Varun Hemachandran, | Paradigm Shift from Non-profit to Social Enterprise

Mr. Varun Hemachandran delivered a very well-articulated and informative talk on the topic “Paradigm Shift from Non-Profit to Social Enterprise”.  Varun was involved in various ventures as an entrepreneur from past one decade, yet he felt something was missing in his entrepreneurial journey and he wanted to create some sort of social impact. Having said this, he also mentioned that he didn’t like the way most of NGOs operated. This led to his journey of social entrepreneurship.

In his talk, he clearly explained how a social enterprise is different from a non-profit. He explained the differences in the two with respect to fundraising, spending and operations. He highlighted three major points of a social enterprise: Self Sustaining Financial Model, Prioritization of social impact over shareholder value, and value innovation that drives social impact. Furthermore, he continued explaining how social enterprises create monetary value through Cross communication, Fee for Service, Employment and Skills Training, Market Intermediary, Market Connector, Independent Support, and Cooperative.

In the next segment he narrated his own journey of moving from being an NGO to becoming a Social Enterprise. This segment covered how his organization transformed from “Talking Earth” to “Mapana”. He gave some very useful tip for the NGO’s looking to transform to a social enterprise. These were: Identification of Key Stakeholders, creation of a business model, shift in mindset/training of staff, Prototyping of the Business Model, Iterations and Market validation. In the last segment he explained how to make social business model canvas.

About – Varun Hemachandran

Varun Hemachandran, Founder of Talking Earth. A graduate in Bachelor of Science in Visual communication. He worked as President, Make A Difference Organization and Partner Business Development in Marengo Communications and designated as CEO, Evola Experience Labs. By work experience and skills his interest was in Awareness of ecosystem and protecting the environment in the minds of urban people, give a better life to next generation.