Today, social entrepreneurship is defined in many ways — an ambiguity that can blur social entrepreneurs’ identity, undermine their credibility, weaken the relevance of the guidance they receive, and ultimately hinder their impact. That’s why a shared definition is essential.
This article presents my perspective and insights into social entrepreneurs, based on primary research conducted with a small, random sample in Toronto, Canada.
A Social Entrepreneurship Definition
In my view, a social entrepreneur is someone whose decisions are primarily guided by the goal of creating lasting, large-scale social impact. This definition covers a specific section of the social-business hybrid spectrum, including non-profit organizations that leverage business tools to achieve sustainability and pursue their social mission at scale. However, it does not include corporations that engage in social responsibility, since their social impact is not their primary focus.
Some Insights Regarding Social Entrepreneurs
After meeting with social entrepreneurs from a wide range of industries and backgrounds, I noticed that their similarities outweigh their differences by one order of magnitude.
First, they have all developed a social fibre through experiences that reshaped their understanding of the world. This shift often led them to solve problems they had witnessed or personally experienced, usually by drawing on their passions or existing knowledge.
The social entrepreneurs I’ve met are also deeply action-oriented and tend to lean towards a trial-and-error approach to problem-solving. They’re uncomfortable with the status quo and feel a strong urgency to break it.
However, they remain grounded and want to effect social impact while also generating personal benefits. These benefits can sometimes take a cathartic form. For example, they may alleviate their pain by preventing others from suffering.
My research also highlighted that social entrepreneurs are resilient and believe they have (or can find) the skills to tackle the obstacles in their way. Nevertheless, this observation might be an instance of survivorship bias. Indeed, it’s likely that less optimistic people gave up during the early stages of their journey, and I wouldn’t have had the chance to meet them. Otherwise, being overly optimistic can sometimes be the only path to succeed - as Mark Twain put it, “they did not know it was impossible, so they did it.”
Interestingly, despite their optimism and urge to act, social entrepreneurs do not seem to be natural risk-takers. They tend to start their ventures with small investments and a homemade, do-it-yourself approach. That said, my interviews revealed that this risk aversion can sometimes pose challenges when transitioning into higher-stakes phases.
Finally, social entrepreneurs seem particularly open to new ideas and insights. However, it’s essential to note that the social entrepreneurs I met were all willing to chat, and this inference may be influenced by selection bias.
Takeaways
A social entrepreneur is an entrepreneur who bases their decisions towards effecting lasting, large-scale social benefits.
As previously demonstrated by other studies, my primary research reveals some common traits among social entrepreneurs:
• They are highly action-oriented and have often developed a social fibre through their own life experiences, which drives them to solve problems they’ve encountered, often by drawing on their passions and backgrounds.
• Social entrepreneurs want to create social change while also gaining both tangible and intangible personal benefits from their activity.
• Finally, they also appear to be cautious about risk and sometimes struggle to scale their ventures.
Thank you
Thanks so much for reading this post. I hope you enjoyed it!
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