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We meet Richard Beck from Fulwell Community Library and one of our nominees for the Social Entrepreneur Index 2020. What does your social enterprise do? Library, IT and Community Centre What made you start your business up? A need in the Community How do you measure your impact? Satisfaction levels in users/ statistics What help did you have to start your social enterprise? Grant of £11,007 How did you decide on what legal form would work best for your business? Advice from National Lottery Bright Ideas Fund What’s the best thing about being a social entrepreneur? Helping local people What have been the three biggest challenges that you have overcome (or that you’re still working on)? An old building in need of much updating, Negotiating the lease, Adapting the café area. What advice would you give to aspiring social entrepreneurs? Don’t hesitate, it becomes easier. Write a good Business Plan and be sure where your income will come from or ask for help in writing one. Plan your route and train your staff. Pick the right staff. Why do you think social enterprise is important? In a period of reducing funds it is important for those who can to step forward and keep important services going. What’s been your most rewarding experience as a social entrepreneur? Being nominated for a Best of Wearside Award What information sources would you recommend (books, websites, organisations?) to help someone just starting their social enterprise journey? The National Lottery Bright Ideas Fund What’s been the most surprising thing about creating a social enterprise? How our users have bought into the whole idea. What are your plans for the next 2-5 years? Improve the building and tackle the leaky roof, rotten windows and extend while reducing bills and outgoings. What is the biggest change you would like to see in the world? Caring governments that look after their people. What have been your three proudest moments as a social entrepreneur? Best of Wearside Award Ceremony, Being told that the library was a credit to Sunderland by Sunderland Council Director of Leisure. Helping other libraries with advice and practical help. What would you say to encourage more entrepreneurs to consider the social impact of their businesses? Work out carefully what you want to achieve putting the accent on people, work out how you are going to do it. Make sure it is enjoyable and fulfilling.

We meet Bhavesh Patel, Founder of Storyteller and one of our nominees for the Social Entrepreneur Index 2020. What does your social enterprise do? Storyteller is a purpose driven business with a direct social mission, which focuses on using its travel accessory products to make a global impact. 10% of every sale directly funds educational programmes and workshops for less privileged children and adults around the world. Closer to home, we help start-ups in the UK to create strategies to directly impact social issues that they are passionate about through their business. It is the Storyteller belief that you don’t have to be a multinational company to have a CSR strategy and having a genuine commitment to making social change embedded in your strategy straight from its inception, is just good business. Education is the area that Storyteller wants to make its mark and encourage change: Approximately 773 million adults around the world are illiterate, and it is clear that this is a cycle that’s hard to break. This not only has a long-term consequence for the individuals affected, but also for the next generation who become part of a repeat cycle of inequality and poverty. Our aim is not only to raise awareness and funds for educational programmes, but also to help individuals create a better long future and build sustainable local communities. In collaboration with local NGO’s and international charities, the Storyteller team have helped run and fund educational programmes for adults and children in Liberia, Tanzania, Nepal and India. Most recently, in June 2019, the Storyteller team visited India and Nepal. We worked on different educational projects, including with a number of non-conventional schools (school in the park etc). As well as teaching general school subjects, we also focused on teaching social skills, and led workshops sharing the importance of gender equality and the environment. We also renovated (painted, carpets, shelving etc) 2 local village schools in Nepal. What made you start your business up? Living in the UK, where education is free and accessible, we are incredibly privileged. Although most people know that there is a lack of access to education in many other parts of the world, it truly is hard to comprehend the human impact this has until you see it. Travelling the world showed me some incredible sights, but it also opened my eyes to how many barriers there were for people to obtain access to a basic education. I saw this problem in Asia and South America, and decided I wanted to be part of the change. I pledged then that an integral part of any company I would start would be to help those less privileged obtain access to education. With so many global issues, access to quality education can not only lead to individual growth, but also be the resolution to many other issues. Storyteller was then started after trying to solve a personal problem. As an avid traveller, I love to collect my travel memories, and like many, the way I did this was through a travel journal. However, this was time-consuming and so made me think: ‘there must be a better way of capturing my travel memories’ – enter the Storyteller FlagMate. Our flagship product helps combine the two things I love and was most passionate about; travel and giving back. What keeps me going each day is building Storyteller to be a start-up that proves that having a balance between profit and philanthropy can generate a positive outcome for all individuals involved. My long term vision is not just for Storyteller to do good as a brand but to bring together passionate travellers from around the world in unity with a mission to do good in the world. How do you measure your impact? We have helped run and fund projects in Liberia, Tanzania Nepal and India over the last 12 months. Using a percentage of the sales from our travel accessories, combined with the work of our team visiting we have helped impact in the following ways: Running workshops with children focusing on social/life skills, gender equality, recycling and the importance of the environment. Speaking with teaching staff thereafter to integrate these within following which these classes have been incorporated into the school agendas. Run and help fund workshops for adults focusing on solar infrastructure and micro-enterprise (small business skills) Renovating old village schools by painting, carpeting and helping build new infrastructures. Providing school supplies for schools and covering school fees Funding night schools helping children from rural villages access education Fund literacy focused programmes helping children to read Funding life skill workshops and training courses such as hairdressing, crafts and computer use, allowing them to obtain paid employment Preparation of our tote bags, made in our Indian charity partners headquarters where women from the slums in India attend a 6-month course and learn advanced sewing skills, which provides them with the skills to earn income. The women earn a wage per bag, with the remainder of all of the profits going directly towards funding the sewing skill workshops. Following the end of each educational project, we monitor/measure our impact by: Performing qualitative and quantitative research methods, including questionnaires and feedback sessions (both children/teachers) to help us identify what worked well and where improvements can be made Monitoring performance by liaising with local teachers to consider whether the objectives of the programme have been met Performance/process evaluation- to assess whether any changes to the process are required and how it can be more impactful Keeping in touch with the local charity partners once we have left projects to understand the longer term impact of our work and how we can continue helping What help did you have to start your social enterprise? I’m extremely grateful for my friends, family and the social entrepreneurs that I have connected with over the past few years, who have all helped me create the platform that is Storyteller today.  