#1: Akash Bhavsar, Co-founder & Director of WaterQuest Hydroresources Management#2: Akhil Sivanandan, Co-Founder of Green Story
The longer you stay in the game, the luckier you get.
#3: Albert Tai, CEO and Co-founder of Hypercare Inc.
Find a problem that you have to solve it, since it is so core to your personality. That way no matter what happens, you can keep pushing forward.
#4: Allen Bailochan Tuladhar, CEO of Picosoft P Ltd
Expect your idea to change and for your startup to adapt the change. The only thing that is constant is change itself
#5: Amarys Preuss, Development Manager of The Nubian Vault Association
We'd recommend to know exactly what your destination is, and how you can reach long-term impact, not just distribute products, but inserting your project into a large ecosystem of improvement and empowerment beneficial for the many.
#6: Angel Mejia Santiago, CEO of Inventive Power
Don´t stop believing in yourself, your team and your dreams!
#7: Ankit Agarwal, Founder of Helpusgreen®
Social impact enterprises are positioned uniquely to create solutions, operating in a space where ingenuity can pay off and impact investors are willing to take the risk. So - be confident and clear on your vision, know the value in the change you enabling. Gaining a competitive advantage relies on articulating your impact. It takes all of use to continue to build the dialogue and create the world we wish to see.
#8: Ann Runnel, Founder, CEO of Reverse Resources
When looking for funding, look across geographic boundaries for mission-aligned investors.
#9: Arianne Engelberg, Creative Director of The New Denim Project
Know always that the work you are doing goes beyond your product and/or service, and beyond yourself.
#10: Bicky Nguyen, Cofounder - BDD of Circket One
Keep doing what you are passionate about!
#11: Brittany Déjean, Founder & Executive Director of AbleThrive
Find those who support you personally and professionally as early as possible and keep them close to endure the roller coaster of social entrepreneurship.
#12: Carl Jensen, CEO of Good Nature Agro
Plan but don't be paralyzed - eventually you will just need to act!
#13: Cassie Hoffman, Director of Field Operations of Conservation X Labs
Open mindedness and willingness to talk to others - seek others' input and feedback, customer feedback, and mentors' and others who have gone before you's advice...and take it all with humility, sincerity, and a willingness to improve.
#14: Chike Aguh, CEO of EveryoneOn
Obsessively seek solutions that are as big, scary and massive as the problems they are meant to solve.
#15: Divine Nabaweesi, CEO of Divine Bamboo
I would advise other entrepreneurs starting their journey to design solutions for existing social problems instead of working towards making problems that fit their solutions.
#16: Dmitry Fotiyev, Managing Partner of Brightmore Capital
Rather than just seeking capital, look for ‘smart money’ that will provide acceleration and support to enable your business to scale.
#17: Eric Dales, Operations Director of TAMGA Designs
Don't allow yourself to be dissuaded by people who don't know the problem you're solving. Find people who really know the problem, and seek their advice.
#18: Eugene Maseya, Founder of Flying Labs Malawi, MamaBird
Articulating your mission clearly is really important, It needs to both convince and attract investors and partners, and it needs at all times to drive what the company does. The mission must remind all your staff and partners why they are doing this work. It should encompass the benefit(s) you want to deliver, the people you will be impacting, and how you’re going to accomplish it.
#19: Evin Ollinger, CEO & Co-Fouder of Golden
Start with great clarity and execute with great people.
#20: Fanyu Lin, CEO of Fluxus, llc
It is no easy task, but you are not alone. Impact enterprise will be a new normal for businesses guided by long term visions for sustainable development. Try to envision, define and measure the impacts of your business, and make sure social, environmental and financial returns are valued equally.
#21: Gayatri Datar, Co-Founder and CEO of EarthEnable
Surround yourself with a team of people who believe in your mission as fiercely as you do.
#22: Heather Hochrein, CEO of EVmatch, Inc.
Work to develop a minimum viable product as quickly as possible and test it with your target market. Customer validation is key.
#23: Isaac Baker, Co-President & Founder of Resonant Energy
My biggest piece of advice for other social entrepreneurs is to think about doing good in the world in a way that can still return scaleable, market rate returns; there are almost no investors, impact or otherwise, who are willing to take concessionary returns and we have to design for that reality.
#24: Jon Kornik, Founder & CEO of Plentify
Honestly interrogate all the reasons why your organization could fail in its mission, and design your execution plan to systematically tackle each of these risks as early as possible.
