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Live From Impact Pop in San Francisco, at IMPACTATHON Workshop

In this episode of the Impact Podcast, Innov8social founder shares her experience about co-hosting a workshop with founder of Impactpop. The interesting thing about the workshop is that, it actually happened in a Tipi. Neetal told that the participants had a exploratory conversations about social impact, and how each of their backgrounds, cultures influence their idea of social impact. The focus of the workshop was the intersection of art and social impact and it fit well with the theme of the event.

Listen to the Episode

ImpactPop Workshop

This episode we will get to listen from the participants, of the workshop and what they gained from the workshop.

Jessica is one of the participants, and she found about the event from one of the podcast episodes. It was exciting for her to meet like minded people, about art and social justice. She found that there is a lot of energy in this topics and the notion of redirecting, the funding from source to the need was really helpful.

Marisela is the founder of Impact Pop and is also one of the participants of this event. She found that event brought together people with like minds, and people who care about innovation and social enterprise. The workshop provides access to products that are designed to solve problems, and open up space for people to connect and talk about things that matter. It is also exciting, that this type of event happened in an unconventional way such sitting in a Tipi.

One of the other participants at the the event, was Sousuzakhi from Japan.  He is trying to meet with a lot of B-corps for his research, and he is from a venture capital background. He is interested in helping, community business in Japan. It was his first Tipi experience and he felt the interactions with fellow participants about social enterprise is an enriching experience. That was all from the Tipi workshop (ImpactPop) from SFO.

Please stay tuned for more impact podcasts during this fall.

 

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Live from The Expat Woman Event Featuring Women Social Entrepreneurs

In this episode of The Impact Podcast, we look back at “Social Entrepreneurs & Tech For Good Startups” mixer, panel and pitch session hosted by The Expat Woman in San Francisco on May 10, 2016. It took place at a creative co-working space called “We Work” in San Francisco.

Innov8social Founder and CEO, Neetal Parekh, opened the event with a presentation covering the importance of social impact in today’s economic and entrepreneurship landscape, the impetus behind her book, 51 Questions on Social Entrepreneurship, and common questions related to legal structure, business models, and impact measurement that often arise for aspiring and active social entrepreneurs . What followed was a panel discussion with women social entrepreneurs on a spectrum of topics including finding co-founders, prioritizing & measuring social impact, fund raising, adopting a business model and more.

Listen to the “The Expat Woman” Podcast Episode 

Meet Sparsh

The Expat Woman

We met Sparsh at the event. He is an engineer and past past participant in Impactathon. He enjoyed the panel discussions and identified three key topics raised “women in entrepreneurship”, “social impact” and “community”. He felt that the number of women who attended the event is an indicator of the growing interest and awareness in creating social impact. Second topic is about the impact, that these entrepreneurs focus on, and what it means for them. The third one is about community, where the impact is being tied to.

Meet Amanda

Amanda was in the panel discussion. She said it was amazing, to be in the environment of woman who has the same passion and energy. It would help to affirm her goals and inspires her, to take it to the next level.

Meet Daria

Daria was a volunteer at the event . From the evening’s session she noted learning new things and hearing helpful tips from her fellow social entrepreneurs. She learnt how the business model evolves, right from ideation phase. She also learnt, how to take it down the right path and learn from criticism. Also she loves to hear success stories, which keeps her excited and motivated.

Meet Priyam and Vrindha

Priyam, talented co-organizer of this talk and many events and pitch nights hosted by The Expat Woman also shared her perspectives from the evening. She felt that for someone aspiring to be a social entrepreneur, the panel discussions offered valuable insight and takeaways.

Vrindha share her perspective on the evening as a social entrepreneur and social intrapreneur. She reflected on how social impact has evolved in the craft sector and impact investing space. She shared a vision of the future of the intersection of business and social impact where social impact can become part of the landscape, language, and success measures of business.

Meet Christina

Christina joined the event during her trip to San Francisco from New Zealand. Coming from her own deep work in the social impact space, she was inspired hear about the success stories from the panel discussions.

Show Notes

Here are a few articles related to episode.

