Guest<\/span> Blog<\/h3><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Growing Knowledge Together: Purpose-Driven Paths – <\/span>The Motivations Behind Social Enterprise Founders<\/span><\/p>\nGuest blog by Dr. Julia Fursova, Assistant Professor, School of Leadership Studies, Interdisciplinary Leadership Studies Program, UNB <\/i><\/p>\n
Starting<\/span> a Social Enterprise (SE)<\/span>, like any business, comes with significant risk. Leaving behind the security of a 9-to-5 job often means trading it for a 24\/7 commitment to bring a vision to life. Many founders begin their social enterprise journey as a side project while continuing to work full time, investing countless hours of unpaid labour into building something meaningful.<\/span><\/p>\nTo better understand what drives these individuals, we began with a few key questions:<\/p>\n
What motivates women and non-binary founders to launch their initiatives?<\/p>\n
What compels them to take that first bold step toward turning an idea into action?<\/p>\n
What is the deeper \u201cwhy\u201d that sustains their persistence and commitment?<\/p>\n
Interestingly, no one cited \u201cmoney\u201d or \u201cmaking a living\u201d as their primary motivation. Instead, their responses centered around a desire to do things differently\u2014whether by reimagining<\/span> how business can be done or by bringing entrepreneurial thinking<\/span> into the non-profit and charitable sectors.<\/p>\nLet\u2019s take a closer look at what inspires founders to approach business with a new mindset. By exploring the motivations behind social enterprise, we may uncover insights into how we can collectively shift from \u201cbusiness as usual\u201d to \u201cbusiness with purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n
Three key thematic categories<\/span> emerged in response to questions about what motivates social enterprise founders:<\/span><\/p>\n\n- Responding to community needs and priorities<\/li>\n
- Aligning paid work with personal values<\/li>\n
- Drawing from lived experience<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
These themes are not mutually exclusive\u2014in fact, they often reinforce one another. For example, lived experience<\/span> can offer founders unique insights into how best to serve their communities. In turn, responding to those community needs allows them to align their professional work with deeply held personal values, which are often reflected in the mission and vision of their social enterprise.<\/p>\n<\/div>![](\"https:\/\/ponddeshpande.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Pic-1_Motivation-Blog.jpg\" "\\"Pic")
<\/span><\/div>Figure 1: Key Motivation Categories<\/p>\n
\u2018Responding to community needs and priorities\u2019 <\/span>emerged as the most complex among the thematic categories under the umbrella of \u2018Motivations\u2019. The theme is compounded of the following sub-themes:<\/p>\n\n- Enhancing democratic processes<\/li>\n
- Creating opportunities for education and training<\/li>\n
- Community building efforts aimed at specific demographic and cultural groups.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The sub-theme of enhancing democratic processes <\/span>reflects a strong desire to bridge the gap between grassroots communities and decision-makers. It includes efforts to foster dialogue, advocate for accessible services (such as low-cost or free options), and reduce stigma<\/span> associated with accessing these services. These initiatives aim to create inclusive spaces for communication among diverse individuals and communities.<\/span><\/p>\nAnother key driver for SE enterprise founders is their personal connection<\/span> to or solidarity with specific demographic or cultural groups<\/span>. Many founders are motivated by a commitment to support community-building initiatives <\/span>among youth, creatives, Indigenous communities, Black communities, and Communities of Colour.<\/p>\n<\/div>![](\"https:\/\/ponddeshpande.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Blogpost4_Figure-2.png\" "\\"Figure")
<\/span><\/div>Figure 2: Responding to Community Needs and Priorities <\/span><\/p>\nAligning<\/span> Work with Core Personal Values<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nSome social enterprise (SE) founders expressed disillusionment with their experiences in the corporate and non-profit sectors. They felt these environments often failed to support work that aligned with their core personal values\u2014such as social justice, equity, inclusion, decolonization, and diversity.<\/p>\n
