Sowen

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Executive Director & Founder of FREEST

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We propel student activation to fight human trafficking through collective organizing around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Sowen to accomplish?

• Streamline our work in order to create an effective nonprofit organization
• Create metrics
• Refine mission, vision, purpose thus to have a through line within our organization from mission to defining and measuring impact.
• Funding strategy

SOLUTION

How did you find Sowen?

Referral

Why did you select Sowen over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Sowen were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Sowen is working with us to refine our mission, values and purpose, in order to help us create a sustainable business model that will be able to define and measure impact for our nonprofit. We have been raising awareness about human trafficking in schools for years, have a growing network of students and educators from around the world that we advise on how to organize in their communities. 

We only just recently received our 501c3 and we really needed help figuring out how to measure impact, and how to show funders what we are doing is different, valuable, and urgent. We needed some help streamlining the work we had come up with to do while working towards launching products for exhibiting at a conference in Asia. Sowen has managed to do this work for us in an efficient few months through thorough competitive analysis, brainstorming sessions, workshops, and bi-weekly virtual meetings. 

They gave us a scope of work that included a timeline from 16-22 weeks through a 5-phase project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

To date, the competitive/landscape analysis that shows what we are doing really fills a void in our field, and refining our mission and values have been the most important progress which is giving us the through line we needed to propel us forward with a business model and how to measure impact for our organization.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They are not only timely but fast and efficient. We receive calendar invites the day of or after our meeting, in order to prepare for the next one. We get summaries of our work right after our calls. They have an incredibly helpful live document that summarizes each working session. Sowen's 80-page report showing where we needed to go was clear, well-written, and really showed they listened and heard everything we had to say in each and every session. 

They are brilliant at listening to what we want, what we have done, and where we want to go, summarizing, and then helping guide us to the next step. They are always prompt in email response, and flexible when we need to push a meeting when possible.

What was your primary form of communication with Sowen?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Honestly, the fact that we feel heard makes the process of working with them seamless. They are thorough and caring and want to help, and they do not waste a minute of anyone's time. They ask hard questions and give honest feedback. Their working style complements mine perfectly and they inspire me to keep pushing through and making our work the best it can be. 

I am impressed with the report they created, mentioned early, and how quickly they were able to turn around a thorough scope of work that includes 5 phases over 16-22 weeks. They have a clear vision of what needs to be done, after listening to us so attentively.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Sowen could have done differently?

Up to this point, I have nothing to critique. They are lovely to work with and we are learning so much from this process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the deputy chief equity officer for One Atlanta: Mayor’s Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion. Our goal is to create an affordable, resilient, and equitable Atlanta. We provide programmatic services and address policy system changes to ensure that everyone receives what they need to thrive in the city.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sowen?

Sowen came on board to support our office and provide guidance around strategic planning and structural development around data and impact. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, we had a conversation with Ori (Founder & Managing Partner) about how we could establish ways to engage their team on an ongoing basis. We wanted to set a cadence for their team to meet and talk about the work we were doing. 

At present, Sowen supports our senior leadership team in identifying indicators for performance and telling the story of our work. Ori also supports us in a variety of ways. He helps us take a holistic look at our job so we can communicate it better with our target audience. For context, our job is so nuanced, complex, and dynamic, and Ori works to internalize that and tell it back to us in a clear and sensical way. 

For instance, we’ve been participating in vaccinations and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic because it needs to be done. We want to make sure everyone has access to our services. As part of his work, Ori has seen something else: he’s told us that we’re doing something more — we were addressing vaccine hesitancy and all key aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact. Overall, Sowen’s work is to shape our story and the lessons we’ve learned. 

What is the team composition?

We mainly work with Ori. 

How did you come to work with Sowen?

Sowen was already supporting our office when I came on board. Meanwhile, my first interaction with Ori was great because we were on the same wavelength. We understood the premise, purpose, and importance of our work. He was dynamic in his communication and willing to ask tough questions to get us where we needed to go, so we continued working with them. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working in January 2018, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Sowen has helped us get to a place where we can look at the indicators of our work’s impact. In simple words, they’ve helped us recognize the importance of our work so we can also measure it. That’s the greatest feedback I can give.

