Today’s headlines are flooded with news of high poverty and unemployment rates, failing schools and political gridlock. But American innovation has painted a bright spot in an otherwise grim picture with the help of community leaders, social innovators and entrepreneurs.
Though chances of making it big in social innovation are far and few between, the sheer amount of ambition to drive national progress gives Americans a renewed sense of hope and something to look forward to, according to social innovation expert Kim Syman.
Syman is a managing partner at New Profit, where she focuses on innovative and high impact social enterprise strategies.
“What’s notable today is that we are now seeing pathways from small-scale progress exemplified to full-scale impact with the potential to meet the huge needs that still exist among our fellow citizens,” Syman said.
By focusing on seven key principles, Syman writes in Fast Company, social enterprises can unlock the key to success:
Growing Smart
Scaling has historically been the primary concern of growing nonprofits, but Syman contends that organizations are now leveraging distribution partnerships to obtain a greater reach. Health Leads, which focuses on health systems, and Single Stop USA, which helps low-income families with social services, have both used partnerships to grow their strategies.
Embracing Data
Data is undoubtedly reshaping policy and strategy across both public and private sectors, becoming one of the single most important drivers in successful social enterprise. The Family Independence Initiative’s model embraces data to help its clients set goals and track their progress out of poverty.
Empowering Constituents
“Power to the people” is just as relevant in today’s cultural landscape. By empowering constituents, social innovators and community leaders are engaging people to be a part of shaping the change they seek. For example, LIFT is an anti-poverty organization that uses its recipients as advocates.
Harnessing Technology
Aside from data, using technology to connect and create has increasingly become more important to nonprofits. By using platforms, software and other modes of technology, social enterprise can play a greater role in the digital world. Y Combinator, a tech incubator that supports social startups, is one example of harnessing technology for the greater good.
Creating Marketplace Demand
More innovators are understanding the need to create a demand (and a market) for a problem they wish to solve. “This encourages the market to nurture and catalyze solutions that work, to create new pathways to social innovation financing, and to grow previously untapped opportunities that drive social impact,” Syman said.
Nurturing Ecosystems
Cross-collaboration has become an important tool in today’s social innovation sector. By combining stakeholders such as lawmakers, philanthropists and business leaders, social enterprise can leverage more resources and strategies to address a problem and find a solution that works for everyone.
Driving Policy Innovation
While part of social innovation is to work around political gridlock, creating policy at the local, state and federal level can lead to finding new ways of solving problems in some of our social programs. The bipartisan Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act is currently in Congress and could lead to better outcome-oriented approaches, according to Syman.
These seven principles will not drive progress alone, but injected with more optimism and commitment, social innovation has the potential to pave the way for a better and brighter America.
For more on Syman’s pathway to social innovation success, check out her Op-Ed here.
MORE: The Rise of the Innovation District
Tag: American Entrepreneurship
3 Organizations That Assist Veterans Build and Grow Their Startups
It goes without saying that being a member of the armed forces provides you with valuable experience and skills. And as it turns out, it gives you a bit of the entrepreneurial bug, too.
The men and women returning to the U.S. from military service are 45 percent more likely to start a business than those with no military service, according to a Small Business Administration report.
Here, three of the best organizations, according to Task & Purpose, that have mobilized in recent years to assist veterans in the transition from active service to civilians with promising entrepreneurial endeavors.
Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV)
Post-9/11 veterans who have sustained service-connected disabilities can apply to this program to enroll in a hybrid online/in-person entrepreneurship bootcamp — for free. Participants first complete a self-study curriculum online, and from there, they move to a nine-day residency at one of the eight universities that host the EBV program. After the residency, enrolled veterans continue to receive mentorship and advice from EBV’s network of experts.
EBV got its start at Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management in 2007, and after a successful first year, seven more schools signed on to host the program on their campuses. Over the life of the program, EBV has seen more than 700 matriculating veterans, whose new business ventures have collectively created 670 new jobs, according to the EBV website.
Techstars Patriot Boot Camp (PBC)
The Patriot Boot Camp is an offshoot of Techstars, a tech-startup accelerator with locations in six U.S. cities and London. Active military, veterans, and their spouses are the groups PBC was designed for.
