Satya: Authentic Entrepreneurship and Community

Patrice Mousseau was an Indigenous woman in Canada who founded an organic skin care company, Satya. From Satya’s modest beginnings and early challenges, the company had several subsequent successes before Mousseau faced significant challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mousseau’ s Indigenous values and influences shaped her approach to launching and developing Satya. Additionally, Mousseau’s collaboration with a women-only network of investors (SheEO) and the support they offered not only aligned with her desire to achieve social change and impact through Satya, but also proved to be a vital virtual lifeline during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This case study is designed for an undergraduate- or graduate-level entrepreneurship course, as it depicts the journey of an entrepreneur from problem recognition to successful business startup. It could also be used by an instructor who seeks to emphasize the utility of social networks and explore their impact in developing and sustaining ventures. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:<ul><li>Understand social capital and networks and how they function in entrepreneurship.</li><li>Understand weak ties, strong ties, bridging capital, and bonding capital.</li><li>Consider why identity-specific networks for entrepreneurs may be necessary (for example, women entrepreneurs, Indigenous entrepreneurs, Indigenous women entrepreneurs, Black women entrepreneurs, and so on).</li><li>Critically consider some accepted “truths” about networking (as well as consider their own feelings towards it).</li><li>Understand how online communities can benefit entrepreneurs.</li><li>Appreciate the value of authenticity and how it can manifest in entrepreneurship.</li></ul>

• Indigenous
• gender
• networks
• COVID-19