Þorvaldur Danielsson: At a Crossroads as a Social Entrepreneur

In late 2018, a social entrepreneur in Iceland realized he needed to make changes to his enterprise working with socially-isolated children and youth. His operating model was to host bicycle rides with children and youth, and to encourage them to engage fully as young people. Most of these children had not previously engaged in physical activity, and many experienced not only social difficulties, but also physical challenges as a result of being overweight or obese. The social entrepreneur was spending much of his time negotiating sponsorship and service agreements and as a result, he spent less time engaging with the focus of his initiative—at-risk children and youth. He was also funding some of the initiative himself, putting his personal financial circumstances at risk. How could this social entrepreneur develop a robust, sustainable business model that would enable him to develop financial independence, support the youths' involvement in an annual cycling ride that circumnavigated Iceland, and enable the business to expand so that it no longer relied totally on one person?

This case is intended for undergraduate- and graduate-level courses on social and sustainable entrepreneurship. It can also be used in a leadership course. After completion of the case, students will be able to<ul><li>understand the role of social enterprises operating at the intersection of business and government;</li><li>apply rigorous analysis to a problem that has strong societal implications;</li><li>solve a business problem in a setting with an unfamiliar culture and norms;</li><li>understand that personal circumstances often affect actions in social enterprises; and</li><li>develop a strategic plan and a business plan for a social entrepreneur.</li><ul>

• social enterprise