Having a strong support system and team full of individuals on the same social mission has been integral to our success. Our team of likeminded individuals known as the Storyteller Community now consists of over 20 individuals in 9 different countries, all with a mission to inspire people to ‘Travel More and Do Good’. How did you decide on what legal form would work best for your business? Although banks and investors only look at profit margins, we wanted Storyteller to do much more than focus on the bottom-line. We had a higher cause to bring individuals from around the world together to create a positive impact. Therefore, instead of having the pressure of shareholders, we decided on forming as a private limited company, and partnering with like-minded charities and individuals who all shared our mission to help less privileged individuals around the world obtain access to quality education. This not only allowed us to expand our reach and globalise quickly, but it combined our ethos with their knowledge, allowing us to be as productive as possible. What’s the best thing about being a social entrepreneur? The best thing about being a social entrepreneur is knowing that we could be always be helping and impacting individuals around the world. We know that the work will never be complete and while this is a daunting prospect, it is this sole mission that keeps us motivated to constantly do more and make as much of an impact as we can. What have been the three biggest challenges that you have overcome (or that you’re still working on)? The biggest challenge for me was getting started. I was practising as a lawyer at the time of starting Storyteller, so balancing this with a new start-up was very difficult. At times I would leave a Court Hearing, and then immediately be on the phone to manufacturers! It was a bit of a whirlwind at the outset, but then once prototypes were finalised, it was time to take the leap of faith! I think the second most challenging aspect was to work with the right manufacturers. I wanted to ensure that our production chain came from an environmentally friendly and ethical provider. Although we could have manufactured the products cheaper abroad, our manufactures are not only all of the above, but they are also a family run business right here, in our hometown of Birmingham! It is always a great feeling being able to give back to our local community. Finally, something we are continuing to work on, is the language barrier when our team goes abroad to deliver educational programmes. Luckily some of our members speak Hindi, so delivering content and developing relationships was easier than expected in India, but in Nepal, our projects had to be delivered in partnership with Local NGO’s due to language barriers. We are continuously identifying ways where can delivery content and programmes in the most effective way where we may have a language barrier. What advice would you give to aspiring social entrepreneurs? 1) Have a full-time job and work on starting your company in your spare time until you are ready to make the complete jump! By doing this, you will have the financial input to put in at the start and also income to fall back, as most companies won’t make profits immediately. 2) Pick the right team and business partners. If you are starting a business with a team or with a business partner, make sure that you complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses, rather than basing it on being good friends. Bringing different skills to the table in business is crucial and will set you up nicely in the long term. If you are starting a business as a solo entrepreneur, having positive people around is essential. They can help bounce ideas but also help out with marketing activities at the start which is when you could do with a first push in the right direction! 3) Travel! The most competitive companies today are global in nature, and to make your company, service or product relevant to new markets, you need to have a global mind-set. You can read about world markets and study analyst reports, but there’s no substitute for experiencing the world yourself and seeing it first-hand. 4) Create a company which is based on something that you are genuinely passionate about. If you have the fire in your belly to fight for the cause, you’ll be much more convincing when trying to recruit others to believe and invest in your product. Also, in the tough days and the long run, it will make getting out of bed much easier! What information sources would you recommend (books, websites, organisations?) to help someone just starting their social enterprise journey? Honestly, I think the best way is obtaining experience and in depth information of the problem you are trying to solve: to do this, volunteering both locally and in countries where your problem is a huge issue is key. By seeing the problem first-hand, you will be able to create direct resolution which will actually take into account the conditions of that particular country. A mistake that I had made prior to starting Storyteller was to think about ways that I, personally thought would be helpful. In reality, after spending time volunteering in India, our plans had to be completely re-thought. If your approach is to work with charities and local NGOs, do your research into organisations to ensure that their mission/ethics fit with your brand values. Unfortunately, there are still some charities who promise a lot but their delivery may not be what you would expect. Hand-picking and researching impact partners is imperative. What are your plans for the next 2-5 years? Our aim is to continue to grow and impact even more people around the world. We are also developing three programmes at the moment, which are: Life Skill workshops, run by the Storyteller team and Community, where they share skills that they have learnt in their personal lives and whilst travelling with children and adults. This includes using a minimalistic approach, using existing resources effectively, advising on how to build confidence and communicate well with others and achieving positive results working as a team. Running workshops using quality educational content provided by e-learning partners and education providers in the UK which will be shared in rural schools. Leading skill growth workshops in UK schools When I started out, I wanted Storyteller to be part of a new wave of start-ups, which are proving that having a balance between profit and philanthropy can generate a positive outcome for all involved. Therefore, my vision is to continue this and prove that you can have it all! I see Storyteller as both a conduit to do good as a brand, as well as a vehicle to bring together passionate travellers from around the world in unity, with a mission to make a change in the world. What is the biggest change you would like to see in the world? I would like to see changes within the current education systems around the world to include a real focus for young persons on developing life skills such as communication, organisation, creative thinking, problem solving (global and wider scope), self awareness and emotional/mental health. These are skills that we learn in later life through experience, but I think having the understanding at an earlier stage would be really beneficial. In addition to this, given the ongoing issues we are facing such as gender equality and the environment, it is super important to have focused workshops ensuring children and adults obtain a deeper understand of the long term effects, and what they should be doing now as a result. What have been your three proudest moments as a social entrepreneur? Wow, it is difficult for me to pick three moments as the entire Storyteller Journey has been incredible for me. However, if I had to pick I think the stand out would have to be our team delivering educational projects in India and Nepal last year. We kick started the trip by working with non-conventional schools in India, such as The school under the bridge, where there were over 300 children in attendance each day. After spending 2 weeks on site and delivering a variety of projects, it was a very proud moment to have seen the impact we had made on the children and teachers! This was followed by renovating schools in Nepal, which had not been painted/carpeted or changed for over 50 years. As you can imagine it was full of dust, full of old furniture and faded wall colours. After we had finished our renovation, we closed the doors and invited all of the children to the front door so they could see their new school- the response was something I will never forget that moment. Laughter, tears, and pure amazement as the teachers and children walked around their new school. What would you say to encourage more entrepreneurs to consider the social impact of their businesses? Whether you are a start up or a multinational company, I really do believe that if each company made a genuine commitment to support a cause which was close to their heart, together we can make a big change in the world. If you support a cause or a movement that you stand for, your company and employees are far more likely to want to support. This will lead to you not only having lots of fun doing something enjoyable, and having a great feeling of giving back, but also giving back to those less fortunate.