PBC’s annual three-day workshop calls upon experts from the Techstars network to offer education and mentoring to would-be entrepreneurs at no cost, and on the final day, the program allows attendees to practice their business pitches. PBC received much of its funding from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
VetCap from VetsInTech
VetCap (short for “capital for veterans”) seeks to provide its members with just that: Connections to investors with the capital necessary to nurture fledgling businesses. The first VetCap event was held this May in San Francisco, with over 70 vets in attendance, according to the program’s website.
The nonprofit’s plan going forward is to roll out workshops across the U.S., not all of which will focus on tech, reports a Forbes article on the new project.
If you or someone you know is a veteran or an active service member with entrepreneurial ambitions, take note. These organizations are devoted to seeing those dreams realized.
Meet the Business Owner Who Gives Vets The Skills They Need to Start Their Own Businesses
Starting a company takes courage, energy, and determination — all qualities that many servicemen and women display on a daily basis.
John Panaccione served as an 82nd Airborne paratrooper and then started a software company, LogicBay, in Wilmington, North Carolina. He’s convinced that other vets have what it takes to start their own businesses. Through VetToCEO, the nonprofit he co-founded, he’s showing them just how to do it.
VetToCEO enrolls former servicemen and women in an eight-to-10-week program that groups them with other vets who are at different stages along the road to launching their businesses. Together, they learn to craft a business plan, find potential investors, deliver presentations, connect with mentors, and potentially find a business partner that also happens to be a fellow vet. The organization also offers the in-person and online classes to reach more participants, and the course is free to all vets, funded by donations and corporate grants.
“Statistically, there are thousands of veterans all over that have an interest in entrepreneurship — and many of them are outside the U.S.,” Panaccione told Ben Brown of Port City Daily. Veterans and service members stationed as far away as Kuwait are participating in the program.
Brown spoke to one of VetToCEO’s successful graduates, army veteran Joel Damin, who started his own restaurant and pub in Sanford, North Carolina. Damin said that the skills he learned in the military immediately transferred to his busy career as a restaurateur. “You’re always reacting, you’re always adapting, and you can’t just throw your hands up and go, ‘I don’t know, this isn’t what I wanted to do,’ and just stomp your feet. You can’t do that, because there are lives on the line and you have to complete the mission.”
Now that there are just tasty dinners on the line instead of lives, Damin is thriving.
MORE: Giving Homeless Vets A Helping Hand–And a New Uniform
How a Retired Ski-Lover Turned an Old Injury Into a New Industry
54-year-old Kim Gustafson didn’t plan on starting a new business when he retired to Vail, Colo. But after his arthritis and the rigors of skiing exacerbated an old knee injury, Gustafson became part of the growing trend of “senior entrepreneurship.” Five surgeries forced him to wear an unwieldy brace on the slopes — that’s when he had the idea for pliable tights that could support active people dealing with similar injuries. Rather than the restrictive brace, Gustafson’s prototype used bands of rigid fabric sewn into spandex and nylon tights to keep the knee naturally aligned. He partnered with the biomechanical scientists at the Steadman Philippon Research Institute, a branch of the clinic where he got his treatment, and in two years founded a company called Opedix to produce the tights and bring them to market. Gustafson isn’t alone. According to the New York Times, 23% of new business owners are now aged 55 to 64, a nine-point increase since 1996. In other words, the golden years are getting a lot more golden.
America’s Next Innovation Hub Is Farther North Than You’d Think
Maine residents are famous for hard-working self-reliance, and it’s not just because of the weather. The state’s tourism-based economy and northern latitude can make it a hard place to earn a living. But Don Gooding, who heads the non-profit Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development (MCED) is making sure that in-state entrepreneurs get the support they need to succeed. MCED runs innovation-focused “Top Gun” classes and helps connect business owners with investors and mentors. If you are looking for small, vibrant cities to launch or expand your business, Portland and Bangor are only two of Maine’s increasingly hip places to live.
Source: Maine Mag
Detroit’s Small Business Owners Won’t Back Down
Detroit’s lousy, very bad year includes declaring bankruptcy. But while some people see the end for the Motor City, some business entrepreneurs see opportunity and potential. Take a look at these young entrepreneurs, artists and innovators who are making a stand for economic and social revival by putting their small businesses on the line. What they’re doing takes not only guts, but vision to see possibilities where everyone else just sees failure.