Scale Isn’t Everything…

By Rolfe Larson on April 7, 2013

The notion of “scale” gets a great deal of attention in the social enterprise world. It seems to suggest fast growth from taking a successful model to expanded size, locations and social impact, all at warp speed. Social capital, business competitions, even funders often talk about scale as if it were the ultimate goal for […]

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Startup Experience: Does it Help?

By Rolfe Larson on March 20, 2013

Seems obvious: of course prior business experience is a big advantage when starting a social enterprise. But now there’s evidence that this might not be correct.  Research suggests that LESS experienced social entrepreneurs were MORE successful (in terms of revenue and social media network) compared to their MORE experienced colleagues. And the WORST performance came from social […]

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Microfinance Informs Impact Investing

By Rolfe Larson on February 23, 2013

While  the term “impact investing” (or social capital) has garnered substantial attention in recent years, the more traditional field of microfinance, still by far the largest share of impact investments, gets less attention yet has decades of experience doing social capital. Here are a few of lessons from the micro finance sector worth reviewing as […]

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Will Social Capital Replace Venture Capital?

By Rolfe Larson on January 31, 2013

I don’t know about that, but it’s definitely making waves in the social change world.  Social capital — and by that we mean investors and lenders who are focused on providing funds not for (or at least not only for) their own profit, but also for the greater social or environmental good — is on […]

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Do Social Enterprises Need Mobile Strategies?

By Rolfe Larson on November 14, 2012

It’s amazing how fast mobile devices have taken over our lives.  I’ve had my smart phone for only a few months, but hardly a day goes by when I don’t ask it for advice.  This past week alone, I looked for child-friendly restaurants, a “green” dry cleaner, bus routes, airline tickets, and a car rental.  […]

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Students Create Social Enterprises

By Rolfe Larson on October 25, 2012

Innovation and energy often come together on campus, and today many of them have an entrepreneurial sparkle.  College and business school is no longer a place for just preparing and planning how to launch a new venture or nonprofit organization.  For many students, the venture starts while on campus, long before graduation. Here’s an article […]

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Want Scale? Get Attitude.

By Rolfe Larson on October 9, 2012

There are many reasons why one social enterprise grows fast, while another one doesn’t.  Frankly, I think luck has a lot to do with it, but there are many other factors as well.  A recent article in the Guardian suggests that the attitude of the leader is the most critical ingredient, and that’s hard to […]

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New Social Enterprise app

By Rolfe Larson on July 12, 2012

Social Impact is the world’s first social enterprise directory available on cell phones.  

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New! Global Social Enterprise Dining Map

By Rolfe Larson on May 29, 2012

Support social enterprise by eating or shopping at one!

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SE: Empowering Mission-Driven Entrepreneurs (Marc Lane)

By Rolfe Larson on April 17, 2012

Marc Lane, arguably the most prolific writer in the social enterprise sector, last year wrote another one of his useful books, entitled: Social Enterprise: Empowering Mission-Drive Entrepreneurs.  It’s a good book to glance through, and even more important, to have nearby on your bookshelf for when you have a legal question about social enterprise. For […]

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