This replication model is very similar to a social franchising model - a structured form of transfer and replication of knowledge and experience of successful cases of organizations, applying the principles of commercial franchising to promote the common good and generate social impact. When founding your SPEAK you will be joining our network and are entitled to be part of the decision-making as well as all strategic conversations – we will shape the future of SPEAK together. 

Commercial franchising aims at profit, and social franchising, while creating employment and wages, is aimed at social impact.

There are things you will learn on the process of becoming a SPEAK city founder. But long story short these are key to know:

• Location: Your city need to check the following: diversity is a reality; there are migration flows (and >= 6% of international citizens); is a mid-to-large market size including mid-to-high GDP per capita and mid-to-large population conditions; indicates potential for revenue generation and overall business sustainability;
• Commitment: Make sure you are ready for this. It is hard work. Entrepreneurs sometimes ask why they do what they do. The process of setting up a SPEAK is intensive, and you need to be willing to commit between 2-5 years. It will be fun and meaningful but best parts of life come always with a little bit of struggle, right? 
• Partners: Find partners early on. We have two types of partners: 1) Space partners - offer space for events and language groups; and 2) Communication partners - communicate SPEAK to a specific  audience. They are both key for the success of your SPEAK. Example of current partners: libraries, city halls, pubs, corporations, charities, universities, schools and much more.  
• Team: You should have a team. You will need help and you will increase probability of success if your founding team has at least 2 persons. Yes you can start alone but experience shows it is painful.If you are 2 or 3 it is mandatory that everyone commits fulltime.
  
• Funding: The goal is that each SPEAK becomes financially sustainable as an independent venture. But to commit fulltime in the beginning you will need funding. The funding strategy varies from grants, loans, crowdfunding, equity, to friends and family.  
• Legal Structure: It is better that you establish a social enterprise (if applicable in your country) or NGO and that your founding team is in full control of your SPEAK. Having said that, there are other ways to start.  

We need to constantly innovate to provide the best experience for our community and at the same time be financially sustainable. These are the revenue streams you will see across different SPEAKs:

• A typical B2C revenue stream from applications from participants in your city. You have access though SPEAK technology to data about applications and revenue in real-time;
• A B2B revenue stream that consists in selling packs of applications to different organizations;
• Donations by individuals or organizations (private companies, foundations);
• Awards;
• Sponsorships / Advertising.

During the onboarding process, your team will participate in an 8-hour training program that covers all the areas of running SPEAK, plus access to materials that detail all our internal procedures and to the platforms that we use to get in touch with our community and manage our backoffice. In addition to that, your team will have regular calls with our team to assist you with any questions you might have, during and after the onboarding process.

After the selection process, teams usually take four months to build the structure needed to open the first language groups and events in their city. The operations during the first 4 months focus on building partnerships, recruiting/training volunteers and marketing.

Sure. We are here all the way to support you and you can always reach out to us via info@speak.social