By Tony Sheldon
As a social enterprise moves beyond its start-up phase, there is good news and bad news – and it is the same: the challenges you face in launching your enterprise will continue to be the challenges you face in managing and growing it. Certainly the challenges evolve, and the specifics change, but you will continue to grapple with the same underlying issues: financing, staffing, profitability and impact. » Continue reading “Beyond Start-Up”
Early on at the Sankalp Forum 2011 one of the 600-odd attendees told me that the event’s buzzword would likely be “ecosystem”. It turned out to be a pretty apt observation. From the crowded hallways to the beanbags in the networking lounge, ecosystem creation was certainly on people’s minds.
The event kicked off with Sam Pitroda, Chairman, National Innovation Council, video-conferencing in from Chicago and continued to include panels about scale, impact investing, government and each of the five Sankalp sectors: education; technology for development; health, water and sanitation; clean energy and agriculture, food and rural business. » Continue reading “Sankalp Forum: Building the Socent Ecosystem”
Dear Reader,
A couple of years ago, I had what I thought was a really great idea that could make the lives of Mumbai’s slum dwellers much better. The problem was I had no clue where to even get started, and I suspect there are some among you who have been through that.
In this issue we examine the most common problems that social entrepreneurs face at the start-up phase of their business. In our cover story, Nisha Kumar Kulkarni uses global examples to examine some of the most common challenges to social impact start-ups worldwide, primary among them being funding.
In an interview, Ben Powell, the Founder and Managing Partner of impact investment firm Agora Partnerships, tells Abby Callard what kind of entrepreneur and business models impact investors typically look for. » Continue reading “Guide to Starting Up”
This story originally appeared in our May 5th, 2011 e-magazine. Click here to subscribe
“On the Way to the Rural Market” by Mohammad Rakibul Hasan
Send your submissions to ideas@beyondprofit.com
This story originally appeared in our May 5, 2011 e-magazine. Click here to subscribe.
Entrepreneurs face common challenges to growing an idea into a profitable enterprise. Three successful social entrepreneurs offer their insights to Beyond Profit.
Social entrepreneurs are not very different from their counterparts in the business world when it comes to the challenges of starting, running and sustaining a business. However, when one’s business depends on offering solutions to a social problem in a profitable and sustainable manner, the question of identifying the problem is only half the battle. The other half is understanding the right product or service to take to the bottom of the pyramid (BoP). Before entering a market with a new offering, an entrepreneur should then have a clear understanding of which institutions are in place and which are missing, and how successful – determined by profitability – will the business model be. » Continue reading “Igniting the Spark”
This story originally appeared in our May 5, 2011 e-magazine. Click here to subscribe.
Incubators and accelerators can assist start-up social entrepreneurs to make key connections, raise funds and get great advice. We look at five programs that provide these tools.
1. Echoing Green (Global)
An incubator for founders of start-up organizations, this two-year fellowship provides a grant of US$60,000 (INR 2.7m) for individuals and US$90,000 (INR 3.9m) for two-person partnerships that is paid in four equal installments over two years. The fellowship also includes stipends for health insurance and professional development. » Continue reading “How to Incubate the Impact”
This story originally appeared in our May 5, 2011 e-magazine. Click here to subscribe.
Ben Powell, the Founder and Managing Partner of Agora Partnerships, an impact investment firm that works with early stage companies, reveals how to get the attention of impact investors.
What do you look for in an investee?
The number one thing that we look for is someone who, in our view, is an impact entrepreneur. We really look to see if the entrepreneurs truly are trying to create shared value with their businesses. We are looking at a set of values and attitudes about the role of business in society and a real commitment to creating a company that will very deliberately solve social and environmental problems while also generating a profit that can be used to grow the company and to reward investors. » Continue reading “What Investors Want”
This story originally appeared in our May 5, 2011 e-magazine. Click here to subscribe.
Choosing to be for-profit or not-for-profit can be a hard decision. We provide a primer on the different types of legal entities in India for social enterprises.
Whether to register your company as a not-for-profit or a for-profit is often a source of worry. To help entrepreneurs with the initial thinking, here’s a primer on the different types of for-profit and not-for-profit entities in India.
Ravistan Anthony, the finance manager at UnLtd India, offers workshops on legal entities at the Bombay Hub. He says it’s important for entrepreneurs to make the final decision and for it to be based on the company’s mission. » Continue reading “Legal Identities”
This story originally appeared in our May 5th, 2011 e-magazine. Click here to subscribe
An innovative education model in Bhopal shows one way to give poor urban children access to a quality education.
The Organization for Awareness of Integrated Social Security (OASiS) is a social innovations lab in India where people can experiment with ideas on social development and ultimately become social entrepreneurs. Since its inception in 2003, OASiS has developed five social innovations: a social security system, an insurance system for the disabled, a social credit system, a forest village integrated development model and an education model for the children of urban slums called the Museum School. » Continue reading “The Museum School”
This story originally appeared in our May 5, 2011 e-magazine. Click here to subscribe.
Cameron Burgess, a sustainable venture strategist, offers a simple structure for how to set up a social enterprise for success.
I’m fortunate to have been working with changemakers for more than 15 years. It’s inspiring, humbling and frequently frustrating work.
Frustrating because I’ve watched great ideas succeed – for a time – before failing and watched others never get past the drawing board. Frustrating because every venture that fails takes time, money and energy away from others – and in doing so reduces the impact on social and environmental conditions that urgently need changing. I’ve said on many occasions that “if you’re not going to do it right, go and do it for someone that is.” It’s the reason I’m a sustainable venture strategist. It’s the reason we founded w1sd0m.net. » Continue reading “Structuring for Success”
