Manajemen | Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji joeb.84.5.290-296

Journal of Education for Business

ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20

Socially-Oriented Ventures and Traditional
Entrepreneurship Education Models: A Case
Review
Matthew M. Mars & Sharon Garrison
To cite this article: Matthew M. Mars & Sharon Garrison (2009) Socially-Oriented Ventures
and Traditional Entrepreneurship Education Models: A Case Review, Journal of Education for
Business, 84:5, 290-296, DOI: 10.3200/JOEB.84.5.290-296
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.84.5.290-296

Published online: 07 Aug 2010.

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Date: 11 January 2016, At: 22:54

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Socially-Oriented฀Ventures฀and฀Traditional฀
Entrepreneurship฀Education฀Models:฀A฀
Case฀Review
MATTHEW฀M.฀MARS
SHARON฀GARRISON
THE฀UNIVERSITY฀OF฀ARIZONA฀
TUCSON,฀ARIZONA

ABSTRACT.฀As฀an฀academic฀area฀of฀
study,฀entrepreneurship฀has฀become฀institutionalized฀and฀now฀includes฀students฀from฀a฀

diverse฀range฀of฀disciplinary฀fields฀
(M.฀M.฀Mars,฀2006,฀2007).฀Consequently,฀
students’฀range฀of฀entrepreneurial฀interests฀
has฀also฀become฀more฀diverse฀in฀scope฀and฀
nature.฀Specifically,฀more฀students฀studying฀
entrepreneurship฀are฀expressing฀interest฀in฀
socially-oriented฀ventures,฀which฀challenge฀
the฀established฀instructional฀methods฀and฀
strategies฀that฀faculty฀have฀used฀in฀teaching฀entrepreneurship฀courses.฀The฀present฀
article฀outlines฀such฀challenges฀that฀a฀professor฀faces฀in฀teaching฀a฀venture฀finance฀
course฀that฀includes฀entrepreneurship฀students฀pursuing฀a฀socially-oriented฀venture฀
as฀part฀of฀a฀year-long฀experiential฀project.฀
The฀authors฀also฀provide฀2฀complementary฀
cases฀to฀more฀adequately฀frame฀recommendations฀for฀practice.฀
Keywords:฀entrepreneurship฀education,฀
finance฀education,฀social฀entrepreneurship
Copyright฀©฀2009฀Heldref฀Publications

290฀


Journal฀of฀Education฀for฀Business

A

lthough฀ entrepreneurship฀ is฀ relatively฀ new฀ to฀ higher฀ education,฀
it฀is฀among฀the฀most฀rapidly฀expanding฀
fields฀ of฀ study฀ in฀ colleges฀ and฀ universities฀ in฀ the฀ United฀ States฀ (Kuratko,฀
2006).฀The฀Kauffman฀Center฀for฀Entrepreneurial฀ Leadership฀ Staff฀ (2001)฀
indicated฀ that฀ the฀ growth฀ of฀ entrepreneurship฀ education฀ had฀ resulted฀ in฀
the฀ following:฀ (a)฀ an฀ endowed฀ chair฀
with฀ a฀ salary฀ averaging฀ $2.16฀ million฀
established฀every฀13฀days,฀(b)฀program฀
enrollments฀ as฀ high฀ as฀ 1,500฀ students฀
per฀semester฀per฀institution,฀(c)฀student฀
case฀ competitions฀ with฀ prizes฀ as฀ high฀
as฀ $10,000,฀ and฀ (d)฀ a฀ significant฀ rise฀
in฀the฀number฀of฀student-founded฀companies.฀ Recently,฀ significant฀ efforts฀ to฀
integrate฀entrepreneurial฀principles฀into฀
disciplines฀and฀fields฀of฀study฀outside฀of฀
business฀ schools฀ have฀ emerged฀ across฀

the฀ higher฀ education฀ landscape฀ (Katz,฀
2003;฀Kuratko,฀2005;฀Mars,฀2007).฀The฀
growth฀ and฀ evolution฀ of฀ entrepreneurship฀education฀has฀also฀strengthened฀the฀
entrepreneurial฀ capacity฀ of฀ the฀ student฀
to฀launch฀business฀ventures—both฀economic฀ and฀ social—out฀ of฀ colleges฀ and฀
universities฀ and฀ into฀ the฀ marketplace฀
(Mars,฀ Slaughter,฀ &฀ Rhoades,฀ 2008).฀
In฀short,฀the฀expansion฀of฀entrepreneurship฀ education฀ warrants฀ ongoing฀ attention฀ from฀ scholars,฀ administrators,฀ and฀
practitioners.฀
The฀ standard฀ components฀ comprising฀
entrepreneurship฀curricula฀are฀common฀to฀

the฀management฀fields฀and฀include฀strategy,฀marketing,฀business฀law,฀new฀venture฀
finance,฀ and฀ corporate฀ entrepreneurship฀
(Benson,฀ 1993).฀ The฀ move฀ to฀ integrate฀
entrepreneurship฀education฀into฀disciplinary฀fields฀not฀common฀to฀business฀schools฀
presents฀ the฀ faculty฀ teaching฀ entrepreneurship฀ and฀ entrepreneurship-related฀
courses฀ with฀ instructional฀ challenges฀฀
(Katz,฀ 2003).฀ Specifically,฀ entrepreneurship฀instructors฀currently฀face฀a฀variety฀of฀
challenges฀linked฀to฀the฀diversification฀of฀

the฀entrepreneurship฀student฀demographic.฀ These฀ challenges฀ have฀ led฀ scholars฀
such฀ as฀ Levenburg,฀ Lane,฀ and฀ Schwarz฀
(2006)฀ to฀ argue฀ the฀ need฀ for฀ the฀ development฀ of฀ instructional฀ approaches฀ and฀
strategies฀for฀delivering฀entrepreneurship฀
education฀to฀students฀across฀a฀wide฀range฀
of฀disciplinary฀fields.
The฀ present฀ article฀ explores฀ the฀
instructional฀ challenges฀ related฀ to฀
social฀entrepreneurship,฀many฀of฀which฀
students฀ in฀ the฀ McGuire฀ Center฀ for฀
Entrepreneurship฀ in฀ the฀ Eller฀ College฀
of฀ Management฀ at฀ the฀ University฀ of฀
Arizona฀presented฀to฀a฀seasoned฀professor฀ in฀ a฀ new฀ venture฀ finance฀ course.฀
Specifically,฀ these฀ students฀ sought฀
to฀ create฀ a฀ public฀ venture฀ targeting฀ a฀
social฀ crisis:฀ the฀ financial฀ exploitation฀
of฀elderly฀people.฀Although฀the฀pursuit฀
of฀ a฀ socially-oriented฀ venture฀ provided฀
a฀ rich฀ and฀ dynamic฀ laboratory฀ for฀ students฀ engaged฀ in฀ entrepreneurial฀ studies,฀ the฀ same฀ complexities฀ challenged฀


those฀ faculty฀ offering฀ traditional฀ entrepreneurship฀ courses฀ and฀ who฀ were฀ not฀
accustomed฀ to฀ addressing฀ enterprise฀
creation฀in฀the฀public฀sector.฀The฀present฀
article฀reveals฀and฀discusses฀such฀complexities฀through฀analysis฀of฀the฀University฀of฀Arizona฀case฀and฀concludes฀with฀
recommendations฀ applicable฀ to฀ other฀
faculty฀ engaged฀ in฀ cross-disciplinary฀฀
entrepreneurship฀education.฀In฀addition,฀
the฀ concluding฀ recommendations฀ are฀
strengthened฀through฀the฀brief฀consideration฀of฀two฀additional฀cases฀of฀studentdriven฀social฀entrepreneurship.฀

Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 22:54 11 January 2016

Background฀and฀Literature฀
The฀ entrepreneurial฀ domain฀ of฀ the฀
public-sector฀ economy฀ has฀ recently฀
received฀ more฀ attention฀ from฀ scholars฀
and฀policymakers.฀Specifically,฀the฀term฀
social฀ entrepreneurship฀ has฀ been฀ used฀
widely฀ by฀ academics,฀ policymakers,฀
public-sector฀leaders,฀and฀social-change฀

activists.฀ Thompson,฀ Alvy,฀ and฀ Lees฀
(2000)฀ described฀ social฀ entrepreneurship฀ as฀ the฀ process฀ of฀ applying฀ entrepreneurial฀ principles฀ to฀ creative฀ vision,฀
leadership,฀ and฀ the฀ will฀ to฀ succeed฀ in฀
inducing฀ social฀ change.฀ In฀ providing฀ a฀
sophisticated฀ multicase฀ study฀ analysis,฀
Alvord,฀Brown,฀and฀Letts฀(2004)฀argued฀
the฀merits฀of฀using฀entrepreneurial฀principles฀ and฀ practices฀ to฀ create฀ sustainable฀and฀scalable฀social฀transformation.฀
Thompson฀(2002)฀specified฀social฀entrepreneurship฀as฀a฀vehicle฀for฀addressing฀
social฀needs฀that฀were฀not฀accounted฀for฀
and฀were฀being฀undermanaged฀by฀local,฀
state,฀ or฀ national฀ governments.฀ Bornstein฀(2004)฀provided฀detailed฀accounts฀
of฀ social฀ entrepreneurs฀ who฀ were฀ successful฀ in฀ influencing฀ global฀ social฀
change.฀ Dees,฀ Emerson,฀ and฀ Economy฀
(2001)฀ mapped฀ out฀ the฀ skills฀ and฀ techniques฀that฀those฀entrepreneurs฀entering฀
socially-oriented฀ventures฀need.฀Hebert฀
and฀ Link฀ (1989)฀ described฀ entrepreneurship฀ as฀ a฀ process฀ that฀ engages฀ the฀
market฀as฀a฀lever฀to฀solve฀myriad฀problems฀ that฀ face฀ economies฀ and฀ societies฀
at฀large.฀Therefore,฀the฀concept฀of฀social฀
entrepreneurship฀ is฀ not฀ new฀ but฀ does฀
remain฀widely฀undertreated฀in฀the฀entrepreneurship฀and฀related฀literatures.฀

Entrepreneurs฀ pursuing฀ socially-oriented฀ventures฀do฀not฀do฀so฀at฀the฀cost฀
of฀ personal฀ financial฀ compensation.฀


Although฀ no฀ data฀ on฀ the฀ salaries฀ of฀
social฀entrepreneurs฀are฀known฀to฀exist,฀
income฀data฀for฀leaders฀of฀not-for-profit฀
organizations฀ indicate฀ that฀ administrative฀salaries฀in฀the฀public฀sector฀are฀reasonably฀ competitive.฀ For฀ example,฀ in฀
Pima฀County,฀Arizona,฀the฀mean฀annual฀
salary฀ of฀ a฀ nonprofit฀ organization’s฀
executive฀ director฀ during฀ the฀ years฀ of฀
2006฀ to฀ 2007฀ was฀ $77,667,฀ with฀ 25%฀
of฀ executive฀ directors฀ reporting฀ annual฀
incomes฀of฀more฀than฀$91,600฀(Arizona฀
State฀ University฀ Center฀ for฀ Nonprofit฀ Leadership฀ &฀ Management,฀ 2007).฀
The฀ salary฀ range฀ of฀ this฀ professional฀
group฀ was฀ competitive฀ relative฀ to฀ the฀
2004฀median฀family฀income฀of฀$38,687฀
in฀ Pima฀ County฀ (U.S.฀ Census฀ Bureau,฀
2007).฀When฀considering฀the฀formalization฀ of฀ social฀ entrepreneurship฀ and฀ the฀

relatively฀competitive฀salaries฀of฀leaders฀
of฀public-sector฀organizations,฀sociallyoriented฀entrepreneurship฀is฀more฀likely฀
to฀ capture฀ the฀ attention฀ and฀ interest฀ of฀
entrepreneurial-minded฀ students฀ in฀ a฀
wide฀range฀of฀disciplinary฀fields.฀
Lounsbury฀ and฀ Strang฀ (in฀ press)฀
identified฀social฀entrepreneurship฀as฀an฀
emergent฀institutional฀logic฀that฀largely฀
took฀ hold฀ through฀ the฀ academic฀ movement฀to฀establish฀nonprofit฀research฀and฀
degree฀ programs฀ across฀ American฀ colleges฀ and฀ universities.฀ In฀ 1978,฀ Yale฀
University฀ pioneered฀ this฀ movement฀
with฀ the฀ creation฀ of฀ the฀ Program฀ for฀
Non-Profit฀ Organizations.฀ Other฀ early฀
institutional฀ leaders฀ in฀ the฀ creation฀
of฀ nonprofit฀ management฀ programs฀
included฀ the฀ State฀ University฀ of฀ New฀
York,฀ Stony฀ Brook;฀ University฀ of฀ Missouri฀ at฀ Kansas฀ City;฀ and฀ Carnegie฀
Melon฀University.฀By฀2003,฀there฀were฀
242฀ colleges฀ and฀ universities฀ offering฀
graduate฀programs฀specific฀to฀nonprofit฀

management.฀ Lounsbury฀ and฀ Strang฀
also฀ indicated฀ that฀ academic฀ offerings฀
in฀ social฀ entrepreneurship,฀ which฀ now฀
include฀stand-alone฀courses,฀certificates,฀
and฀formal฀degree฀programs,฀originated฀
with฀ the฀ nonprofit฀ management฀ education฀movement.฀
The฀ emergence฀ of฀ social฀ entrepreneurship฀as฀a฀point฀of฀scholarly฀interest฀
and฀instructional฀value฀has฀been฀diverse฀
and฀ widespread.฀ For฀ example,฀ the฀
Center฀ for฀ the฀ Advancement฀ of฀ Social฀
Entrepreneurship฀ in฀ the฀ Fuqua฀ School฀
of฀ Business฀ at฀ Duke฀ University฀ main-

tains฀ a฀ robust฀ set฀ of฀ research฀ activities฀
and฀ curricular฀ offerings฀ (including฀ an฀
MBA฀ concentration)฀ specific฀ to฀ social฀
entrepreneurship.฀ Similarly,฀ Yale฀ University฀ School฀ of฀ Management฀ has฀ the฀
Program฀ on฀ Social฀ Enterprise,฀ which฀
produces฀ research฀ and฀ offers฀ courses฀
and฀ extracurricular฀ programs฀ specific฀

