February 14, 2012

job listings

Samasource Year Up Order of St. John Emerge Workplace Solutions READ Global Solidarity Center Acumen Fund IYF Mercy Corps VOICE

 

opportunities

Fletcher Summer Institute Girltank INCORE

 

blogs

Advancing Social Impact Darian Rodriguez Heyman & Laila Brenner CASE on Business Models Cathy Clark & Greg Dees Expert Advice Curtis Chang iOnPoverty Jonathan Lewis Kiva Chronicles Matt Flannery SVT on Impact Sara Olsen Talking Trash Parag Gupta Untangled Jason Clark

 

coming soon

With-Not-For: Amplifying Client Voices in Social Enterprises

Smooth Transitions in Turbulent Times

From Social Entrepreneurship to Cultural Entrepreneurship

Jugaad Innovation

Skoll World Forum 2012

News on The Edge
Welcome to the Social Edge update!

“When I reflect on the past decade, I often joke that our current board of directors would have never approved the plans we used to actually launch our organization,” writes Jeremy Hockenstein, co-founder and CEO of Digital Divide Data.

He now realizes that he has taken countless missteps, which he shares with us today in the hope that we will fix our own organizations. “Acknowledging what we are doing wrong is the first step towards improvement,” he adds.

All social entrepreneurs like to dream big, he reminds us, but they must also remain realistic in their ambitions. After opening their first offices in Cambodia and Laos, it took Digital Divide Data seven years to launch their next one, in Kenya.

He also recommends focusing on a particular subset of people whose life you can really transform, because you can’t possibly help everyone who needs it. But you should also challenge your assumptions, as Daniel Vaverka reminds us in Talking Trash: should Waste Ventures hire stronger males for waste collection rather than female rag pickers?

Hiring ahead of the curve is also crucial. Interns and volunteers may be able to help you get your venture off the ground, but you will quickly need experienced staff to grow. Hire the best talent before you think you need it.

If you could go back in time in your social venture, what would you do differently? What’s the “best” mistake your organization made, the one that you learned the most from? Join Jeremy Hockenstein in the conversation. And share your mistakes and your victories!

Then read Untangled, who reminds us that “if you fail nine out of ten times, you are successful once. So stick with it. With every failure, your odds of succeeding increase exponentially.”

Join this Week's Live Discussions

Mistakes of a Social Entrepreneur
Dream big, but remain realistic. Accept that you can’t help everyone who needs it. Hire ahead of the curve. Jeremy Hockenstein reflects on ten years of mistakes and victories at Digital Divide Data.

Intergenerational Collaboration
Should you intentionally foster intergenerational collaboration? If yes, what skills and perspectives might older social entrepreneurs bring to younger ones –and vice versa? Join the conversation with Alexandra Céspedes Kent, director of The Purpose Prize.

3-D Investing: The Answer to Dysfunctional Capital Markets?
Markets have generally been dominated by two dimensions, financial return and risk, but Rod Schwartz predicts that social impact will soon become the third dimension of all investment decisions. Do you agree?

Social Enterprise: The New Center?
We need to be at the intersection of competitive and cooperative, and build businesses that compete for development and collaborate for success. Charles (hipbone) Cameron wonders: Is social enterprise the new center?

The Breakout Moment
Benefit Corporations. The Innovation Institute. The Unreasonable Institute. The Global Social Benefit Incubator. Various Centers for Social Entrepreneurship... It’s not enough, claims Saul Garlick: we should democratize social entrepreneurship! Do you agree?

Social Entrepreneurship in China
Any serious discussion about the social and environmental challenges we collectively face must take into account China, writes SOW Asia CEO Scott Lawson. So what does social entrepreneurship look like in the Middle Kingdom?

The Power of Mentoring in Social Entrepreneurship
GSBI alumni often refer to its mentoring component as the incubator’s ‘secret sauce.’ Learn from Michael Looney, Ph.D., what attributes a good mentor or coach should have. Then share your mentor success story.

Legal Issues for the Social Entrepreneur
Mark Durham and Charles (hipbone) Cameron explore the legal ramifications of social entrepreneurship. Share with them your key legal issues, and find out what types of legal knowledge would make your organization more effective.

Last-Mile Distribution Models
Most social entrepreneurs must meet the challenge of delivering products and services to remote locations cost-effectively. Eric Carlson and Cynthia Dai share best practices from Global Social Benefit Incubators nominees.

Do you have suggestions for Social Edge or for this newsletter? Send us feedback. You can remove yourself from this list at any time.

Hope to see you on The Edge and on Twitter @socialedge!

Victor d’Allant
@dallant
Executive Director, Social Edge
250 University Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301