Resource:How to promote social entrepreneurship on campus?
Social entrepreneurship is a rapidly growing venture that encourages growing a profitable business while helping others. When speaking with Grant Jacoby about his efforts at the University of Pittsburgh, he emphasized the numerous opportunities that come from social entrepreneurship and the ways in which he promotes it on his campus. Fellows who want to be true agents of change will be able to utilize this guide to promote profitable business ideas which help their school, community, and the world by making impactful emotional, physical, and environmental differences.
Contents
The Message: Social Entrepreneurship
Social entrepreneurship (SE) is a concept that refers to a for-profit company with a central and clear social mission. Although the definition and concept of SE are being shaped continuously, the core belief is to contribute to solving issues in the society while generating profit.
Purely entrepreneurial startups prioritize reaching a high potential for growth in the future in an increasingly competitive environment. In contrast, SE startups prioritize remedying a social, cultural, or environmental issue locally or worldwide, by offering relevant products and services. Companies from their product with a strong goal in mind about what they want to change, making a difference in the lives of others. The possibilites are endless for passionate entrepreneurs who want to benefit people, animals, or the world. For example, companies could work to helping the homeless, conservation the environment, or promote equal rights. Such companies are often more expensive to run because of the considerations that are met, but in the long run they can be more profitable and rewarding for the ownders and for the benefit
Over the last decade, several initiatives have been created to elevate social entrepreneurship initiatives. For instance, B Corps are for-profit companies certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. As of today, there are 2,003 B corps in 50 countries (B lab, 2017). Joining the B corps community enables companies to have access to an extended network of like-minded companies with whom they can share best-practices. The certification also contributes to the company's marketing efforts by attracting customers, prospective employees, and partners who embody similar values.When certain certifications are met, companies can take advantage of tax exemptions that bring it almost to the level of a nonprofit, while being a profitable company.
One such company is Thread, where an acquaintance of Jacoby’s works. The startup is valued very highly but its focus is making clothing out of processed plastic bottles. The clothes are made out of raw material collected from the streets. Plastic bottles are processed in a plant to create fibers that are used to create products. SEEDS is another example of B corps certified SE startups. The company is a green printing company offering environmentally friendly printing services to its customers from initial concept to final delivery and distribution.
Steps to Success
- Define the goal of the company; what problem are you passionate about solving? How you will solve it, and make a profit?
- Find a strong team filled with people who are passionate about the same things you are.
- Build a list of connections and entities with funding and support for startups. Use these resources throughout the process of starting a company. This includes local utility companies with immediate impact grants, innovation centers, and school faculty. Crowdfunding is also a good option; do your research to find the best crowdfunding website for your company have a strong, clear video message, and a conside, well written statement.
- Make a business model. A useful resource is the canvas model, found online here, which can organize stakeholders, costs, team communications, and the business plan.
- Verify value and costs via interviews (100 at least) and focus groups.
- Create a five-year plan for the company, estimating financial gains and social impacts.
- Always be open to collaboration, change, and growing the company for the betterment of society.
- Take advantage of other valuable resources listed here:
- https://www.udacity.com/course/how-to-build-a-startup--ep245
- http://www.innovation.pitt.edu/
- https://unreasonable.is/5-benefits-to-becoming-a-b-corp/
- http://www.seedsgreenprinting.com/
The Method: Campus Promotion
Delviring this message clearly and concisely can have a huge effect on an active campus, and in turn, those who are affected by the SE companies that these students create.
Support
When trying to generate an interest in SE it is important to have people backing not only your SE ideas, but your efforts to bring the concept to others. Hosting events can be a great way to get the word out, but are even more effective if they are backed by someone of importance in the university or a local innovation center. Get professors and deans involved in your ideas and give them something solid to get behind; ask local business to sponsor your events as well. Find faculty that really believe in everything you're doing and wil back you no matter what. People will always want to be a part of positive change and you would be surprised at the amount of university staff willing to help you in your efforts.
Outreach
Try to reach all audiences; don't exclude anyone based on major or college. Everyone has great ideas and bringing together people from all majors and years is an excellent way to network, collaborate, and potentially start a life-changing profitable company. Spread the word using as many means as possible, giving different roles to different team members. As young members of the community, social media is an excellent way to get the word out. Tabling, flyers, and even mass emails are ways of communication that you should take advantage of. Ask the professors who have encouraged your event to spread the word during their classes.
Events and Organizations
Form a campus organization to educate and get people involved in SE. One such organization is Enactus. Take advantage of the opportunities they have to offer by offering contests and hosting conferences and use them to educate your campus. Hold catered talks or pitch competitions with worthwhile prizes. Anything that will get students talking about the possibilities before them and educated about what they can do to make the world a better place is making a difference. Pitch competitions are great because you can bring the problem close to home and have contestants compete to solve a problem on their campus, specifically.