to฀ social฀ entrepreneurship.฀ Babson฀
College,฀ which฀ is฀ a฀ widely฀ recognized฀
institutional฀ leader฀ in฀ entrepreneurship฀
education,฀ offers฀ a฀ degree฀ concentration฀ in฀ social฀ entrepreneurship฀ at฀ the฀
undergraduate฀ and฀ graduate฀ levels.฀
Sterling฀ College,฀ a฀ faith-based฀ college,฀
offers฀an฀undergraduate฀major฀in฀social฀
entrepreneurship.฀In฀addition฀to฀offering฀
courses฀ on฀ social฀ entrepreneurship,฀ the฀
University฀ of฀ California฀ at฀ Berkeley’s฀
Haas฀School฀of฀Business฀annually฀hosts฀
the฀Global฀Social฀Venture฀Competition,฀
which฀provides฀socially-minded฀student฀
entrepreneurs฀ from฀ around฀ the฀ world฀
with฀ the฀ opportunity฀ to฀ compete฀ for฀
seed฀ funding฀ for฀ emergent฀ social฀ ventures.฀In฀addition,฀national฀and฀international฀ professional฀ organizations,฀ such฀
as฀ the฀ University฀ Network฀ for฀ Social฀
Entrepreneurship฀(2008),฀have฀emerged฀
to฀ provide฀ a฀ venue฀ for฀ academics฀ to฀
discuss฀and฀share฀the฀best฀practices฀specific฀ to฀ social฀ entrepreneurship.฀ In฀ the฀
present฀article,฀we฀offer฀examples฀of฀the฀
many฀ diverse฀ academic฀ programs฀ and฀
scholarly฀efforts฀specific฀to฀social฀entrepreneurship฀ that฀ have฀ emerged฀ across฀
the฀American฀higher฀education฀system.฀
Despite฀the฀creation฀of฀curricular฀and฀
experiential฀ programs฀ and฀ centers฀ specific฀ to฀ social฀ entrepreneurship,฀ many฀
socially฀ oriented฀ students฀ seeking฀ to฀
enhance฀ their฀ education฀ by฀ acquiring฀
entrepreneurial฀ training฀ must฀ do฀ so฀
through฀ more฀ traditional฀ entrepreneurship฀ education฀ models.฀ In฀ accordance,฀
faculty฀ members฀ who฀ use฀ traditional฀
models฀ to฀ teach฀ have฀ been฀ challenged฀
to฀ adapt฀ entrepreneurship฀ curricula฀ to฀
the฀increasingly฀diverse฀interests฀of฀students.฀In฀short,฀the฀ongoing฀exploration฀
of฀ innovative฀ pedagogical฀ approaches฀
specific฀ to฀ socially฀ oriented฀ entrepreneurship฀is฀required.฀
Setting฀and฀Course฀
The฀McGuire฀Center฀for฀Entrepreneurship฀in฀the฀Eller฀College฀of฀Management฀
May/June฀2009฀

291

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at฀the฀University฀of฀Arizona฀is฀nationally฀
and฀internationally฀recognized฀for฀excellence฀ in฀ entrepreneurship฀ education.฀
The฀ reputation฀ of฀ the฀ McGuire฀ Center฀
as฀ a฀ leader฀ in฀ entrepreneurship฀ education฀ was฀ reflected฀ best฀ by฀ its฀ ranking฀
as฀ the฀ fifth-best฀ undergraduate฀ program฀
in฀ entrepreneurship฀ by฀ the฀ U.S.฀ News฀
&฀ World฀ Report฀ (2009)฀ rankings.฀ The฀
philosophy฀and฀mission฀of฀the฀McGuire฀
Center฀ program฀ rests฀ on฀ the฀ principles฀
and฀strategies฀associated฀with฀developing฀
innovative฀concepts฀into฀viable฀business฀
solutions฀ and฀ ventures.฀ The฀ McGuire฀
Center฀student฀population฀is฀diverse฀and฀
comprises฀ of฀ undergraduate฀ and฀ graduate฀ students฀ pursuing฀ primary฀ degrees฀
in฀ business฀ administration,฀ natural฀ sciences,฀engineering,฀optical฀sciences,฀fine฀
arts,฀ and฀ liberal฀ arts฀ (see฀ Table฀ 1).฀ As฀
expected,฀ the฀ majority฀ of฀ McGuire฀ students฀are฀interested฀in฀market฀ventures฀in฀
private-sector฀industries฀that฀range฀from฀
information฀technology฀to฀optics฀to฀biotechnology.฀ In฀ addition,฀ the฀ McGuire฀
Center฀seeks,฀in฀part,฀to฀leverage฀its฀highquality฀student฀body฀to฀promote฀university฀ entrepreneurship฀ and฀ the฀ transfer฀
of฀ knowledge฀ out฀ of฀ laboratories฀ and฀
into฀ the฀ marketplace.1฀ Considering฀ the฀
heavy฀ emphasis฀ placed฀ on฀ the฀ transfer฀
of฀ knowledge฀ and฀ the฀ development฀ of฀
high-tech฀enterprises,฀a฀nonprofit฀venture฀
concept฀is฀not฀the฀norm฀at฀the฀McGuire฀
Center฀program.฀The฀student฀venture฀featured฀in฀the฀present฀article฀was฀the฀single฀
nonprofit฀concept฀of฀the฀19฀student฀teams฀
comprising฀the฀McGuire฀Center฀class฀of฀
the฀2006–2007฀academic฀year.฀
The฀ McGuire฀ curriculum฀ is฀ highly฀
structured฀ and฀ constructed฀ using฀ the฀
well-established฀ principles฀ of฀ traditional฀ entrepreneurship.฀ The฀ 1-year฀ (twosemester)฀ program฀ requires฀ students฀

to฀ form฀ teams฀ of฀ four,฀ each฀ of฀ which฀
is฀ required฀ to฀ develop฀ an฀ investmentquality฀ new-venture฀ plan.฀ The฀ primary฀
criteria฀ for฀ projects฀ approved฀ by฀ the฀
McGuire฀ Center฀ are฀ that฀ the฀ concepts฀
are฀innovative฀and฀scalable฀and฀that฀barriers฀to฀the฀market฀exist฀(e.g.,฀protection฀
of฀intellectual฀property฀through฀patents,฀
copyrights,฀ and฀ trademarks).฀ The฀ following฀sequential฀benchmarks฀guide฀the฀
venture-development฀ process:฀ formulation,฀ validation,฀ strategies,฀ businessplan฀authorship,฀funding,฀and฀outcomes.฀
These฀benchmarks฀require฀that฀each฀student฀team฀identify฀a฀social฀or฀economic฀
problem฀ that฀ can฀ be฀ solved฀ through฀ an฀
entrepreneurial฀solution.฀This฀solution฀is฀
then฀validated,฀which฀leads฀to฀the฀development฀ of฀ a฀ venture฀ plan฀ that฀ includes฀
critical฀ marketing,฀ finance,฀ and฀ strategy฀ data.฀ At฀ the฀ conclusion฀ of฀ the฀ fall฀
semester,฀each฀student฀team฀should฀have฀
a฀ well-defined,฀ comprehensive฀ venture฀
plan฀that฀is฀then฀continuously฀refined฀and฀
introduced฀to฀audiences฀in฀the฀university฀
and฀outside฀business-plan฀case฀competitions฀throughout฀the฀spring฀semester.฀
The฀preceding฀broad฀benchmarks฀and฀
venture-plan฀development฀processes฀are฀
appropriate฀ to฀ the฀ entrepreneurial฀ formation฀of฀a฀nonprofit฀venture.฀However,฀
the฀intricacies฀of฀the฀public฀sector฀vary฀
in฀ significant฀ ways฀ from฀ the฀ standard฀
practices฀ and฀ procedures฀ common฀ to฀
the฀ private฀ sector.฀ Examples฀ of฀ such฀
intricacies฀ include฀ the฀ development฀ of฀
a฀ board฀ of฀ advisors,฀ community฀ building฀and฀support,฀reliance฀on฀public฀and฀
philanthropic฀ funding,฀ and฀ the฀ regulated฀ financial฀ infrastructure฀ inherent฀ to฀
a฀ nonprofit฀ start-up฀ effort.฀ The฀ present฀
article฀deals฀with฀the฀development฀of฀a฀
financial฀ infrastructure฀ that฀ meets฀ state฀
and฀federal฀regulation฀requirements฀for฀

