bus-217: side session – May 3, 2025
Nonprofits and social ventures
Using entrepreneurship to change the world.
AI summary of our side session.
Recording of our side session. Passcode: F%V7.G14
It once was that feeding the hungry, or tending to the poor, was the work of charities – nonprofit organizations that solicited donations and then delivered aid. But in recent years there’s been the growth of “Social Entrepreneurship”, using the power of markets to give more sustainability and scalability to efforts to have social impact. All over the world today, social entrepreneurs are addressing these challenges in innovative new ways, treating base of the pyramid populations as partners in opportunity instead of charity cases.
“Social entrepreneurs identify resources where other people only see problems. They view the villagers as the solution, not the passive beneficiary. They begin with the assumption of competence and unleash resources in the communities they’re serving.”
-David Bornstein
TED talk on “The way we think about charity is dead wrong”.
Main Reading:
Case Studies:
Assignment:
- On the top middle of your Launch Path Canvas is a box that says “Why it matters”. Distill down to once sentence why your startup matters in terms of impact, and write the sentence in that box.
Investor Interview:
- Impact investor Roger Lang talks about his commitment to social and environmental issues. Listen now.