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Ask HN: Anyone a social entrepreneur, i.e. placing social impact above profit?

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Ask HN: Anyone a social entrepreneur, i.e. placing social impact above profit?

#1
For a few years now, there's been a rising tide of activism and talk of capitalism 2.0 -- is anyone actually riding this wave, or is it mostly talk?

If anyone is actively working on (or with) a social enterprise, or if you know of any, I'd really appreciate it if you can loop me in!

Thank you in advance!

Re: Ask HN: Anyone a social entrepreneur, i.e. placing social impact above profit?

#4

Your ask is pretty ambiguous. What specific questions do you have?

You're right, that's my bad. The thinking I had in mind when making the post is that entrepreneurship is difficult enough and the desire to make social impact introduces a sometimes competing demand.

I wanted to get some perspective on what this is like and if there were any role models out there to study as I am keen on going down this road!

Re: Ask HN: Anyone a social entrepreneur, i.e. placing social impact above profit?

#5
post #2

Loop you in for what purpose? Can you share more?

The thinking I had in mind when making the post is that entrepreneurship is difficult enough and the desire to make social impact introduces a sometimes competing demand.

I wanted to get some perspective on what this is like and if there were any role models out there to study as I am keen on going down this road!

Re: Ask HN: Anyone a social entrepreneur, i.e. placing social impact above profit?

#6
I co-founded Raisely, we’re a social enterprise. Impact is baked into our constitution, we report on it before profit, we restrict who can use our SaaS and we’re a bcorp. I wouldn’t call it “riding a wave” or just “talk” - it’s just genuine global citizenship.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone a social entrepreneur, i.e. placing social impact above profit?

#8
post #7

YC has a nonprofit programs : List of the YC non-profits: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_VuERKGdeFU_VnsJpybvpwuF... see more: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/4k-what-y-combinator-loo...

This is perfect, thank you!

Re: Ask HN: Anyone a social entrepreneur, i.e. placing social impact above profit?

#9

Your ask is pretty ambiguous. What specific questions do you have?

You're right, that's my bad. The thinking I had in mind when making the post is that entrepreneurship is difficult enough and the desire to make social impact introduces a sometimes competing demand. I wanted to get some perspective on what this is like and if there were any role models out there to study as I am keen on going down this road!

I think it’s certainly an extra thing to consider and just focusing on profit is maybe easier in the short term, but I think profit without purpose quickly leads a company directionless and staff demoralised.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone a social entrepreneur, i.e. placing social impact above profit?

#10
I run a company that collects and delivers used furniture for charities in the UK (https://boxmove.com)

It’s a social enterprise in the sense that we save charities a fortune on the way they currently operate, and we employ our staff on better salaries than they receive working in-house. The flip side is we expect a decent day’s work from our teams. We are profitable, sustainable and no reliant on grants, funding, or anything else. That’s good for everybody.

Those that join us from charities typically did 6-8 jobs a day. Our teams average 20. There is so much bullshit and incompetence in the charity sector that I would love to call out, but sadly that would damage our business. It is a frustrating sector to operate in - not least because we compete against ‘serial social entrepreneurs’ who receive a grant, take a nice salary for two years nibbling away at our client base, then shut down and move onto the next self-enriching project.

Not really sure why I answered this question but there you go!

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