TABLE฀1.฀McGuire฀Center฀for฀Entrepreneurship฀Student฀Demographic,฀
2006–2007฀Academic฀Year


Number฀of฀students

Primary฀field฀of฀study฀
Business฀
Engineering฀
Fine฀arts฀
Liberal฀arts฀
Natural฀or฀hard฀sciences฀
Optical฀sciences฀

292฀

Undergraduate฀

Graduate

45฀
1฀
2฀
3฀
0฀
0฀

20
0
0
0
2
1

Journal฀of฀Education฀for฀Business

a฀nonprofit฀organization฀and฀is฀specific฀
to฀ the฀ experiences฀ and฀ observations฀ of฀
the฀instructor฀of฀the฀new฀venture฀finance฀
course฀ that฀ is฀ required฀ coursework฀ for฀
all฀McGuire฀Center฀students.฀
The฀ venture-plan฀ development฀ process฀ is฀ supported฀ in฀ part฀ by฀ more฀ traditional฀academic฀courses.฀Specifically,฀
students฀ are฀ required฀ to฀ complete฀ a฀ set฀
of฀ three฀ courses฀ that฀ include฀ entrepreneurial฀environments฀and฀analysis,฀marketing฀ new฀ ventures,฀ and฀ new-venture฀
finance.฀This฀package฀of฀courses฀equips฀
students฀ with฀ the฀ skills฀ and฀ knowledge฀
required฀to฀more฀effectively฀execute฀the฀
development฀ of฀ the฀ venture฀ plan.฀ The฀
entrepreneurship฀ courses฀ are฀ anchored฀
in฀ the฀ philosophies฀ and฀ principles฀ of฀
traditional฀ profit-seeking฀ entrepreneurship.฀Although฀ the฀ theoretical฀ concepts฀
framing฀ the฀ courses฀ are฀ applicable฀ to฀
socially-oriented฀ventures,฀the฀technical฀
knowledge฀ does฀ not฀ inherently฀ support฀
social฀ entrepreneurship.฀ The฀ course,฀
Finance฀ for฀ New฀ Ventures,฀ is฀ part฀ of฀
the฀senior-year฀curriculum฀and฀must฀not฀
only฀facilitate฀the฀preparation฀of฀student฀
venture-plan฀ projects฀ but฀ also฀ satisfy฀
curricular฀ requirements฀ of฀ the฀ finance฀
department฀(see฀Appendix).฀
Venture-Development฀Projects฀
Working฀ in฀ teams฀ of฀ four,฀ students฀
were฀required฀to฀develop฀simulated฀ventures฀ according฀ to฀ a฀ set฀ of฀ prescribed฀
deliverables฀that฀corresponded฀with฀the฀
previously฀ described฀ entrepreneurial฀
benchmarks.฀ The฀ venture-plan฀ development฀ process฀ constitutes฀ a฀ robust฀฀
experiential-learning฀experience,฀which฀
is฀common฀to฀the฀field฀of฀entrepreneurship฀education฀(Jones฀&฀English,฀2004;฀
Solomon,฀ Duffy,฀ &฀ Tarabishy,฀ 2002).฀
The฀ McGuire฀ Center฀ has฀ numerous฀
resources,฀ including฀ databanks,฀ mentors,฀ and฀ advisors.฀ The฀ entrepreneurial฀ finance฀ class,฀ which฀ is฀ completed฀
during฀ the฀ first฀ of฀ the฀ two฀ semesters฀
of฀ the฀ entrepreneurship฀ program,฀ is฀ an฀
important฀element฀in฀the฀overall฀project฀
because฀students฀are฀coached฀on฀preparing฀the฀financial฀components฀of฀the฀plan฀
throughout฀the฀class.฀
The฀steps฀students฀took฀in฀preparation฀
for฀ their฀ projects฀ in฀ the฀ new-venture฀฀
finance฀ course฀ included฀ forecasting฀
sales,฀ determining฀ relevant฀ costs,฀ and,฀

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forecasting฀monthly฀financial฀statements฀
for฀5฀years฀and฀then฀yearly฀to฀perpetuity฀or฀when฀business฀is฀harvested.฀Students฀ were฀ also฀ required฀ to฀ determine฀
free฀cash฀flows,฀prepare฀common-sized฀
statements,฀ and฀ calculate฀ ratios฀ and฀
other฀ performance฀ benchmarks.฀ Students฀drew฀industry฀comparisons,฀analyzed฀financing฀alternatives,฀and฀calculated฀and฀analyzed฀various฀measures฀of฀
value.฀ Students฀ prepared฀ preliminary฀
components,฀ presented฀ to฀ classes฀ and฀
outside฀ judges,฀ and฀ then฀ revised฀ their฀
work฀ throughout฀ the฀ duration฀ of฀ the฀
course.฀ Students฀ also฀ received฀ ongoing฀ support฀ throughout฀ the฀ following฀
semester฀from฀the฀finance฀instructor฀as฀
they฀ refined฀ their฀ ventures฀ in฀ preparation฀for฀regional฀and฀national฀business-฀
plan฀ competitions฀ and,฀ in฀ some฀ cases,฀
actual฀ market฀ launches.฀ The฀ venturedevelopment฀projects฀focused฀on฀many฀
types฀ of฀ startup฀ ventures,฀ but฀ the฀ corporate฀ form฀ of฀ ownership฀ was฀ typical฀
for฀ the฀ plans.฀ Although฀ the฀ industry฀
and฀product฀varied฀for฀most฀plans,฀students฀used฀a฀relatively฀standard฀model฀
of฀ financial฀ component฀ preparation฀ in฀
the฀ development฀ of฀ the฀ venture฀ plans.฀
The฀ case฀ framing฀ this฀ study฀ was฀ the฀
exception฀ and฀ was฀ not฀ the฀ corporate฀
form,฀as฀students฀chose฀to฀focus฀on฀the฀
development฀of฀a฀nonprofit฀venture฀targeting฀ the฀ widespread฀ social฀ and฀ economic฀ problem฀ of฀ financial฀ exploitation฀of฀the฀elderly.฀The฀case฀presented฀
to฀the฀students฀and฀the฀professor฀of฀the฀
entrepreneurial฀finance฀course฀included฀
numerous฀ challenges฀ and฀ complications฀ related฀ to฀ the฀ financial฀ aspects฀
of฀social฀entrepreneurship.฀These฀challenges฀ are฀ likely฀ to฀ be฀ evident฀ across฀
entrepreneurship฀ education฀ programs฀
as฀the฀field฀continues฀to฀be฀institutionalized฀and฀more฀students฀come฀to฀view฀
entrepreneurship฀as฀a฀lever฀for฀creating฀
social฀change฀and฀advancing฀the฀public฀
good.฀Therefore,฀the฀present฀case฀study฀
was฀ timely฀ and฀ highly฀ relevant฀ to฀ the฀
work฀of฀faculty฀in฀the฀fields฀of฀finance,฀
entrepreneurship,฀and฀management.฀
Case:฀Senior฀Advice฀and฀
Financial฀Education฀(S.A.F.E.)฀
Like฀most฀entrepreneurs,฀the฀students฀
who฀created฀S.A.F.E.฀identified฀a฀problem฀warranting฀a฀solution.฀The฀problem฀


