Here is a great 8' video outlining some of the key factors for successful social entrepreneurship, by Barcelona-based venture capitalist Lluís Pareras. I especially like #1. Also included is Michael Porter's 2013, 16.5' TED talk entitled, "Why business can be good at solving social problems" in which he too argues that businesses generates the majority of resources through profit and that profit allows the solution to scale. Indeed businesses actually generate profits from solving social problems. Here are some additional resources related to Sally Osberg & Roger Martin's excellent book: Getting Beyond Better. My Amazon.ca review: The sub-title explains the focus of this must-read book well, "how social entrepreneurship works." In "Getting Beyond Better," the authors describe the task faced by social entrepreneurs. It is one of identifying a stable but inherently unjust equilibrium, and developing a solution to "forge a new stable equilibrium that unleashes value for society, releases trapped potential or alleviates suffering" for "a marginalized or disenfranchised segment that has little power to drive political change and limited capacity to pay the cost of an initiative to change." In order to accomplish this task, they outline a number of practical and actionable approaches grounded in for-profit entrepreneurship. This includes obtaining a full understanding of the situation and identifying incentives and levers that provide more value at the same cost or the same value at a lower cost. With numerous detailed examples, the authors outline seven ways this can be approached. https://hbr.org/2015/10/how-social-entrepreneurs-make-change-happen 8' read https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D5TFVzM8vE 2015 4' video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSazyG6asu8 2016 4' video
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A simple case and a corresponding challenge were developed to teach the core criteria required to evaluate an R&D-focused biotechnology company from an investment perspective. Examination of the technology, the commercial opportunity and various financial aspects provides the basis for such an evaluation.
www.coursera.org/lecture/digital-health-design-implementation/human-centered-design-in-practice-ajFbP
This is a link to an excellent 6' video (under 5' at 1.25x speed) that was part of the Coursera course I was taking on Digital Health. It gives a great overview of the principles of Design thinking and Prototyping. Some of the key takeaways include: - Design research goes beyond market surveys by chatting with people one-on-one to hear their stories, understand the associated emotions and gain tacit knowledge. This is achieved through asking open-ended questions and then sitting back and listening. - Prototyping is not a skill but a mindset. Prototypes should follow an Agile-style process: quick, simple and frequent development as well getting feedback as often as possible. To maximize the honest feedback, remove yourself from the process by saying, "This is what the designers/others/team came up with, what do you think?" ![]()
As outlined in my 2015 article entitled “No Magic = No Business Opportunity,[1]” I define Magic as: "that extraordinary, remarkable, sensational, fantastic and brilliant phenomenon. Every good business or business opportunity is built on its own special bit of magic. Magic is the differentiator that customers value and competitors can’t match." I go on to identify a number of possible means to uncover your Magic: Examining the job-to-be-done, Identifying customer fear or greed, or Providing superior value. I then outline ways to defend your Magic: Obtaining Intellectual property rights, Securing a unique or limited resource, Establishing a strong customer connection, or Building structural advantages. Uncovering and defending your Magic is critical to establishing a viable business. But, how do you ensure your business opportunity has sufficient Magic? This third criteria is something that experienced entrepreneurs, mentors and investors often have a good sense of, having seen what it takes to bring an opportunity to a successful conclusion. However, it is often difficult for a budding entrepreneur to assess, especially when examining their own opportunity. There are four ways activities that all entrepreneurs should undertake to satisfy this third criteria:
An additional means to get a better understanding of Magic is through observing and analysing the pitches and plans of other entrepreneurs. Attending pitch competitions, getting involved with an business incubator or accelerator,[7] and speaking with other entrepreneurs will increase your exposure. As I wrote in 2015, “In order for a business to remain viable or a new business opportunity to succeed, it must serve a customer segment well and defend against competitors who wish to do likewise. This requires the business to be operating under some magical influences: a unique value proposition. When looking to innovate you need to ask yourself two questions: “What magic is my business built on?” and “Is there enough magic to succeed?” because your potential stakeholders including investors or senior management (for internal projects) will be considering them as well.” [1] http://hexagoninnovating.weebly.com/1/post/2015/04/no-magic-no-business-opportunity.html [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Model_Canvas [3] "One who argues against a cause or position, not as a committed opponent but simply for the sake of argument or to determine the validity of the cause or position." https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=devil%27s%20advocate [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysis [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PEST_analysis [6] UofT’s Entrepreneurship Hatchery simulates these activities through monthly pitch events in front of a panel of experienced individuals. [7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_incubator ![]()
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June 2024
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