Social Enterprise Boomtown

Social enterprises are all over India – my adopted home, on and off, for the past three and a half years. But not many people know social enterprises exist because they are not very good at publicizing their work. A bigger problem, perhaps, is that maybe even they don’t always know they exist. As we see time and time again in our conversations, entrepreneurs creating social impact do not always identify themselves as social entrepreneurs.

But this is changing, partly due to the fact that conferences are popping up all over the globe that either focus solely on social entrepreneurship or have sessions/tracks devoted to it. But to my mind, America is still the center of the social enterprise movement. Social enterprise is booming in America, springing to life in San Francisco, New York, Boulder, and Austin.

And Austin, Texas, is where you can find us as a Media Partner for RISE 2010 – a Relationship & Information Series for Entrepreneurs – taking place from March 1 – 5.

In its fourth year, RISE is an annual conference series dedicated to providing a free forum for entrepreneurs to connect and exchange ideas that inspire the entrepreneurial spirit. It is truly for, by, and about entrepreneurs (and expected to draw more than 2,500 entrepreneurs to participate in more than 150 sessions).

Inspired by SXSW, RISE takes place in concurrent sessions created and produced by local entrepreneurs in venues around Greater Austin Intimate. Sessions are free, independently organized, peer-led, limited to 25 participants, and represent a range of topics of interest to entrepreneurs of all sizes in all industries. Lindsay Clinton, our Managing Editor, will be hosting a session on Tuesday morning (March 2) as part of the Social Entrepreneurship track.

Highlights of the 2010 conference:

• Keynotes by Red McCombs and Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS Shoes
• RISE high – Annual business plan competition for area high school students
• RISE Fast Pitch – Early-stage entrepreneurs deliver 60-second pitches to a panel of venture capitalists, angel investors and experienced executives and entrepreneurs
• RISE 2010 will be carbon neutral thanks to Sponsor Green Mountain Energy

We can’t wait!