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The hare or the tortoise: Which does most good for society?

By Tony Redpath @ MaRS
October 19, 2009
 
Different Types of Entrepreneurship

Watch the video: Different Types of Entrepreneurship

At last week’s CIBC Presents Entrepreneurship 101 lecture, we talked about the various types of businesses, including the important differences between social purpose ventures (based on achieving a defined social goal as well as making money) and traditional strictly for-profit businesses.

This begs an interesting question – which model ultimately can achieve the most good?

If we look at the bulk of charities around today, the names on them still reflect profits made a generation (at least) ago. The business people behind the businesses that made all the profits range from conventional highly focused and successful capitalists through to (lets be blunt) robber barons!

They share(d) a sequential model: make as much as you possibly can first, then decide how to distribute the profits to worthy causes. Contrast that to the rapidly emerging model of social entrepreneurship in which you make money and do good at the same time.

Does anyone out there want to hazard an opinion as to which can deliver the maximum good over the long haul?

Allyson’s Rebuttal

Allyson Hewitt is establishing the social innovation program at MaRS

Allyson Hewitt, Director, Social Entrepreneurship

Yes Tony, in traditional philanthropy we have benefitted from the generosity of the Carnegies of the world and even at our own MaRS – a social enterprise if ever there was one – our college of founders are leaders in business with a dedication to make a difference.

But there is another way.  At SiG@MaRS we are inundated, particularly by young people, who no longer accept that this is the only way to do things or even the best way.  They want to make money and make a difference.  They realize that sustainability of people and the planet is their only choice.  They seek to embed a positive social and environmental impact into their work from the beginning and I for one, am interested in seeing them succeed.  Using the best minds available to address intractable social problems is not just a nice to do, given the challenges we face, it is a must do.

Downloads and Resources

Weren’t able to attend the class? Need some notes or want to look something up? Click below for all of the goodies from the lecture. Watch the video and the slide presentation below.

CIBC presents Entrepreneurship 101 2009/10 – Week 3 – Different Types of Entrepreneurship from MaRS Discovery District on Vimeo.

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  • Anonymous

    Please register attendance for Salima Jiwani. Thank you.

  • SalimaJiwani

    Please register attendance for Salima Jiwani. Thank you.

  • http://ryanaroundtheworld.blogspot.com/ Ryan Coelho

    Hey Tony,It’s a really great question you pose. I myself used to, and still do, struggle with which comes first – money or money&good. To me I think it less about what you chase after and more about what you attract. A quote I came by that really resonates with me is this,”Success is not something you chase after, it is something you attract by the person you become.” ~ D.C. Gikandi To me ‘doing good’ is more than ‘giving money.’ It’s about the person you become, the opportunities you create, the genuine interest you show, and the overall passion you have for helping others. I believe it’s this consistency in character, not the sustainability of monetary funds, that will lead to maximum good in the end… after all, I’ve never seen a persons size of their wallet remembered after their gone.Thanks,Ryan CoelhoPS – Please register Ryan Coelho for this lecture. Thanks!

  • http://ryanaroundtheworld.blogspot.com/ Ryan Coelho

    Hi Allyson,I have a question for you regarding a Social Enterprise.If you are registered as a for-profit company, can you still ‘fund raise’ for the company.For example, you want to get some initial capital for your social enterprise so you hold a tournament and charge $50 for each team. Can that money be used to ‘invest’ into the registered company/corporation? Or will it be looked at as income and therefore taxed?Thanks,Ryan Coelho

  • http://ryanaroundtheworld.blogspot.com/ Ryan Coelho

    Hey Tony,It's a really great question you pose. I myself used to, and still do, struggle with which comes first – money or money&good. To me I think it less about what you chase after and more about what you attract. A quote I came by that really resonates with me is this,”Success is not something you chase after, it is something you attract by the person you become.” ~ D.C. Gikandi To me 'doing good' is more than 'giving money.' It's about the person you become, the opportunities you create, the genuine interest you show, and the overall passion you have for helping others. I believe it's this consistency in character, not the sustainability of monetary funds, that will lead to maximum good in the end… after all, I've never seen a persons size of their wallet remembered after their gone.Thanks,Ryan Coelho

  • http://ryanaroundtheworld.blogspot.com/ Ryan Coelho

    Hi Allyson,I have a question for you regarding a Social Enterprise.If you are registered as a for-profit company, can you still 'fund raise' for the company.For example, you want to get some initial capital for your social enterprise so you hold a tournament and charge $50 for each team. Can that money be used to 'invest' into the registered company/corporation? Or will it be looked at as income and therefore taxed?Thanks,Ryan Coelho

  • http://twitter.com/ttang_ Tim Tang

    Sustainable organisations is the better way – you can’t do any good if you are not around.Did you know Nokia, the Finnish mobile communication company, was founded 2 years before Canada (in 1865)? Today, it’s 120,000 employees connect more people on the go than anyone else. Its resilience during uncertainty, its ability to identify opportunities, and its willingness to adapt to unfamiliar environment are corporate DNAs that stood the test of time. It is also through time that Nokia found its place in the world and how to do the most good – connecting people.A more modern and Canadian example is RIM. After 14 years, RIM finally reached an IPO in the late 1990s that would raise enough capital to bring BlackBerry to the masses. Through this success and the generosity of co-CEO, Mike Lazaridis, the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics was founded near the University of Waterloo in 1999. Ten years later, this led to the privilege of having TED Prize winner Neil Turok as its Executive Director.Later, through his network, Turok convinced his old colleague, physicist Stephen Hawking, to chair the 55,000 sq-ft research centre in Waterloo to search deeper into our universe for discoveries as life-changing as electromagnetism – made so effortless to use by consumer products such as BlackBerry and iPads.All this made possible by choosing to build sustainable organisations, whether it is a social NGO or for-profit corporation.

  • http://twitter.com/ttang_ Tim Tang

    It's hard to do any good when the change agent is not even around, which is to argue sustainable organisations is the better way.For instance, did you know Nokia, the Finnish mobile communication company, was founded 2 years before Canada (in 1865)? Today, it's 120,000 employees connect more people on the go than anyone else. Its resilience during uncertainty, its ability to identify opportunities, and its willingness to adapt to unfamiliar environment are corporate DNAs that stood the test of time. It is also through time that Nokia found its place in the world to do the most good – connecting people.

  • Anonymous

    Please register attendance for Salima Jiwani (s.jiwani@utoronto.ca) for this session. nThank you (My comments on Vimeo would not get posted for whatever reason).

Tony Redpath @ MaRS

Tony Redpath @ MaRS

As the VP of Partner Programs at MaRS, Tony ensures that our external and internal programs work together. Tony also advises entrepreneurs and high growth companies, particularly in environmental, advanced materials and manufacturing markets, with a special emphasis on mentoring and development of entrepreneurs.

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