We meet Simon Francis one of our nominees for the Social Entrepreneur Index 2020 and introduces Campaign Collective and how giving back is at the heart of everything they do. What does your social enterprise do? Campaign Collective is a social enterprise helping charities, social enterprises, public service organisations and other campaigners benefit from affordable professional communications advice and support. At the heart of our approach is a desire to run a communications agency differently and to create a sustainable business model which serves a specific client base in an ethical way. We do this by charging a day rate often half that of a normal agency and reinvesting profits we make into our social purpose fund to support campaigners. We combine creativity with a solid integrated campaign management approach to create, build and deliver effective campaigns. What made you start your business up? The traditional marketing agency set up and fees tend to be out the reach of smaller charities and social enterprises. We wanted to change that. We’ve brought together a group of very experienced communications professionals – and ensured access is affordable, nimble and accessible. We also wanted to ensure to our clients that whoever worked on their account, they would have a minimum of 10 years’ experience working in marketing and communications. Campaign Collective understands how the not-for-profit sector works and our clients can be confident that we’re not just in it for the money. Any profits we make are put back into helping very small charities and supporting people on the first rung of the PR and marketing ladder. How do you measure your impact? Profits are invested in our “social purpose fund” through which we then deliver on our social purpose. For more details on what we’ve delivered read our annual reports and check out our first major initiatives the Freedom To Campaign Guide and The Rooftop. What help did you have to start your social enterprise? We didn’t have any help when we started Campaign Collective. We were established with three founder members and we created our vision of offering affordable marketing solutions and then hit the ground running to build our business through our social networks. We also worked up a business plan to maximise new business leads. How did you decide on what legal form would work best for your business? Our main vision when we set up Campaign Collective as well as offering affordable marketing services was to be able to give back through a social purpose. What’s the best thing about being a social entrepreneur? Having the choice to solely help charities, social enterprises, public service organisations and other campaigners benefit from affordable professional communications advice and support. What have been the three biggest challenges that you have overcome (or that you’re still working on)? Prior to COVID-19, it was getting people to understand that a communications agency that works remotely is just as effective as one that all works in the same office. Perceptions on this are have now revolutionised. We now find ourselves in a situation where every agency has a remote working culture, but without the depth of experience that we have gained over the years. We will continue to develop a strong and unified workforce and find innovative ways to maintain and strengthen workplace relationships remotely. Our biggest challenge in the future will be continue to communicate our social enterprise status and the difference that makes when all organisations are now talking about how they benefit society and have a social impact. What advice would you give to aspiring social entrepreneurs? Keep your overheads low. We are enthusiastic about our remote working model, which allows our members to enjoy a flexible work-life balance and means we can ensure each client has the best person for the job. This also means that our overheads are low so we can fulfil our vision of offering affordable marketing solutions that are benchmarked at half the industry average. Why do you think social enterprise is important? We are one of the only communications agencies out there that combines having a social purpose with affordable support for smaller campaign groups and experienced consultants with a minimum of 10 years’ experience in their field. It’s also vital that the structure of social enterprises are celebrated more broadly. While all organisations are shifting to say they benefit society, Only social enterprises can pledge to truly serve society and exist to provide a positive impact on the public. What’s been your most rewarding experience as a social entrepreneur? Our most ambitious project and biggest achievement was launching a positive news website to connect the public to campaigners and small charities. The Rooftop is a daily dose of positive news and available on Facebook and Twitter – we have also just launched a weekly YouTube show. Latest audience figures are available online, but we now have more than 50,000 Facebook fans and have up to 500,000 content views a week. What information sources would you recommend (books, websites, organisations?) to help someone just starting their social enterprise journey? Social Enterprise UK have provided us with lots of tips, advice and information and are our go to website for information to help us. Social Enterprise Scotland also do a terrific job in supporting and stimulating the social enterprise ecosystem. What’s been the most surprising thing about creating a social enterprise? We still find it strange that social enterprises don’t work together more! What are your plans for the next 2-5 years? The objective of the Collective is to ensure organisations and campaigners creating a better society can benefit from affordable professional communications advice and support. We have a positive social impact on society through our marketing campaigns, and we invest our profits in our social purpose fund. This is used to fund The Rooftop, which helps small organisations get their voices heard by the general public. This, in turn, increases our positive social impact. What is the biggest change you would like to see in the world? We would like to see all charities, social enterprises and campaigners be able to access affordable, professional communications support. More broadly, we want to see a transformation in how the media reports on stories globally, such as increasing the number of positive and heartfelt news stories and giving space for smaller campaign organisations. We developed the Rooftop with this in mind, which gives a daily dose of positive news, with a particular focus on campaign groups who ordinarily don’t receive much media exposure for their efforts. What have been your three proudest moments as a social entrepreneur? Our most ambitious project and biggest achievement was launching a positive news website to connect the public to campaigners and small charities. The Rooftop is a daily dose of positive news and available on Facebook and Twitter – we have also just launched a weekly YouTube show. Using our social purpose fund to launch the Freedom To Campaign Guide to help charities understand what they can do under the UK Lobbying Act. Winning the Consultancy of the Year in 2018 at the Better Society Awards and being shortlisted in 2019 and 2020. What would you say to encourage more entrepreneurs to consider the social impact of their businesses? Absolutely. If you claim your business is there to benefit society, prove it and become a social enterprise.

What does your social enterprise do? It provides new ideas, new solution to cocoa farming communities in West Africa offering training and capacity building, technical advice, and extension services. (i.e. application of inputs, planting material, and crop protection products) What made you start your business up? Generally farmers in Africa find the working conditions unbearably i.e. bad infrastructure, no access to finance and extension services which invariably leads to dire situations and poverty as they cannot invest in their farms. This affects their living standards, such not being able to educate their children and in most cases feed their families.  I want to improve the social and economic conditions of cocoa farming communities in West Africa. Cocoa farmers are living in extreme poverty, and majority of them are abandoning their cocoa fields to grow other viable crops that will benefit them economically by diversifying income. This will eventually lead to a global shortage of cocoa which will affect the production of chocolate. Reports estimate the average farmer income to be just $0.78 per day. My aim is to make a difference in their lives by changing the narrative and ensuring majority of the farming communities we work with are earning a minimum of $3.50 a day by 2025. How do you measure your impact? We measure impact using various indicators; increased productivity, increased level of annual income of farmers, higher yield and better-quality produce, better application of inputs (such as, fertilisers crop protection products, and planting materials) improved knowledge of cocoa production and an overall positive change in attitude towards cocoa production. An increase in career opportunities for women and youths within the cocoa communities, increase in conservation of forests and maintenance of ecosystems. What help did you have to start your social enterprise? I started this by just visiting cocoa farmers on my own whenever I went on holiday to the southwestern part of Nigeria, an area known for its cocoa growing for many years. I also had some support from the state Government. How did you decide on what legal form would work best for your business? I used a lawyer to seek advice before making a decision What is the best thing about being a social entrepreneur? The opportunity to help people and change lives by offering my service to humanity and to help improve the livelihoods of cocoa farmers in Nigeria What have been the three biggest challenges that you have overcome (or that you’re still working on)? 1-  We are still in the process of changing the work culture of cocoa farmers in order to improve their farming practice, this extremely difficult when people have followed a particular way for so many years. 2- We are still trying to convince the farmers to keep growing cocoa and not abandon it for other crops. Instead we are training them on diversification, on  how they can combine growing cocoa with other cash crops that would support their income. 3-  We are still trying to eliminate child labour and promote the rights of children. What advice would you give to aspiring social entrepreneurs? To be in the change they are trying to effect, continue to persevere and never give up until it is achieved. Why do you think social enterprise is important? I think it is very important because it brings the self-sufficiency of for-profit businesses and the incentives of market forces to bear on global social problems in a way that neither pure capitalism nor pure charity has been able to match. What’s been your most rewarding experience as a social entrepreneur? To put a smile on people’s faces from knowing that I have being able to implement widespread improvements within the communities I serve and address the issues faced by these communities, such as their standard of living improvement in education, health facilities, and income. What information sources would you recommend (books, websites, organisations?) to help someone just starting their social enterprise journey? I found the books I read encouraged and inspired my path: How to change the world, do the kind thing and social entrepreneurs’ playbook. What’s been the most surprising thing about creating a social enterprise? I gave up things and went out on my own to become an entrepreneur: job security and a predictable pay check just so that I could pursue my desire for greater freedom and happiness.  Early enough as an entrepreneur I discovered a surprise: It wasn’t enough to focus only on my own happiness. Then I figured out that success was a group enterprise that, as a social creature, I could not be truly happy without caring about other people's freedom. I discovered social enterprise. Then I made a second surprising discovery: Starting a social enterprise is not about making sacrifices or doing something extra. Social enterprise is about doing things better in the interest of being more successful. What are your plans for the next 2-5 years? To educate as many of the 10,000 cocoa farmers on best agricultural practices in growing organic cocoa so that they can become self-sustainable, increase productivity and increase their annual income by 2025. This will involve developing our 50 Hectares of land growing organic cocoa and then through demonstration plots, videos and intensive training, transfer the technology of organic practices to farmers under our farmer field school. These farmers are then able to implement the knowledge and skill acquired from the training to rehabilitate their cocoa farms etc. What is the biggest change you would like to see in the world? To eliminate poverty globally, eradication of child labour, to see green energy replace fossil fuels and to stop deforestation of the amazon forest What have been your three proudest moments as a social entrepreneur? Trusting myself even when others wouldn’t share my vision was one of the toughest experiences. Now, I look back and feel proud of having a team that trusts and moves toward the same goal. Getting positive results out of an idea that once was nothing was one of the proudest moments of my life. Seeing the reality of what I want to implement coming together. It really makes you realise how you are helping people when you can see it with your own eyes in real life Making a difference in the lives of the people and communities I serve What would you say to encourage more entrepreneurs to consider the social impact of their businesses? I would say their drive should be geared towards adding value to the lives of the people they serve and this invariably makes them valuable to society, rather than focusing on how they can make a profit. True joy and satisfaction in what one does comes from the impact you make in changing people’s lives, their communities, and making the world a better place for all.

