Social Enterprise Symposium: Transforming Business for the Global Good
5 – 9 p.m. Thursday, March 25
Frank Auditorium, 1524 Van Munching Hall

Social Entrepreneurship 101

College campuses are often places where dynamic young people try to make a difference in the world. But sometimes one needs a little help in trying to transform a passion into reality. In this discussion, Charles Tsai of Ashoka, the global association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs, gave tips for methods, tools, and resources to successfully jumpstart an idea for social change.

Drawing heavily from examples of entrepreneurial projects that Ashoka has partnered up with, Tsai explained a three step process to “produce a social enterprise that produces.” The initial step would be root cause analysis, basically defining what lies at the heart of the problem. Tsai explained this crucial step in that if it is not met, i.e. the true problem is not identified, the outcome will not be satisfying. Furthermore, once a root cause is identified, its explanation should be simple and concise, argued Tsai.

The next step is outcome measurement. In order for a social enterprise to be successful it needs to measure an outcome to answer the important question: “Does it work?” Tsai explained that the key here is to select the right outcome—that is, something that truly gives an objective measure of the social enterprise’s impact on its targeted consumers. Such diligent evaluations would help with motivation and teamwork within the social enterprise itself.

Tsai said that the third and final step would be to set goals based on one’s assets rather than one’s needs. This is to assure a realistic business plan that can be accomplished. Tsai pointed out that although this might seem limiting, social enterprises have more assets than one would initially think.  A prominent example is social capital, where existing relationships of the enterprise (with people, organizations, etc) are strengthened and new ones are forged.

Tsai concluded his presentation with an allusion to MacGyver, that social entrepreneurs should be innovative and resourceful just like the hero of the popular TV series: “Do what you can with what you have where you are.”  (Jake Bies, Class of 2012)