Social entrepreneurship: “There are not two different categories of companies”

The crowd at the New Capitalist Junto hosted by GoodCompany Group.

You don’t have to be a social entrepreneur to be a social entrepreneur.

That’s about what appRenaissance CEO and Philly Startup Leaders president Bob Moul said during a panel that closed the New Capitalist Junto, a broadly-attended event Wednesday evening.

“I had sort of separated it into socially focused companies into one category and all the rest of us into some other category,” said Moul, during a panel closing the event at 1650 Arch Street. “But… there are not two different categories of companies”

Moul was one of three panelists at The New Capitalist Junto organized by GoodCompany Group and sponsored by more than 20 companies, investors and government agencies, which brought together more than 150 local entrepreneurs, nonprofit and business leaders to discuss capitalism and social entrepreneurship in Philadelphia.

Pitching Philadelphia’s regional distinction around mission-minded ventures has been the source of an on-going dialogue recently.

Moul was joined on the panel by GoodCompany Group cofounder Garrett Melby and PACT CEO and president Dean Miller. In an advertisement for the event, the organizers explained the inspiration for the event came from Benjamin Franklin’s junto and web development firm P’unk Ave.’s revival of the tradition in 2006.

The conversation was preempted by a video lecture from Umeir Haque, the author of the The New Capitalist Manifesto: Building a Disruptively Better Business who broke down what capitalism might mean in our modern economy.

Author Umeir Haque addresses the audience at the New Capitalist Junto via pre-recorded video lecture.

After introductory remarks from City of Philadelphia Director of Business Attraction and Retention for the Department of Commerce Karen Randal, who filled for the absent Mayor Michael Nutter, Technically Philly cofounder Christopher Wink offered a presentation defining social entrepreneurship and explaining the impact this approach to business could have in Philadelphia, following a post from last December.

You can watch video of his presentation below:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipXWQTpX4P8?rel=0]