We meet Simone Sistarelli one of our nominees for Social Entrepreneur Index 2020 and he tells us what inspired him to start up his business Popping for Parkinson's. What does your social enterprise do? POPPING FOR PARKINSON'S is an international award-winning project created by Simone Sistarelli that consists in free Popping dance classes for people with Parkinson's. What made you start your business up? The desire to enable those who have been labelled as disabled, using movement to create a movement, transforming a symptom into a superpower. How do you measure your impact? With qualitative feedback, comments, and scientific research. How did you decide on what legal form would work best for your business? I am often reassessing my legal form to adjust accordingly to maximise impact and minimise admin workload. What’s the best thing about being a social entrepreneur? Doing what you love, being driven by passion and purpose! What have been the three biggest challenges that you have overcome (or that you’re still working on)? I have always faced two main challenges: funding and managing workload. I feel I am always learning how to best deal with both challenges, and I don't think I have necessarily overcome them yet. What advice would you give to aspiring social entrepreneurs? Do what you love and share your passion with as many people as possible, so that everybody wins! Why do you think social enterprise is important? Because it is a phenomenal answer to the current state of the world. Our western society especially needs a substantial and radical change of approach if it wants to thrive, and leading enterprises with a social purpose are the key to unlock great potential. What’s been your most rewarding experience as a social entrepreneur? Seeing people smile after every dance class has always been the most rewarding experience. Awards and recognition are nice, but witnessing the impact of your own project on people is the best feeling of all. What information sources would you recommend (books, websites, organisations?) to help someone just starting their social enterprise journey? I would recommend learning as much as possible about the specific field of interest and investigating incubator programmes. What’s been the most surprising thing about creating a social enterprise? When I started this journey, I had no idea it would lead me to incredible experiences and meeting phenomenal people. The support and response all over the world has been incredible. What are your plans for the next 2-5 years? Scaling the project worldwide, reaching even more people, and eventually transforming all Parkinson's patients into Popping dance students. What is the biggest change you would like to see in the world? I would love to see a world without injustice. What have been your three proudest moments as a social entrepreneur? Entering the Universal Hip Hop Museum Hall of Fame, collaborating with the original Dance For PD programme and travelling the world. What would you say to encourage more entrepreneurs to consider the social impact of their businesses? The feeling of having a positive impact on the community is priceless and way more rewarding than anything else.

Eamonn Madden started up Inspirational Youth Ltd to support young people and make a social difference, find out more about why he decided to set up his business and his proudest moments since starting up. What does your social enterprise do? Inspirational Youth Ltd deliver NEET prevention programmes in schools and have a proven track record in improving behaviour, attitude to learning, attendance and academic attainment. Our proprietary method uses unique game-based scenarios which engage young people and raise their self-awareness and resilience, meaning a more productive and successful school environment for both teachers and students. What made you start your business up? I found conventional education challenging, lacked self-belief and looked up to negative role models. I left school with very little in terms of grades, only returning to education 15 years later and promised myself to support young people that could possibly be at risk of being in the position that I once was. How do you measure your impact? As well as having a clear Theory of Change, our social impact is very much data driven. We use school metrics to monitor attendance, punctually, behaviour improvement and changes in grades. Our impact assessments are specifically designed to record and evaluate the overall impact for each young person. Inspirational Youth also evaluates the social impact through feedback given from teachers, parents, young people and the community. What help did you have to start your social enterprise? When the motivation to start the social enterprise first appeared, I spoke to Peter Shaw (a mindset coach) who helped to fine tune who I wanted to support and then what the delivery would look like. I spoke to a vast amount of people, everyone that had some form of connection of working within the youth sector. I figured out the best avenues to take from their advice and a month later Inspirational Youth was established. How did you decide on what legal form would work best for your business? Honestly, we didn’t decide. We incorporated the business and researched as we progressed. In the end we stuck to what we chose at the beginning as it rang true for our vision and mission of the business, a company limited by guarantee with a social purpose written into our articles and memorandum. What’s the best thing about being a social entrepreneur? The satisfaction of doing the work and applying myself to create value in the world. There is always a social mission to work on and tweak which keeps the business alive and fresh. As the need for social impact changes it keeps me motivated to finding solutions and engaged in creating impact as a social entrepreneur. What have been the three biggest challenges that you have overcome (or that you’re still working on)? Diversifying income - constantly coming up with ways to generate funds. Building credibility at the beginning and getting in front of the right people. Finding and retaining good staff – in this sector the whole recruitment process is challenging and ensuring new staff believe in the businesses vision. What advice would you give to aspiring social entrepreneurs? Whatever you set out to do, stay true to yourself and the organisation, especially when it come to funding. Stay true to your mission, if the funding or contract doesn’t fit move on. You must remember, although you seek to create social impact and in some circumstances call yourself a “non profit” you are still running a business, operate as one. Why do you think social enterprise is important? Social enterprises are important as they put the priority of the beneficiaries first. Large corporations put profit and their shareholders first before any kind of social impact. What’s been your most rewarding experience as a social entrepreneur? One of the most rewarding experiences as a social entrepreneur was delivering my first ever programme at St Joseph’s college. The impact it created for the beneficiaries was apparent when they delivered their presentations at the end of the programme. The presentations made me realise how impactful, meaningful and innovative interventions could be. My mum also came when the young men delivered their presentations about the programme and at the time she was the Head of the Rotary club in Streatham which donated refreshments for their celebration assembly. What information sources would you recommend (books, websites, organisations?) to help someone just starting their social enterprise journey? I would definitely recommend the SSE programmes. They were the best in supporting my growth and helping to expand my knowledge for running my social enterprise. The book Coaching for Performance by John Witmore, a must read for any leader. What’s been the most surprising thing about creating a social enterprise? Earning revenue. I knew some money would be generated however it was never the reason for starting the organisation. Over time I realised you can make a living and keeping evolving your passion for the rest of your life. What are your plans for the next 2-5 years? Refining the business and expanding. Keeping engaged with the needs of the beneficiaries to ensure we continue to make meaningful social impact. What is the biggest change you would like to see in the world? A revamp for the education system, the topics taught and how they are delivered to the next generation. I feel teachers need to be supported and educated on how to deliver differently. I do not think we can patch up what we have, imagine the possibilities if we were to start from scratch with a blank slate. What have been your three proudest moments as a social entrepreneur? Winning the YEF contract, changed everything for me. I was not sure at that time if the business could keep progressing but the YEF added new life into the business. When the youth mentors read back their feedback they’ve received from their mentees. It really makes a difference to know how much impact has been created through the interventions delivered. At the beginning we had 3 directors. I always believed in the vision and what was possible but felt the other 2 viewed Inspirational Youth as a hobby. I wrote a very open letter to both of them. Subsequently they reassessed their commitment and stepped away. What would you say to encourage more entrepreneurs to consider the social impact of their businesses? You must stay in touch with your vision and mission daily. Make sure you know your vision off by heart and that every decision you make aligns with it. If asking for funding you must ask for what you want and believe in the impact of which your business is creating.

