SOCAP strives to offer diverse content across the spectrum of business and capital innovation advancing social and environmental impact. SOCAP Open is a public submission platform that helps us source suggestions directly from our community. As in past years, SOCAP16 will include interactive sessions, panel discussions, workshops, and storytelling opportunities. By proposing a session idea and/or voting, we invite you to add your unique voice to the conversation.
Social enterprises often require diverse sources of capital, such as equity investments, loans, gifts, or loan guarantees, to be able to scale while solving complex social and environmental issues. Veritable Vegetable, the nation’s oldest organic produce distributor, faced this exact challenge as they pursued expansion. Learn how …
Are you an entrepreneur trying to build a company with values, integrity, and mission? Why does it matter how you capitalize your company (boot-strap, venture, debt, self-funded)? And why does it matter where that money comes from? Hear from successful social entrepreneur leaders on their financing experiences …
Work-life balance, founder compensation,, and self-care are often replaced with self-sacrifice, relationship woes, and ramen in the conversation around traits of successful social entrepreneurs. In this workshop, 4 startup founders will share their life-tested tools, (hard) lessons learned, trade-offs, and tips for successfully building a sustainable venture …
Over the past few decades, the social enterprise spectrum has brought about innovative solutions that provide communities at the base of the income pyramid with low-cost access to virtually all the basic goods and services required to eliminate most poverty conditions. In an age where social innovation …
Financial Inclusion works, when available, but there are still 2 billion people excluded from the financial system. Costs are too high; access too hard; and innovation too slow. We need a new way forward and this is Financial Inclusion 2.0 - the fast, low cost, mobile delivery …
AgTech startups and innovators in emerging markets have taken off in recent years and are scaling up to reach a billion smallholder farmers globally. Securing Water for Food: A Grand Challenge for Development has identified game-changing solutions that will increase water availability and/or promote efficient use of …
With the proliferation of solar and advancement in technology see a collection of leaders in the field of why off-grid and solar are the best scalable investments in development. Solar and off-grid entrepreneurs gather to explore opportunities and barriers.
Go behind the scenes of selecting which development innovations to fund and what the elements of a good proposal are. Are there “magic words”? Why do some innovators seem to be “darlings” and some can’t get a dime? Learn how donors, investors, and funders are collecting “business …
In this interactive session participants will get to hear from a diverse group of women sharing their stories of breaking into impact investing, navigating the VC world, finding mentors, and driving the future of investing for profit and purpose. The goal is for participants to walk away …
By voting with their wallets, millennials are driving the growing trend of “conscious consumerism,” choosing brands that give back over those that don’t. However, as the one-for-one business model becomes more ubiquitous, how can brands that want to do good stand out in the participation economy? This …
New investment structures and first time fund managers are gaining more traction as the broader field of impact investing grows and evolves. But can the larger community ensure the most attractive and vital investment vehicles and best managers rise to the top? How can the development of …
Every entrepreneur has gone through a period in their company’s growth that had the potential to make or break the company. This is a pivotal moment that causes every leader to question their strategy, leadership, decisions and future. Ultimately, they find the solution through focusing on their …
BUILD, a Redwood City-based organization serving high school students in under-resourced school districts, uses entrepreneurship to develop the skills necessary for high school, college and career success. Beginning in 1999 with four students, BUILD now serves more than 1400 students each year in Boston, Washington, DC and …
Despite persistent political engagement and humanitarian assistance, traditional peace building efforts world-wide often breakdown due to their failure to secure long-term, equitable and inclusive economic development. Impact Investing presents a new opportunity to directly link capital and expertise with traditionally sidelined entrepreneurs, empowering them to generate the …
Housing is a basic human need that our society struggles to provide for our most vulnerable community members, and there are myriad opportunities to innovate in the space. Come learn how One Degree and Compass Family Services teamed up to dramatically improve affordable housing in the Bay …
While we all want to tout our successes, there is a lot that can be learned from failure. This is especially true for people who are preparing to launch a social enterprise, as they decide what approaches to take, where to invest limited resources, and where to …
Large amounts of time, talent and money are being poured into a range of (often innovative) entrepreneur support programs. While we should be taking stock of successes and failures, these many ‘program experiments’ are not cumulating into systematic insights that might spur further program innovations and a …
How do you turn an idea into a big impact? Socially minded entrepreneurs and investors have great aspirations, but they face the overwhelming problem of figuring out how to start. What’s the common theme among those who create social change? They think big, but start small. Every …
Current models of leadership development are based in organizational structures, but now that a third or more of the workforce is working independently-including many of you in the audience at SOCAP or those you support-leadership development has new meaning. Many who have stepped out on their own …
This panel will discuss the greatest revolution in business since the Industrial Revolution, shifting from focus on profit to purpose Panelists represent leading organizations in this new revolution including: MetroMile: Pay per mile car insurance empowering drivers by creating a more connected and informed car ownership experience. …
Universal basic income has begun to receive a lot of attention in recent years as a possible solution to rising inequality and disruption of the labor market by automation. Besides eliminating poverty and providing economic security to all Americans, basic income has the potential to significantly alter …
Entrepreneurs around the world are address pressing challenges through the creation of innovative hardware technology. We are just beginning to see the potential for hardware technology to address issues such as energy access, clean water, clean cooking and sustainable agriculture. Entrepreneurs building hardware face unique challenges to …
How do for-profit businesses with social mission organize themselves to compete in the future economy? What is the optimal legal structure (traditional corporation, LLC, benefit corporation)? What do larger impact investors such as foundations, family officers look for in investment opportunities? What metrics should for-profit social mission …
“Am I making an impact?” This question keeps many mission-driven leaders up at night. The deep desire to change the world can lead to frustration, disappointment and fear - and stop social entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders and even impact investors in their tracks. Join this workshop and learn …
From education to healthcare to workforce development - the world’s most critical issues require powerful, scalable solutions. Often the best solutions don’t come out of think tanks or innovation labs — they come from the lived experience of founders. There is a rise in social impact companies …
Important 2016 Dates
- JUNE 3
Final day to submit an idea. - JUNE 4-15
Commenting and voting period. All sessions open for voting. - JUNE 16-28
Judging panel and final selection by SOCAP16 Content Team. - JUNE 29
Winning sessions announced to session organizers.
