Caroline Boyle talks to the founder of i-genius, Tommy Hutchinson
What's in a name? i-genius is seeking to create a world community of social entrepreneurs and to inspire a new generation to become social innovators.
As 2007 begins and almost everyone has good intentions and hopes for the New Year, Caroline Boyle talks to the founder of i-genius, Tommy Hutchinson about i-genius and what its hopes to achieve. In a very noisy cafe in London's Soho Tommy talks about how he sees social entrepreneurism fitting with current social, technical and cultural trends world-wide.
First can you explain what social entrepreneurism is?
The traditional definition of a social entrepreneur is someone who runs a business which is charitable or not for profit. This concept has a 300 - 400 year history in the UK at least. But today the definition is wider and a social enterprise is any business "doing good in the world" and less focused on any particular legal or ownership structure. Anita Roddick and Jamie Oliver are great examples of modern social entrepreneurs. What they do may be largely commercially based but it is very much focused on doing social good. Al Gore's recent film "An inconvenient truth" is another good example of a social enterprise from a media and film perspective.
I think I can guess your next question - who determines what is social good? I believe the best judge is the person who uses the service offered because he or she will have a better sense of what works and what is needed rather than any government or Quasi-governmental institution.
Are you suggesting older institutions, charities or voluntary organisations might have outlived their use or have become too large, bureaucratic or fixed for fit modern needs?
I think charities are great things but yes everything can benefit from fresh thinking from time to time. I also think the issues of ownership and involvement of an organisation are very important. Historically many charities were created by powerful institutions or individuals and indeed that is still often the case today. Sometimes the actions of such people or organisations are motivated by seeking status or honour or wanting to safeguard their interests or it can appear like that to outsiders! For younger people and for those from less privileged backgrounds money is a legitimate motivator and necessity. If they set up their own social enterprises should they not also be able to earn something tangible from this financially? We need lots of different models for social enterprises today.
You are wanting in this way to encourage bottom-up rather than top down?
Exactly.
Can you give me some examples from the i-genius network of the sort of enterprises you are talking about?
Here are two: Anh Vu Tran Thi is from Vietnam. She set up Particular Gallery at the age of 23. She develops young talented Vietnamese artists creating demand internationally for their work. These artists are helping to transmit a fresh and creative flavour to a modern Vietnam.
Killian McDermott set up cafeDiverso (a multi-media travel publisher) in Barcelona to inspire cultural travel through quality information on the peoples & cultures of the World - exploring peoples & cultures through stories & connections. Killian describes his company as a talent incubator and believes that everyone has a good story. Killian offers a forum for cultures to connect, communicate and interact creatively, marking cafeDiverso out as a new generation of travel publishing, exploring peoples and cultures, rather than just places, accommodation and activities
You can find lots more examples on www.i-genius.org/member/
From what you say, social entrepreneurism seems to be a global trend. Why is it happening now? What are the factors involved?
I think there are four reasons.
First consumer power. There is a growing trend towards people being more selective about what they want and where they buy from. A move to more ethical standards. Secondly in recent years there has been a movement towards greater corporate responsibility by corporations. In part as a result of scandals such as ENRON and the need to protect and improve reputation but it is much more that this. Corporations are now making corporate social responsibility a real part of their ethos and how they work, how they attract and keep staff and how they become part of their local communities. It helps the corporation become less anonymous and monolithic and gives it a personality.
Thirdly I think we are seeing that governments are finding it harder to pay for all the services societies now expect and it's a great burden if provided purely out of taxation. And in many cases there is an increasing questioning as to whether the state is the best way of delivering all these services.
Fourthly I think there is a changing attitude towards work itself. Over the past few years I have noticed that young people are no longer as interested in just making money as they were maybe ten or fifteen years ago. One young woman recently said to me "I want to be able to do good and wear nice shoes". I travel a great deal and all over the world I am meeting young people who care about their communities and about working not just to enrich themselves but to give something back. It is a more balanced approach. It is not just young people either. People further on in their careers are ready for a change. Maybe they are reaching a certain age and asking "is this it?" Lots of people who are registering on the i-genius site are in mid-career or older and working in large corporations but want to do something more and be part of something where their ideas count and where their enthusiasm and hard work can make an obvious difference.
Is there a role for governments or large institutions such as the European Commission in promoting social entrepreneurism or should they just leave the scene entirely?