Sustainable hummus company, ChicP, has launched its 'Velvet' flavour for hummus enthusiasts in the UK to enjoy, with every tub helping to reduce food waste and creating a circular economy. ChicP is known for producing healthy and eco-conscious dips that are also healthy and delicious in equal measure. The brand was founded in 2016 by food waste advocate and former chef, Hannah McCollum, and so far the company has saved over 30,000 veggies from being wasted, thanks to its use of surplus and ‘wonky’ produce. The brand’s newest edition, Velvet, is a smooth hummus created from different grade chickpeas, mixed with tahini and just a hint of olive oil. For the new dip, ChicP will be using OGGS' surplus chickpeas. The vegan food manufacturer cooks the chickpeas for their vegan products and rather than wasting them, ChicP is making them into tasty Velvet hummus. By turning to home-grown ingredients, ChicP will lower its carbon footprint, support local farmers and pioneer change across the food industry, in order to tackle climate change. Every tub will also help to create a circular economy and educate consumers on the growing food waste issue. Every year £650m worth of food is wasted before it leaves the farm. In fact, if all wasted and surplus food in the UK was sold at market value, it would be worth a staggering £1.2bn. Thanks to ChicP, these unwanted veggies are now being rescued. As with all ChicP products, Velvet is completely gluten, dairy, nut and preservative (not pesticide)-free, and is suitable for vegans and health-conscious cooks. Ideal for dunking, Velvet can also be added to salads or smeared in sandwiches. Other flavours include Raw Beetroot, Horseradish and Sage, Herby, Carrot, Ginger and Turmeric, Chilli Pumpkin, and Banana Chocolate. Each product is available in individual 170g pots and 1kg tubs and has a starting RRP of £1.99. ChicP is sold in health food stores and delis across the country, including Whole Foods and Planet Organic, as well as online via Ocado and Amazon Fresh. Hannah McCollum founded ChicP after working for nine years as a private chef, catering for events and businesses across the UK and Europe. She felt driven to do her bit to tackle the food waste problem she saw each day in her work, looking for new ways to convert leftover vegetables into delicious dips to accompany meals. Hannah explained: “Founded on a passion for, and commitment to, reducing food waste, ChicP is a raw vegetable hummus company, producing delicious alternative dips. 40% of British crops are rejected because of their shape or size, but at ChicP we never turn a healthy vegetable down! I created the brand to counteract the high levels of food waste around the world, taking the opportunity to have a positive impact on the community and our natural resources, as well as influencing our health habits.” ChicP now has multiple national accolades under its belt, including the Trailblazer Award at Food Vision 2017 and Hannah's work was recognised in her entry to the Social Entrepreneur Index 2019. ChicP has also been recognised by Women’s Health, BBC Good Food, and The Guardian.

Amanda George talks to us about her social enterprise, We Make Bristol, which helps artists sell their work locally with low commission fees, allowing them to maximise their profit. What does your social enterprise do? We Make Bristol supports Bristol artists, designers and creatives by giving them the opportunity to sell their work on the high street without them having to pay large commissions on sales or sell wholesale for very little profit. What made you start your business up? The great lack of selling opportunities for creatives that exist. How do you measure your impact? Happy stockists that are selling their work and making money. How did you decide on what legal form would work best for your business? I wanted a business model that I thought would be a fairer way of operating for local independent creatives. Other retail outlets will take a large commission from them or beat them down on wholesale prices. I decided to operate as a sole trader, set up my business model and was then told by a business advisor that my business model was that of a social enterprise! What advice would you give to aspiring social entrepreneurs? It has to be something that you are passionate about. Why do you think social enterprise is important? In a world that is increasingly profit-driven, it is great to be able to do business for good. What’s been your most rewarding experience as a social entrepreneur? Being a finalist in the retail category in the Bristol Life Awards 2019. What’s been the most surprising thing about creating a social enterprise? The fact that the business model i set up to run my business was, in fact, the business model of a social enterprise! What are your plans for the next two to five years? Just to keep going as I am but to develop an e-commerce website so that I can increase sales potential for my creatives. What is the biggest change you would like to see in the world? Well along with the usual things of world peace and an end to poverty... Heads of businesses not being allowed to take huge lump sums from the business whilst redundancies are being made, or worst still they are about to go into administration. What have been your three proudest moments as a social entrepreneur? Setting up my shop with no experience and seeing it thrive. In 2019 whilst the Guardian was reporting a 19-month downward trend in retail sales, I was consistently seeing month-on-month increases when compared to 2018. Being a finalist in the 2019 Bristol Life Awards. Having so many customers repeatedly tell me how much they love my shop and ask me never to close. What would you say to encourage more entrepreneurs to consider the social impact of their businesses? Happiness isn’t just achieved through making money. Happiness comes from so many other areas. Simple things like treating employees and customers fairly, being conscious of the effect you have on people and the environment plays such a big part in our lives. Having come from a relatively cut-throat work environment previously, I can honestly say that whilst I earn far less these days, I am the happiest in my work that I have ever been.

