This Startup Accelerator Helps Social Entrepreneurs Increase Their Impact
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Interest in social entrepreneurship may be increasing, but most of the startup ecosystem remains focused on traditional companies. In Hartford, Connecticut, a group called reSET, the Social Enterprise Trust, is working to fill that gap.
ReSET has built an innovative mix of resources, funding and programs–including an accelerator–designed to help socially responsible businesses reach the next level. Its Impact Accelerator, now in its third year, is accepting applications until December 10th for its next session, which begins in January 2016 and runs until June. The accelerator was a winner of the U.S Small Business Administration Growth Accelerator Competition in 2015.
Unlike most programs, the accelerator has a flexible, weekend program as well as a pay-what-you-can model. Founders attend five weekend summits, and have access to mentors and an Entrepreneur-in-Residence. A $25,000 accelerator funding pool will be available to the cohort at the end of the program, and teams will also have priority access to reSET’s investment fund.
ReSET’s roots go back to 2007, when entrepreneur Katherine Emery, inspired in part by the Enron debacle, decided to turn The Walker Group, her technology consulting company, into a socially responsible enterprise. “What I kept hearing was what an ugly world business was,” she says. “It started to feel like a club I didn’t belong to.” She thought about selling her company, but then decided not to abandon what she’d spent 20 years building. Instead, she would “use it as a sandbox,” and explore ideas about what a business should be and do.
Though the term social enterprise wasn’t yet on most people’s radars, Emery started developing her company to be sure it was fiscally transparent and socially responsible. When it came to profits, she believed they should be shared among employees, the community and shareholders. As she was the only shareholder of her 30-employee company at the time, she created a non-profit called reSET, which had preferred shares and a board of directors with a socially responsible mandate. If she sold her company, that structure would ensure it would remain a social enterprise.
In 2010, with interest in the sector picking up, reSET hosted its first conference. A group of volunteers continued to develop reSET with the goals of educating entrepreneurs about benefit corporations, helping them access funding and creating community. ReSET now has a small staff, and offers a co-working space and mentor network as well as its many events. Emery also advocated for Connecticut’s benefit corporation legislation, which became law last year and is the only such law in the country that includes a preservation clause. Her goal, she says, is to turn Connecticut into the “social enterprise state.”
While more people are interested in the social enterprise model, there are still hurdles for founders to overcome when setting up and running such companies. Social enterprises can be harder to lead, says Emery. “Traditional business is not easy but it is simple, as anything that drives up revenue or drives down costs is good,” she says. “But decision making when you have double or triple bottom lines requires a lot more balancing.” Measuring results can also be a challenge. And when starting out, it can be hard for founders to get the guidance they need. “If you are starting out as a benefit corporation, I think there is a lot of advice that isn’t right for you,” says Emery. “You may not do well with a traditional lawyer or accountant.”
When she started reSET, Emery says she through that legislation and funding were “everything.” Now, she’s seem the power of like-minded people being able to share experiences, advice and support. Says Emery: “Building a community of people who get it is crucial.”