How did Sowen perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is great. I truly appreciate the fact that I can pick up the phone and call Ori to ask for his thoughts. He’s always been so responsive and helpful to me and our team. Overall, Ori and Sowen have helped us look at our work with a critical eye to tell our story in a better way.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They can easily synthesize the information we give them and make sense of it. They then return it to us in a concrete and concise way, and that stands out the most about them. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sowen should continue doing their work using an equity-focused approach. They've been doing that, but they should take a step further and center their activities around equity. I also give this suggestion to any other provider since I’m an equity strategist. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

First, work with Sowen. Then, be prepared because they’ll ask you tough questions — you’ll get great results in the end. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a philanthropic nonprofit civic consulting firm that works closely with cities and mayors around the world. Our goal is to help these clients improve the quality of life for their residents in a variety of subject matter areas. My role is chief of staff and head of communications and internal management practice.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sowen?

We work with Sowen in a lot of ways, and they’ve been an incredibly valuable partner in helping us get cities smarter around data. Cities are struggling to wrap their arms around data and what it means to use data strategically. 

We want to help cities move away from simply counting metrics and into looking at KPIs that are more qualitative — the goal being to help cities make real change in the world when they track numbers. For example, is picking up 8,000 garbage bags a day a good thing? Or should the goal actually be to reduce the number of garbage bags being produced in the first place?

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Sowen initially worked with us on tourism but has since expanded into multiple areas. Their biggest value-add is their role in consulting and strategy development. The team has an incredibly adept touch when working with clients, and they’re able to boil complicated problems and theories down to a level where anyone can understand what’s being accomplished.

What is the team composition? 

I mainly work with two: Ori (Founder & Managing Partner) and Matt (Business Data Analyst). 

How did you come to work with Sowen?

We were familiar with Ori through other business contacts and brought him on for a specific project related to tourism development. I believe we were actually one of Ori’s first clients. The dedication, effort, and care that he put in were above reproach and incredibly genuine. Not to mention, the value-add was tremendous.

From there, we continued to build a strong rapport and working relationship while expanding the practice. We’d never even considered going with a bigger firm for the type of work that we did. We really needed to be able to go in and support cities at any time of the day or week, which often meant holding these cities’ hands. Having someone like Ori who was nimble and available 24/7 was a game-changer.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since March 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Sowen’s ability to work with people and their personal touch are huge differentiating factors from any other firm we’ve worked with. Our clients absolutely love working with Ori and his team. He’s developed incredibly close relationships, and, in turn, we’ve been able to expand Sowen’s portfolio items across multiple disciplines. That just speaks to the word-of-mouth good experiences people have had working with Ori and wanting to bring him to the table.

How did Sowen perform from a project management standpoint?

Ori and I speak on a weekly basis. It’s a simple check-in call where he provides an overview of the top-level items we need to discuss before breaking down his activities more thoroughly. I’m in charge of working with him to plan out our requests, determining which items fit under our contract structure and available hours. He and I then prioritize the tasks from there, coming up with a moving schedule as to what to do, when, and where. 

In terms of Ori’s approach when engaging clients or other teams, it depends on the case. In some instances, he uses a very thorough tracking system so that he can understand all of the different moving parts. Others might require him to be in more of a support role, so he’ll need to adapt to the team or client’s style. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Obviously, having a good product is top of mind for us because we want our output to be strong. Ori and his team receive high praise from both the client and internal sides.

Besides that, I really appreciate having Ori there as a thought partner. Instead of just executing on X, Y, and Z, Ori will press on if that actually answers the question I think I’m looking for or point out that maybe we need to do A, B, and C first. We’re then able to go back and forth to talk things out. 

I very much value the ability to just go to Ori with an idea and think it through to figure out what a path to victory looks like. He’s good at pivoting when he sees that I want to go in a different direction, and he can articulate a new vision for a project. A lot of times, I find myself adapting my approach to his suggestions. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Ori’s very ambitious, which is a good thing. However, sometimes it can feel like we’re getting ahead of our skis a bit because he’s noticing a bigger-picture problem that our solution might not fully address. 

When that happens, I have to remind him that, in our line of work, we’re sometimes dealing with clients who have limited technical expertise or are under-staffed/budgeted. There may be an ideal solution, but we occasionally have to be adaptive and go with a B+ idea rather than going for the A. It’s been a learning curve for Ori to not let “great” be the enemy of “good,” but he’s gotten better at understanding that and pivoting. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Check your ego at the door and be willing to have an open conversation. As I've said, what I value the most in our engagement is their brainstorming and thought partnership piece. If you’re rigid in your approach, Ori can still get the job done well. However, coming in with preconceived notions of what the solution is might not lead you to the most effective answer — you might not be tapping into Sowen’s secret sauce.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the European programs manager for a regional semi-government organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sowen?