More About Expat Woman

  • Website: http://www.theexpatwoman.com/
  • Value Proposition: “When you move to a new country, you  often leave behind your friends, your family, your jobs, your favorite stores, restaurants. everything that you are familiar with.  No matter where  you come from, the frustrations of coping and settling into a new country can be universal.“
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Live from Impactathon 2016 at TechShop in San Francisco!

In this episode we meet the participants from Impactathon 2016, where participants share candid experiences and perspectives from thought leaders and participants in the social impact space; hear about their successes and challenges and how they continually pivot to pursue both profit and social impact.

The participants also got a special guided tour of TechShop in San Francisco. This is a powerful resource to build physical things using state of the art equipment and technology. They also learnt about classes and new packages that TechShop offers.

Listen to the Podcast Episode 

Meet Andrew Calvo 

Andrew Calvo, is the Director of Sales, SF Bay Area at TechShop.  At the ImpactAndrew Calvoathon,  Andrew introduced the Tech Shop to the crowd with demos of metal shop, wood shop and laser cutters.

Andrew explained, that hundreds of companies launch from TechShop. Square who developed their first prototype for the Square Reader, a device that turns smartphones and tablets into credit-card readers, came out of Tech Shop.

Andrew also explained that, a lot of Social Impact projects have kicked out of Tech Shop. Bio-light camping stove is a great way to cook food, it reduces the particulates coming out of the flame is one among them. Similarly Resource Sanitation helped to develop, better sanitation products for the developing world. Dodo case is another example, which got benefited out of Tech Shop. He also explained that learning about prototyping tools and technologies, would spark a lot of ideas and can eventually lead to innovative and impactful projects.

Another company, Embrace, is making sleeping bag-like incubators to keep children warm, hundreds of thousands of babies die because they can’t make it to an incubator quickly enough. TechShop also offers free public tours of every machine and shop area.

Show Notes

Here are a few articles related to this episode.

More about Impactathon

  • Website: https://www.innov8social.com/impactathon
  • Value Proposition: “Live and online events to bring together thinkers and doers inspired to create and further social impact. Join us to explore the space, learn about nuances, and expand your network.“
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Live from Ability in Tech Summit in Berkeley, California

Ability in Tech Summit

In this episode we meet the participants, speakers, and organizers at “Ability in Tech Summit” . The summit addresses barriers and biases for people with different physical and mental abilities in tech – through workshops, panel discussions, a technology showcase, a career fair and a safe space to learn and meaningfully connect.

The first Tech Inclusion Conference in September 2015 began as a simple idea by co-founders Melinda Briana Epler and Wayne Sutton to bring together the tech community to discuss solutions to the industry’s diversity and inclusion challenges. The idea quickly gained momentum with overwhelming support from impassioned speakers, supportive sponsors and engaged partners.

Listen to the Podcast Episode 

Meet San

"Ability in Tech Summit"

“Ability in Tech Summit”

This is day 23 of our 30 Day Podcast Project!  Today, you will meet San, from the “The Lions Center for the Blind”. The Lions Center for the Blind uses the latest in technology to provide individualized, one-on-one training to develop the skills necessary to succeed.

San feels more work needs to be done to educate those who are not aware of the laws protecting those of disabilities. They feel more resistance based on the skepticism and lack of understand of person’s ability rather than the actual disability.

San hopes to see what’s in the store, for the progress of those who are disabled. His organization provides rehabilitation services for people who are blind or low vision to build independent and productive lives. There is a professional team of experienced instructors provide individualized, one-on-one training for our clients to develop the skills necessary to succeed. To know more please visit lbcenter.org

Meet Lorna

Lorna Seitz is from Legis Institute, they are in process of developing an online platform to facilitate collaborative policy and legislation development.Lorna is attending the session so that she take care of the concerns for the disabled.

