Solve One Problem: From vision to global impact with Chesca Colloredo-Mansfeld, Co-Founder of MiracleFeet

One in 800 babies are born with clubfoot, a treatable birth impairment that left untreated prevents a child from walking, and becomes the root cause for illiteracy, abuse, malnutrition, and poverty in many parts of the world. Clubfoot is routinely treated at birth in high income countries, but historically children born in low and middle income countries have not had access to quality treatment. Today, co-hosts Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro sit down with Chesca Colloredo-Mansfeld, co-founder of MiracleFeet to hear about how she and her team have dedicated themselves to making a simple, cost-effective treatment for clubfoot available to every baby born with the condition. They are on track to serve 100,000 children later this year with a goal to treat 70% of clubfoot cases in the countries they operate in. We discuss:

• Chesca’s journey from the moment she realized she wanted to get out of the corporate world and discovered a fixable problem she could focus on, including her recent decision to step down as CEO to ensure long-term sustainability of the organization

• How Chesca’s business background helped her take a different approach to building the organization and investing in technology to support its mission

• The art of storytelling for a little known cause focused on dignity and possibility

• How to fundraise from cost-effectiveness focused investors  

• How the thoughtful implementation of a mobile data collection system (CommCare) allowed MiracleFeet’s providers to measure quality, deliver better services, and gather data to support continual fundraising

• How to ensure quality while scaling an intervention

• Pivotal moments in Chesca’s journey including breaking down in tears on a redeye to secure a $1 million grant from Google

• Listening to your intuition and backing it up with rigorous data and analysis

Chapters:

01:26 Welcoming Chesca: The Journey Begins

01:57 Chesca's Backstory: From Global Childhood to Business World

03:55 Discovering a Treatment for Clubfoot: A Life-Changing Moment

05:16 The Birth of MiracleFeet: From Vision to Reality

05:34 Taking the Leap: Transitioning from Corporate to Social Impact

08:59 Building MiracleFeet: Challenges, Fundraising, and Growth

21:08 Reflections on Storytelling, Fundraising, and Instinct

27:19 Expanding Reach and Impact: The Future of MiracleFeet

39:11 Harnessing Technology for Global Health Impact

40:22 Innovative Solutions to Healthcare Challenges

42:57 Empowering Local Teams with Data

46:27 Navigating Founder Transition and Organizational Growth

56:53 Mentoring the Next Generation of Social Entrepreneurs

01:12:37 Reflections on Business Acumen in Nonprofit Success

MiracleFeet: https://www.miraclefeet.org/

MiracleFeet's use of CommCare: https://www.miraclefeet.org/stories/the-tool-that-saved-us-in-2020

Impact Delivery: https://sites.dimagi.com/impact-delivery

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Hosts: ⁠Jonathan Jackson⁠ and ⁠Amie Vaccaro