Creating the Social Enterprise with Sean Foote

Creating the Social Enterprise

Masterclass from Informatics Ventures for Social Enterprise Entrepreneurs in Scotland

Sean Foote, General Partner, Labrador Ventures; Adjunct Professor, Haas School of Business, University of California-Berkeley

This interactive seminar will be led by Sean Foote, a venture capitalist from Silicon Valley, who also is involved in microfinance and teaches a course on such at the University of California-Berkeley in the Haas School of Business. The format will include an overview of the social enterprise start-up, and what makes it different than the usual for-profit business start-up venture. Different segments will be addressed, including the growing microfinance sector.  Sean will review a couple of cases for comparison purposes, including Kiva  www.kiva.org, which has just surpassed $100 million in microloans http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/01/four-years-after-founding-kiva-hits-100-million-in-microloans/.  From there the discourse will surround particular issues and impediments faced by the social enterprise entrepreneurs that are attending the session.

Schedule for Thursday 03 December 2009:
13.00 - 14.00 Lunch and Networking
14.00    Seminar Starts
16.00 - 16.15 Coffee break
16.15 - 17.30 Seminar 2nd half
17.30  End

Limited to 15 participants. Maximum of two people per organizaton. Lunch will be served as will coffee. There is no charge for qualifying social enterprises. Qualifying start-ups must be based in Scotland and have plans to internationalize within the next few years. Note: Please come to discuss the challenges to starting or growing your social enterprise.  Also, please read the Kiva case from the University of California-Berkeley before attending. Organizer Danny Helson of Informatics Ventures  dhelson@inf.ed.ac.uk will provde a copy to you.


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Sean Foote, Labrador Ventures

http://www.labrador.com/team_sean.html

Sean Foote, Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley

http://www2.haas.berkeley.edu/Faculty/foote_sean.asp

Definition of a Social Enterprise (Wikipedia)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_enterprise

Global Social Enterprise Competition at the University of California Berkeley

http://entrepreneurship.berkeley.edu/business_competitions/gsvc.html

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ABOUT SEAN FOOTE

Sean Foote has been a venture capitalist investing in early stage companies since 1998, including cleantech companies Solaicx and Integrated Photovoltaics, SaaS company Green Border (sold to Google), and materials companies Eoplex Technologies and Integrated Materials, Inc. Previously, Sean was a management consultant with Boston Consulting Group and a systems engineer for AT&T Bell Laboratories.

He is philanthropically interested in microfinance, serving as board member of Silicon Valley Microfinance Network and a Trustee of Freedom From Hunger, as well as education, as co-founder of Community Promise ("You graduate high school, we'll pay your California college tuition"). He is Chairman of the Development Council of Entrepreneurs Foundation, a non-profit organization that engages high growth companies in corporate citizenship and philanthropic efforts, and sits on the Advisory Board of Silicon Valley Bank's Private Client Services.

Sean is on the Professional Faculty of the University of California-Berkeley's Haas School of Business where he teaches two courses: Venture Capital & Private Equity, one of the most highly sought classes at the school, and Microfinance, which is simulcast to over 30 college campuses around the world, including 13 of the top 20 U.S. MBA programs.

Sean received his undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Missouri Rolla (1988), and his MBA from the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business (1993), where he received the Shermett Award granted to the top 3% of students. He is a middling singer/songwriter (www.myspace.com/seanfoote) and an avid triathlete and sailor.

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