Legis tailors interventions to build on an institution’s existing strengths and address its unique challenges. They begin the needs assessment process by using unique institution-mapping and assessment system to identify repetitive patterns of behavior that undermine institutional fairness, effectiveness, and efficacy.  Clients and partners have used their resources to improve

  • legislative drafting processes in Government ministries and in parliaments,
  • public hearings and the use of public input to law and regulations,
  • monitoring and evaluation of legislation as it is implemented,
  • law reform processes
  • court functioning

To know more please visit legisinstitute.org

Meet Darlene

Darlene is working with Alameda County Social Services Agency. The agency promotes the economic and social well-being of individuals, families, neighborhoods and communities. The Alameda County Social Services Agency is comprised of 2,200 men and women working collectively and in partnership with community-based organizations to serve the needs of the community. 

  • The Agency assists approximately 11.3 percent of Alameda County’s residents.
  • Benefits programs contribute over $278 million to the local economy through cash assistance and CalFresh.
  • Every month more than 52,000 people receive CalWORKs (assistance for families with children), CalFresh and General Assistance.
  • Every month health insurance is made available to more than 78,000 people through the Medi-Cal program.
  • Every month more than 11,000 frail, elderly and disabled individuals receive in home care, adult protection and support managing their affairs, and throughtout the year 16,000 seniors will receive services through the Area Agency on Aging. 3,700 children are in foster care.

More About Ability in Tech

  • Website: http://ability.techinclusion.co/
  • Value Proposition: “As technology continues to affect every sector of business and innovation, there’s a growing concern for the lack inclusion across the tech ecosystem. While we work to correct this through a growing focus on diversity and inclusion, we often leave out populations of capable people in tech like those with visible and invisible disabilities.“
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Live from Sustainatopia! With Tom of Tom’s of Maine, Sustainatopia’s John Rosser, and ConsciousStep

In this episode we meet three different personalities, thanks to 2016-Sustainatopia. Sustainotopia is one of the leading events in the world for social, financial and environmental sustainability & impact. All three people whom we meet today, share a common goal – Social Responsibility!

We met Tom of Tom’s Maine, Sustainatopia’s John Rosser, and Prashant Mehta of ConsciousStep.

Listen to the Sustainatopia Podcast

Meet Tom

Tom

Tom Chappel of Tom’s

We met Tom of Tom’s of Maine—a leading natural products company focused on oral and personal care products. The company has a long-standing commitment to supporting people, communities and the living planet. For over 42 years, Tom’s has sponsored hundreds of nonprofit efforts by giving 10% of its profits back to organizations that support human and environmental goodness.

Tom’s of Maine was founded by Tom and Kate Chappell in 1970 with US$5,000. The Mission of Tom: to create products that were more healthful to use, and to produce those products in synergy with their community and environment.

Meet John Rosser

We met John Rosser, founder of Sustainatopia— one of the leading events in the world for social, financial and environmental sustainability & impact.

john-clinton-hands

John Rosser of Sustainatopia

As curator of Sustainatopia- a global conference which attracts many thousands of global thought leaders and participants from around the world- as well as publisher of Sustainatopia.com magazine, John remains closely connected to the entire global eco-system of social, financial and environmental sustainability.

The first company he founded, the worlds largest international MBA job fair, was sold to the Washington Post in 1996. Rosser has his Master in International Business Studies degree from the University of South Carolina, and is fluent in German, with moderate fluency in Spanish and French.

Meet Concious Step

conscious-step

Conscious Socks

Conscious step was founded by three friends that weren’t happy with the problems faced by the world today. They were deeply concerned with the gravity of these problems and the potential implications on all of us.

Conscious Step make socks that fight for causes that matter. Each pair is uniquely designed, ethically manufactured and partnered with a first class non-profit to fund quantified impact for the world’s biggest challenges. For example, the pink and blue argyle pattern provides six therapeutic food packs to malnourished children in Sub Saharan Africa, in partnership with our non-profit partner Action Against Hunger

Show Notes

Here are a few interesting articles about people and their companies we met in this episode.

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3 Things I Learned at #GES2016 – Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2016

President Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, and Entrepreneurs at #GES2016

In these quiet and reflective moments after the Global Entrepreneurship Summit I have been trying to put words to thought. The three days of GES, the experience of Innov8social covering the event, seeing noted leaders from the US, Silicon Valley, and the globe; including President Obama, Sundar Pichai, Mark Zuckerberg, Reid Hoffman, Secretary of State John Kerry was a profound experience.