these฀student฀entrepreneurs฀targeted฀was฀
the฀ national฀ epidemic฀ of฀ the฀ elderly฀
being฀ financially฀ victimized฀ through฀
a฀ number฀ of฀ manipulative฀ strategies.฀
According฀to฀the฀S.A.F.E.฀venture฀plan฀
(Gillingham,฀ Ripley,฀ &฀ Nunez,฀ 2007),฀
14,000฀ elderly฀ Americans฀ are฀ financially฀ exploited฀ each฀ day.฀ The฀ student฀
entrepreneurs฀ used฀ an฀ entrepreneurial฀
strategy฀ to฀ develop฀ a฀ nonprofit฀ venture฀
that฀targeted฀and฀prevented฀the฀ongoing฀
exploitation฀of฀the฀elderly.฀Accordingly,฀
the฀students฀followed฀the฀standard฀steps฀
of฀ entrepreneurship,฀ which฀ included฀
identifying฀ a฀ problem,฀ formulating฀ a฀
solution฀mindful฀of฀the฀market฀that฀the฀
problem฀ affects,฀ validating฀ the฀ principles฀ of฀ the฀ solution,฀ strategizing฀ the฀
implementation฀of฀the฀solution,฀authoring฀ a฀ comprehensive฀ venture฀ plan,฀ and฀
considering฀ the฀ steps฀ to฀ launching฀ the฀
venture฀ into฀ the฀ market.฀ However,฀ the฀
social฀orientation฀of฀the฀student฀venture฀
required฀ alternative฀ approaches฀ to฀ the฀
financial฀aspects฀of฀their฀ventures.฀
The฀following฀description฀and฀discussion฀summarizes฀not฀only฀the฀challenges฀
facing฀ students฀ interested฀ in฀ becoming฀
social฀ entrepreneurs,฀ but฀ also฀ the฀ real฀
financial฀ barriers฀ to฀ establishing฀ actual฀
social฀ ventures฀ aimed฀ at฀ solving฀ some฀
of฀ the฀ most฀ pervasive฀ problems฀ facing฀
society฀ today.฀ Following฀ the฀ presentation฀ of฀ the฀ case,฀ we฀ discuss฀ potential฀
methods฀of฀integrating฀socially-oriented฀
projects฀ into฀ the฀ more฀ standard,฀ corporate-minded฀ entrepreneurial฀ finance฀
curriculum.฀One฀of฀the฀first฀assignments฀
during฀the฀venture฀finance฀course฀was฀to฀
present฀preliminary฀financial฀statements฀
and฀ to฀ calculate฀ the฀ return฀ on฀ owners’฀
equity.฀The฀nonprofit฀team฀struggled฀in฀
determining฀ a฀ means฀ by฀ which฀ to฀ calculate฀returns฀when฀they฀had฀no฀owners฀
or฀ equity฀ for฀ their฀ enterprise.฀ This฀ was฀
the฀ first฀ of฀ a฀ number฀ of฀ finance-related฀
difficulties฀ that฀ the฀ team฀ encountered฀
over฀the฀course฀of฀the฀program฀because฀
of฀the฀pursuit฀of฀a฀socially-oriented฀venture.฀Although฀ the฀ team฀ members฀ were฀
advised฀ that฀ they฀ would฀ have฀ to฀ step฀
away฀from฀the฀standard฀financial฀models฀
and฀do฀much฀of฀the฀research฀and฀analysis฀ on฀ their฀ own,฀ they฀ were฀ committed฀ to฀ their฀ project฀ and฀ readily฀ took฀ on฀
the฀challenges฀that฀they฀faced.฀In฀short,฀
these฀ social-minded฀ student฀ entrepreneurs฀ were฀ committed฀ to฀ their฀ venture฀

concept฀and฀tenacious฀in฀their฀approach,฀
which฀are฀common฀denominators฀of฀all฀
successful฀ entrepreneurs.฀ Among฀ the฀
challenges฀faced฀by฀the฀aspiring฀social฀
entrepreneurs฀ was฀ to฀ learn฀ about฀ the฀
chart฀ of฀ accounts฀ for฀ nonprofit฀ organizations฀ (NPO)฀ and฀ how฀ they฀ differed฀
from฀ other฀ accounting฀ practices฀ that฀
the฀ students฀ had฀ learned฀ in฀ previous฀
courses.฀ To฀ this฀ end,฀ the฀ finance฀ professor฀encouraged฀the฀students฀to฀intern฀
with฀a฀local฀NPO฀to฀get฀a฀sense฀of฀the฀
differences฀in฀accounting฀practices.฀As฀
part฀ of฀ that฀ internship,฀ they฀ performed฀
research฀ on฀ the฀ NPO฀ segment฀ of฀ the฀
economy฀ and฀ how฀ it฀ impacted฀ various฀
economic฀factors,฀such฀as฀employment.฀
The฀ team฀ members฀ also฀ researched฀
which฀ financial฀ indicators฀ would฀ be฀
more฀appropriate฀for฀an฀endeavor฀such฀
as฀theirs,฀even฀to฀the฀point฀of฀devising฀
some฀ ratios฀ that฀ would฀ be฀ more฀ relevant฀ for฀ their฀ plan.฀ Difficulties฀ arose฀
when฀ the฀ students฀ attempted฀ to฀ gather฀
financial฀data฀on฀comparable฀ventures.฀
Different฀ from฀ other฀ teams฀ in฀ the฀ program,฀ the฀ S.A.F.E.฀ venture-plan฀ team฀
was฀ not฀ able฀ to฀ use฀ the฀ McGuire฀ Center,฀as฀it฀had฀no฀databank฀for฀gathering฀
information฀on฀comparables.฀The฀team฀
members฀ contacted฀ numerous฀ organizations,฀gathered฀information฀by฀hand,฀
and฀ compiled฀ the฀ data฀ on฀ their฀ own.฀
They฀ were฀ faced฀ then฀ with฀ the฀ prospect฀ of฀ how฀ to฀ pin฀ a฀ value฀ on฀ their฀
entity.฀ Many฀ of฀ the฀ typical฀ academic฀
models฀ for฀ valuation฀ posed฀ difficulties฀
for฀the฀team,฀secondary฀to฀the฀absence฀
of฀ ownership฀ and฀ equity.฀ In฀ response,฀
the฀students฀demonstrated฀value฀on฀the฀
basis฀of฀the฀more฀subjective฀but฀meaningful฀ dimensions.฀ For฀ example,฀ the฀
value฀ of฀ the฀ emerging฀ social฀ venture฀
was฀forecasted฀on฀the฀basis฀of฀potential฀
loss฀ prevention฀ and฀ the฀ minimization฀
of฀ public฀ funds฀ needed฀ to฀ offset฀ the฀
losses฀ incurred฀ by฀ the฀ elderly฀ because฀
of฀financial฀exploitation.฀
S.A.F.E.฀Outcomes฀
In฀spite฀of฀the฀challenges฀the฀S.A.F.E.฀
team฀ members฀ faced,฀ they฀ completed฀
their฀finance฀course฀and฀eventually฀completed฀ the฀ McGuire฀ Center฀ program฀
requirements.฀ Through฀ an฀ internship฀ at฀
a฀ local฀ NPO,฀ the฀ students฀ were฀ able฀ to฀
derive฀comparative฀financial฀information฀
May/June฀2009฀

