Social Entrepreneurship

Readings

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Class 1 (Sept 12): Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise

This introductory class provides an overview of social enterprise and social entrepreneurship, and some of the key tensions that social entrepreneurs encounter
Theory: What is social entrepreneurship? What distinguishes social entrepreneurship from traditional entrepreneurship?
Practice: What is social enterprise? How is it different from social entrepreneurship? How does it differ from traditional business?

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Class 2 (Sept 19): Motivations and Drivers for Social Entrepreneurship

Theory: What are the motivations, drivers, and strategic intentions of social entrepreneurship?
Practice: What are the implications of these drivers on social enterprise (business) models? How are social ventures blending business and social objectives?

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Class 3 (Sept 26): Business Modelling for Social Enterprise

Theory: What models exist for social enterprises? How do these models inform the structure and operations of the social venture? What are the key issues, tensions and considerations that make these models applicable to specific contexts?
Practice: How can business model development be applied to the development of a social enterprise?

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Class 4 (Oct 3): Identifying Business Potential

Theory: How do social entrepreneurs assess the business potential of their ideas?
Practice: What are the challenges associated with collecting and synthesizing market research data, and applying this data to making business decisions?

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Class 5 (Oct 17): Financial Modeling

  • Part A: Building a Financial Model for Social Enterprise
  • Part B: Financial Considerations for Social Enterprise

The first half of this class will be run “workshop” style using data from a real social enterprise and using Microsoft Excel to develop a basic financial model. The second half will focus on identifying key financial considerations unique to social enterprise.
Theory: How do you construct a financial model for your social venture?
Practice: What are the main cost drivers and revenue streams for your social venture? What are the various types of financing that social enterprises require, and how does this vary over the lifecycle of the business?

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Class 6 (Oct 24): Operational and Human Resource Considerations

Theory: What are the unique HR and operational considerations that social entrepreneurs need to incorporate in their social enterprise?
Practice: What strategies and techniques can social entrepreneurs apply to effectively execute the operational and HR aspects of their social venture?

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Class 7 (Oct 31): Marketing and Legal Considerations

Theory: What are the unique marketing challenges that social enterprises face? Why is legal form such an important issue for social enterprise?
Practice: How have social enterprises applied marketing principles in the real world to market their social venture? What legal forms can social enterprises assume, and what are the pros and cons for each form?

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Class 8 (Nov 7): Managing for Social Impact

Theory: What are the unique challenges of managing a social enterprise? How do social entrepreneurs manage for social impact?
Practice: How do you grow or scale up a social enterprise? How do social enterprises assess their social impact, and balance the various facets of “blended value creation”?

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Class 9 (Nov 14): Impact Investing and Social Finance

Theory: What are the key trends and issues being addressed in the impact investing and social finance?
Practice: What range of organizations are actively engaged in impact investing? What innovative practices exist in these organizations?

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Class 10 (Nov 21): The Enabling Environment for Social Entrepreneurship

Theory: What are the various constituent parts of an “ecosystem” required for social entrepreneurship to flourish?
Practice: What is the range and nature of activity related to social entrepreneurship across Canada and the world?

Readings:

  • “Social Entrepreneurship: What Everyone Needs to Know”, by David Bornstein and Susan Davis. 2010. Oxford University Press. Part 3: pp. 75 – 128.
  • “Patterns, Principles, and Practices”, by Stephen Huddart. The Philanthropist, Vol. 23, No. 3, 2010:http://thephilanthropist.ca/index.php/phil/article/view/852

 

Class 11 (Nov 28): Student Pitches to Social Investors

Student teams will present their social enterprise pitch to a panel of social investors.
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Class 12 (Dec 5): Student Pitches to Angel Investors

Student teams will present their social enterprise pitch to a panel of Angel investors.
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Class 13 (Dec 12): Course Review

Review of key course themes, and debrief from business model pitches.
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