Driven by a desire to create meaningful, paid work for themselves and others who share these values, these founders envisioned a world where empathy and care are foundational principles<\/span>, and where all individuals can live with dignity and peace.<\/p>\nBy launching social enterprises, they sought to build teams or collectives rooted in shared purpose. These collaborations aim to align skills with social impact, foster a sense of fulfillment, and contribute to transformative systems change<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/div>![](\"https:\/\/ponddeshpande.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Blogpost4_Figure-3.png\" "\\"Figure")
<\/span><\/div>Figure 3: Aligning work with core values<\/p>\n
Lived <\/b>Experience<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThe lived experiences of social enterprise (SE) founders play a crucial role in sustaining their motivation<\/span>. For individuals from immigrant or Indigenous communities\u2014or those who have personally faced challenges such as food or housing insecurity or limited access to essential services\u2014these experiences offer a unique and powerful perspective. This vantage point fuels a strong sense of purpose and deep commitment to values like equity, inclusion, and community care<\/span>.<\/p>\nThese personal histories not only shape the values and motivations of SE founders but also directly influence the nature of their work\u2014for example, the types of products or services their enterprises provide.<\/p>\n
Additionally, personal factors such as life stage and career development<\/span>\u2014particularly for founders in midlife\u2014can significantly contribute to the decision to launch a social enterprise, often reflecting a desire for meaningful impact and alignment with long-held values.<\/p>\n<\/div>![](\"https:\/\/ponddeshpande.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Blogpost4_Figure-4.png\" "\\"Blogpost4_Figure")
<\/span><\/div>Figure 4: The Role of Lived Experience<\/p>\n<\/div>
Next Steps<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nStay tuned<\/span> for our next blogpost, where we focus on how SE founders hold the balance between purpose and profit!<\/p>\nSocial Enterprise <\/span>Research<\/span> Team:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n- Dr. Julia Fursova, Research Lead, School of Leadership Studies, UNB<\/li>\n
- Ryca McCullough, BPhil., Data Collection<\/li>\n
- Ellie Petersen, BPhil., Data Collection and Analysis<\/li>\n
- Hillary Russell, BPhil., Knowledge Mobilization<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/span>
Follow Along<\/h3><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>You can follow along as we share more guest blogs on this project.<\/p>\n
Research updates will be shared on Renaissance College social media platforms: Facebook<\/u><\/a> et Instagram<\/a>, as well as Julia\u2019s personal LinkedIn<\/a> et website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":2603,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5778","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nMotivations - The Pond-Deshpande Centre<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Join us for a 5-part series on recent social enterprise research in New Brunswick and Atlantic Canada\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ponddeshpande.ca\/fr\/blog\/motivations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Motivations - 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Growing Knowledge Together: Purpose-Driven Paths – <\/span>The Motivations Behind Social Enterprise Founders<\/span><\/p>\n Guest blog by Dr. Julia Fursova, Assistant Professor, School of Leadership Studies, Interdisciplinary Leadership Studies Program, UNB <\/i><\/p>\n Starting<\/span> a Social Enterprise (SE)<\/span>, like any business, comes with significant risk. Leaving behind the security of a 9-to-5 job often means trading it for a 24\/7 commitment to bring a vision to life. Many founders begin their social enterprise journey as a side project while continuing to work full time, investing countless hours of unpaid labour into building something meaningful.<\/span><\/p>\n To better understand what drives these individuals, we began with a few key questions:<\/p>\n What motivates women and non-binary founders to launch their initiatives?<\/p>\n What compels them to take that first bold step toward turning an idea into action?<\/p>\n What is the deeper \u201cwhy\u201d that sustains their persistence and commitment?<\/p>\n Interestingly, no one cited \u201cmoney\u201d or \u201cmaking a living\u201d as their primary motivation. Instead, their responses centered around a desire to do things differently\u2014whether by reimagining<\/span> how business can be done or by bringing entrepreneurial thinking<\/span> into the non-profit and charitable sectors.