About

So why participate in this blog?

You have seen this message in a variety of media. And guess what. It is not only activists like this who are speaking out. Business people, policy makers, NGO’s, institutions, and thought leaders of all persuasions are joining the conversation. While not everyone is on the same page on all aspects of the debate, there seems to be at least agreement on this: The way we have been doing things is not working for most of us or the planet.

That said, there are some exciting new fields and variants of entrepreneurship developing including social or community entrepreneurship or a variant I call “deep” entrepreneurship. This former idea is about a new form of enterprise; A kind of Not for Profit/For Profit hybrid organizational form that can bring the power of enterprise to bear on social problems. And the latter is about a mintority approach to entrepreneurship that belies the current tendencies towards trivialization and celebritization of the entrepreneur and his/her role in society.

But not many people understand these concepts yet. Hence the raison d’etre for this blog.

This blog is primarily about understanding the concept of deep entrepreneurship, as well as specifically elevating the conversation in Canada on Social Enterprise and Social Innovation to a whole new practical level. Why? Because in my view, these concepts are important. I also have hands on experience as a deep entrepreneur as well as having gone through the process of founding, launching and operating a social purpose enterprise, (The Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Company, www.fifthtown.ca) and have much to share with others on these topics.

While the main focus of this blog is deep plus social entrepreneurship (what, why, and how), the sub- topics of sustainability and the food system ares are in my view, specific areas that are at the root of most of our most pressing issues and therefore, deserve special attention. I also believe Fourth World (First Nation) issues (not just Canadian, but indigenous peoples across the globe), because their unique cultural values, history, and common issues around land use & reform, resource management, and role of community can provide us with valuable insight on developing solutions that can work.

So we hope you enjoy this blog. And we look forward to hearing from you.