Greg Dees was quoted in an interesting NY Times piece on social business, “The Path from Charity to Profit”:
For a social business, “the obstacles are similar to those of starting and running any new business,” said J. Gregory Dees, a professor of Practice of Social Entrepreneurship at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. “New ventures are risky — raising capital, attracting talent, managing the organization, attracting customers, selling your product (ideally at a profit, though most businesses take a while to reach profitability) are all difficult. And the social mission adds to the degree of difficulty by constraining your options.” Dees points out something important — success isn’t instant. Many social businesses spend years receiving donations or relying on a nonprofit for back-office work before they fly solo.
Read the rest of the piece at the NY Times online.