A strong and supportive community can enable and catapult any entrepreneur to success. This is even more true for social entrepreneurs, those who find solutions to the most pressing social and environmental problems of our time. As an aspiring social entrepreneur, I can attest to the fact that my community became my champions, confidants, partners, teachers, and emotional support, without whom starting a business would have been a …
2017 Public Benefit Report
We are excited to release our 2017 Public Benefit Report!
Harvard Law Forum: “The Power of Cooperatives”
Divest…and now what? Tips for Local Investing
If you’re one of the many who have been moved to take matters into your own hands and ensure that your retirement accounts are divested from sin-sectors, such as fire-arms, alcohol, tobacco, petroleum, mining, or other companies and industries that extract from the earth, people or communities, you may be asking “now what?” The divestment …
VLOG: Frequently Asked Questions
We are announcing a new video blog FAQ series. We will release short videos to answer the questions we are frequently asked. If you have questions, you can contact us using the link at the bottom of the website and you should register for our distribution list. I hope you enjoy and leave comments with …
Our Practice with Democratic Control: Developing a Style Guide and File Management System
I wrote last week about how I advised a friend how to experiment with and develop democratic processes without (yet) operating within a cooperative structure. This week, we took our own medicine and experimented ourselves. Now, many readers will think the canvas for this experimentation is so “lawyerly” or trivial, but many others will immediately …
“I want to run my business as a cooperative, but…”
I received a familiar email from a long-time friend and start-up founder. She has founded a unique brand and business model that has created a market where one had not previously existed; the dream of most entrepreneurs. The start-up has grown rapidly and has received international acclaim in mainstream press. A great position for any …
V-Blog: Colorado Public Benefit Corporations 101
I had the pleasure yesterday of co-presenting with Blue Dot Advocate’s Seth Henry, and B-Lab’s Holly Ensign-Barstow on the Colorado Public Benefit Corporation legal entity form and conversion process. We recorded the webinar and are posting it here for public consumption. We raise important issues that should be discussed with counsel
A View from an Outside General Counsel’s Perch
I was an in-house general counsel for more than 5 years at Namaste Solar. While in the role, I learned that rendering traditional legal advice was, as they say, necessary but totally insufficient to being successful or adding value. My colleagues consistently pushed me to add value by offering what I now call “legally informed …
Leaving a Legacy: Creating a Social Enterprise that Outlives Its Founder
More and more, entrepreneurs and investors want more than just a buck: they want to create a business with a social mission, then preserve that entity’s mission through time. This blog post briefly discusses three ways to keep a business entity on purpose long after the founders have left. The first way is to borrow …
