Make Change Through Entrepreneurship

The power of entrepreneurial thinking not only serves to launch products and organizations. In the actions of individuals and groups, who are passionate about solving problems, entrepreneurial activity can be a catalyst for creating great change. By seeing problems as opportunities just waiting to be seized, we can go a long way in addressing many of the most pressing problems on Earth. To inspire all of us to be change-makers in 2013, here are three inspirational videos featuring passionate leaders who are making change in the world.

Making Change Through Cultural Lines

Using a illustrative example from her experiences in Niger, Melinda Gates, co-chair and trustee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, talks about developing approaches to increasing contraception access and use, by tapping into the cultural realities and interactions between groups of men and women.

Can Products Save the World?

Serial entrepreneur Jeff Church discusses whether social enterprises can sell products to affect change in the world. As the co-founder of social enterprise Nika Water, Church believes social entrepreneurs can only have lasting success if they start their enterprises as “nine parts business, one part cause.”

Using Serial Innovation to Create Change

Method Products Co-Founder Adam Lowry loves it when competitors copy his company’s products because it means they are changing the rules of the game in their sector. Lowry also explains why this allows his company to innovate in the cleaning products category and pushes their industry to create desired social change.

Check out more entrepreneurial insights on Stanford eCorner.