293

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for฀similar฀nonprofit฀ventures.฀Using฀the฀
comparative฀ information,฀ the฀ students฀
completed฀ ratio฀ analyses฀ and฀ meaningful฀ performance฀ forecasts.฀ The฀ income฀
forecasts฀led฀the฀students฀to฀decide฀on฀a฀
discounted฀cash-flow฀approach฀to฀valuation฀of฀their฀emerging฀social฀enterprise.฀
The฀discount฀rate฀was฀an฀issue,฀but฀they฀
used฀ a฀ risk-adjusted฀ discounted฀ rate฀ by฀
using฀ risk฀ premia฀ of฀ comparable฀ forprofit฀entities.฀
In฀ follow-up฀ discussions,฀ the฀ team฀
expressed฀its฀feeling฀of฀accomplishment฀
for฀ completing฀ the฀ project฀ in฀ spite฀ of฀
the฀obstacles฀it฀had฀faced.฀In฀addition฀to฀
the฀learning฀outcomes฀achieved฀by฀other฀
teams฀in฀the฀program,฀the฀social฀entrepreneurs฀ reported฀ gaining฀ a฀ deeper฀ understanding฀ of฀ a฀ variety฀ of฀ financial฀ topics฀
as฀ a฀ result฀ of฀ gathering฀ financial฀ information฀ specific฀ to฀ public-sector฀ organizations฀ and฀ the฀ use฀ of฀ valuation,฀ which฀
were฀ approaches฀ somewhat฀ unconventional฀for฀the฀McGuire฀Center฀program.฀
The฀ S.A.F.E฀ team฀ performed฀ well฀ in฀
end-of-term฀ presentations.฀ The฀ dean฀ of฀
the฀Eller฀School฀made฀the฀team฀the฀focus฀
of฀a฀consortium฀of฀local฀NPO฀representatives฀and฀academics.฀Moreover,฀the฀team฀
received฀ recognition฀ in฀ the฀ local฀ press฀
and฀ was฀ able฀ to฀ establish฀ a฀ succession฀
plan฀with฀an฀established฀NPO฀located฀in฀
California฀that฀targeted฀financial฀exploitation฀of฀elderly฀populations.฀
Discussion฀and฀Complementary฀
Cases฀
Despite฀ the฀ challenges฀ of฀ pursuing฀
an฀unconventional฀socially-oriented฀venture,฀ the฀ S.A.F.E.฀ students฀ more฀ than฀
satisfied฀the฀learning฀objectives฀set฀forth฀
by฀ the฀ McGuire฀ Center฀ for฀ Entrepreneurship฀and฀the฀finance฀department.฀In฀
addition,฀the฀team’s฀tenacity฀resulted฀in฀
an฀ external฀ network฀ with฀ the฀ potential฀
to฀bring฀an฀elderly฀financial฀exploitation฀
prevention฀ program฀ to฀ the฀ community฀
surrounding฀ the฀ University฀ of฀ Arizona.฀
At฀ the฀ conclusion฀ of฀ the฀ project,฀ the฀
team฀of฀social฀entrepreneurs฀was฀working฀ toward฀ formalizing฀ partnerships฀
with฀ several฀ Southern฀ Arizona฀ banks฀
and฀ credit฀ unions,฀ and฀ with฀ the฀Tucson฀
Police฀ Department’s฀ Economic฀ Crime฀
Prevention฀ Unit.฀ The฀ S.A.F.E.฀ experience฀ points฀ to฀ the฀ need฀ for฀ entrepreneurship฀education฀programs฀to฀provide฀
294฀

Journal฀of฀Education฀for฀Business

more฀flexibility฀in฀existing฀curricula฀that฀
are฀ rooted฀ in฀ the฀ dominant฀ entrepreneurial฀ framework฀ centered฀ on฀ wealth฀
creation฀ and฀ accumulation.฀ In฀ particular,฀ innovative฀ value฀ indicators฀ specific฀
to฀ the฀ social฀ impacts฀ of฀ entrepreneurial฀
concepts฀should฀be฀developed฀and฀integrated฀ into฀ entrepreneurship฀ curricula.฀
For฀ example,฀ avoiding฀ senior฀ citizens’฀
displacement฀ from฀ preferred฀ housing฀
because฀ of฀ financial฀ exploitation฀ was฀ a฀
potential฀ outcome฀ of฀ the฀ S.A.F.E.฀ concept฀that฀held฀social฀value.฀Concurrent฀to฀
developing฀ socially-oriented฀ valuation฀
measures฀and฀techniques,฀faculty฀teaching฀entrepreneurship฀should฀continue฀to฀
encourage฀ students฀ to฀ explore฀ innovative฀ approaches฀ to฀ embedding฀ socially-฀
oriented฀ venture฀ models฀ into฀ existing฀
for-profit฀entrepreneurial฀models.฀
The฀number฀of฀socially-oriented฀enterprises฀that฀have฀been฀created฀by฀college฀
students฀ has฀ grown.฀ One฀ of฀ the฀ most฀
well-known฀ student-led฀ social฀ ventures฀
is฀ Teach฀ for฀ America,฀ which฀ emerged฀
out฀of฀an฀undergraduate฀thesis฀conducted฀by฀Wendy฀Kopp฀while฀completing฀a฀
degree฀ at฀ Princeton฀ University฀ (Kopp,฀
1994).฀ To฀ complement฀ our฀ description฀
and฀enhance฀our฀discussion฀of฀the฀valuation฀ challenges฀ presented฀ throughout฀
the฀ S.A.F.E.฀ project,฀ we฀ briefly฀ outline฀
two฀ examples฀ of฀ socially-oriented฀ ventures฀that฀have฀emerged฀from฀academia฀
and฀through฀the฀efforts฀of฀entrepreneurial-minded฀students.฀
The฀ first฀ complementary฀ case฀ to฀ the฀
S.A.F.E.฀project฀is฀World฀of฀Good.฀World฀
of฀ Good฀ is฀ a฀ profit-seeking฀ enterprise฀
with฀ a฀ socially-oriented฀ underpinning฀
that฀was฀created฀in฀2005฀by฀three฀MBA฀
students฀at฀the฀University฀of฀California฀
at฀ Berkeley’s฀ Haas฀ Business฀ School.฀
The฀ three฀ entrepreneurial-minded฀฀
graduate฀ students฀ were฀ interested฀ in฀
creating฀ a฀ fair-trade฀ retail฀ platform฀ for฀
artisans,฀ in฀ particular฀ female฀ artisans,฀
located฀ in฀ developing฀ countries฀ (World฀
of฀ Good,฀ 2008).฀ The฀ company฀ was฀
launched฀using฀$35,000฀in฀seed฀money฀
earned฀from฀student฀business-plan฀competitions,฀modest฀investments฀from฀faculty฀ supporters,฀ and฀ more฀ significant฀
investments฀by฀venture฀capitalists.฀
The฀students฀chose฀to฀pursue฀the฀traditional฀ entrepreneurial฀ path฀ of฀ creating฀ a฀ for-profit฀ venture,฀ but฀ with฀ the฀
underlying฀ goal฀ of฀ creating฀ and฀ sus-

