‘Social Entrepreneurship’- if not for money, then for what?

Some other day I had a very interesting talk with one of my best friends- one of these philosophical talks about life and its purpose. Both of us in more or less similar stage of life- studying in business school. We were thinking ‘’How many good things have already happened and are happening around us. God, family and friends- the world gave me so much- we are healthy, safe, happy, we can develop our hobbies and make our dreams come true. BUT…not everyone can! NOT EVERYONE CAN!!!
What are we giving to the world? How can we as students, as professionals in the future, do to have a positive impact on others around us? We cannot save the world, but there are some things which we actually can do!’’ Our talk was very long and from time to time we still come back to the topic to refresh our ideas… Conclusions?
Money is not everything! And even if it is important- you can still earn money helping others at the same time! It is not impossible!!! The solution might not be actually that difficult and it might be through Social Entrepreneurship.
I DARE YOU TO TRY!

Social Entrepreneurship - What is it?

In the world of growing social and economic inequalities, there is a need to do business on a human scale- focused on funding and implementing solutions to cultural, social and environmental issues. This is a new approach to business, social services and social engagement. Social enterprise might be similar to any other profit-oriented business and generate profit- what makes a difference is the way how the profit is used. The profit of social businesses aims to fulfil the social mission, in order to contribute to social equality and improve living conditions in a community. Therefore, the profit is either reinvested or use to realise social goals, such as creating new jobs, cultural needs, social inclusion, health care and preservation of the natural environment.

Why would you care?

Starting a social enterprise is a great opportunity for all those who aim to create something which besides monetary value has the higher purpose. It includes combining innovation, resources and opportunity to address critical social or environmental challenges in order to fight with marginalisation, environmental deterioration and loss of human dignity.

Actually making money…    … and much more.

Social entrepreneurial business does not equal not-for-profit organisations. Instead, they are concepts which might also make a profit when solving a social problem. In either case of not-for-profit or for-profit social organisation, their primary objective is to create sustainable system change.

5 keys to success for social entrepreneurs by Lluis Pareras[1]

5. They do know the real value of an idea- which is nothing. - The real value depends on the execution of the idea

4. They hate. -  anxiety about existing situation which without taking proper action hurts or even kills people

3. They shout their existence to the world. – sharing ideas with others in order to create maximum possible value

2. They are paranoid. – focusing on their weaknesses instead of strengths in order to always improve and fix problems which might appear

1. They look at the social impact and the money at the same time. – successful social entrepreneurship might be a beautiful idea, however, it still needs money and venture capital in order to develop and implement ideas and to attract appropriate people

… But I do already have my business, so how can I help?

Having a positive impact does not mean that you need to give your money to charity/community and give up your profit. Being more socially conscious and taking responsible decisions might actually positively impact your business, attracting employees and customers as an organisation which aims to make the world a better space. What can you do?

1.           Create a social responsibility mission, which will shape your values and choices. Aim to be authentic and think logically how you can minimise negative effects of your business decisions.

2.           Establish attainable goals, which you are actually able to achieve and which fit your business idea.

3.           Cooperate with other organisations and businesses, such as local charities improving local economy and community.

4.           Engage your employees, to boost their morale and productivity. Employees as main stakeholders of any organisation consist a base of positive change.

5.           Reimagine giving- it is not only about donations and money you give- it is mainly about the way how you run your business and what is your aim. If you are determined to create a positive impact, make sure you have a support of stakeholders (employees, government, investors, etc.), involve them and go for it!

Anna Pierz

[1] P is for Lluis Pareras: Five Keys To Success For Social Entrepreneurs. (2017, February 03). Retrieved April 19, 2017, from http://www.thepositiveencourager.global/lluis-pareras-five-keys-to-success-for-social-entrepreneurs-2/

Big Smart Cities - Quinta edição da maior competição de empreendedorismo de Portugal!

O “Big Smart Cities” aconteceu em Cascais no dia 17 de Abril e eu enquanto estagiária da Fábrica de Startups tive a sorte de poder assistir ao lançamento deste evento, que é a maior competição de empreendedorismo do país. O BIG smart cities, promovido pela Vodafone Power Lab e pela Ericsson, é uma plataforma nacional com um programa de pré-aceleração que premeia ideias tecnológicas que melhorem a vida nas cidades.

