I love reading about new, innovative approaches to “entrepreneur-ing.” This article breaks some erstwhile stereotypes regarding entrepreneurship that some may appreciate.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/292889

This video highlights the efforts of Opportunity International, which provides financial services, including loan and insurance services, to over 14 million entrepreneurs in over 24 countries. Notably, 98.9% of the loans are paid back. The goal is “to help hopeful entrepreneurs work their way out of poverty.”

It’s an interesting video, especially because the founder is very clear about the vision of the organization. Founder Vicki Escarra emphasized that they work for “clients,” and work to help them reach their dreams. She states that Opportunity International is an investment non-profit, not an aid non-profit. The organization has a goal of creating 20 million jobs by 2020, and are, astoundingly, “are already 17 million jobs in.”

In a follow up to my blog post about working remotely (via RemoteYear, etc.,), it’s notable that the physical workspace has been changing.

The company WeWork, for example, is a pioneer in workspace sharing, and allows for people to change their workspace regularly and meet new people. As their website states, WeWork provides “workspace, community, and services for a global network of creators.”

It’s fascinating that entrepreneurs are not simply creating their own products or marketing their own services – but that their services (such as WeWork) are actually designed to help other entrepreneurs collaborate with each other and, ultimately, designed to help other entrepreneurs succeed.

Bobby Logue, co-owner of a coffee store in Philadelphia, created “a company that aims to help ex-cons, one cup of coffee at a time.” Logue co-owns the company with Christian Dennis, who had been charged with homicide, but found not guilty in 2006.

http://wesa.fm/post/philly-coffee-company-owners-ex-cons-are-entrepreneurs-who-were-wrong-side-law#stream

The two plan to employ more ex-cons. “The way they see it, drug dealers basically are ‘entrepreneurs, just on the wrong side of the law,’ Logue said. ‘They have a tremendous amount of experience with sales and business management. It’s just that their ‘previous experience’ landed them in jail.’”

As we’ve talked about in class, and as we saw in Poverty Inc., a new job can be just the beginning of a new life. The article states: “We’re not just giving you an $8-an hour job . . . We want to try to create a lifestyle change, show guys something different than what they’re used to. We don’t just want to say: ‘Hey, we can get you a job here at McDonald’s. You got a job now – take care!’ No. We want to help you change your life, the way you think, the way you live, the way your family lives.

With this in mind, “they plan to offer employees profit-sharing, better-than-minimum-wage paychecks, and skills training.”

A very interesting read!! I’d love to know if other businesses share a similar mindset and model.

On Friday, there will be a talk in South Bend led by speakers from the Purple Porch Co-op and sponsored by Notre Dame’s Center for Social Concerns.

https://socialconcerns.nd.edu/events/food-thought-cooperatives-and-community-development

It’s notable that the Purple Porch Co-op is a “community-owned café, grocery store, and farmers market.” As the webpage states: “As a cooperative business, they rely on people of the community to purchase equity shares and shop the store and eat at the Cafe Max.”

It would be interesting to hear from these entrepreneurs about how the co-op was formed and how it has grown since. Their innovative business model also aligns with our class discussions about the overlap between traditional entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs.

This article discusses the idea of “Social Entrepreneurship” and how businesses are combining non-profit ideology with the structure and organization of private-run companies.  There is some good commentary on the effectiveness of social entrepreneurs as well as a brief discussion of some of the skills they look to employ.

“Social entrepreneurs achieve high social and economic impact by using innovative business methods to create jobs in low-income or fragile and conflict-affected markets. Because of their strong understanding of the communities they serve, social entrepreneurs will often innovate and iterate to develop a business model that is cost-effective, but also provides value for money in low-income markets. Their products must be validated by their customers for the enterprise to stay in business.”

Early in the class, we talked about different ways that lawyers could be subject to regulation. We brought up Alternative Business Structures, which are ways in which non lawyers can own part of a law firm or law partnership. These are typically not permitted under U.S. states’ ethics rules. This article recaps parts of the discussion we had in class, and provides a helpful overview and analysis of how other countries handle Alternative Business Structures. I think the increasing prevalence of articles such as these means that perhaps the legal industry is getting ready for a star bar to ease their rules and allow for Alternative Business Structures in the United States. This will be an interesting space to watch for potential disruptive innovation.

Here is an interesting article that provides some anecdotal stories about Australian lawyers who later became entrepreneurs, creating (not-legal-related) small businesses. For example, one man started a DVD rental kiosk business. (See website). The former lawyer appears to value his law degree when it comes to running a new small business, and notes that he particularly appreciates his knowledge of “intellectual property, defamation laws, company structures, fiduciary duties and reporting statutory requirements.” Id. I thought this article was interesting because it pointed out the advantages of having a law degree when trying to start a small business. The article did, however, point out that a law degree could lead to a “false sense of security.” Id. I think this is important to remember–being a lawyer does not inherently make one a good businessman. If starting a new business, we must make sure to also acquire the appropriate business skills or consult with an outside professional.

Here is an interesting example of a neighborhood legal clinic that assists entrepreneurs within New York City. The program is called Neighborhood Entrepreneur Law Project, or NELP. The program “provides low- to moderate-income micro-entrepreneurs with the legal services necessary to start their businesses on sound legal footing,” including assistance with “such matters as incorporation and tax issues, contracts and agreements, commercial lease negotiations, copyrights, trademarks, and patents.” (See website). The program does not use the traditional clinic model of law students, but instead partners with law firms and other legal departments, id., presumably allowing these attorneys to earn pro bono hours. This is an interesting program and a great example of how lawyers can use their talents to assist entrepreneurs, even if it is on a smaller scale.

Here is an interesting article discussing how entrepreneurship has helped shape the modern legal industry. The article also makes some predictions about the ways in which entrepreneurship will continue to lead to change in the legal industry. I thought this was an interesting read because it raises a perspective that we sometimes do not think about in this class: entrepreneurship within the legal profession, versus lawyers advising entrepreneurs in other industries. By being mindful of this and other perspectives, we can be better prepared for the future–perhaps some of us will become legal-tech entrepreneurs one day!