The opportunity to meet and interview incredible social entrepreneurs, investors, thought leaders including Leila Janah, Daymond John, Cheryl Yeoh, Kiva.org, and GES stars Kenia Mattis and Jean Bosco—all of whom who graciously joined our live podcasting— provided a meaningful way to share the experience and inspiration.

Listen to the Podcast Episodes

Now that a few days have afforded some time to reflect and act on the experience, there is more. Perhaps it is 5+ years of blogging, but I tend to think in lists. And here is one about what I learned from the Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2016 (#GES2016).

 

3 Things I Learned at #GES2016 – Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2016

 

Learned at #GES2016 with Steve Case with GES Entrepreneurs

1. Social Entrepreneurship Has Reached the Main Stage.

Panels and discussions that five years ago would have been happening in breakout sessions or over the water cooler among social impact-aligned delegates and entrepreneurs, were front and center on main stage. Right from the plenary session when Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Richard Stengel opened by saying “we are all social entrepreneurs”, to the panel discussion in that same plenary session moderated by Chamath Palihapitiya, of Social Capital, in which all of the entrepreneurs were mission-driven—social entrepreneurship was less a ‘separate kind of entrepreneurship’ at GES but more ‘the future of entrepreneurship’. For further evidence simply look to the agenda of sessions as well as the docket of press releases announced, including a host of new impact funds by venture capital, incubators, and foundations.

Learned at #GES2016 with Chamath Palihapitiya2. We Must Start Where We Are.

We heard stories from entrepreneurs in post-conflict Africa to those who grapple with multiple failures, traction that is gradual to build, lack of any type of funding resembling numbers and sources we see in Silicon Valley, and the drive to persevere from successful social entrepreneurs like Cheryl Yeoh who has been ‘the other’ by way of ethnicity, race, culture, and socio-economic background but leveraged her determination and vision to not only lead and exit a successful enterprise, but then return to her home country of Malaysia to head the country’s bold initiative to encourage entrepreneurs, MaGIC, to create new pathways and opportunities for future leaders and social entrepreneurs.

My favorite example of starting where you are is GES itself. Initiated by President Obama in his first year in office, he and his administration could have no idea that six iterations later they would have created not just an event, but an institution. With spinoffs such as the White House PAGE program, numerous announcements of impact-driven entrepreneurial, education, and investment initiatives, and beyond that, a culture of inclusion, accessibility, and possibility bring people from corners of the country and world together. He started where he was, as a new president with an innovative idea, and iteratively, that idea has grown and become more impactful over time.

 

3. The World Is Waiting, For Us.

Learned at #GES2016 with Sundar PichaiSundar Pichai, CEO of Google, said of the future of entrepreneurship at the closing plenary session of GES2016: “it’s about more than building apps to make money, it’s about transforming industries, creating millions of jobs, curing diseases, fighting global warming, making our schools better for our children.”

Pichai ended his speech, “We’re all looking to you. The world is counting on you, and we can’t wait to see what you build next.”

President Obama continued the sentiment, “I believe in you, and America believes in you.  And we believe that you have the talent and the skills and the ambition not just to pursue your dreams, but to realize them; that you can lift up not just your own families, but communities and countries, and create opportunity and prosperity and hope for decades to come.  That’s the promise that we see in all of you.”

The world is waiting. Entrepreneurship is changing. We have been issued a call to action by our President and innovative leaders who have changed the game themselves. We are ready to go and do.

 

Innov8social Photos from #GES2016

 

 Watch the Video Recaps

 

 

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Live at #GES2016 Closing Day with Daymond John, Kiva, GES Global Social Entrepreneurs

Innov8social is at #GES2016 Closing Day where President Barack Obama, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, the cast of ‘Silicon Valley’, and global social entrepreneurs spoke at the plenary sessions.

