Alan Gershenfeld Reminds Us That Social Entrepreneurship is Sexy

Posted on March 27, 2008. Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: alan gershenfeld, business, e-line ventures, ice, ice08, interactive content exchange, make money make a difference, social entrepreneurship, toronto |

Keynote: Make Money. Make a Difference.
Alan Gershenfeld, E-Line Ventures
Wednesday, March 26 – 7pm

Alan Gershenfeld, when speaking about his recent trip to Davos, said the entire crowd was awash with conversations about social entrepreneurship. That should come as no surprise: the very notion of social entrepreneurship has become sexy, with celebrities and influential figures around the world all embracing the concept as an important step in making the world a better place.

In his keynote address at ICE08, Gershenfeld addressed two questions that often plague the business and not-for-profit world:

Can a for-profit business make money while having a meaningful social impact?
Can a not-for-profit create sustainable revenue streams and still stay true to their vision?

The answer to both those questions, according to Gershenfeld, is yes. His organization, E-Line Ventures, believes that, “if a company’s competitive strategy is organically aligned with its social impact, then the more successful the company, the greater the social impact.”

In order to illustrate the ability of an organization to effectively combine social returns with financial returns, Gershenfeld presented five models that work:

Grameen Bank: Muhammad Yunus’ initiative to provide microloans to people that had difficulty obtaining capital democratized banking and finance for the poorest of the poor and launched a wave of microfinance projects and organizations. Gershenfeld stressed that while “not every problem can be solved by a market-based solution, some can.” We need to put more capital into these successful solutions.
Lason, Inc.: Lason was able to convert the high turnover rate in outsourced Indian positions — often high because of family and social constraints and contexts — from 70% to 7% through a system of empowerment through supply-chain micro-franchise.
eBay: Putting aside eBay’s growth into what it is today, Gershenfeld stressed that the service allowed and continues to allow millions of entrepreneurs to support themselves by giving them direct access to their consumers. The site enables people to earn a living by pursuing their passions.
Bay Area Video Coalition: The San Francisco-based organization offers courses and workshops in media tools to many people from various walks of life. The fees from these courses allow the coalition to pursue it’s community work with marginalized groups like ex-convicts and street youth.
Participant Media: Founder Jeff Skoll came to Hollywood with a very specific goal in mind: to create high-end movies with big names and excellent production value that are profitable, but that also have an element that helps the audience engage with today’s pressing issues.

Gershenfeld started E-Line Ventures in order to help support businesses making positive social impact, and social enterprises run by not-for-profits. At it’s core, E-Line is interested in empowering individuals, letting people express themselves, getting people engaged with today’s critical issues, and fostering social enterprise.

E-Line’s early ventures include Comic Space, a project designed to democratize the creation and distribution of web, mobile, and print comics. E-Line is continuing to look at new opportunities, including some that they are extremely eager to explore:

Fun, profitable video games that engage, inspire, and empower.
Environmentally-friendly renewable toys that can be produced locally.
Social enterprises that harness the power of media to empower underserved communities.

Gershenfeld stressed that there is still a lot to learn in the domain of social entrepreneurship and double bottom-line investment. “This is an underinvested asset class,” he concluded, “which needs to see more and more investment from those of us that can.”

Photos by Rannie Turingan.