April 25, 2018by Kohl CreceliusNo Commentswritten word

Third Wave Social Entrepreneurship

(photo via KNOWN SUPPLY)

Building Upon a Lasting Legacy

A quick read through a number of articles on social entrepreneurship will allow you to identify the movement as one that is fragmented and not easily defined. All kinds of people from a variety of sectors — housed in both for profit, non-profit and hybrid organizations — all operate as “social entrepreneurs”. The range of social issues are as vast and broad as the entrepreneurs themselves. That being said, the common high-level understanding of a social entrepreneur is recognized as someone who is leveraging business practices in order to develop, fund, and implement solutions to social, cultural and environmental issues.

In my view, we are living amidst one of the great new eras of social entrepreneurship. Our unprecedented access to information, as well as our ability to travel has helped to build empathy and break down barriers of understanding (or should I say misunderstanding?) globally. This heightened and increased level of cross-cultural connection has driven entrepreneurs to seek out empowering alternatives to their business needs and they have the tools to make that a reality (a.k.a. the Internet). Additionally, shoppers are better equipped to research and understand the impacts of their purchases, thus they are becoming more mindful about what they buy.

What a time to be alive!

Over this short article, I’d like to suggest that we are currently witnessing and taking part in Third Wave Social Entrepreneurship. Though some people, especially younger generations, would suppose this movement has been started in our current era, it’s clear that we are merely building upon a legacy of others who have helped lay a foundation for what we are now seeing with the intermingling of business and social impact.

1st Wave – Charity from Excess (before 1000 AD)

Before the turn of the first millenium we witness some of the first social entrepreneurs — the Trappist Monks. In order to live the monastic life they sought and as well as to maintain their facilities, these enterprising monks brewed and sold beers to travelers who passed through their region. Moreover, a portion of their beer was brewed to be given away to the poor. Not only is “charity beer” an amazing phrase, but you must also remember that this was during a time in Europe when much of the water was unsafe for drinking and so beer and wine were the safe consumable liquids of their day.

In this early example of social enterprise, you find an industrious group of spiritual practitioners providing charity out of their excess. It’s worth noting that the donated beer was of the lowest quality, made from the remains of multiple previous batches of ingredients. However, that shouldn’t undermine the nobility and innovative thinking they were spearheading.

2nd Wave – Hand Up, Not Hand Out (1900s)

Though there were undoubtedly many more examples similar to the brewing monks throughout the early second millenium, we begin to see foundational examples for our modern social enterprise construct in the 20th century. One of the groups founded in the early 1900s (that remains to be one of my all-time favorite social enterprises) is Goodwill Industires. You can read their full history, but the principle that guided them from day one was the concept of “hand up, not hand out”. That is to say, they incorporated the people they aimed to serve in the business model itself.

Another prominent example which got its start in the 1970s was the microcredit-lending Grameen Bank, founded by Muhammad Yunus. In this example you see a similar notion of equipping and empowering the poor, a marked shift from earlier examples of social enterprises. In many ways, they were paving the way, as well as creating early proofs of concept, for today’s social entrepreneurs. We have much to owe them.

3rd Wave – Made for Mainstream (2000s – Present)

One of the things I find most interesting about today’s social entrepreneurs are the parallels to the past generations of trailblazers. As I wrote about in this post, I believe social enterprise activities fall into two main categories: post-purchase impact or pre-purchase impact. Modern social entrepreneurs are taking cues from both first wave and second wave social entrepreneurship. The clear distinction, however, has been the commercialization and marketability of the positive impacts they are creating.

As mentioned earlier, the internet has equipped startup founders with a new set of tools to get work done and spread their message. The advent of tools like social media, ecommerce, and targeted online advertising have helped to push the notion of multiple bottomline business to a greater awareness than previously possible.

Simply put, today’s social entrepreneurs are more commercially oriented, more outward facing. They are using the best in marketing and commercial tactics to make their product and impact culturally relevant to both a younger and wider demographic. It is moving toward a mainstream notion, if it isn’t there already.

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In today’s climate of social entrepreneurship, I believe it’s important to establish both where we are currently situated, and what influenced the rise to its current popularity. As with any important movement, innovation is paramount. And if we are to continue to create a brighter future, we must know where we are coming from.

This is by no means, nor is it intended to be, a complete list of social entrepreneurs throughout history. So, I’d love to hear from you:

What other examples did I miss that you love? Whose work has inspired you?

 
 
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Written by Kohl Crecelius
Kohl Crecelius is a social entrepreneur, father, husband and life enthusiast. He is the CEO and Co-founder of KNOWN SUPPLY and Krochet Kids intl. -- working globally to celebrate makers and humanize the apparel industry. He is passionate about helping others realize the role they can play in changing the world using the skills and gifts they have.