Eric Carlson

Eric Carlson is a retired Silicon Valley entrepreneur now focusing on accelerating global social ventures. He helped start and build the GSBI, Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship’s flagship accelerator program platform at Santa Clara University, which has become the longest-running, most impactful, and most-innovative accelerator for social enterprises. His recently published book Building A Successful Social Venture (with Jim Koch) captures 15 years of learning from the GSBI experience with over 150 social ventures.

Articles by Eric Carlson

Guest Articles

Tuesday
October 23
2018

Eric Carlson

Navigating Change: A Step-By-Step Approach to Revising a Social Enterprise Business Plan

By 2018, EarthSpark International had already built two micro-grids in Haiti, sold around 18,000 clean energy products, and invented the leading meter for micro-grids, which sold 40,000 units in 22 countries. The company seemed to be primed for a successful future. But EarthSpark faced significant problems, both in terms of profitability and social impact. To achieve its mission, it needed to make major changes to its model. Social business pioneer Eric Carlson describes how the company revised its business plan, using the paradigm from his new book, Building A Successful Social Venture.

Categories
Energy, Social Enterprise

Tags
accelerators, energy access, off-grid energy, social enterprise

NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Contributor.

Eric Carlson

Articles by Eric Carlson

Navigating Change: A Step-By-Step Approach to Revising a Social Enterprise Business Plan