Listen in to hear reflections from that morning session, learn about a few opportunities to further your social enterprise work and receive funding, and also hear from Shark Tank investor Daymond John about his perspectives on impact entrepreneurship. 

live at #GES2016 closing day

Live at #GES2016 Closing Day with Daymond John, Kiva, GES Global Social Entrepreneurs

Listen to the Episode

Show Notes

Alice Fenton, Silicon Valley Startup Cup

Vallerie Bellande, Sr. Business Development Manager at Kiva.org

Jean Bosco Nzeyimana from Rwanda, Founder of Habona

Daymond John, founder of FUBU, Investor, Shark Tank

Kenia Mattis

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Watch the Video Recap

 

More Innov8social Coverages of #GES2016

Podcast Episodes

Video Recaps

Photos from #GES2016

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Live at #GES2016 Opening Day With Cheryl Yeoh, GES Success Stories, Shared Studios and More

#GES2016 Opening Day

Live at #GES2016 Opening Day With Cheryl Yeoh, GES Success Stories, Shared Studios and More

The 7th annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit (#GES2016) has its official kickoff. Interestingly, social entrepreneurship played a leading role in Day 1, resonating in speeches by Secretary of State John Kerry, Founder of LinkedIn Reid Hoffman, the ‘why’ behind entrepreneurship explored in fireside chat with Airbnb founder Brian Chesky, and especially in a panel moderated by Founding Partner of Social+Capital, Chamath Palihapitiya. Join us behind the scenes through conversations with speakers, attendees, and exhibitors at GES2016 through this live-recored podcast and video recap.

 

Listen to the Episode

 

Show Notes

 

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Video Recap from #GES2016 Opening Plenary Session

 

More Innov8social Coverages of #GES2016

Podcast Episodes

Video Recaps

Photos from #GES2016

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Live at #GES2016 Plus: With Leila Janah, Ooshma Garg, US State Department and More

GES+ Day on Women and Youth in Entrepreneurship

Live at #GES2016 Plus: With Leila Janah, Ooshma Garg, US State Department, Malaysia Startup, and Fulbright Scholar

We are live at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit  2016, during the #GES2016 Plus day focusing on women and youth. This day preceded the official Opening Day of the Summit, with a special focus and eye on the expansion of resources, opportunity, and growing stories of entrepreneurship among and for women and youth. Interestingly, many of the entrepreneurs spoke about the social impact they are endeavoring to further with their enterprises and social enterprises.

Learn more about the agenda for #GES2016 Plus here.

 

Listen to the Episode

Show Notes

The episode includes interviews with:

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More Innov8social Coverages of #GES2016

Podcast Episodes

Video Recaps

Photos from #GES2016

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Live at Hive Global Leaders Program in San Francisco, Building Conscious Leadership

In this episode of The Impact Podcast, we are live at Hive! You will hear from a handful participants, organizers, volunteers, and mentors who were part of this eighth iteration of Hive Global Leaders Program, that took place in San Francisco in May 2016.

Listen to the Episode, Live at Hive Global Leaders

Show Notes

Social Impact Fellowship Programs Mentioned

Interviews

 

Reflections on Social Impact Fellowship and Leadership Programs

This past weekend I participated in the Hive Global Leaders Program in San Francisco. And on Day 3, I also led an unconference session on social entrepreneurship…swapping my seat in the audience for a mic on the stage.

And this fluidity to move been leading and participating, this synchronicity between giving abundantly and receiving with gratitude, is powerful. It gives us perspective, it reminds us to be humble, it inspires us to always be curious.

It creates opportunities to experience that indescribable feeling of wonder when you connect with people deeply engaged in work that moves the entire social impact sector further.

And that just may be why I am drawn to social impact fellowship and leadership programs. Each can provide a unique lens into the space, shaped by the organizers’ vision and mission. They can each reveal some aspect of the space and its diverse and unique participants. Best of all, we come to each changed in a different way, seeking different counsel or inspiration to help us reach our next goal, challenge, and success.

I am proud to have participated in StartupWeekend, New Leaders Council, StartingBloc, and Hive. They provide both the steady wall and the fluid edge that help map out the growing social impact space. And they provide the flow and tension that help clarify how our work can better serve, create value, and help grow a vibrant global community of social impact changemakers.

live at hive global leaders program

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