What does your social enterprise do? Mind Apart is a unique performing arts organisation with around 12 years of experience. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to develop themselves creatively, and have access to performing arts, irrelevant of background or age. We work hard to create caring and safe spaces where children, teenagers and adults can learn and develop together and grow in confidence and self-esteem whilst developing their creativity and skills and learning new techniques. Our services are divided into three areas: Education, Community and Classes and professional and business development. They include alternative educational provision for students not in full time education (some of the most vulnerable young people in the city), after school clubs, evening performing arts classes, holiday clubs, adult classes and courses, project work with a wide range of groups, from Age UK to youth clubs; and consultancy and support targeting creatives wanting to make their art form work for them. Fundamentally we aim to make performing arts accessible and encourage people to use it as a tool for change whilst also supporting creatives in their professional journey and encouraging them to make their career work for them in one of the most challenging sectors to work in. Working closely with professionals and teachers, we offer skills training, support and consultancy in using our tried and tested ways of working. Our team are constantly being innovative and engaged in the theatre, arts and education industry; from consultancy to performing and directing. We offer a wide range of skills to all those we work with, whilst making sure we stay current to the needs of the areas we work in. What made you start your business up? When I was 18 I volunteered in Brazil for 6 months working with street children. It was here that I started my training in working with challenging groups and some of the most vulnerable in society (street children). Following this I studied my Drama degree at University and fell in love with a social political theatre technique that underpins the work of A Mind Apart. It was my passion for preventing injustice, and my love for performing arts that has led me to create a business that supports others, and offers a skill in a caring and nurturing way. Throughout my career I have also been acutely aware of how children are treated in the performance industry and the way that the industry can often destroy their childhood and their mental health. A big part of what we do in our teaching, is to support and mentor our students, whilst creating a non pressured environment where they can learn and develop in the skill if they want to, or simply build on the soft skills and confidence in order to face the world ahead of them. I am passionate about working with others in the creative sector and in supporting them to make their passion work for them. This is something artists can often find difficult, and often lack the business knowledge to grow their work. This led me to completing my Masters in Cooperative and Social Enterprise Management, enabling me to then develop the business support that we offer to them. How do you measure your impact? Our social impact is monitored with attendance, achievement and progression of our students from the alternative education work. The rest of the social impact across the company is measured through student numbers, retention and case studies. This often leads to individuals that would never have considered of being capable of going to study performing arts at college or Drama School. Throughout all of our services we work with around 1000 students a year (from ages 5 - adult), just in Sheffield. This is based on regular students attending our classes within a year, our students on our alternative provision and those we work with in schools on short projects. What help did you have to start your social enterprise? I started my social enterprise in 2008 when the recession hit the UK. At that time there was very limited funding around and the Arts Council were not committing to supporting many organisations financially. I made the decision then, that I need the organisation to be self sustaining, and for any funding to support pilot projects and not more. There was however some funding in working with consultants to help me understand the fundamentals of setting up a business and supporting me in writing the constitution and working out the best legal form. There were also some free business courses that I attended. Beyond this, support was very limited. How did you decide on what legal form would work best for your business? I was clear that I didn’t want my organisation to be a charity, as I wanted to maintain some ownership, but at the same time, it was very important to me that my team members, students, parents and the community were also able to have an input, feel they had an element of ownership and that I was accountable to them. A social enterprise model allowed for this, and for me to be able to drive an organisation that wasn’t reliant on funding and grants, but that could adapt easily and diversify without being concerned with high amounts of restricted income. I also felt that I didn’t want our work to be reliant on funding, as I saw too many arts organisations disappear and struggle and their good projects stop because the funding stopped and it hadn’t been created sustainably. What’s the best thing about being a social entrepreneur? I LOVE being a social entrepreneur. I love the freedom of working for myself, but the knowledge that in everything I do, it is for a bigger cause and social impact. I am passionate for the people and communities that we serve and I love engaging with out customers. Ever since being a child, I have worked hard for things, and although can work in structure, the artist in me loves not having a structure and having to take every day as it comes. I think this quality also means that I am able to support artists better in my consultancy work, as In understand there most natural way of being, but I also have learnt through having my own organisation, that you can’t move forwards consistently without some structure and planning. I also love inspiring people, and I get so many opportunities to do this as a social entrepreneur. I have considered what I would do if it wasn’t this, but I genuinely struggle to think of something that would make me this fulfilled, and be a clear expression of who I am as an individual. What have been the three biggest challenges that you have overcome (or that you’re still working on)? We work across two of the toughest sectors, Arts and Education, both of which have little investment from the government in the UK, and little funding from other places. This is a constant challenge, and probably the one thing that does get me down when things feel hard. It often feels like we are fighting the impossible. But somehow, 12 years later, we are still here standing. And that’s what I hold onto when things are hard. What advice would you give to aspiring social entrepreneurs? Don’t do it unless you’re prepared to give it sweat and tears. There will be moments when it takes over your life, so be prepared for that. In the early stages, use your time to be with other social entrepreneurs, to learn from other people in all walks of business, and to soak as much knowledge and information as possible from others already on the journey. Never assume you know everything! Twelve years later, although I’m sure of what I do know, I never assume I know it all, and I am always prepared to learn and add to my knowledge. Never be afraid to admit you’re not sure. Why do you think social enterprise is important? The public want accountability from businesses to politics. I think social enterprise can offer this. I also think that there is a new generation of business people who want to see differences made that they feel haven’t been made before with business. They are keen to develop businesses with real social purposes and that are community led. I think for this reason and the fact that no matter what happens in politics and business, community is still important, social enterprises are more important than ever. The bring community together, and create a more level playing field for those involved. They have their social impacts at their heart, but still understand the necessity of creating a profit in order to drive that social impact. Businesses have always been able to influence the world and in many cases politics, so it’s important to have businesses that are community driven, that impact communities in order to have the influence to make a difference in the world. What’s been your most rewarding experience as a social entrepreneur? The times I find it most rewarding is when I have a student come back and visit us and share how well they are doing with their lives and how they would not have been able to achieve it without A Mind Apart. I also find supporting other social entrepreneurs and creatives with their passion leaves me feeling rewarded. What information sources would you recommend (books, websites, organisations?) to help someone just starting their social enterprise journey? Social Enterprise UK and Co-operatives UK are invaluable sources for those working in the UK. They can also offer advice and support depending on what you are wanting your model to be. Social Enterprise UK does a lot of advocating on behalf of social enterprises, at Government level, and is a great source to help anyone understand how their adventure might fit into a bigger picture country wide. The Fair Shares Institute (http://fsi.coop/) is also a great source and a fairly new model for social enterprises to consider. The people behind it are all practitioners and academics in the field, and very passionate about fair business. Other than that, I recommend speaking to anyone that will speak to you and offer advice. Don’t just look to social enterprises, look at other business models too, in order to get a full understanding of how you can be different from them. Seek out businesses in your sector and learn from them what to do and what not to do. Although some mistakes were made by me in the early stages, I made less than I could have done, because I found out what mistakes others were making, and made sure I didn’t make them! What’s been the most surprising thing about creating a social enterprise? The amount of support there is out there for social enterprises, and the growing understanding of the models. When I started these were very limited and it was a fairly new sector. I am always surprised at how much that has now changed. What are your plans for the next 2-5 years? We are currently evaluating our entire business and all of our services, in light of the Brexit and Government in the UK. We are impacted quite a lot by politics in education and the creative sector. We intend to build on some of our key areas such as after school clubs and evening classes, and look towards new models of running these services, that would enable a wider growth of our work. What is the biggest change you would like to see in the world? For the gap between the poor and the rich to minimise, and for young people to feel fully represented and valued (I think young people in the world are loosing hope in our systems and leaders). What have been your three proudest moments as a social entrepreneur? 1. Hiring my first employee. 2. Reaching 10 years in business. 3. Every-time a student returns to us to say thank you and tell us about their successes that would not have happened without our intervention. It’s easy to get caught up in the day to day and stress, but at times like this, I realise how important our services are and it reignites my fire to make sure we can continue as we are. What would you say to encourage more entrepreneurs to consider the social impact of their businesses? The social impact of a business can be so important, and be a way for your staff to fully engage with the work you do and support it beyond their day to day job. It’s a way to get them bought into the values of the business, but on top of that, with every bit of business you do, you will be making an impact either in someone’s life beyond the business, or on the environment for the better. I think it’s more important than ever, and if you’re not a social business, I believe you should at least have a strong CSR that can support some social impact.

