#SoEnt17 brought local business heroes, nonprofit leaders, and business teachers together with a like-minded audience to find ways to get involved in the movement taking place in our Valley. Social Entrepreneurship, shortened into #SoEnt, is a growing phenomenon looking to solve social challenges through the vehicle of business and economic growth. Participants of #SoEnt17 were able to meet these social entrepreneurs from our Valley and build connections to get involved.
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Keynote speaker Bryan Feil, CEO of Lanna Coffee
On April 7th at Butler Church, 70 students and 60 community members met the 20 social entrepreneurship experts and engaged in a wide range of workshops. These included how to get started with hardly any money by Andrew Shinn, the Bitwise Story of starting a business to impact a community by Jake Soberal, and even a personal story of moving from recipient to contributor by AP Armour. The keynote speaker of the day was Bryan Feil, CEO of Lanna Coffee, who has started two different social enterprises here in Fresno and has experience using business to solve significant challenges both in the streets of Fresno and in the villages of Thailand. Alex Hussain introduced Bryan Feil in the Plenary Session.
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Jake Soberal, Co-CEO of Bitwise Industries
Jake Soberal led a workshop titled, “Why Not You? Start a Business. Impact a Community.” Through the story of Bitwise, Jake details the key elements that were necessary in finding a real community need and a solution that could make a significant difference.
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Andrew Shinn, Business Instructor at Fresno Pacific and serial entrepreneur
led a workshop titled, “How to Get Started with Hardly Any Money.” With plenty personal experience and experience coaching other entrepreneurs, Andrew breaks down misconceptions about the challenges in starting a business while providing strategies to startup with little money.
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Anthony “AP” Armour, CEO and Co-Founder of Neighborhood Industries
led a workshop titled “From Recipient to Contributor: A Story of Transformation Through Transaction.” Through his own life story, Anthony pushes for a redefinition of who we see as receivers and contributors, as well as how we view transactions and their potential to change our communities.
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Renee Chu-Jacoby, social entrepreneur and business strategist
led a workshop titled “How to Retool Your Business for Social Impact.” By starting with you purpose and finding a real need to solve, Renee goes through a list of potential steps for existing businesses to find a social challenge and provide a solution.
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Wrapping up #SoEnt17
Alex Hussain and Bryan Feil came back to the stage to review some of the material and provide next steps for participants to take.
