Social Capital Markets: Accelerating the Good Economy

By Sarah Hidey, JVA Consulting

Two weeks ago, 1,900 innovators, social entrepreneurs, impact investors, venture capitalists, students and capacity builders from 45+ countries descended on Fort Mason Center in San Francisco for the annual Social Capital Markets (SOCAP) conference.

SOCAP’s annual gathering showcases 1) innovators who have created new business models for global and community change, 2) investors who want to invest in these new business models that result in both financial AND social returns, and 3) capacity builders who are developing ecosystems where innovators and impact investors can flourish. Clearly, I was not going to miss out on this convergence of teaching and inspiration!

This year’s theme of “Accelerating the Good Economy” and SOCAP’s tag-line, “At the Intersection of Money and Meaning,” are just two of the million reasons why SOCAP’s five days of workshops and brainstorming sessions are some of my favorite days of the year. And I was not disappointed—I left the conference with a renewed and energized vision for the power of the community to innovate, fund and change the way we do business.

Here are some of the topics that I’m most excited about:

Urban Innovation: What would it look like if a city government helped to develop an ecosystem that allowed for innovations to be developed and tested, resulting in reduced tax dollars being spent on city problems?
Local Community Investing: What would it look like if we all began to invest our dollars locally in businesses and organizations building the fabric of our towns and cities?
Lean Business: What would it look like if we spent less time worrying about the small details of our social enterprise business plans and instead focused more on what our customers NEED and WANT?
Innovative Collaboration: What would it look like if we intentionally created co-working communities where innovation and entrepreneurship were not only encouraged, but cultivated and grown?

We were able to flesh out answers to all of these questions at SOCAP. From the exciting work that Philadelphia is doing in urban innovation, to platforms such as Community Sourced Capital, to the wisdom of business model generation from Steve Blank, to the Impact HUB network in 40+ cities around the world, we learned from the greatest teachers and mentors in the sector. In the upcoming weeks, you’ll see a blog on each of these topics as we share insights from some of the pioneers who are blazing a trail in all of these areas.

In the meantime, we are incorporating many new and exciting elements into our Social Enterprise Academy, scheduled for November 11–15, 2013. Social Enterprise Academy to reserve your spot!