Scaling Your Social Enterprise

Scaling a Social Enterprise from The Startup Garage
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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 new site, and winning new contracts.  Scaling a social enterprise with organizational growth requires financial and management expertise, as well as incorporation of growth models such as M&A drawn from the private sector.  Two examples of mass-scale social enterprise are Mexico-based Gente Nueva and Bangladesh-based BRAC.  Watch an interview with Gente Nueva’s social entrepreneur, Jose Hernandez.  Watch an in-depth panel interview on scaling the BRAC social enterprise (beginning at 17:00).

Increasing social impact beyond organizational boundaries includes creating alliances to get resources and political support, creating “spin out” organizations, social franchising, establishing or supporting quality standards for best practices, and providing material or training to others.*  This includes the idea of networked social entrepreneurship, which aims to achieve greater impact by creating a network of collaborators and partners.  This method of scaling a social enterprise increases the possibility of innovation and experimentation as the members of the network complement the efforts of the other members.  The Impact Alliance is a Washington D.C.-based network that aims to improve the scale of impact of member organizations and is a great place to start looking for resources to expand a social enterprise.

 

*Lyon, Fergus and Heather Fernandez.  “Strategies for scaling up social enterprise: lessons from early years providers.”  Social Enterprise Journal 18.1 (2012): 63-77.  Print.

 

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About Tyler Jensen

I work with entrepreneurs who are looking to attract investment and get out of the "Garage". I am passionate about helping entrepreneurs start companies that matter. I helped launch over 100 Companies, Non-Profits and Social Enterprises. I consider myself a serial entrepreneur, startup coach & trusted advisor. * Launching New Companies (For Profit, Non-Profit and Social Enterprise) * Expert Business Plan Writer * Extensive Network of Business Relationships focused on Launch & Rapid Growth of New Companies * Startup, Growth, Marketing, Technology, Web, Business Systems * Trusted Advisor to CEO’s & Entrepreneurs * Capital Raising Strategy Development * Startup Team Development The first company I started and sold is VAVi Sport & Social Club which grew to over 25,000 members in six years, was recognized as San Diego’s 30th fastest growing private company in 2006 by the San Diego Business Journal and 32nd fastest in 2007, and sold for over 25X the capital investment.