The Playbook for Non-profit Unicorns
Field tested lessons from India’s high impact organisations
This is the best time to build non-profit unicorns - organisations that impact one million people or 5% of their user base meaningfully.
Young leaders are eager to solve public problems, digital infrastructure is in place, and philanthropy is on the rise. Yet, there’s no clear playbook for scaling non-profit impact - until now.
Based on in-depth research into 30+ non-profit unicorns, this report offers a roadmap to scale impact. It’s built for ambitious founders, funders, and policymakers who want to build the next generation of nonprofit unicorns.
What's inside the report?
Learn from 30+ non-profit unicorns - how they scaled, what worked, and what didn’t.
01
What Makes a Great Founding Team?
Dive into founder backgrounds, ages, and experiences—and discover the common traits of high-performing teams.
03
Which Scale Pathway Is Right for You—Sarkar, Samaaj, or Bazaar?
Government partnerships, grassroots mobilization, or market-based models—uncover the pros, cons, and real-world strategies behind each.
02
How Can Evidence Shape Policy and Public Opinion?
80% of nonprofits in the report published data to influence key stakeholders. How can you use evidence for building salience?
04
How Much Capital Do You Really Need to Scale Meaningfully?
From $150K/year pilot budgets to $10M steady-state programs, we break down how much money non-profits need to build impact at scale.
Request the full playbook
"The Playbook for Non-profit Unicorns" is our flagship report that dives deep into the journeys of 30+ exceptional non-profits that have created meaningful impact at scale.
Through a mix of secondary research and founder interviews, we’ve uncovered actionable insights that address key questions for founders, funders, and advisors:
-
What unfair advantages do founding teams of non-profit unicorns tend to have?
-
What scaling levers did they use—and how?
-
How did they crack their go-to-market strategy?
-
What kind of support did they need in their early years?
This report isn’t just a look back—it’s a practical guide to help the next generation of non-profit leaders scale their vision and impact with confidence.
Team behind this playbook
We are founders & builders with experiences scaling products, startups, and non-profits. More importantly, we want to see more nonprofits creating impact at scale.
News and media appearances
