How Problem Statements Get Better Let’s say you’ve done your desk scan. You’ve learned what programs exist, who the key players are, and where the gaps might be. You’re ready to dive into fieldwork and start talking to people. Right? Here’s where some founders skip ahead too quickly. They gather great insights from interviews and… Continue reading From Research to Real Understanding
Tag: Social Impact
Journey Mapping for Social Entrepreneurs
Part 1: What a Journey Map Is (and Why It Matters) As you plan for your social enterprise, you’ve covered a lot of ground already. You’ve done interviews, reflected on the broader community context, and created a persona grounded in real research. You now know how your community partners move through their day, make decisions… Continue reading Journey Mapping for Social Entrepreneurs
Personas:
How to Turn Deep-Dive Research into Human Insight In the previous post, we explored what personas are and why they matter in social entrepreneurship and design thinking. This post focuses on the practical question: how do you create a persona from your deep-dive research? Remember Maria from Part 1? She’s not a real person, but… Continue reading Personas:
Creating Personas in Your Deep Dive:
A Practical Guide for Social Entrepreneurs What if you could use your deep dive research to sketch a realistic portrait of your ideal client? Then you could design with a specific type of person in mind, rather than a fuzzy abstraction. You could design for someone with a schedule, competing priorities, and a life that… Continue reading Creating Personas in Your Deep Dive:
Diving In:
How to Do a Quick Orientation (Desk Scan) for Your Social Enterprise Idea (Part 1 in the “Assessing Community Need” series) “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know that ain’t so.” —attributed to Mark Twain In the last post, we looked at why a Deep Dive was… Continue reading Diving In:
How to Do a Deep Dive for Your Social Enterprise Project
(Part 1: What and When) The student team that founded Stria Labs knew they wanted to create a product to help blind people with the challenges of everyday life. However, before the team designed a single prototype, they spent time on a deep dive. Several times they visited the Lighthouse for the Blind, a support… Continue reading How to Do a Deep Dive for Your Social Enterprise Project
Interviewing for Empathy and Information
(Part 1: What and Why) Let’s say you’ve got a great idea for a social enterprise. Maybe it’s an app to help people manage stress, or a solution for food insecurity in your community. You’ve done your homework for this project. You’ve searched online, crunched the numbers, and used AI tools to gather facts. But… Continue reading Interviewing for Empathy and Information
How to Test Drive Your Social Impact Idea
Inspiration can come at any time. One evening, Jessica Jackley went to hear Mohammed Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank and modern microfinance, who was giving a talk at her business school. He spoke about the power of microcredit to change lives and help people with little money but big hopes become entrepreneurs. Excited by… Continue reading How to Test Drive Your Social Impact Idea
Getting Started as a Social Entrepreneur:
First Steps Jessica Jackley didn’t start Kiva with a business plan. She started by going out for coffee. After hearing Muhammad Yunus, the founder of microfinance, speak, the idea of starting her own microfinance organization inflamed her. She journaled about starting her own organization, had coffee with experts, and connected with people already working in… Continue reading Getting Started as a Social Entrepreneur:
What Is Social
What Is Social Entrepreneurship and Why It Matters Now A Problem Worth Solving As a biochemistry student at Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia, Isabel Pulido never imagined she’d tackle global food security through refrigeration. Her inspiration struck during a visit to a rural community, where she watched a mother throw away half-eaten food simply… Continue reading What Is Social