Dante Godinho's Blog

In our most recent class, Social Enterprise Applied, instructor Jeff Kroeker shed light on some examples of social enterprises, such as TOMS shoes, whose now infamous “one-for-one” mission promises to deliver a pair of shoes to a child in need with each pair of shoes purchased.

Over the weekend, I stumbled upon an advertisement that lead me to the homepage for Flex Watches, another company contributing to the up and coming wave of social enterprises. Flex Watches concept, the so-called “10-10-10” mission, is simple: they manufacture 10 watches of different colour, have partnered up with 10 different charities, and promise to donate 10% of the revenues generated by each specifically coloured watch to the associated charity it represents (for example, think a pink watch for breast cancer). For further explanation, here is a video that summarizes what the enterprise is all about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATqxqK2NS7w&feature=player_embedded

In my opinion, their business plan is brilliant. If the company is able to market itself effectively and become recognized on a global scale, there’s no telling what an impact these donations might have. Based on what I saw on their website, however, I believe the watches correspond to a very young target demographic and that, in order to see sustained success, they should consider developing a more sophisticated product line.

In response to Kevin Yu’s blog entitled RIM: Comeback??

It’s hard to argue against the notion that RIM’s fate rests in the hands of the new Blackberry 10, which is expected to be released in early 2013. As shown in the video below (also on showcased in Kevin’s post), the introduction of the new operating system, “Blackberry Flow”, provides an example of a feature that sets it apart from previous models. In my opinion, it seems like many of its features imitate the systems in which Apple and Android phones have been using for years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmND2-fkUD0&feature=player_embedded

Nonetheless, as Kevin notes, RIM shares rose a dramatic $0.80 earlier this month – its highest closing price in more than a full quarter. Whether this is a viable prediction of what to expect in the near future, however, is debatable. Perhaps, as Kris Thompson mentions in the linked article, the share price was simply bid up by investors seeking capital gains by buying the stock prior to commercial availability.

While it seems close-minded to say that RIM doesn’t have a shot at recovering, I believe it’s chances are slim. At least from the sneak peak in the video, it appears that Blackberry software is merely trying to catch up to its competitors in many facets, while its competitors continue to push new boundaries. Moreover, some of the features that made Blackberry successful in the past, including its encryption software and Blackberry Messenger, have been successfully duplicated by both Apple and Samsung.  Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see whether or not the Blackberry 10 will be RIM’s saving grace.

You may have heard about “crowdfunding”, a relatively recent phenomenon currently used by social entrepreneurs and charitable organizations to raise money for various causes. Thanks to the implementation of the JOBS Act in the United States, crowdfunding may soon become a very useful and innovative way for entrepreneurs seeking funding for their for-profit businesses as well. Traditionally, charities and other promoters of social causes reached out through the internet to obtain donations from the general public to support their causes. Sometimes donors get tax deductions for their contributions.  This novel use of the internet allowed certain organizations to successfully raise considerable funds.

Earlier this year, there was a potentially revolutionary change to the way entrepreneurs will be able to fund their ventures as a result of the U.S. Congress paving the way for equity crowdfunding. To date, securities regulators in both the U.S. and Canada restrict who can invest in companies, with a mandate to prevent fraud, but crowdfunding would open up investment to a far greater audience. In order for this to occur, regulators from the SEC will have to amend their rules to regulate crowdfunding. Will they do it? I can’t predict at this time, but think it would be of great benefit to venture capitalists and start-up entrepreneurs.

Sources:

Forbes Article: Eight Crowdfunding Sites for Social Entrepreneurs

VentureBeat Article: SEC Uses Jobs Act to Set Up New Roadblocks to Crowdfunding

On Wednesday, the Montreal and Denver based brewery Molson Coors announced that the NHL Lockout has triggered a reduction in sales across Canada for some of its marquee brands – namely Molson Canadian and Coors Light.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iok04t3TvE&feature=relmfu

As illustrated in the above video, Molson Canadian’s marketing campaign relies heavily on tying together its product with Canada’s love for hockey, and they have succeeded in doing so for years. I think I speak on the behalf of all Canadians in saying that when you think of Molson Canadian beer, you think of clinking pints or bottles together with a few friends while partaking in a hockey game.

In a recent interview, Molson Coors CEO Peter Swinburn said, once the lockout has commenced, his company will seek financial compensation for the impact that the lack of games has had on sales. This statement gives insight into another set of ramifications the lockout has brought about – unhappy sponsors. As the saga continues, it will be interesting to see if other major NHL sponsors, such as Canadian Tire, Kraft, and Sirius XM, plan on following in Molson’s footsteps.

Sources:

Montreal Gazette article: Molson Coors suffers sales blow in Canada from nearly two-month NHL lockout

CBC Sports article: NHL meets with sponsors concerned about lockout

I few weeks ago I was walking through the Henry Angus building when I stumbled upon an information booth on Sauder’s Africa Initiative – an initiative designed to uplift the lives of youth in Africa’s largest country, Kenya, through sustainable social entrepreneurship. I was immediately drawn to the initiative and decided to conduct a further investigation of what it entailed, which is when I came across this blog post by Sauder MBA student Steve Hosein. In summary, the post shares the story of Donald Walufa, a high-school educated artist from Nairobi that benefited from business instruction provided by the Africa Initiative. Donald’s plan is to sell his artwork to tourists who are looking for an original souvenir that captures an experience and has intrinsic meaning behind it. In my opinion, not only is Donald’s artwork beautiful, he has tied it together with an effective business plan. As Steve acknowledges, “there is palpable difference between art that someone has specifically created for you versus some random object whose provenance and intended meaning are unknown to you”. While the demand for original artwork is certainly present, I believe developing a quick and easy way of getting the artwork to the hands of consumers is essential to the growth of Donald’s business. I wish Donald the best of luck – if you are interested in commissioning a piece of his artwork, please follow the instructions on the linked blog post!