We wanted to improve the way we communicate with businesses because they struggled to engage with us online. We act more as a repository of support information, and a lot of the information on our website wasn’t clear enough, so we needed to revise our message and redesign our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had some strategy sessions with Sowen where they took time to understand our business and target audience. We designed a long-term strategy in which they put our vision into an action plan and established the changes and future development we needed to do.

For the implementation phase, they were responsible for procuring new web developers, providing the design, and seeing the project to its completion. The website they delivered was a CRM system that allowed us to manage our beneficiaries. We launched it in September 2020.

What is the team composition?

I worked with one person from their team.

How did you come to work with Sowen?

We found them through another company that provides pro bono consultants to cities around the world.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent £100,000 (approximately $141,800 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2019, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Members of the team and other colleagues gave us very positive feedback. We saw a 300% increase in traffic coming to the website.

How did Sowen perform from a project management standpoint?

They didn’t do project management, but they supported it on our side. We communicated through email and phone and had meetings face-to-face. When we didn’t have the time or capacity to do something, they stepped in and helped us out.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They felt like they were part of our team and not just consultants, so it was easy to engage with them. They encouraged us to take risks and pushed us to places we hadn’t been before.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. There’s nothing I’d have them improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Prepare to have fun, work hard, and explore new avenues based on their recommendations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I worked at the City of Houston mayor’s office as an assistant director for one of his signature initiatives.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sowen?

We hired Sowen to help us uplift certain communities outlined with a specific plan. As the fourth largest city in the country, we made sure the plan was equitable. We also wanted to make sure the communities had the right resources, amenities, and opportunities as other areas of the city.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Sowen structured, organized, and put a plan together with timelines and stages for the ideas we wanted to accomplish. They helped us think through how to engage the stakeholders and how to use data and systems. 

Sowen approached the project by working with the management and leadership team. They worked hard to engage our leadership and got buy-in, so when they instituted a process, they could get the people needed on board, including our internal departments — we relied on them heavily to execute on work.

Sowen also occasionally did workshops and walked us through them. The workshops were based on what they’d do and where they’d go. We didn’t necessarily redo it in the same way, but we were able to carry it on. It was more sustainable.

What is the team composition?

Ori (Founder &CEO) was our main point of contact. He was the one who led the workshop as well.

How did you come to work with Sowen?

We were engaged with Bloomberg Associates, and they were working with Sowen. Bloomberg brought them on board to help us. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from January 2018–November 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Sowen developed a survey on the satisfaction and effectiveness of the tool they implemented for us. By way of that success or not, and how effective the tool is, I would give Sowen a lot of credit because they rolled it out as far as the plan went.

I couldn’t imagine starting that role without Sowen’s involvement. Imagine joining a new company with them on board to help bounce ideas and have a space that allows you to think through an approach, strategies, and trust. The feedback would come back to you with the agenda of, “We wanted this to work and be successful.” We were on the same page, and that was a beautiful partnership for our team.

How did Sowen perform from a project management standpoint?

We had a structured meeting cadence, and it was great. We could also communicate by emails any time along the way. There were takeaways every time we had a call. Ori was very structured, consistent, and clear. He made sure we went step by step and kept moving forward and progressing. 

We didn’t necessarily use a tool between us to help manage the project. It was mainly having the structure and the approach to make sure we were on point and track.That was incredibly valuable at a time when we had multiple competing priorities, especially coming at a high level.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We kept the partnership with Sowen because they had a unique and incredible balance of how to use data, beyond the numbers and the concrete approach to solve problems. They also knew how to apply it in a real-world environment with nuances of personalities, different communities, and leadership and management challenges. 

The way Sowen executed actions and found solutions with people and stakeholders combined with the data they’d use was practical. That’s something that added value to them and stood out. The blended understanding and Ori’s leadership through it were the key to moving forward. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

The comment I would say is not in Sowen’s hands. I think we could have been more strategic to effectively use their time and the opportunity.

Any advice for potential customers?

I recommend being more deliberate in your engagement with Sowen and making sure leadership is strongly engaged and bought-in to drive that desire to work with a company like Sowen.