What does your social enterprise do? Migrateful runs cookery classes led by refugees, asylum seekers and migrants struggling to integrate and access employment. The cookery classes provide ideal conditions not just for learning English and building confidence, but also for promoting contact and cultural exchange with the wider community. What made you start your business up? The idea came to me when I was running a project with a group of refugees and all of them had left behind a successful career. After having to leave their countries, they were unemployed in the UK – and that was mainly due to language barriers or their qualifications not been recognised in the UK, leaving them unable to contribute to the society. In one particular session all of them said that they would love to teach the group how to cook their native cuisine and that was when I realised that other people in the UK would also want to learn, while this being a great way to get refugees into employment, meeting people, practicing English. How do you measure your impact? For our clients, we measure through feedback and testimonials. We use a platform called Salesforce to gather a lot of our data. For our chefs, it’s all about ongoing feedback and checking in regularly. What help did you have to start your social enterprise? In 2016, I started a 10-months postgraduate Year Here Fellowship which helped me to incubate my idea. I think the idea worked because the refugee women I worked with loved it and kept asking if they could teach another class. At the same time, the customers, who attended the class, really enjoyed it, so the initiative grew organically from demand from both sides. We also received a lot of support from the Unltd team in 2019 to think through the best strategy to grow. How did you decide on what legal form would work best for your business? We sought advice, took inspiration from similar organisations, and weighed up the pros and cons. What’s the best thing about being a social entrepreneur? The best thing is probably seeing the impact Migrateful has had on the lives of the chefs. When they started, all of our chefs were unemployed, had no friends and very much felt at the bottom of society. Now, after teaching the cookery classes where they’re the leader and everyone is there to celebrate their talent, their story, their culture, this really has changed how they feel about themselves. They say that they feel very welcome in the country for the first time and they feel hopeful about their future. What have been the three biggest challenges that you have overcome (or that you’re still working on)? Securing funding to cover the costs of Migrateful Finding venues for the classes as we grow and expand Launching the Migrateful program in Bristol What advice would you give to aspiring social entrepreneurs? Choose a cause and business that you truly care about. Something that is greater than you and seeks to make the lives of others better. Why do you think social enterprise is important? In a world that’s very divisive, social enterprises often offer hope and restoration - especially to the individuals in society who need it most. What’s been your most rewarding experience as a social entrepreneur? Seeing the chefs being celebrated through the cookery classes, and witnessing their growth in confidence. What information sources would you recommend (books, websites, organisations?) to help someone just starting their social enterprise journey? Check out the Year Here Fellowship.The support and contacts you’ll receive are priceless. What’s been the most surprising thing about creating a social enterprise? The support that streams in from all directions. From volunteers to organisations who believe in our mission, it’s been overwhelming to see so many people eager to lend a hand and offer their expertise. What are your plans for the next 2-5 years? To grow Migrateful in the existing cities we’re in and look to expand to other areas of the UK where Migrateful can have an impact. What is the biggest change you would like to see in the world? A more integrated society where everyone feels welcome and migration is not perceived negatively. What have been your three proudest moments as a social entrepreneur? Welcoming over 30 chefs (and counting) from around the world to Migrateful. Launching Migrateful in London, Bristol and Kent. Increasing the number of cookery classes year on year What would you say to encourage more entrepreneurs to consider the social impact of their businesses? We all have the opportunity to create positive change in our community, so don’t underestimate how this can be woven into your business model.

What does your social enterprise do? We are a CIO charity “empowering people through writing” who have incorporated our own non-profit publishing branch. We reach out to the most disadvantaged people and communities, providing free mentoring, writing workshops and opportunities which support them to have a voice, tell their stories, participate in literature and cultural projects and events, get published through us, join us as members, volunteers and network partners. What made you start your business up? It was started by our founder as a social enterprise company in 2015, who had experienced serious disadvantage himself, but was able to use his lived experience into a pioneering innovation to establish a publishing company which is different: one which gives marginalized outsiders a chance to tell their own stories and get published. Writing and journalism are both underrepresented by people who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, who have lived experience of injustice or have been victims themselves. Right from the start books written by people who had been homeless, prisoners, victims of abuse or discrimination, suffered from disability, mental health issues or autism, belonged to ethnic minorities, lived in poverty, had working class backgrounds… got published with free mentoring and editing support, giving authors a high share of the sales of their books. To establish a charity was the logical next step, which we achieved in May 2017, when Arkbound Foundation CIO got registered with the Charity Commission. A year ago, we made the next step, which was to incorporate publishing as our charitable, non-profit CIO branch. Now we can apply for support and funding for the many projects we’re developing to make writing more accessible, an affordable or free provision improving wellbeing and community cohesion, reaching out to disadvantaged people and groups. We expanded our work to Scotland, got an office in Glasgow in March 2019 and by October 2019 we also got registered with OSCR, the Scottish charity regulators. We have a thriving team of trustees and volunteers there now. How do you measure your impact? Our impact is continuously well documented, which follows from the nature of our social enterprise being about writing and publishing. We have feedback forms for our authors, mentees and writing workshop participants. Our free book launches get fully booked, our literature events, showcasing of poetry and talks, writing workshops, introductions, are well attended. On facebook and twitter we have a lot of activity, followers, likes and engagements. Our websites are well visited, and we get a lot of requests from new beneficiaries by email or phone. Our books get not only sold but also provide ‘food for thought’. We don’t measure our impact in lines of commercial ‘profit’ but from our charitable visions and missions: reaching out to disadvantaged people, giving them a voice, engaging them through workshops, events and mentoring, getting their unique stories told, even if we won’t make a profit, ‘educating’ our society by raising awareness and promoting the stories and books of our authors. We also have a team of trustees which mutually discuss and evaluate what we do and achieve. We learn from difficulties if they arise and plan improved actions and inputs towards greater positive impact together. Our impact also needs to be seen in relation to how small we still are, working on a shoestring, on less than £50.000 on turnover in our first accounted financial year, motivating numerous hours of voluntary commitments from our trustees and volunteers, even some free work from our staff. We’re still only able to employ three part time staff on freelance contracts. If we would have a more secure and better supported and invested in overheads and personal core organisation base, we really could achieve much more and get an even greater impact. What help did you have to start your social enterprise? The Bristol Emmaus owned Backfields House incubator office space was able to offer us a desk for a very low monthly rent, due to them receiving a big grant from European Union funding at that time. Some of our trustees received free start up business type of social enterprise advice, delivered through Voscur and other at that time funded initiatives. Such helped us towards giving our charitable organisation the right start, writing out our values, visions and missions and manage governance of our organisation. We received help and advice along the way, free one to one consultations arranged through the Charity Commission’s Bristol representative working with Voscur. Online courses provided through social enterprise and access to resources, forms and guidelines also provided to be very valuable. How did you decide on what legal form would work best for your