Taproot's Aaron Hurst has watched the social innovation movement grow for 15 years. He's seen it turn into a real economic and social force. But has it lost something in the process?
Aaron Hurst is the president and founder of the Taproot Foundation, which
works to match up skilled professionals with nonprofits who need their help. He's seen the social innovation space evolve from an open and undefined network of people trying to do good to a legitimate and more codified industry. While this certainly has created more respect and impact, Hurst isn't sure it's entirely better.
His advice for budding social entrepreneurs:
Know the difference between trying to create an innovation, and trying to scale that innovation. Trying to do both can often make it impossible to do either.
Find good partners. It's rare that a social innovation that doesn't involve multiple organizations and people.
This video is part of series of prominent social innovators, convened by PwC during the 2012 Social Innovation Summit discussing the evolution of social innovation and offering advice to social entrepreneurs. We'll be featuring them here on Co.Exist.
Here's a little preview of everyone who will be featured.
http://www.fastcoexist.com/1680423/the-rise-of-social-entrepreneurship-from-innovation-to-industry
Morgan Clendaniel
Morgan is the editor of Co.Exist. Formerly, he was the deputy editor of GOOD.
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