PGE Playbook

Part I. Guide for facilitators

Practical guidance for running the incubator program.

Foreword for facilitators

This playbook is meant to help facilitators run their own Post Growth Entrepreneurship (PGE) Incubator, for founders of financially Non-Extractive Organizations.

This PGE Incubator playbook is set out as follows: in Part I there are practical guides for the facilitator. Part II details the content to be covered in the incubation sessions, in a suggested chronological order, with links to video examples of this content. Part III gives suggested activities that correspond to the content in Part II, and includes video examples of the exercises for the facilitator. Slides that can be used for both Part II and Part III are found in the appendix.

Program structure options

Different cohorts need different pacing. These cards summarize the main delivery formats so facilitators can choose what best fits their participants.

In person incubator

Run as a week-long intensive, in person. Each day covers theory and practice sessions, with group discussions and collaborative exercises. Best for building strong cohort bonds.

Remote combined

Fully remote. Theory and practice are covered in the same weekly session. After covering a concept, participants immediately do the corresponding activity together online.

Remote separated

Remote, but theory and practice are separated into distinct sessions. Participants watch theory videos or attend webinars, then join a separate practical workshop to do the exercises.

Group formation & mentorship

One-on-one peer feedback is a core component of the incubator — participants are paired or grouped to review each other's work throughout the program. Refer to the full group formation guidelines for detailed instructions:

learning circles — group formation guidelines

Mentorship During the Incubator

Mentors can be experienced entrepreneurs, subject matter experts, past program participants, or the facilitator themselves. They provide personalised, one-on-one guidance and tailored advice to participants. We recommend scheduling at least one structured mentor check-in per participant during the program.

Part II: The Playbook

Theory content and session guides for each topic.

Introduction session

Start the incubator by welcoming everyone. State the session goals and introduce the facilitators (and mentors, if they are present). Ensure that participants have a clear understanding of what the incubator will cover and what is expected of them throughout the program.

Welcome participants and state session goals.
Introduce the facilitators (and mentors if present).
Ask participants to introduce themselves — see the Introduction Exercise in Part III.

About the PGE Incubator

The PGE Incubator is a community of entrepreneurs proving that not only is there an alternative to the dominant paradigm of hyper-growth at all costs, but that this alternative can be advantageous.

Our focus is on financially Non-Extractive Organizations — businesses that are financially sustainable while also being socially and environmentally responsible. The incubator helps participants articulate their unique competitive advantages and reframe their relationship with growth.

Alternative Exist

There are many examples of businesses that have succeeded without hyper-growth: companies that stayed small and local; cooperatives; social enterprises that grew at a slow and controlled pace. These are the kinds of businesses we celebrate and support.

The Competitive Edge of Non-Extractive Business

Fair labor practices; environmental sustainability; building in deep collaboration with the community. These are not just values — they are strategic advantages that attract loyal customers, motivated employees, and long-term resilience.

Rethinking Growth

Frame growth as one factor among many — not the primary objective. Discuss what meaningful growth looks like, the dangers of reckless growth, and the concrete alternatives to growth-at-all-costs thinking.

The Artist's Way

Based on Julia Cameron's book The Artist's Way, we borrow two creative practices and apply them to entrepreneurship. These are tools for unblocking creativity, building self-awareness, and sustaining the mental energy required to run a business:

Morning pages

Write 3 pages of stream-of-consciousness text each morning. Clears mental clutter, unearths ideas and concerns. A helpful daily exercise to process learning and self-coach through challenges.

Artist's date

Take yourself somewhere fun and inspiring once a week, alone — a museum, a new park, anywhere. Replenishes creativity and prevents burnout.

For additional personal growth and PGE theory reading:

Reading list

Sustainable Business Model Canvas (SBMC)

The Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a one-page overview of a business model. The PGE Incubator uses a Sustainable Business Model Canvas which adds eco-social costs and benefits.

Not a detailed business plan — an overview.
Quick to fill, easy to adjust, visual map of value creation.
Participants iterate often — it's OK if some sections are blank at first.

SBMC Guide

Facilitator Note

Patagonia Example:

Use Patagonia as a discussion example: "What makes Patagonia's model sustainable?" "How does considering eco-social benefits change strategy?"

Explaining the Sustainable Business Model Canvas

Explained by Chiara YouTube

Mom Testing

Mom testing is an important component of finding your product-market fit. This section is based on the book The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick.

The key idea: when you have an idea for a product or business, you need to talk to customers to validate it — but you have to do it the right way. If you ask people (like your mom) "Do you think this is a good idea?" they will often say yes just to be nice. That doesn't give you real, useful feedback. Instead, ask about their real experiences, problems, and behaviours.