taining฀social฀change฀through฀fair-trade฀
practices.฀The฀students฀gained฀the฀confidence฀ of฀ investors฀ and฀ startup฀ funding฀ through฀ a฀ combination฀ of฀ business฀
training฀and฀experience,฀a฀solid฀venture฀
development฀plan,฀and฀the฀overarching฀
merits฀ of฀ their฀ innovative฀ approach฀ to฀
leveraging฀ the฀ market฀ for฀ the฀ purpose฀
of฀creating฀social฀change.฀
Today,฀ the฀ business฀ has฀ proven฀ to฀
be฀sustainable฀and฀scalable,฀with฀1,000฀
retail฀locations฀across฀the฀United฀States฀
and฀a฀300%฀jump฀in฀sales฀from฀2005฀to฀
2006.฀ Further฀ momentum฀ has฀ recently฀
been฀gained฀through฀an฀emergent฀position฀ as฀ an฀ eBay฀ retail฀ community.฀ In฀
addition,฀ the฀ company฀ has฀ formed฀ a฀
NPO฀ arm฀ that฀ promotes฀ fair-trade฀ policy฀ development฀ at฀ the฀ international฀
level.฀ By฀ 2006,฀ the฀ efforts฀ of฀ the฀ sister฀
organization฀ had฀ reached฀ 142฀ artisan฀
groups฀ in฀ 34฀ countries฀ and฀ produced฀
tangible฀ results฀ that฀ included฀ the฀ creation฀ of฀ a฀ computer฀ lab฀ for฀ artisans฀ in฀
South฀Africa฀and฀a฀filtration฀system฀that฀
supplies฀clean฀water฀to฀artisans฀in฀Guatemala.฀In฀short,฀the฀World฀of฀Good฀case฀
demonstrated฀ the฀ merits฀ and฀ efficacies฀
of฀ socially-oriented฀ students฀ engaged฀
in฀ mainstream฀ for-profit฀ avenues฀ and฀
strategies฀ for฀ creating฀ sustainable฀ and฀
scalable฀ social฀ change฀ through฀ entrepreneurship.฀ In฀ such฀ circumstances,฀
traditional฀ valuation฀ techniques฀ remain฀
applicable฀ to฀ the฀ socially-conscious฀
efforts฀ of฀ students฀ pursuing฀ an฀ entrepreneurship฀ education.฀ Thus,฀ we฀ recommend฀ that฀ entrepreneurship฀ faculty฀
challenged฀ with฀ the฀ task฀ of฀ supporting฀
socially-oriented฀students฀explore฀traditional฀profit-driven฀approaches฀to฀creating฀ new฀ ventures฀ that฀ are฀ underpinned฀
with฀ social฀ agendas.฀ Furthermore,฀
we฀ encourage฀ faculty฀ teaching฀ entrepreneurship฀ to฀ challenge฀ the฀ common฀
assumption฀that฀social฀entrepreneurship฀
can฀ occur฀ only฀ through฀ the฀ creation฀
of฀ NPOs.฀ By฀ broadening฀ the฀ scope฀ of฀
traditional฀ entrepreneurship฀ to฀ include฀
socially-oriented฀ventures,฀students฀and฀
faculty฀are฀provided฀with฀a฀broader฀platform฀on฀which฀to฀develop฀entrepreneurial฀solutions฀to฀social฀problems.฀
Our฀ second฀ concluding฀ case฀ aligns฀
more฀ closely฀ with฀ the฀ commonly฀ held฀
conceptions฀ of฀ social฀ entrepreneurship.฀
Specifically,฀the฀case฀centers฀on฀a฀NPO฀
developed฀ at฀ the฀ University฀ of฀Arizona฀

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by฀two฀graduate฀students฀in฀the฀fine฀arts฀
college;฀these฀students฀augmented฀their฀
training฀ with฀ entrepreneurship฀ education.฀ The฀ venture,฀ SharMoore฀ Children’s฀Productions,฀makes฀a฀unique฀and฀
innovative฀theatre฀curriculum฀accessible฀
to฀10฀elementary฀schools฀in฀four฀public฀
school฀ districts฀ located฀ across฀ the฀Tucson,฀ Arizona฀ metropolitan฀ area฀ (SharMoore฀ Children’s฀ Productions,฀ 2008).฀
The฀curriculum฀was฀designed฀to฀engage฀
students฀ in฀ the฀ arts฀ and฀ to฀ encourage฀
better฀performance฀in฀all฀aspects฀of฀education฀through฀the฀development฀of฀creative฀thinking฀and฀self-confidence.฀
The฀ venture฀ was฀ created฀ as฀ a฀ 501(c)฀
tax-exempt฀organization฀in฀2005฀by฀the฀
two฀student฀entrepreneurs,฀with฀help฀from฀
the฀McGuire฀Center฀and฀the฀university’s฀
technology฀ transfer฀ office.฀ Initial฀ funding฀ for฀ the฀ venture’s฀ launch฀ consisted฀
of฀a฀modest฀$30,000฀to฀support฀research฀
on฀the฀curriculum,฀which฀was฀anchored฀
in฀ the฀ fine฀ arts฀ college.฀ Following฀ the฀
development฀ of฀ the฀ curriculum฀ and฀ the฀
creation฀ of฀ an฀ implementation฀ model,฀
the฀emergent฀social฀entrepreneurs฀built฀a฀
$40,000฀operating฀budget฀that฀supported฀
the฀ implementation฀ of฀ the฀ curriculum฀
and฀a฀two-person฀staff.฀
SharMoore’s฀now-expanded฀operating฀
budget฀ is฀ diverse฀ and฀ comprises฀ grant฀
awards฀and฀private฀donations.฀Although฀
this฀ patchwork฀ finance฀ structure฀ represents฀ risk฀ and฀ uncertainty,฀ SharMoore฀
Children’s฀ Productions฀ has฀ proved฀ to฀
be฀ a฀ viable฀ and฀ scalable฀ venture.฀ In฀ 3฀
years฀of฀operation,฀the฀organization฀has฀
expanded฀from฀only฀4฀schools฀across฀one฀
school฀district฀to฀10฀schools฀across฀four฀
school฀districts.฀In฀addition,฀SharMoore฀
Children’s฀ Productions฀ has฀ increased฀
its฀ operating฀ budget฀ to฀ $100,000฀ and฀
retains฀ contracts฀ with฀ 25฀ artists฀ who฀
deliver฀the฀curriculum฀to฀children.฀This฀
example฀demonstrates฀the฀entrepreneurial฀ potential฀ of฀ nonprofit฀ venture฀ concepts฀and฀the฀capacity฀for฀such฀ventures฀
to฀grow฀and฀become฀sustainable,฀albeit฀
through฀ diverse฀ and฀ sometimes฀ modest฀
funding฀resources.฀
World฀of฀Good฀and฀SharMoore฀Children’s฀Productions฀underscore฀the฀value฀
of฀creative฀and฀less฀conventional฀strategies฀to฀students฀interested฀in฀addressing฀
the฀social฀problems฀through฀the฀development฀ and฀ implementation฀ of฀ entrepreneurial฀solutions.฀In฀the฀case฀of฀World฀of฀


