How could you connect young entrepreneurs across cities and continents, and empower them to energize change around the world? For Sandbox, the answer was to combine the power and intimacy of local bonds with the reach of network effects and decentralized interactions. The organization built individual micro-communities in major cities, then created communication channels to link each hub with all the others. According to Christian Busch, one of the founding members of the global collective, the key to their growth was activating “the power of proxy-trust.” A Sandbox member from Nairobi could connect with a Sandbox member (and stranger) from Beijing directly and deeply, and gain crucial insight into the Beijing ecosystem without going through any central node. Such a collective, he argues, can be more powerful than any individual incubator.
Sandbox is collective effort that represents the work of many individuals from around the world for over a decade. For the purposes of this video, only two members were interviewed.
Educators: Activate a discussion about scaling and purpose in your classroom with a Sandbox case study that delves deeper into the organization’s motives and unique hub structure.
