Defining your impact opportunity: doing good and doing well at the same time

Most of us start a business because we see a problem in the world that we think someone should fix. So we step up. We commit. We dream of the impact we can have.

Then reality sets in and we feel overwhelmed and confused as to where to start, how to know we’re headed in the right direction. So instead of trying something new and unknown and getting market feedback, we stall, we talk more than we act. We’ve all been there and it sucks.

In this working session we will look at proven methodologies to get unstuck and define both the impact and market opportunities we want to tackle in our business.

This working session will give you:

1. A clear methodology to identify your market and impact opportunities
2. The 4 ingredients needed to write a convincing impact opportunity statement to set your North Star
3. Tools to design a sustainable business that makes money and has a positive impact on the world
4. Ways to use a stakeholder mindset to make better business decisions

Important notes:

• Protagoniste working sessions are highly interactive. Please be ready to participate. 
• To get the most out of it, please come with a business idea or initiative idea you’re pursuing. 
• We will be using Zoom and worksheets

About the facilitator:

Isabelle Swiderski, Founder, Seven25 & Protagoniste

Head of SEIP Canada

As a serial impact entrepreneur herself, Isabelle founded her design-for-impact agency Seven25 in 2007 to accelerate the success of values-driven organizations—whether they operate for profit or not—and to foster the emergence of a new, more equitable economy.

An award-winning designer marrying an MBA and an MA in Design, Isabelle has facilitated systems change work supporting startups, governments, foundations and ecosystem builders in over 15 countries on 4 continents in 3 languages.

A sessional lecturer at Emily Carr University for over a decade, Isabelle is regularly invited to speak and teach on topics of design-led innovation, customer discovery and impact entrepreneurship. In 2019, she founded Protagoniste, the continuous learning network for social entrepreneurs.

Presented in partnership with SEIP Canada

About SEIP

SEIP Canada is part of the SEIP international network founded by Zsolt Bugarski. ​It offers Canadian social entrepreneurs:

• an international forum to discuss ideas, shares issues with fellow social enterprises from around the world,
• connections with peers and experienced mentors to help you,
• events and opportunity to organise events with other international SEs