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s take a closer look at what inspires founders to approach business with a new mindset. By exploring the motivations behind social enterprise, we may uncover insights into how we can collectively shift from \u201cbusiness as usual\u201d to \u201cbusiness with purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n Three key thematic categories<\/span> emerged in response to questions about what motivates social enterprise founders:<\/span><\/p>\n These themes are not mutually exclusive\u2014in fact, they often reinforce one another. For example, lived experience<\/span> can offer founders unique insights into how best to serve their communities. In turn, responding to those community needs allows them to align their professional work with deeply held personal values, which are often reflected in the mission and vision of their social enterprise.<\/p>\n<\/div> Figure 1: Key Motivation Categories<\/p>\n \u2018Responding to community needs and priorities\u2019 <\/span>emerged as the most complex among the thematic categories under the umbrella of \u2018Motivations\u2019. The theme is compounded of the following sub-themes:<\/p>\n The sub-theme of enhancing democratic processes <\/span>reflects a strong desire to bridge the gap between grassroots communities and decision-makers. It includes efforts to foster dialogue, advocate for accessible services (such as low-cost or free options), and reduce stigma<\/span> associated with accessing these services. These initiatives aim to create inclusive spaces for communication among diverse individuals and communities.<\/span><\/p>\n Another key driver for SE enterprise founders is their personal connection<\/span> to or solidarity with specific demographic or cultural groups<\/span>. Many founders are motivated by a commitment to support community-building initiatives <\/span>among youth, creatives, Indigenous communities, Black communities, and Communities of Colour.<\/p>\n<\/div> Figure 2: Responding to Community Needs and Priorities <\/span><\/p>\n Aligning<\/span> Work with Core Personal Values<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Some social enterprise (SE) founders expressed disillusionment with their experiences in the corporate and non-profit sectors. They felt these environments often failed to support work that aligned with their core personal values\u2014such as social justice, equity, inclusion, decolonization, and diversity.<\/p>\n Driven by a desire to create meaningful, paid work for themselves and others who share these values, these founders envisioned a world where empathy and care are foundational principles<\/span>, and where all individuals can live with dignity and peace.<\/p>\n By launching social enterprises, they sought to build teams or collectives rooted in shared purpose. These collaborations aim to align skills with social impact, foster a sense of fulfillment, and contribute to transformative systems change<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/div> Figure 3: Aligning work with core values<\/p>\n Lived <\/b>Experience<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The lived experiences of social enterprise (SE) founders play a crucial role in sustaining their motivation<\/span>. For individuals from immigrant or Indigenous communities\u2014or those who have personally faced challenges such as food or housing insecurity or limited access to essential services\u2014these experiences offer a unique and powerful perspective. This vantage point fuels a strong sense of purpose and deep commitment to values like equity, inclusion, and community care<\/span>.<\/p>\n These personal histories not only shape the values and motivations of SE founders but also directly influence the nature of their work\u2014for example, the types of products or services their enterprises provide.<\/p>\n Additionally, personal factors such as life stage and career development<\/span>\u2014particularly for founders in midlife\u2014can significantly contribute to the decision to launch a social enterprise, often reflecting a desire for meaningful impact and alignment with long-held values.<\/p>\n<\/div> Figure 4: The Role of Lived Experience<\/p>\n<\/div> Next Steps<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Stay tuned<\/span> for our next blogpost, where we focus on how SE founders hold the balance between purpose and profit!<\/p>\n Social Enterprise <\/span>Research<\/span> Team:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n You can follow along as we share more guest blogs on this project.<\/p>\n Research updates will be shared on Renaissance College social media platforms: Facebook<\/u><\/a> et Instagram<\/a>, as well as Julia\u2019s personal LinkedIn<\/a> et website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":2603,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5778","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div><\/span><\/div><\/span><\/div>\n
Follow Along<\/h3><\/span>