Social Entrepreneurship: Business as a Force for Good

I had this perception of a polarisation between business and social activism, and learning about social entrepreneurship showed me that there was a place that could exist between the two, where a business could be profitable and also do good.” – André Marmot, Hatch graduate

Many businesses are founded as a solution to a problem their founder has identified in society. This is the case for the majority of the founders Hatch supported in the last year, 83% of whom are directly addressing one or more of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals with their businesses.

The social missions of businesses we supported in the past year ranged from coaching for young Black girls in school, to a project promoting more green spaces in communities.?

Our ethos has always been to promote business as a force for good, and this informs our programme design meaning that our founders have access to information about becoming a B Corp and Community Interest Company if appropriate for their organisation, and impact measurement and communication is a core component of cohort learnings.

Graduates of our programmes in the past year who were running a social impact business reported the following skills increase:

Social Entrepreneurs from the Past Year

Alexandra Birtles is the founder of In Good Company and a graduate of our Deep Dive programme that ran last year supporting social businesses to access ambitious investment.

In Good Company is a female-founded, tech-for-good startup dedicated to connecting people with the best sustainable and socially-conscious businesses around them.

We are facing so many challenges right now – from climate change to poverty, and by being truly impact- led, businesses can be such an important part of the solution. We didn’t want to create a company to simply make money, we wanted to build something which would make a difference and positively impact the world. Those are the kinds of businesses I admire and that we should be cheering on, and encouraging more people to build too.

There were loads of things that Hatch covered that I had no idea about in terms of what I needed to do as a business. For me, it was about the opportunity to have a really structured approach to learning, but also the space to really consider things that I maybe hadn’t thought about at all.

I had heard really great things about Hatch and I think when you’re starting a business, it’s an incredibly daunting and potentially very lonely journey. Even with a co-founder who I’m very lucky to be in partnership with, it’s just the one or the two of you trying to figure things out - Alex Birtles

Patrick Lavery founded environmental business Attlas after completing a Hatch Launchpad programme.

Attlas is a loyalty scheme devoted to positive climate action. Customers can collect points at affiliated businesses through their usual purchases, such as the daily coffee run, and then spend these points on planting trees.

It was through doing a Hatch programme that Patrick was able to consolidate his ideas, and build the model for a successful, sustainable business with impact.

The Hatch process was really good because it made me realise that just because it sounds like a nice idea and it might have a tangible benefit doesn’t mean it’s going to work as a business.

Alongside the expert advice sessions, Patrick really benefitted from being part of a cohort of like-minded founders.

The founders from Hatch are so inspiring and it was such a motivating factor to see them every other week and watch them make progress because it urges you to make progress as well - Patrick Lavery

Charles Harris, Hatch Incubator graduate, is on a mission to put lived experience at the centre of mental health support through his community interest company knus .

Following a severe mental health breakdown, knus was created with an aim to help those in need of mental health support. My main mission in creating knus was to make mental health support accessible in a timely fashion, backed by people that have a lived experience of mental health. Funding from Hatch has allowed us to build software to better support our volunteers and the public, connect more telephone and video calls and provide emergency food or transport for those in crisis.??

The one-on-one support and learning from coaches allowed me to think about how to do things better and built my confidence immensely. I felt that the programme acknowledged my disabilities, which helped me feel really comfortable in what I was taking part in, helped me understand how to embrace these disabilities in what I do for knus and how to embrace these qualities in others.?

The programme has helped me to get to where I am now and ensured that I’ve done it right - Charles Harris

The Ripple Effect

The positive social and environmental impact these three Hatch supported businesses are having on their local communities is profound, and there are stories just like theirs for the 250+ entrepreneurs that completed an in-depth Hatch programme in the last year.?

For every person that grows their confidence after completing a Hatch programme, accesses their first business grant after graduating, connects with a supportive network of like-minded peers through our community, there is a whole ripple effect of impact that extends out to every life touched by their new enterprise.

That is what we have tried to capture in our latest impact report. With the vast majority of our programme participants running impact focused organisations, every new graduate to join our community builds on our movement to celebrate business as a force for good.?