Welcome

Entrepreneurs intrigue me. They are restless innovators, able to turn market failures into opportunities; they want to fix what’s not working. They have an appetite for risk, an ability to adapt by learning from their mistakes. They are often driven people, Venture philanthropy and social entrepreneurship will gradually come to dominate philanthropy in this century. Joel Fleishman but not usually by the simple pursuit of personal wealth. They can sell their ideas and harness the skills and resources of people around them.

We are familiar with those entrepreneurs that create high street commercial businesses. Like Dyson or Branson some are household names. Most never achieve such fame or cult status.

My real interest is in the entrepreneurs that choose to work in the ‘social sector’ - using organisations such as charities, social enterprises or socially-motivated businesses to create sustained social value. These ‘social entrepreneurs’, as they have come to be called, use their creativity, drive and energy to address the pressing social issues of our time.

It takes many different kinds of players to create sustainable, well run commercial or social organisations. Not everyone is an entrepreneur. Nor should they be.

All entrepreneurs consume resources. They need appropriate finance to test, market and grow their ideas. In venture capital, Sir Ronald Cohen likens the relationship between entrepreneurs and venture capital to the two strands of DNA, each ...hi-tech enterprise and venture capital support each other’s advance, like a double helix. Sir Ronald Cohen supporting the advance of the other. In extending this analogy, I like to think that social entrepreneurs and venture philanthropy enjoy a similar, mutually supportive relationship. This relationship summarises my current research and consulting interests.







1 The Foundation: A Great American Secret; How Private Wealth Is Changing The World, (2007), PublicAffairs

2 The Second Bounce of the Ball, (2007), Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London