NWEN Breakfast: Social Entrepreneurship: Doing Well by Doing Right June 9, 2006

Social entrepreneurship utilizes the passion, energy and innovation of a start-up business for the promotion of social values and the public good. Some social ventures are not-for-profit, existing solely to donate their profits to support social causes; others are not-just-for-profit, created to both achieve financial prosperity for the company and social wealth for the communities it serves. Flexcar is a Seattle-based for-profit company that provides a car-sharing service in several metropolitan areas, offering residents in these communities the opportunity to save money on their transportation costs while simultaneously reducing other transportation costs -- such as air pollution, traffic congestion and parking problems -- in those communities.

Lance Ayrault, CEO of Flexcar, will share his insights and experiences into how a start-up company can do well by doing right. You will learn how companies that promote social wealth have access to financial and logistical resources not available to other for-profit ventures. Lance will highlight the delicate balance a social venture must achieve in marketing its products and services, so that its messages address individual needs and community improvements, while not alienating potential customers who may associate "green" with "expensive" and thus be unwilling to pay the perceived cost of achieving greater social value for the community.

About the Speaker

Lance Ayrault joined Flexcar in September, 2002. Ayrault completed his undergraduate studies at Harvard and earned an MBA from the University of Washington. His 20 year career includes senior management roles at a number of companies and organizations, including the Environmental Protection Agency, William D. Ruckelshaus Associates and Simpson. He was Gerente General of Simpson where he ran that company's Latin operations in Chile. After Simpson, Ayrault was managing director of International for AEI Music, which merged with DMX in 2001, where he continued to lead the International efforts.

Cost: $25 for pre-registered members, $40 for pre-registered nonmembers. Onsite registration available for an additional $5, as space permits. Register online (http://www.nwen.org/calendar/regbreakfast.htm) or call 425-564-5701.

Official Website: http://www.nwen.org/calendar/regbreakfast.htm