Social Entrepreneurship 101

It's been over a week since our arrival and we already feel home at Chattanooga. Wherever we go, we meet familiar and friendly faces who are more than willing to indulge in a conversation with us. Coming from Norway, where we are a more reserved, this friendliness has made a great impact on me.

Today was our first day with classes and it started with a great lecture on social entrepreneurship by Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship at UTC, Dr. Philip Roundy. During the class we discussed the differences between social ventures and conventional ventures, how to identify social and business opportunities, and the challenges social entrepreneurs face as they start.

Later on we visited River City Company (RCC), which is the economic development engine for downtown Chattanooga. During the visit we gained insight on the company's different projects and previous work in downtown Chattanooga. For instance we learned that RCC is recruiting new investments to downtown, advocating for diverse housing options and planning for a future development.

It was all in all a great day in Chattanooga where we gained important knowledge and skills in order to create a social enterprise in the future!