Course Detail

Social Entrepreneurship is about creating and leading organizations and companies that strive to advance social change through innovative solutions. Entrepreneurship is a high-risk endeavor in which 8 out of 10 new ventures are expected to fail. Yet, against these odds, social entrepreneurs are trying to accomplish some very long-term and ambitious goals: end inner-city poverty, improve public education, reduce global warming, and improve healthcare around the world, to name a few. How do successful social entrepreneurs achieve long-term, sustainable change and impact? And how do social investors pick the best of them to invest in and nurture?

Through case studies and exercises, students will explore the common strategies and pitfalls in creating stable, sustainable, and successful social ventures. The course follows ventures through their entire life cycle – from conception, through start-up to scaling and then exit, with an emphasis on how business considerations and financial instruments are critical to achieving social and financial goals. Throughout this process students will assume two primary roles: that of the social entrepreneur and that of the social investor. Students will also be challenged to think about their role as entrepreneur of their own careers. The course contains many ways for them to gain exposure to practitioners and focus their own interests. Students will screen social venture business plans for the Global Social Venture Competition and meet guest social entrepreneurs and investors as part of the cases. Students will also visit a successful local social venture and choose a social entrepreneur for a "shadowing" project over the course of the semester.

This is an essential course for students aiming to build, work for, invest in, or consult to nonprofit or for-profit social ventures at any point in their career path. Simply put, if you want to change the world and came to business school to get the skills and network to do it, this course will equip you with frameworks and tools you need to understand and create real change.