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California Passes Legislation Creating New Structures for Social Enterprise

California Passes Legislation Creating New Structures for Social Enterprise from The Startup Garage

With limited legal designation for social enterprises, social entrepreneurs are forced to struggle with which legal form to choose for their ventures.  Traditional legal entities are not well-suited to blend the social and profit-making purposes of a social enterprise.  Management of for-profit companies are liable to shareholders for failure to maximize profit.  On the other […]

The Structures of Social Enterprise

The Structures of Social Enterprise from The Startup Garage

We are beginning to see more and more companies begin to blend their traditional corporate structures with a more modern obligation to philanthropy and social awareness. Social Entrepreneurism is on the rise and suddenly profit isn’t the only driving force behind big business. Across the nation, various legislations have passed to establish new corporate structures […]

Keeping Up-To-Date On Social Enterprises

Social Enterprise Network from The Startup Garage

As mentioned in the previous blog post on scaling your social enterprise, part of building out your organization is through expanding your network.  Similarly, part of staying up to date on the latest information in the social enterprise world is to maintain those network connections and continue to seek out answers to your ongoing questions.  […]

Social Enterprises Globally

Global Social Enterprise from The Startup Garage

There is a rich social enterprise culture present in the United Kingdom.  With the 2010 election of Prime Minister David Cameron, a platform policy of the U.K. Conservative Party known as the “Big Society” has been launched and aims to empower local community entrepreneurs.  One of the five main objectives is to support co-ops, mutuals, charities […]

Common Mistakes Made By Social Entrepreneurs

Social Entrepreneur Mistakes from The Startup Garage

As with any entrepreneurial venture, a social enterprise is bound to encounter some challenges in the process of starting up and becoming established.  Below are some examples of mistakes social entrepreneurs have made and how they have learned from these mistakes. Product: Zack Rosenberg, founder of DoGoodBuyUs, a website that sells products made by charitable […]

Scaling Your Social Enterprise

Scaling a Social Enterprise from The Startup Garage

There are two ways to scale your social enterprise: through organizational growth or through other forms of increasing social impact beyond the organizational boundaries. Organizational growth is the internal changes made aimed at maximizing social impact, such as diversifying into other services or activities, serving more people by increasing employment number and hours, starting a […]

Social Enterprise: Competing With Non-Profits and For Profits

Part of the process of differentiating from a non-profit organization and a for profit business requires a social enterprise to understand how it competes with the business entities on each end of the business spectrum. For Profit: When it comes to competing with other entities, the most significant competitor for a social enterprise is a […]

Social Enterprise Marketing Strategy

Social Enterprise Marketing Strategy from The Startup Garage

A social enterprise faces a challenge when it comes to marketing.  As a social entrepreneur is seeking to meet a demand or need in the market that is currently unmet, the availability of data is scarce.  Unlike a for profit organization, a social enterprise is often entering a hybrid market that is un-established and cannot […]

Social Enterprise Performance Measures

Social Enterprise Performance Measures from The Startup Garage

Measuring the performance of a social enterprise is likely to be one of the biggest challenges an entrepreneur will face.  Unlike a non-profit who can measure their performance based on their fulfillment of their mission, or a for profit who can measure their performance based on their profits, a social enterprise must seek to measure […]