#25: Joseph Nkandu, Executive Director of NUCAFE
Patience is a cornerstone to the success of any a social entrepreneur. Never give up in doing good.
#26: Juliana Gutierrez Rua, Co-director of Low Carbon City#27: Julio Lavalle, CEO of Poupa Certo (Save Right in Portuguese)
Work your way towards networking, collaboration and community partnerships. If you want to create new market for the cause you are working on (revolutionazing savings for financial inclusion in Brazil in our case), the power of more players is essential. Seek ways on how you can join efforts together to leverage your solutions . This strategy has proven effective in our case by strenghtening partnerships with similar and complementary products and services working on the local field.
#28: Kristian Lundquist, CEO / Co-founder of Gro Play
Don't waste your time talking to old-school investors because they will never get your vision, but go straight to the next generation business partners who value both financial and social returns.
#29: Kyle Wiggins, Co-Founder/CEO of Keteka
My advice is to not wait. Instead of looking for the big foundation or investor to launch you project at scale, utilize whatever resources you have to pilot your project on a small scale, and you'll be amazed at the momentum you can build from there.
#30: Lalit Gautam, Founder/CEO of Handscart
Three Important Ps in social entrepreneurship : Process, Purpose, and Principles.” If you know all three about your startup you will be a great entrepreneur.
#31: Lauren Servin, Co-Founder of Desert Date Co./Di LORÉN
Always focus on your goal and your vision. Do whatever it takes to get there, no matter how difficult and painful. They are temporary and you will wade through the struggles to a beautiful outcome.
#32: Luis Garza, Founder, CEO of Kinedu
Make sure you understand why you're doing what you're doing, why your entry into the space makes sense for what the world needs. A lot of people go out with cool "solutions" to problems nobody has, without being conscious of the societal needs, and how their own strengths will help move the world forward.
#33: Mariángela Ramírez Díaz, Company Lead of Impulsa Bacao
Is important to have a clear path towards achieving a proof of concept. This is critical to receive attention and interest of partners that can propel the social entrepreneur´s efforts and is the best proof of her/his execution ability.
#34: Marten Susebeek, CEO of Susteq
Just ask, many people are willing to help you succeed in making a positive impact.
#35: Megan Hryndza, CoFounder & CEO of Mighty
Getting people to care about your cause is easier than getting them to adopt the cause as one of their own. Focus on equipping people to take inspiration from your cause and make it their own.
#36: Michael Lwin, Managing Director of Koe Koe Tech
You're going to make mistakes - lots and lots of them - but as long as you have passion for your mission and the open-mindedness to seek out others in the community that will help you improve, you and your organization will keep getting better and better.
#37: Michelle Brown, CEO of CommonLit
Work hard to build a network of incredible people. It's the only way to solve the big, intractable problems.
#38: Mubarak Lawrence, Vice President of Ones Up
I would advise current and aspiring social entrepreneurs to always believe in their vision; all while being aware of the the development required to grow and sustain.
#39: Ricky Ashenfelter, CEO of Spoiler Alert
Don't wait till you're in need of funding to engage investors. Start conversations early, introduce them to your vision, and ask them what progress they'll want to see in order to have a more productive discussion. More often than not, they'll give you their criteria and playbook, which puts you in control of determining when (if at all) the right time is to follow-up for investment.
#40: Rochelle Nawrocki Gorey, Co-Founder & CEO of SpringFour
Social entrepreneurs need to remember that the journey to change can be hard and slow. Be patient and trust in yourself and your team that you have what it takes to create the solution. Don't let the "No's" stop you because eventually you will get to that "Yes" that will change your trajectory and has the power to create meaningful impact.
#41: Saad Ahmad, CEO of Nizam Bijli
Do more, get to market as soon as possible and then spend as much time with your customers. Try to walk in their shoes and adapt to feedback as our perception of what the customer needs or how they interact with our product or service is not always as we assume. So it is very important to hear the voice of our customers.
#42: Sandra Kwak, CEO, Founder of 10Power
My advice for new social entrepreneurs is to stay fearless. There are many problems facing our planet, tackle the biggest issue that you can and stay focused. Partnerships are the name of the game - especially in impact - we are all here to make a difference and the more we support each other, the more positive change we can make together.
