[MUSIC] We've talked about the social enterprise spectrum. But we haven't really given you much guidance about the process of sorting out how to make this fateful choice about the type of organization you're going to operate. What I want to give you right now is at least a starting point for thinking about the decision rule you could apply. When you're ready to make that choice about organizational form. And what I want to argue is that there are three main considerations that you want to think about when it comes to choosing form. One is what is the idea, the core value proposition, and how will it be affected by a choice of sector? Second, what's the marketer environment in which I'm going to operate? And third, who am I as an entrepreneur in terms of what I value, what I am after? Take into consideration the value proposition, the environment or market and the characteristics of the entrepreneur. Those are going to be the three touch points that are going to tell you where in the spectrum you might want to land. So think of it as you visualize, think about kind of three forks in the road. One around idea, which would, there could be characteristics of the idea that say non-profit is right. There could be characters that say for-profit's the right answer. When it comes to the market or the environment there could be for-profit and non-profit indicators depending on the shape of the market. And when it comes to the entrepreneur, the individual, there are also going to be indicators that say non-profit and there are going to be indicators that say for-profit. And depending on how you come out on these kind of three touch stone questions it's going to give you a sense of where you should land on the spectrum. So let's talk about this first assessment, the value proposition. There's a big difference between saying that this enterprise is about social equity creation that we want to create public value. We want to do something that depends on trust and good will versus saying we want to do something that creates private equity, that creates personal wealth. That say the values is going to be concentrated and delivered to private individuals and it's of a type that can be easily converted into monetary terms. So when it comes to the value proposition, there's this big question about, are we focusing on public value creation for a large number of people, or are we interested in a private value and wealth creation? When it comes to second assessment of the environment or the market or the competitive position, there is going to be a key question. Are there paying customers present? Are there people who are wiling to pay for this product or service? If they are, that's a very powerful for-profit indicator. Not definitive but it's an indicator. If the organization can attract the type of customers and people it needs to operate and secure loyal support, that's going to push it in one direction. Particularly towards a more market based approach. If on the other hand the idea from the start and the market in which you are going to operate are very heavily focused on needing a third-party payer, an external party to step in and to help pay for the product or service so that others can enjoy it. Then you're going to lean much more towards our non-profit forum. And a key indicator will be, can we actually make this enterprise work without volunteer labor? If volunteers are absolutely essential, and if donors are needed to pay for the service so that others can enjoy it, that's going to be a very clear indicator that the market is pushing you towards a non-profit solution. Finally, when it comes to the entrepreneur there are two main orientations. One is an other orientation, a distributive orientation that says the entrepreneur is in this enterprise because they want to see their work reverberate in the world. They want to see power and resources spread among many people. That's a different orientation than an acquisitive one that says, no, the entrepreneur's there because they want to retain for themselves the value that they create through their work. This is a much more concentrated approach that says the entrepreneur is about developing, and securing, and controlling, power and resources in the individual sphere. So think about these three dimensions. The idea, which can have a social equity approach or a private equity approach. The market or environment, which can have third-party payers, which are absolutely needed to make the enterprise work. Or a market in which paying customers can make the whole engine. And third, among individuals, whether it's a distributive orientation, another orientation versus an acquisitive or internal kind of motivation. Depending on where you fall, along each of these three touchdowns, that's going to tell you where you should go in terms of your position in terms of your position in the spectrum. [MUSIC]