I think they can do several things to support and facilitate. Funding - in the way the Commission already does under a variety of schemes and programmes in social, cultural and educational spheres remains extremely helpful. Then there is the broader issue of creating a wider variety of corporate and legal structures to underpin social enterprises. In the UK and other parts of Europe perhaps some streamlining of structures would be useful including taxation. Globally there are many countries where there are no or inadequate legal structures. The EU for example could work overseas to help formulate and streamline structures which would help to support amazing people doing amazing things.
What do you see as the role of the new i-genius website?
The inspiration for the style of the website has been friendship and dating sites. These are powerful entertainment tools which we seek to apply in the social arena. We let people explain who they are, what they can offer, what they are looking for. But it must have integrity. People nowadays recognise they are on journeys in their lives. They want to put everything into what they do, give their all. Make it mean something. It is not just a job. It is not "what do you do" anymore but "who are you?" With the site we can use new technology to reach everywhere, to bring people together who would in the past never have had anything to do with one another. We are making it possible for people to find each other and develop partnerships - at a global level. We encourage social entrepreneurs to network with each other and to develop partnerships. These partnerships will often be between innovators who are working in different areas. For instance, environmental social entrepreneurs working together with education or media partners. Likewise, people who have a different range of skills may choose to partner each other. A social entrepreneur who is working on a great cultural project may need to tap into the talents of other social innovators who have particular skill areas like marketing, finance, legal, management advice, filming, photography, design and so forth. We hope to encourage partnerships to develop across geographical and cultural boundaries in the belief that people working together from different cultures and experiences will develop richer, more creative and innovative ideas for the benefit of us all and in a way we can all enjoy.
Why did you get involved?
I spent ten years in the City but when the bank I worked for was taken over it looked as if I would be made redundant. I took myself off for a weekend to Barcelona to think about my future. I imagined working for BA, or BP, BBA, BAA or some other such distinguished organisation. But looking down from Parc Guell on the beautiful city of Barcelona with the sea beyond I suddenly realised that far from being excited about working in another huge company and the salary package and material benefits that would come with it, I felt a sense of dread. I knew exactly how my life would pan out, what I would be doing when I'm 40, 50, 60, right up to when I'm lying on my death bed. But most of all I realised I was bored. I knew everything there was to know about my working life. I craved something new. I wanted to throw myself into a world I knew little about. I wanted to have a steep learning once again. I wanted a whole new experience, working not in some stuffy office, but working out of coffee shops, in film studios, hot desking in some converted warehouses. Above all, I wanted to work with fabulous new people. People who were full of energy, who were creative and brilliant. People who cared about the world they live in and have amazing ideas and passion about how to make it better. This was the life I wanted making a difference solving major issues and inventing new ways to make society a better place. I wanted to be a social entrepreneur.
In the past six years since I made my decision, I have met so many people who are amazing and doing amazing things. I ended up working with many of them, sometimes on a defined project and sometimes in more sustained businesses. During this time I have created or co-created a number of socially oriented businesses - kikass (a charity), Eurobandits, Hot Potato, Champ, Inpeak etc. Some have been a great success and fun to work on; some simple horrors, soul destroying, loss-making disasters.Despite all the hard work to get to this point, I am very aware that this is just the beginning. I have utter confidence that in i-genius we are going to have an unbelievable experience. We have a wonderful opportunity to build a world community of social entrepreneurs where people are inspired by each other, turned on by each other's passion and ideas and turned on by each other's personalities and the good they are doing.
So what is the plan?
The plan or the "dream" is to create a world where social businesses are in the mainstream of the economy. Areas of the world where this is most likely to happen quickly are those with the most rapidly growing economies - China, India, Asia generally, Africa and Eastern Europe. If these places can take the best from what we in the west achieved as we industrialised and post-industrialised and not make our mistakes, but instead apply a socially sensitive model from the outset, this would be a major success.
Is all this economically viable?
Some of the greatest interest in i-genius has come from the financial institutions of the City of London. The motivation of their depositors is changing away from simply making a good return on their money but on making a good and doing good for the environment and community. Social businesses from both an investor point of view, and from that of the consumer is good business. Consumers are beginning to want something different, better, more creative and social businesses are a response to this. In a world where there is rapid economic, social, political and environmental change, social entrepreneurs have a vital role to play.