Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 1, 2014

Julie and Aaron Firestone, our Director of Business Development, will be helping take attendees through key questions about a new tech social enterprise. My goal is to give attendees (in addition to Presidio students and alums, this class is also open to the public) an inside look at how Benetech analyzes new tech social enterprises.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

DECEMBER 30, 2013

Dear Friends of Benetech, As we wrap up another busy year, full of milestones and exciting accomplishments , we’d like to take a moment to simply say thank you. Whether you''ve volunteered your time, made a financial contribution, attended one of our events, or helped to spread the word about the work we’re doing – thank you!

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 25, 2015

Chuck and I were involved with the founding of the Social Enterprise Alliance (SEA) in 2000, the nation’s association for organizations using the tools of business to accomplish social good. We mainly commiserated about the challenges of the app business model! Chuck was the second chair of SEA and I succeeded him as the third chair.

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Impact Colorado Social San Francisco 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 8, 2015

You are someone who dreams about using your management and leadership skills and love of technology for social impact, exceeding the bounds of what a regular for-profit business can do. Benetech is organized as a nonprofit, but run like a business. You’ve come to the right place: Benetech.

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Technology Literacy Social Uganda 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MAY 13, 2010

Business as usual hasn't been working out so well. There are a new wave of leaders who want business to both make money and do right by society and the planet. We need you to get engaged now, in business, government and the social sector, to build the better world we all need, and that our children and grandchildren will need.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

OCTOBER 30, 2014

With his proven execution in scaling business systems and infrastructures that shaped the growth of award-winning service products for multiple high profile Silicon Valley technology companies, he has the perfect pedigree to spearhead engineering at Benetech as we continue to innovate in the technology-for-good space.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

APRIL 24, 2018

I needed help with business negotiations and software licensing and Gerry jumped in teaching me everything I know about doing business. I was ten years younger than my two cofounders, and they stuck me with being the chief financial officer. And stuck was the operative word: I stayed in that role for seven years.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

AUGUST 6, 2010

Raja is a seasoned business executive with senior level experience in multinationals (Coca-Cola, B&W/BAT, BOC Group, Societe Generale) in Europe, Asia and in multiple Middle East/North African countries (MENA), as an entrepreneur and as Managing Director of one of the oldest retail groups in the MENA region.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 4, 2014

Within the arena of startup incubators, however, Benetech’s social enterprise business model and Benetech Labs’ approach are unique. The scaling up of the companies happens outside the incubator, which is busy recruiting and incubating a fresh crop of new entrepreneurs. Let me explain how this is so.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 22, 2010

The membership of the Alliance are "my people," folks who speak both social and business fluently. Many consumer-facing companies are realizing that issues around the environment, food safety, local sourcing, employee relations and the like aren't frill topics: getting them wrong can trash your business.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 4, 2010

Business as usual, done without regard to the big picture for society, hasn't worked out so well. There is a new wave of leaders who want business to both make money and do right by society and the planet. We all want to work on Stuff That Matters. And, the opportunities to do so have never been better.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

We have a new business model. Publishers already contribute most of their ebooks to us for free, but The Treaty allows for crowdsourcing books at scale through a Napster-inspired model (but legal!). We can scale quickly. We’ve already built the library in the cloud, meaning we can scale infrastructure at the click of a button.

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Global eBook Library United States 109

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 28, 2014

It is, however, a very narrow tool even for a social enterprise, let alone for a profitable business opportunity. We’re delighted to join forces with entrepreneurs, social and business leaders in pushing the frontier of applying technology to empower people, improve lives, and create lasting social impact.

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Ideas Kenya Brain Software 223

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 1, 2012

Chamber of Commerce’s Corporate Disability Employment Summit, Harkin called on the CEOs and business owners in the audience to join him in setting the goal of increasing the number of Americans with disabilities in the workforce from 4.9 One of Senator Harkin’s top priorities is making a real impact on disability employment numbers.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MAY 17, 2013

As mayor of Asunción, he won a major victory for democracy when he called in garbage trucks and bulldozers to surround the Congress building while the army was busy shooting people in response to a popular uprising.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 15, 2010

I'm now on the road for more than 5 weeks on combo business trips and family vacation. DC this week and Geneva next week (international copyright). As I headed out the door, I ran into Scott Rains and we had a picture taken of Scott in his Brazil jersey (after the U.S., I'm a big Brazil fan too).

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Brazil DC Copyright Picture 113

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 30, 2011

Hi Jim, Busy, busy man. She shoots me me very interesting ideas frequently, and I thought I'd share this one with my blog readers. I can't quite figure out how to make it, but I bet someone will!! But I'm intruding because you are "intrude-able" and I have a dream.

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Info Tech Method Ideas 123

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MAY 27, 2012

Although I'm firmly on the nonprofit side with Benetech (because we focus on big issues where the market is failing), it's definitely easier to get funded sustainably if you have an exciting and invest-able business plan. Evan Haigler is a social entrepreneur I've known for years.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 15, 2008

My current business trip started by heading for Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was easier to say yes than usual: I'd never been to Dubai or the region, and the government of Dubai and Emirates airline offered to fly me there business class!