Good,฀creating฀social฀change฀by฀engaging฀ the฀ private฀ market฀ through฀ a฀ traditional฀ profit-seeking฀ entrepreneurial฀
approach฀was฀an฀unconventional฀model.฀
Similar฀ to฀ the฀ subjective฀ value฀ measures฀the฀S.A.F.E.฀team฀used฀to฀develop฀
the฀ discounted฀ cash฀ flow฀ model,฀ the฀
entrepreneurs฀ behind฀ World฀ of฀ Good฀
and฀ SharMoore฀ Children’s฀ Productions฀
faced฀ challenges฀ in฀ finding฀ alternative฀ value฀ indicators฀ that฀ attracted฀ the฀
attention฀and฀eventual฀buy-in฀of฀venture฀
capitalists฀or฀the฀interest฀and฀support฀of฀
those฀participating฀in฀grant฀funding฀and฀
individual฀philanthropists.฀The฀sociallyoriented฀ value฀ indicators฀ of฀ World฀ of฀
Good฀centered฀on฀the฀positive฀outcomes฀
associated฀with฀providing฀disadvantaged฀
artisans฀with฀the฀opportunity฀to฀realize฀a฀
fair฀ wage.฀ In฀ the฀ case฀ of฀ SharMoore฀
Children’s฀ Productions,฀ we฀ can฀ understand฀value,฀in฀part,฀through฀the฀number฀
of฀ students฀ exposed฀ to฀ the฀ arts฀ who฀
otherwise฀ would฀ not฀ have฀ had฀ such฀ an฀
opportunity.฀In฀both฀cases,฀we฀can฀estimate฀ex฀post฀social฀value฀through฀such฀
indicators฀ as฀ the฀ community฀ improvements฀ made฀ by฀World฀ of฀ Good฀ artisan฀
beneficiaries฀ because฀ of฀ earning฀ fair฀
wages฀and฀the฀expected฀increases฀in฀the฀
academic฀performance฀of฀those฀students฀
who฀ were฀ exposed฀ to฀ the฀ arts฀ through฀
SharMoore฀Children’s฀Productions.฀The฀
ex฀post฀estimates฀of฀social฀value฀linked฀
to฀World฀ of฀ Good฀ and฀ SharMoore฀ provide฀ guideposts฀ for฀ professors฀ seeking฀
valuation฀ techniques฀ and฀ strategies฀ for฀
their฀ students’฀ entrepreneurial฀ projects฀
that฀ center฀ on฀ socially-oriented฀ venture฀ concepts.฀ Although฀ far฀ less฀ scientific,฀ faculty฀ should฀ also฀ work฀ with฀
socially-oriented฀ student฀ entrepreneurs฀
to฀develop฀subjective฀forecast฀measures฀
to฀ communicate฀ to฀ external฀ audiences฀
the฀potential฀impact฀of฀proposed฀social฀
venture฀ concepts฀ on฀ those฀ in฀ targeted฀
markets.฀ Subjective฀ but฀ well-thoughtout฀forecasts฀are฀also฀likely฀to฀attract฀the฀
attention฀ of฀ forward-thinking฀ venture฀
capitalists฀and฀highly฀resourced฀philanthropic฀ organizations฀ such฀ as฀ the฀ Skoll฀
Foundation฀ and฀ the฀ Bill฀ and฀ Melinda฀
Gates฀ Foundation.฀ On฀ the฀ basis฀ of฀ the฀
S.A.F.E.฀project฀and฀the฀World฀of฀Good฀
and฀ SharMoore฀ Children’s฀ Productions฀
cases,฀ we฀ conclude฀ with฀ the฀ following฀
recommendations฀to฀faculty฀engaged฀in฀
entrepreneurship฀ education฀ or฀ working฀

with฀ entrepreneurial-minded฀ students:฀
(a)฀ Do฀ not฀ automatically฀ reject฀ a฀ student฀proposal฀that฀does฀not฀fit฀the฀mold฀
of฀ an฀ established฀ norm;฀ (b)฀ maintain฀
open฀lines฀of฀communication฀with฀other฀
instructors,฀ program฀ leaders,฀ and฀ professionals;฀ (c)฀ be฀ willing฀ to฀ consider฀
applying฀ academic฀ theory฀ in฀ new฀ and฀
innovative฀ways;฀and฀(d)฀when฀students฀
are฀enthused฀about฀an฀idea,฀try฀to฀match฀
or฀even฀exceed฀their฀enthusiasm.฀Failure฀
occurs฀ only฀ when฀ learning฀ objectives฀
are฀not฀met,฀which฀is฀independent฀of฀the฀
overall฀feasibility฀and฀likely฀success฀of฀
a฀simulated฀venture.฀
The฀ present฀ case฀ introduces฀ further฀฀
to฀ the฀ business฀ education฀ literature฀ the฀
need฀ to฀ consider฀ more฀ sophisticated฀
instructional฀ strategies฀ for฀ integrating฀
a฀social฀dimension฀into฀traditional฀management฀pedagogy.฀We฀forecast฀that฀the฀
development฀of฀such฀strategies฀holds฀the฀
potential฀ for฀ replication฀ and฀ advancement,฀which฀is฀particularly฀important฀in฀
light฀ of฀ the฀ growing฀ trend฀ of฀ developing฀ social฀ agendas฀ through฀ the฀ innovative฀ channels฀ that฀ have฀ emerged฀ from฀
today’s฀ entrepreneurial฀ economy.฀ In฀
addition,฀the฀ongoing฀inclusion฀of฀public฀ dimensions฀ in฀ business฀ curricula฀
stands฀ to฀ provide฀ further฀ substance฀ to฀
the฀growing฀emphasis฀business฀colleges฀
now฀ place฀ on฀ corporate฀ integrity฀ and฀
social฀responsibility.฀
NOTES
฀1.฀ Although฀ centered฀ on฀ for-profit฀ models฀ of฀
entrepreneurship,฀the฀outcomes฀of฀university฀technology฀ and฀ knowledge฀ transfer฀ include฀ socialvalue฀ outputs฀ (Mars,฀ Bercovitz,฀&฀James,฀2009).฀
However,฀the฀present฀article฀focuses฀on฀the฀application฀of฀entrepreneurial฀strategies฀to฀directly฀and฀
primarily฀induce฀social฀change.
Matthew฀M.฀Mars฀is฀the฀director฀of฀knowledge฀
management฀ in฀ the฀ McGuire฀ Center฀ for฀ Entrepreneurship฀ at฀ The฀ University฀ of฀ Arizona.฀ His฀
research฀ focuses฀ on฀ the฀ entrepreneurial฀ dimensions฀ of฀ contemporary฀ higher฀ education฀ environments฀ with฀ particular฀ emphasis฀ on฀ student฀
entrepreneurship.
Sharon฀ Garrison฀ is฀ a฀ senior฀ lecturer฀ in฀ the฀
department฀of฀finance฀at฀the฀Eller฀College฀of฀Management฀at฀Th