A partir deste projeto, Cascais fica conhecida não só pelo seu mar, pelo sol e pelos maravilhosos passeios como também pela primeira cidade experimental para startups. Para o início do lançamento contámos com uma breve apresentação do programa pelo Mário Vaz, Presidente executivo da Vodafone Portugal, seguido de Miguel Pinto Luz, Vice-presidente da Câmara Municipal de Cascais e por último, Pedro Queirós, Presidente executivo da Ericsson em Portugal.

Mário Vaz, durante o seu discurso, ainda nos disse que o projeto que começou em 2013, anda de mãos dadas com a inovação e a tecnologia, procurando as melhores ideias de negócio com uma base tecnológica que melhorem a qualidade de vida de todos.

Os mesmos ainda nos explicaram que o principal objetivo do Big Smart Cities é “descobrir e apoiar ideias de negócio, de base tecnológica, e que sejam capazes de melhorar o dia-a-dia daqueles que passam ou vivem nos grandes centros urbanos do país”. Este ano ganha uma nova dimensão, pois dá aos participantes mais e melhores oportunidades - depois de trabalhados os modelos de negócio, as melhores ideias terão uma rede de cidades experimentais onde poderão testar e implementar o seu piloto.

Para os vencedores haverá excelentes prémios. O 1º lugar terá um apoio de 10,000€, uma viagem a um dos pólos de inovação da Ericsson na Europa, um espaço de trabalho e período de aceleração no Vodafone Power Lab durante seis meses e ainda o acesso à cidade experimental para a realização de todos os testes necessários. Para os restantes vencedores (2º e 3º lugar) haverá 2500€, o acesso à cidade experimentar e também o período de seis meses no Vodafone Power Lab.

O Big Smart Cities irá percorrer várias cidades de Portugal, tais como Évora, Porto, Lisboa, Coimbra e Braga. Por isso, se queres ser BIG e se tens todos os requisitos pretendidos, não percas esta grande oportunidade de puderes passar a tua ideia dos “powerpoints para o negócio”!

Marília Sacramento

What I Have Learned From Working at Fábrica de Startups

Lisbon is a renowned European city known for its ‘free-spirited’, ‘laid-back’ and ‘hipstery’ attitude. A city that promotes freedom and accepts diversity, its start-up scene is not any different. I heard from many people, how traditional big European companies are rigidly structured. I was never up for such big corporation and its lifeless rigidity. I always wanted to work for an organization where cultural diversity, individuality and finally youthful energy will be appreciated. What better place is there to find all that at once than a Lisbon start-up!

And yes, my experience is way too unique than I expected! Since the beginning of 2017, I have been working as an intern at Fábrica de Startups, an accelerator company that aims to create new startups in Portugal, targeting the global market, to help them grow quickly and become successful examples.

The first day I came to work, I was not happy about the open-office arrangement of Fábrica workplace, though it has all the open office requirements implemented- a big open room filled with natural sunlight, fresh air and a reasonable distance (2 feet) from colleagues. I asked myself like any other serious professional with strong work ethics would do, how I could use Facebook here if one of the manager is sitting right behind me and could look at my screen anytime! Same things apply for my new colleagues, sitting on a distance of 2 feet from each other.

I can proudly say, I am an old fashioned person, and I believe in working in peace, serenity and under discipline. In my opinion, an open workspace is something opposite of all those things and you spend time chatting and laughing with your colleagues. I am glad that I could not be more wrong. I went through a week of personal training for my work, but I learned the most from my colleagues sitting next to me. I’ll credit this to the open office arrangement.

Let the discipline work for itself

As per as discipline, my boss never take a look at whether I am facebooking, chatting or working. We have two weekly meetings, where I and my team present what we did the whole week. And trust me, you don’t want to be the one doing the least work in your team and be embarrassed! So I work for my own performance and discipline myself on own.

Diversity is the new genius

Another perk of working here is getting to know people of different countries. Even in my team, there are colleagues from different nationalities- Indian, Dutch, Polish & many more. I meet really talented people who are fun to hang out with even outside work. I see how people claim working in a start-up is a lot of fun, for me it’s the colleagues who make the work interesting and enjoyable.

