What does the future hold for social entrepreneurship? UnLtd, a foundation for social entrepreneurs, is known for its broad definition of who those social entrepreneurs are: people who lead positive change in society or the environment. Cliff Prior, CEO of UnLtd, shared his views with the Associates, culminating with the 4 biggest debates in sector:
Is a social entrepreneur defined by the act of starting a social enterprise?
According to UnLtd, this approach is too narrow! What about those people who start social businesses or at the other end of the spectrum, community organisations. How about people starting social projects within other organizations? Or projects which do not classify as enterprises? Should they necessarily be excluded from the term ‘social entrepreneur’? This is about people being entrepreneurial for social value, everything else is a detail.
What legal structure is best?
Some think that it is better to make stuff happen as quickly as possible and favour using equity-sharing companies to generate the most impact in the shortest time. A second view is that an asset-lock is essential in ensuring that no person privately gains from the existence of social ventures. A third view explores the question of beneficiary ownership of the entity (most commonly seen in the co-operative model). UnLtd’s view is to be open! People will choose the right model for their purpose. Often, equity investment is necessary to achieve scale.
Is scaling UP or OUT better?
Scaling up through franchising and replicating social ventures may prove the way of the future, but we need to also consider moving towards a “scaling out” model where a lot of passionate people do a lot of little things to sustain working models of social enterprise.
Should great innovators be more highly regarded than replicators of innovation?
Some schools of thought truly believe that a core element in the definition of a social entrepreneur is the proven ability to innovate and in so doing, change the terms of the sector and society. However those who replicate innovation manage to take those ideas and carry them out more efficiently. They represent that small group of people who make things happen as opposed to just thinking about them.
Cliff also spoke to us about the funding options available for early-stage projects. UnLtd’s funding program resembles a pyramid, providing small grants to many people, and only backing a few of the best ones with large sums and in-kind support. Other organizations follow the incubator type model of funding, picking a few people as potential high flyers and focusing intensive support on them as a cohort.
Cliff left us with a few words of inspiration for the budding social entrepreneurs in the room: Have a lean design, learn from your competitors, and don’t wait until you’re ready because you never will be.
