We met Chris Gergen and Charles Thomas last night. Chris is what could be described as a serial entrepreneur. His organization, Queen City Forward, is about social entrepreneurship. Businesses that are essentially about public well-being and are often aimed at social justice. In my city, Charlotte, a.k.a. “The Queen City” (don’t get your nose out of joint Cincinnati), there are some 4,000 not-for-profits. This isn’t about that. Social enterprises have something called a revenue model. Thats right…they make money, provide paying jobs, compete in a marketplace. They are sustainable. At a time when many are peddling phrases like “class warfare,” this seems like an awfully good idea. Ron Paul might even approve.
Queen City Forward empowers people who want to start social enterprises by providing mentoring, skills training, support services and access to talent and capital. They catch these businesses just as they are leaving their comfort zone, having appealed (and perhaps tapped), “friends & family.” As they enter the daunting valley of second thoughts, competition, and lack of funding QCF is there. Take a look at their website: www.queencityforward.org.