Individual reflection to Social Entrepreneur Profile
– Who did you initially choose to present on and why
Nora McInerny: a writer, podcast host, mental-health advocate, and founder of Still Kickin. Still Kicken is an organization that has a monthly hero, someone who is going through a less than ideal situation. Apparel, event, and podcast revenue is donated to this hero.
I chose Nora because she’s been a role model in my life the past few years. She took a tragic situation (her husband’s death) and used her grief to help others. I think mental health and life’s sticky situations should be discussed more. Nora isn’t afraid to take on this role, and more people should.
– What did you learn from discussing the other profiles both with the members of your group specifically and the class generally;
I learned that there are some pretty amazing people in the world. I loved hearing everybody talk about their given person, explaining what they’re doing to make society a better place.
In my group specifically, I learned how some companies I see often in the US are made by social entrepreneurs. I had no idea that John went to high school with the founder of Lokai, Steven Izen. Julia’s focus on Jeffrey Hollander, the inventor of Seventh Generation, a brand I see at Target all the time, had an impact on me because my family purchases they product’s without ever knowing the SE history behind it.
The profiles that stuck out to me the most were the simple solutions. The social entrepreneurs who saw a problem that a group faces and found an “obvious” fix to it. Group 4 did a fabulous job with this. Their SE’s who employee homeless people and criminals left me leaving the classroom happy with the world and its future (which is hard to do nowadays!)
– Do you agree with some of the general conclusions drawn as a class and a group, and why (nb – conclusions regarding the entrepreneurs, not regarding what was difficult for the project as a whole)? Crucially, how do you view the analysis compared to the academic papers?
Initially, I probably would have disagreed about some of the arguments of who was considered a social entrepreneur. For instance, Group 1 focused on Malala Yousafzai and although she is making a huge impact on the world, I probably would not consider her an SE. However, David did a really good job of justifying why they chose her for their profile. She’s an advocate and her foundation helps people, and in the end, she’s making the world a better place and has an entrepreneurial spirit.
We’ve read a variety of academic papers and each one gives different definitions for social entrepreneurship. Sometimes some of the arguments contained so many preliminary traits a SE must have before being considered one, that it seemed more important was being put on the definition than the actual act of being an SE. Although I think it’s important to have a general consensus of what the word means, I don’t think it’s so important that we should get hung up on who is a SE and who isn’t if they are all making society better off.
– Based on the profiles you have seen, who are you now particularly inspired by, and why?
Devin’s presentation on Dave’s Killer Bread, a SE who bakes organic and non-GMO bread by hiring criminals, left me particularly inspired. Dave has been in and out of jail and he saw the troubles that ex-cons have with employment so he did something about it by employing them AND making a healthy carb alternative for the market. As a believer that everybody deserves a second chance, I really enjoyed this profile focus.
– What does this inspire you to learn/research in the future?
I am inspired to learn more about SE’s in my own community. It seems that so many people are working for the greater good of society and many don’t receive the recognition or support they deserve. In many cases, I didn’t even realize some companies were founded by an SE.
In the future, I plan to support more social enterprises, especially ones with causes I believe in. I think it should be easier to find these individuals, even for smaller and lesser-known companies focused on a niche area in their specific town/city.
Social Entrepreneurship Profile 