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

OCTOBER 29, 2008

Just spotted a nice video piece on the SoCap conference that features Benetech as one of the new crop of socially responsible businesses. It was exciting to see the energy around applying business to society's needs, even in the face of desperate times. And then, Lehman Bros. collapsed and suddenly 650 people came!

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San Francisco News Conference Interview 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 13, 2016

I often run into this thinking, where ideas which would not be taken seriously in business are suddenly sensible in social good. He broadens this to tackling what he labels “the packaged intervention,” the neatly wrapped solution that will solve a social problem. Wishful thinking makes many people dream of quick fixes.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 27, 2013

In all seriousness, 2013 has been an incredibly busy and productive year for us. We believe that there’s no better way to engage brilliant leaders from tech, business, and finance than in a brainstorm about early stage tech venture ideas. I’m excited to share highlights from our work and its significance for the multitudes we serve.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

OCTOBER 27, 2014

When our team last caught up with him, he was a busy student at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, rejoicing in his ability to read independently and reach his full potential. Zach Bryant The change happened when Zach was in high school and his Assistive Technology teacher introduced him to Benetech’s Bookshare library.

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Challenge eBook Social Ohio 144

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 3, 2011

In this exploration effort, thanks to John Danner, the incredibly connected entrepreneur who hangs his hat occasionally at the Haas Business School in Berkeley, I was able to meet Dr. Ron Dembo, founder of Zerofootprint. That means we frequently run into cool projects (and mentally check the box: taken care of!).

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Classroom Demonstration Student Contest 162

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 9, 2013

Digitization and globalization are giving rise to growing publishing markets that promise new business opportunities. Our partnership with Random House Mondadori is a case in point and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped us throughout the process.

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Spain Language America Law 151

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

AUGUST 17, 2006

If you run the business inside your nonprofit, rather than a subsidiary, the nonprofit will be responsible for any financial and legal liabilities that flow from the business. If you don't want the nonprofit subjected to that risk, run the business through a sub (you'll still need the insurance, but your nonprofit will be protected.)

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 20, 2008

We're busy expanding Bookshare.org with the help of social enterprises all over the world. We recently signed a deal with a group in Kenya, and they were very enthusiastic about it! Samasource wins contract with Bookshare.org

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 21, 2012

The other half of the day they go to university pursuing advanced studies in numerous different fields (I asked a bunch of the students their area of study and heard answers like business, law, accountancy and even forestry). We scan the books in the U.S.,

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Laos Data Digital New York City 235

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 21, 2010

Jamie Love of KEI took the above picture of ACB's Eric Bridges, NFB's Scott LaBarre (and his wife Anahit Galechyan) and me at the meeting: I was busy tweeting what I was hearing at my Twitter handle of @JRandomF.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

OCTOBER 30, 2006

The Global Social Venture Competition is a great event: bringing the talents of business school students from around the world to bear on society's pressing problems. I have been a judge twice in the last five years, and the quality of the business plans being judged has simply soared over that time period. Who should attend?

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Global San Francisco Social Student 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 13, 2007

Two nights ago, I spoke at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, in a class on social enterprise taught by my buddy Jim Schorr, former CEO of Juma Ventures. Should be a lot of fun: it's my first visit to the Pepperdine campus. Speaking at college campuses has to be one of the best parts of my work.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 13, 2011

As part of the Arkenstone sales, Rob also helped us create a wholly owned for-profit subsidiary to protect our nonprofit status (by having a taxable subsidiary handle unrelated business income, the nonprofit parent was better protected).

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San Francisco Law Lecture Advice 140

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 19, 2013

Even while the sessions were inspiring, and the Benetech team is busy executing on our latest commitment (you don’t get invited back to CGI if you don’t follow through), one of the best parts of the event was talking to my peer social entrepreneurs.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 18, 2019

If it works, libraries like Bookshare would mainly be put out of business. And Robin knew so clearly that’s the right thing to do. Thanks to the effort led by Robin, four of the top five educational publishers recently presented their future roadmaps including this vision of inclusive publishing, of global accessibility.

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eBook United States Literacy Library 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 30, 2013

There is no better place to engage with colleagues about new technologies, changing business models, fresh ideas, and shared standards. Guest Beneblog by Gerardo Capiel, Benetech's VP, Engineering One of the highlights of my meeting circuit each year is the O’Reilly Tools of Change conference in New York City.

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Accessibility eBook New York City Social 171

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 10, 2011

But, it might well have been that the places with the greatest damage had no power for the phone system, or people were too busy with the aftermath of the disaster, compared to more mildly affected cities with power and relatively little damage (but people texting like crazy to say they are ok).

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Literacy Disaster Phone Press 150

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

OCTOBER 31, 2008

We Colombians are a resilient breed, accustomed to waking up to all kinds of distressing news and still somehow managing to go about our daily business. Guest blog from Beatriz, one of Benetech's human rights team members in Colombia. But today's mood in Colombia is more somber than usual.

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