Monthly Archives: October 2015

Social Entrepreneurship

What is the primary driver of the social entrepreneur?

The primary driver for a social entrepreneur is addressing social issues and providing what he believes is a solution.

Should green or cleantech ventures be classified as social enterprises? If so, why?

Yes. Because they are concerned about the environment. And even though their aim might be to make profit, they are still considered a social venture.

 What are some of the negatives of forming the social venture as a nonprofit?

  • Expensive
  • Time consuming
  • Too many legal requirements
  • Cannot keep information “private”

Why do stakeholders view the social venture differently from a traditional venture?

Because they tend to always associate social ventures to non-profit not knowing for example that a social venture even though it focuses on societal change, can also be a money making venture.

What are some of the growth challenges of a social venture?

  • Not being able to find the funding/convince the investors in order to grow
  • Transparency expectations
  • Venture goals/ideas not aligned with those of the employees

The differences between Social Entrepreneurship, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Philanthropy

Philanthropy one of the many tools the company can use as part of it’s CSR agenda. Furthermore, philanthropy can be occasional. A company doing a donation to an organization and that’s it. Where CSR tends to focus on the long run.

Social entrepreneurship is completely building the “change” factor into the company’s business model whereas a company CSR is something a company decides to undertake or not.

The differences between Social Entrepreneurship and Business Entrepreneurs

The main difference is the reward. A business entrepreneur tend to see the reward in terms of money (profits) whereas the social entrepreneur focuses on his impact on the community. But probably because there are different factors that influence them. A business entrepreneur might get pressure from the partners/investors/banks whereas someone who puts his money in a social venture would tend to have different motivations than making profit.

 

Venture Idea market analysis

Scheduled delivery system (and mobile application)

Our product can be used by anyone who purchases stuff online. If you don’t want your stuff dropped in front of the door because it can be stolen or live in a building with no doorman. A lot of buildings are trying to reduce costs since renters complain about high prices. Therefore, certain buildings for example in NYC no longer have doormen, replaced by electronic security systems. Sometimes you might have something unexpected and therefore not be there for your delivery.

Out of 5 billion retail shipments in the US in 2013, 100 million were failed deliveries. We are offering a solution to this problem. Intermediary between delivery company and receiver.

We are going to focus on big cities first.

 

Product schedule delivery everyday of the week (between 4 and midnight)

Value pricing 

 

Key partners

  • US Postal Service, UPS, FedEx
  • Depot partners
  • Online retailers

 

Key activities

Problem solving

 

Key resources 

  • Depot operated by the company
  • Cars
  • Drivers
  • Databases, servers

 

Value proposition 

Convinience (you decide which day you want your package delivered, even on weekends until midnight)

 

Customer segment

Online shoppers

 

Channels

Internet (mobile devices and the application)

 

Revenue stream

Customers are charged per delivery. Until a certain weight, price is fixed ($6.99) no matter day or time. Above that, special prices apply.

 

Cost structure

  • Fixed costs : Deals with the retailers and the depot partners
  • Variable : Location of delivery (gas), costs for servers, database and app (increase with traffic/users), drivers

Promotion If you convince a friend to try the service, his first delivery is free and you also get a free delivery. -> word of mouth and social media (promotion codes)

Competition Amazon one-hour package delivery

 

Global e-commerce statistics and facts

  • http://www.statista.com/topics/871/online-shopping/