#43: Sara Minkara, Founder and CEO of Empowerment Through Integration (ETI)
You can't do this alone. Social entrepreneurship is addressing systemic issues and changing systems, and it takes all different kinds of partners to be successful. It's not something you can do alone. Use your drive and passion to identify people who can buy into your vision. And don't give up!
#44: Sheeza Shah, Founder & CEO of UpEffect#45: Shrenik Jain, Founder of Sunrise Health
When embarking on a social enterprise, decide where you will be responsive to feedback, and what is non-negotiable for you to feel you are doing the right thing.
#46: Sishir Garemella, Founder & CEO of Sunvest
Grit and integrity beats everything.
#47: Sonali Mehta-Rao, Co-Founder & Chief Growth Officer of Awaaz.De
The most important thing in the early days is physical proximity to your customer or user. Live in the communities/countries where you work, and always put your customers first.
#48: Sonya Renee Taylor, Founder & REO of The Body is Not An Apology#49: Stephanie Carlson, Co-founder & CEO of Reflection Sciences, Inc.
Do not be afraid to ask for help!
#50: Tessa Cook, Co-Founder & CEO of OLIO
Be bold, be brave, seek out collaborators and supporters, and most of all, believe that change IS possible! Oh, and come to SOCAP next year :)
#51: Tumwebaze Khamutima, Chief Executive Officer of Young Farmers Champions Network
It takes patience, working smart and improving your product or service every single day if you are to succeed as an entrepreneur.
#52: Wesley Meier, Co-Founder & CEO of EOS International
I would recommend social entrepreneurs who are just starting their journey to attend events similar to SOCAP17 to network, as this is a critical component of their future growth and success.
#53: Yi Wang, Director of Strategy, MyH2O
Find a mentor(s) that is willing to help you navigate the landscape and boost the growth trajectory of your venture.
#54: Gator Halpern, Founder of Coral Vita
Panels at events like SOCAP are a great way to reach an interested audience and connect with those willing to support your organization.
#55: Eli Mitchell-Larson, Director of Operations of SunFarmer Nepal
Share what you're doing with other entrepreneurs and they'll share back! I love how collaborative this field is - chances are there are others doing something similar to you that you can learn a lot from.
#56: Erin Keaney, COO of Nonspec
My advice is to write down every bit of feedback you receive - especially detailed responses. This will allow you to have a place to look when you need motivation, to not get hung up on the negative comments, and to learn how you can improve your story as you talk to more people.
#57: Angelo Campus, CEO of BoxPower Inc.
Its not about how many times you fail, its about what you learn from each pivot. It is only through iterations of innovation that true impact is achieved.
#58: Reid Saaris, CEO & Founder of Equal Opportunity Schools
Social entrepreneurs are too often celebrated for their individual leadership. We heard at SOCAP about the need to move past an “ego-system” to the ecosystem needed for broad and sustained social impact. The quicker you can move as an entrepreneur to the sense of your integration in a broader movement for impact, the bigger your impact can be.
#59: Diana Yousef, Founder, CEO of change:WATER Labs#60: Carles Alonso Torras, Interim COO of Suyo
I would advice prioritizing close contact with the customer base in order to identify pivoting opportunities and areas of improvement as quickly as possible.
#61: Stephen Bediako, Founder of TSIP
Always recruit people smarter than you.
#62: Aaron Olson, Co-Founder of NovoMoto#63: Michelle Arevalo-Carpenter, CEO of IMPAQTO
Listen to the market. It’s the best way to know how viable your project is financially. Also, surround yourself with people who believe in your vision - so they bring you back up when the rollercoaster of entrepreneurship brings you momentarily down.
#64: Ashley King-Bischof, CEO and Co-founder of Annona
If you have a vision, start working on it now. Even if it is just a few hours a week that you spend on it, begin now. Research relevant topics. Conduct informational interviews. Start asking questions about the challenge you want to solve. Whether you continue at a slow roll or find a solution that begins to pick up steam, you'll be glad you started when you did.
#65: Meg Erskine, Co-founder and CEO of Multicultural Refugee Coalition
Surround yourself with great mentors and others in the field of social entrepreneurship. There is lots of great support out there and you don't have to go at this alone. Also- get to know the people that you most want to impact and make sure that what you are doing is truly needed and welcomed.
SOCAP is a pretty incredible event, made that way because of the inspiring social entrepreneurs that are leading the real change in the field. I hope to see you there next year!
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