Social Entrepreneurship Panel

To close off the eventful Fall Semester of 2019, The Business Builders decided to mix things up a little and collaborate with APTE (Alleviating Poverty Through Entrepreneurship). Instead of being focused on making loads of money and living glamorous lives of wealth and fame (this is a joke people), this meeting was focused on entrepreneurship that prioritizes social change rather than monetary value. APTE was able to put together a panel consisting of some of the hottest social entrepreneurs relevant in the Columbus area. The panel consisted of Harley Blakeman, Tim Rush, John Rush, Adam Morris, and Maddison Mikhail Bush. Each of these social entrepreneurs has a unique background and a unique way in how they are impacting social change in the communities they work in. Below are the ins and outs of the “meat and potatoes” of the LAST Business Builders Meeting of the semester. Enjoy!

John is the founder of Cleanturn, a company who gives second chances to people who have traveled down the wrong path and are trying to find their way again. John didn’t have it easy growing up. His mom was a recovering addict and he lived with his dad in a trailer park with a cardboard box as a dining room table. Although he experienced poverty growing up, he never knew he was poor. He and his dad would regularly visit the homeless shelter and the nursing home, giving what they could to support those less fortunate than them. This exposed John to crucial life problems such as poverty and old age, and got him thinking about those issues early on in his life. He ended up raising his 8 kids on the West Side of Chicago after serving in the Marine Corps. He worked with Vice Lords, a local gang from Chicago’s West Side, and was able to start rubbing shoulders with members of the local community and making a difference. No one wanted to hire the people he was trying to work with, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. He used the skills they had to create a company revolving around those skills. The result was a painting company. And from that company, John was able to get a glimpse of how a service based company could be leveraged to provide a platform for individuals trying to reintegrate back into society in a positive way. From that idea, Cleanturn was born.

Harley Blakeman is the founder of Honestjobs.co, a tech company that works with previously incarcerated individuals in order to find them a job at companies around the country. A previous drug addict who sobered up, graduated top of his class, yet still couldn’t find a job, he became passionate about solving the negative stigmas behind past incarcerations and giving people a second chance. Maddison Mikhail Bush is the founder of Point, an app that acts as a hub for volunteering opportunities around you. She was motivated by the lack of good that can be done from your phone and wanted to give nonprofits the same AI benefits that so many for-profit companies have. Adam Morris is the founder of Wild Tiger Tees, a t-shirt company that employs youth experiencing homelessness and teaches them the art of screen printing. He found his passion in volunteering and decided to turn that passion and impact into a lifestyle. Tim Rush is the founder of Third Way Cafe. He found his passion through the idea of a community being able to come together to do good and has modeled his coffee shop off of that belief.

The Panel’s Top Pieces of Knowledge

• Depending on the company's priorities, if a company sees success, as they grow they will be more and more susceptible to giving back in a socially impactful way. 
• No matter what company you work for, as an individual, there is never a point in your life where you can’t give back in a positive way.
• Whether you are an entrepreneur starting a social enterprise of your own or an intrapreneur advocating for your company to start impacting social change, it is up to you to be aware of the societal issues out there and bridge the gaps of wealth and power.
• Depending on the impact you want your company to make, you can either beg for money or you can go out and make money. The success of these two methods is dependent on your company's story and your company’s mission, but be aware of when to use which approach.
• One advantage that Social Enterprises have over for-profit businesses is clarity of vision. When you start a company with the intention of bringing about social change, you can address every problem/decision your company makes with the question of whether this is helping your company’s vision. With for-profit companies, it is much more gray and out of focus.
• When working with previously incarcerated people, you have to deliver quality service. The research is there. It supports the notion that previously incarcerated individuals have better turnover rates, are more reliable, and care more about their job, but people who are on edge about investing in your product or service still need that extra incentive. That incentive comes from holding a high standard of service and accepting nothing less than the best. You can’t succeed by running a half-ass organization. You have to have a vetting system, you have to enforce accountability, and you have to have a high standard of excellence. It is the only way to succeed in the business of changing perceptions.
• Transparency is very important when starting a company and sometimes you have to be brutally honest. You can’t expect to pay your employees livable wages when you can barely pay yourself a livable wage. Entrepreneurship is a hustle, and in order to see success, you and your employees have to care a lot more about the vision and mission than about what you’re getting paid. You have to be willing to sacrifice getting paid less than what you are worth in order to go do something you care about. And it is because of this, that honesty and transparency are key.
• If you join a startup early on as one of the founding employees, you need to have a clear and concise conversation about profit share/equity. Things get ugly when money comes into play so it is important to have something down in writing so you don’t get screwed over. 
• Don’t do 50/50 partnerships, establish a leader. It will make things much more clear and efficient going forward. 
• It’s never as hard to start something as you perceive it to be. Never be afraid to run with an idea, whether you feel informed or not, because there will always be someone out there who is informed and can help refine you idea. 
• Surround yourself with people that are smarter than you. If you surround yourself with mediocre friends who are content with a static lifestyle, you yourself will eventually become content with where you’re at. 
• Live your life with purpose, intentionality, and passion. When you are young, you are told you have all the time in the world and when you are old you will wonder where all the time has gone. Recognize the pricelessness of time and act upon it.
• Connect with the people who are obsessing. Although you may not realize it, they are the ones that just might pop off. You can’t successfully start a business if you aren’t obsessed with the idea, better yet, obsessed with the problem.

There are two ends to the spectrum of Social Entrepreneurship. One extreme is nonprofit organizations, entirely dependent on grants and public subsidies, that are causing great impact on society. The other end of the spectrum is for-profit businesses that have strong missions and strong values and use their power and money to cause a social impact. Social Entrepreneurship falls in a very gray area and everyone has their interpretations and opinions on what companies/businesses are considered social enterprises. The underlying theme that is present in all social enterprises is the result of social change. As Business Builders, we strive off the importance of problem solving. Social Entrepreneurship is just that. Don’t just make a company, make a company that inspires good in the world around us. That is how you find purpose.

Jared Musci

VP of Public Relations