As some of you may know I was a Reuters Digital Vision Fellow at Stanford University and have an interest in “social entrepreneurship” . I also have an interest in ideas that start small but can become very big. I call these “elephants”. In the social area I am interested in “social elephants”.
For “not for profit companies” VC type equity and employee stock options do not work because there are no exits ( acquisition or IPO). However, “patient capital” and “outcome based bonuses” offer what look to me to be interesting ways to breed “social elephants”.
If anyone reading this has a success story where a “social elephant” is being incubated or has reached maturity I would love to hear about it.
I am working with one social entrepreneur in Delhi trying to use these concepts but it has been a rocky road so far. I am happy to share this experience with persons/ institutions who let me know why they would like to get details.
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Sanjay,
Check us out at http://www.vaatsalya.com. We just got funding from Aavishkaar, a Micro Venture Capital Fund in Bombay
Sanjay check us:
http://himachal.us/
and
http://www.myhimachal.com/
I can send you more details about what we are planning to do and what kind of network, reach and potential we already have. We have an excellent team of professionals from different backgrounds.
SKS Microfinance
Gaurav,
I for one view most large “for profit” companies as ventures that help society a lot. FINO incorporated as a “for profit” company with the social mission being very important probably because they wanted to avoid some of the baggage that comes alongwith being a “not for profit”.
Foundations have a lot of money. Accessing that pool of capital is not possible for “for profit” companies though even that may change. It is early days yet but my bet and hope is that these foundations will provide “patient capital” and grants very much like VC’s do for “for profit” companies.
In summary you are right. There is a thin line between social and regular entrepreneurship. A lot of people believe that social entrepreneurship is an oxy moron and that the blended concept I am advocating is utter rubbish. I also believe that if Foundations could deploy their capital with “for profit” companies then the need for these complex blended structures goes away.
I am not an academic. I think simply and often have little data to back my views. There are problems to be solved and there is money to solve them. An entrepreneur should take whatever path works. I think that lot of people admit that the current systems to alleviate poverty etc. have not worked and the search for better ways continues.
I did try and try and drum up interest for someone like Omidyar or Bill & Melinda Gates foundations to create the equivalent of Kleiner Perkins for the social world but with little success. Lot of smoke but no fire.
I have always been confused with the definition of Social Entrepreneurship. Can you clarify certain doubts for me. Are for-profit companies also part of social entrepreneurial ventures? Would you say HLL iShakti and ITC e-choupal are such ventures? Is FINO such a venture? I assume there is a very thin line that seggregates social ventures from capitalist ventures (if capitalist can be classified as a opposite of social)
Is possible, can you define social entrepreneurship for Indian scenarios?
Regards,
Gaurav Agarwal