business? Our publishing company, which was established first, had already a very strong social mission towards supporting disadvantaged authors. As explained, becoming a charity was the right step to undertake. We were able to make an informed decision after participating in “Kick Start your Organisation” (a course held by Voscur and supported through Social Enterprise and Innovation Programme). Becoming a CIO reflected our strong charitable commitments as well as providing the space or platform to run a non-profit publishing branch, which highly improves the services we can provide for our beneficiaries and has the potential to make us sustainable. What’s the best thing about being a social entrepreneur? It really gives you the feeling and satisfaction that you’re doing something positive for society, your community, the people you serve and those who pay for your products or services. You create a lot of social value through your work and commitment, improve on equality, diversity community cohesion and more fulfilling, sustainable ways of life becoming accessible. It is about providing meaningful products, services, jobs, volunteering, work experience and networking opportunities. It is about being proud of your work and your organisation, it becomes a major rewarding commitment of your own life, not just a job to earn wages. You and your team can feel in charge of the enterprise and give it the outlook and directions which reflect your own values. What have been the three biggest challenges that you have overcome (or that you’re still working on)? 1.) As lived experience background individuals, full of enthusiasm and sharing a great idea, it was rather challenging to set up our enterprise without any training in business skills or being able to afford consultancy. There is a lot of red tape and bureaucracy involved in it. Even though most of it is essential or necessary, it can make big hurdles and I wouldn’t be surprised that many people like us give up. But we managed in the end. 2.) Unexpected inner conflicts: two years ago, we took on an intern student for help and work experience, who we then later employed. But she started to work against us which got revealed as an attempt from her side to bluntly take our organisation over. She brought in trustees who were her friends, spread rumours and false accusations and made an attempt to have our founder dismissed, without any lawful policy related procedures. We were able to solve it though outside, Charity Commission related conflict solution advice. She and her friends resigned, and we improved our governance through adding on more updated policies. 3.) What is still a major challenge is having to work and provide excellent services, while being underfunded and receiving only limited income through our publishing branch. We rely on a lot of voluntary commitment through our trustees and team. We have not been able to offer full time employment yet. It is difficult to receive funding and writing out applications takes a lot of time and skills to do. Funding is usually earmarked for specific projects, but we need to pay for staff and overheads as well. Larger charities and enterprises have advantages, I’ve even come across funders who only take applications from organisations which have a minimum of £100,000. – turnover a year. Our publishing branch shares and delivers our values and is not profit orientated either. What advice would you give to aspiring social entrepreneurs? Not to give up on their dreams and ambitions but to seek advice right from the start, like getting in touch with Social Enterprise UK. If possible, to start small without taking on big loans, but learning and expanding as you go ahead. Not to get discouraged if there are problems or things don’t work out as expected. Learn from mistakes, plan ahead, have a plan B ready, feel positive about what you do. Why do you think social enterprise is important? It is the most valuable type of enterprise because it improves and helps neighbourhoods, communities and society. It empowers also disadvantaged communities all over the world to have products and services which they need in everyday life, even to survive or to strengthen cohesion and cooperation. What’s been your most rewarding experience as a social entrepreneur? Providing real help to disadvantaged people and groups. What information sources would you recommend (books, websites, organisations?) to help someone just starting their social enterprise journey? Social Enterprise UK is a great source, “Kick Start your Organisation”, Voscur in Bristol, Charity Commission resources (if you’re a charity), LawWorks, quite a lot of resources ban be found online. What’s been the most surprising thing about creating a social enterprise? To pick up on business skills along the way, which people from a literature and arts background usually don’t fancy to study and train it. To find out and get lived experience on how to put ideas and theories into practice. What are your plans for the next 2-5 years? To expand and provide more opportunities, getting sustainable through our publishing, employ more skilled staff and provide work experience and intern placements. To open charity shop like hubs where people can get informed and engaged. It would provide a space to look at our books and projects over a cup of coffee, to provide mentoring, writing workshops, smaller scale literature and poetry readings, a retreat type of space for reading, writing, art, creativity, to get help, signposting, meet likeminded people, have a chat, get involved. We also have an idea of opening therapeutic, residential writing retreats with an eco-friendly outlook. It is something we will still work on at a planning stage. What is the biggest change you would like to see in the world? More equality and respect of everybody regardless of their background or characteristics and respect and care for our planet. – Even if it looks as if I asked for two changes I believe it is overall one, because there is the egoism and profit orientated selfishness of most people in power, which disregard looking after the world as well as disadvantaged people and communities. What have been your three proudest moments as a social entrepreneur? Getting accepted as a registered charity. Becoming also a charity in Scotland with a thriving team and great projects. Successful book launches. What would you say to encourage more entrepreneurs to consider the social impact of their businesses? The best thing you can do is running an enterprise which helps and improves your local community and the world. I wouldn’t swap places with anyone who has a palace in a tax heaven owns billions but runs a business which damages our planet and impoverishes people and communities.

Rest Less, a social enterprise startup offering jobs, volunteering and guidance for the over 50s, has announced that it has raised £3m in seed funding. Rest Less launched in December 2018 as an online platform specifically targeted at the growing population of over 50s. It offers fulfilling opportunities to work, volunteer or find a new career path. Since launch, Rest Less has been on a mission to raise awareness of the challenges faced by this demographic in the workplace - where on average they are more likely to be made redundant, are more likely to be in long term unemployment and are less likely to receive workplace training than their younger counterparts. Over the course of its first year, Rest Less has amassed more than 100,000 members in the UK who have an average age of 55. The investment round was led by QED Investors, a leading boutique venture capital firm based in the US, whose UK investments include Clearscore, Wagestream, and Fidel. There was also participation from 1818 Venture Capital alongside a number of angel investors. Early investors in Rest Less include Octopus Ventures. The investment will be used to continue to build and enhance the Rest Less platform and expand quality services to its users. Stuart Lewis, founder and Chief Executive Officer at Rest Less, commented: “The idea for Rest Less was borne out of personal experience with family, combined with some external inspiration in the form of Channel 4’s 'Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds'. "We are excited to improve and grow the Rest Less platform so we can help more over-50s in the workplace, but also in other areas of their lives. Since launch, we have worked hard to raise awareness of the challenges our audience face, as well as highlighting the many positives they can bring to the workplace and wider society. "We want to help this under-served and under-represented group of individuals navigate the challenging and ever-changing employment landscape - as well as helping them to find broader mental and financial wellbeing as a result.” Yusuf Ozdalga, Partner at QED Investors, added: “Society is ageing and the employment and financial services landscape for the over-50s is changing with it. This demographic is chronically underserved, which brings exciting business opportunities for those who understand the audience, and who are focused on helping them achieve what is important to them. "Rest Less stood out to QED as a business squarely focused on championing the needs of its audience and raising awareness of the issues they face. With demographic trends on its side, Rest Less offers that perfect intersection of an exciting business opportunity with a strong social purpose at its core.”