Perks is the new culture

Few other nice things that make other company’s employees jealous (because I brag about these so much): free coke, juice, pasta or pizza (I know! right?). If you are a non-portuguese speaker, No Problem! Everyone speaks English here.  The company hosts and participate in many events such as networking events, conferences, workshop and pitching competitions that anyone can join.

When all that glitters in not gold

For me, start-up is young people’s game. The average employee age range is 20 to 27 years. In my team, the eldest person is 27 years old, and she is my boss running a team of 9 people. If you are a 40+ year old person and consider yourself 20 something by your heart, then maybe you can give the start-up a try. In reality, every one of my colleague works themselves into the ground, with highest efficiency and quality wise work.

Well, have I caught your attention? Then, you can contact Fábrica de Startups team and find out more! We are currently based in Oeiras, near to the beautiful beach. Who knows? You can even take one of our summer internships as a first step towards becoming an entrepreneur yourself.

Rahul

BET24 – as 24 horas que movem o empreendedorismo

Cheguei à Microsoft para o BET24 por volta das 8h quando ainda tudo estava calmo, o que me pareceu normal para um sábado de manhã. Rapidamente, o espaço começou a encher à medida que os participantes iam fazendo o check-in e eram conduzidos até ao auditório onde o Tiago Freire de Andrade, presidente do BET, nos deu uma calorosa boas-vindas e nos congratulou por termos sido selecionados para os desafios.

Após o curto discurso começaram as rondas de conferências. Num estilo casual e informal, ouvi atentamente os oradores de renome em três diferentes categorias: startups nacionais, investidores e empreendedores internacionais. Na primeira ronda de conferências, Lara Vidreiro (Chic By Choice), André Albuquerque (Uniplaces) e Gonçalo Farinha (Drivit) revelaram como começaram os seus negócios, quais foram os maiores desafios e deram algumas dicas sobre como ser bem-sucedido num ambiente altamente competitivo.

De seguida, foi a vez de Marta Palmeiro (Pier Capital), João Freire de Andrade (BIG Start Ventures) e Celso (BrightPixel) subirem ao palco para nos esclarecerem a questão do investimento nas startups: o que é que os investidores procuram, como fazer um pitch e a que detalhes devem os empreendedores prestar atenção quando criam o seu modelo de negócio.

A terceira conferência versou sobre a questão ‘como ser bem-sucedido num ambiente internacional?’. O know-how foi transmitido por Kevin Loaec (empreendedor internacional), Artur Pereira (Country manager do Web Summit) e Francisco Veloso (Diretor da Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics) para mim e mais de 300 jovens inovadores que se encontravam na sala.  

A seguir à ronda de conferências, fomos divididos de acordo com o desafio para o qual nos candidatámos, que podia ser um dos seguintes: Startup 1.0, Startup 2.0, Innovation e Social. Ao longo da tarde recebi ajuda de mentores e participei em workshops onde pude obter mais informações sobre diversos tópicos, como por exemplo: ‘Como construir um Business Model Canvas’, ‘Como fazer um pitch’ e ‘Desenvolvimento de Produto de Hardware’. O sócio fundador da Fábrica de Startups, António Lucena de Faria também esteve presente para ajudar os participantes do desafio Startup 1.0 criarem o seu business model canvas.

A pausa de almoço veio mesmo a tempo para recuperar novas energias. Da uma às cinco da tarde, trabalhei intensamente com a minha equipa no desenvolvimento das ideias, de forma a melhorar o pitch final. Conseguia-se definitivamente sentir o entusiasmo, foco e determinação na sala!

Num piscar de olhos, o tão-esperado momento do dia chegou: as sessões de pitch. Cada equipa apresentou as suas ideias a um painel de jurados, que iam avaliando e recolhendo todas as informações para mais tarde divulgar quem seriam os finalistas deste primeiro dia do BET24.

Agora, resta-nos aguardar pelo dia 6 de Maio para descobrirmos quem serão os grandes vencedores de cada desafio do BET24. Fiquem por aí!

Maria Ana Peres