Optional: Recommend a draft plan for early outreach to potential investors and program participants
for GTO to effectively communicate its concept and to gain support and enlistment.
m
Sa
n
tio
lu
So
2
The Case Solution Starts From page 5
, e
pl
m
Sa
n
tio
ANALYSIS
lu
1. Why was GTO set up and what problem was it designed to solve? What sets GTO’s mindfulness
education product apart from its competitors’ products?
So
This assignment question serves to focus the class on GTO’s mission, which may at first seem to students
as straightforward as “doing good” in the school system. It is a complex issue, with the need to prove that
the GTO concept is valuable in overcoming direct and indirect competition while offering free services.
From the case information, students will identify that GTO is a non-profit organization founded to help
girls and young women in high schools and colleges by equipping them with the necessary coping skills to
aid them in their academic performance and in making career choices.
• Why GTO was set up. GTO was founded by Bezinski based on the scientific evidence that mindfulness
and meditation could have a positive effect on mental health. At the same time, there were many other
non-profits also focused on this area.
• Why GTO was different from its competitors. Implemented by certified practitioners, the GTO program
serves a wide age range of girls and young women (aged 13–22), and offers mindfulness skills to help
with test preparation, as well as career counselling in high schools and colleges.
•
•
The Case Solution Starts From page 5
, e
pl
m
Sa
EXHIBIT -2: GTO’S STAKEHOLDERS AND VALUE EXCHANGE
n
Stakeholder Provides Receives
tio
Students (users of • Support and encouragement for • Education and information
GTO’s services) individuals affected by mental health • Friendships and socialization
issues • Sense of purpose and belonging
lu
• More awareness of the issues • Psychological support
• Reinforcement of the strength and • Sense of belonging
So
power of GTO’s community • Improved academic performance
Collaborators (medical • Mental health experts provide •
professionals, specialist knowledge
psychologists, •
instructors, educators)
•
The Case Solution Starts From page 5
