2020 Reflections Part 1

While each day lately seems to bring us closer to normalcy, it still feels necessary to take stock of the unpaved road over which we have traveled these last 16 months. Indeed it has been both a profoundly personal and professional journey for the Prosono family. As a young company in early 2020, we faced an existential crisis brought on by the pandemic. With the shutdown of the economy, we had obstacles that seemed insurmountable. Resources and working capital were depleted, our sales pipeline had evaporated, and our runway truncated to five weeks. The tireless work of establishing a model that could sustain our growth and impact became seemingly irrelevant overnight. And perhaps, most frustrating was the realization that as a social impact company, we were somewhat powerless to assist the critical community needs which were piling up all around us.

Despite the uncertainties of such a turbulent time, we knew that as a company we needed to play an active role in getting both society and the economy moving forward. Our decision to pivot and invest our efforts in COVID response by way of Energize Colorado provided business guidance and mentorship to over 1500 small businesses that confronted the economic shutdown of COVID, and to develop the Energize Colorado Gap Fund, were exemplary achievements. We achieved purpose while further establishing our profile and showcasing our extraordinary capacity to act. Supporting educational efforts, helping Colorado Inclusive Economy for example, was also an example of impactful work. And still, we did more when we shifted our efforts to creating digital marketing campaigns, promoting hyper-relevant tools.

Prosono, by definition, means “Let your purpose echo.” As we continued to navigate our survival and worth, we followed the echo of a relationship that we once explored regarding another company in the social impact space. Our recent acquisition of Vantage Evaluation, and its team of talented, humble, and hardworking professionals, allows us to pursue our work and provides a plan to evaluate and understand what differences are effected as a result of our efforts. By adding evaluation to complement our strategic planning and program/product development capabilities, our business just started to make more sense.  It provides a fuller picture when we evaluate our own business structure, and it provides our client with a greater scope of productivity. In a time when nothing seemed to make much sense, Prosono exhibited agility, resiliency, and heart and came together with a new, stronger vision. Today, we can celebrate record breaking growth and look forward to helping organizations unlock their social impact potential with the same level of agility and purpose that has shaped us as an organization.