Rules for Discovery Interviews

Mention the goal at the start: you want to hear about their experiences, not pitch an idea.
Ask open-ended, objective questions about their past behaviour and current challenges.
Avoid pitching or describing your solution during the conversation.
Take good notes and look for patterns across multiple conversations.

Mom Testing Principles

Explained by Melanie YouTube

Lean Startup & Minimum Viable Product

To build something impactful, we must start small and concrete. The Lean Startup methodology — from Eric Ries's book of the same name — is about testing your assumptions quickly and efficiently to learn what actually works.

The goal is to build the smallest thing you can (a Minimum Viable Product, or MVP) to start a real feedback loop with customers or users. Don't wait until the product is perfect — get it in front of people as early as possible.

Key principles

Build-Measure-Learn Loop: Build a prototype → measure customer response → learn → repeat.
Validated Learning: Collect data to confirm or reject business assumptions.
Experimentation Mindset: Frame each new feature as an experiment.

Famous examples

Dropbox: Started with just a video demo to gauge interest before building.
Zappos: Bought shoes from stores and shipped them to test online demand before investing in inventory.

Facilitator Note

The Challenge: Ask participants to think of the smallest and fastest MVP they can produce. Remind them that failure is informative.

Lean Startup Overview

Explained by RiccardoYouTube

Bootstrapping

Bootstrapping means building and growing your startup using the resources you have at hand, without significant outside investment.

Bootstrapping doesn't mean doing everything alone — it means being creative, resourceful, and cost-effective. It also fits naturally with the PGE ethos: rather than taking on investment that comes with growth expectations attached, you retain control and can build on your own terms.

Bootstrapping a Product

Break product into smaller products that can be sold first; use those sales to fund the larger product.
Presales using an MVP offering (like Dropbox's video example).
Break into smaller services, provided at a fee, while developing the larger product.

Key Strategy:

Offer a consultancy or manual service related to your product idea. Use the service phase to understand customer needs and finance initial development. Gradually transition as the product becomes viable.

Bootstrapping Collaborations & Employees

Founders can work part time in other jobs to fund their work.
Engage interns or students for short-term projects in exchange for mentorship.
Collaborate with small businesses or projects; consider bartering.

Strategies for Bootstrapping

Explained by MelanieYouTube

Parable of the Stone Soup

The parable of the stone soup: People can be persuaded to contribute to a project if you take initiative and show the potential, even starting with almost nothing. It's possible to build something greater through community and collaboration than you could alone.

Presentation Training

Preparing for Demo Day. Each participant should construct a pitch answering:

Who are you?
What is the high-level issue you're passionate about?
Zoom in on a specific problem you're focusing on.
How is your business the solution?
What's the long term vision?
What concrete small steps will you take?
How can the audience help? (e.g., industry contacts, brainstorming partners, test partners)

General Pitch Advice

Have a succinct pitch.
Understand and connect with the audience. Find common ground.
Most people care about social entrepreneurship and impact.
Don't make it a hard sell — get people to care about what you're doing.
Practice multiple times with the facilitator and fellow participants.
Have a PowerPoint deck reviewed by the facilitator.

Demo Day

The goal: participants explain their business and MVP to a wide audience and ask for help/tips/contacts.

Format & Logistics

~2 hours on Zoom.
Participants encouraged to show up 1 hour early (open Zoom room for chatting and pep talk).
Program begins with intro to Demo Day, the incubator, and a short intro to PGE.
Each participant gives a 5-minute talk/pitch.
After each pitch: 2 minutes for Q&A from the audience + Google Form for feedback.
3 minutes to switch to the next participant.
With ~15 participants: two concurrent streams (two facilitators, one per stream).
After all pitches: small closing by facilitator, then 1 hour of open networking (each participant in their own Zoom breakout room).

Previous Demo Day examples from nonprofit.ventures:

NPV Cohort Page NPV Demo Day

Part III: Suggested Exercises

Practical activities for each session — Plenary, Breakout, and Individual formats.

Activity Format Legend

Plenary

Full group activities. Useful for review, check-ins, check-outs. "Popcorn style" — no forced ordering.

Breakout

Small groups giving each other feedback.

Individual

Completed alone, as homework or during sessions.

Introduction Session

Plenary

2 minutes per person, popcorn style. Each cohort member answers:

Who are you?
What is your company?
What are your challenges?
What do you hope to get out of the PGE Incubator?