Young Social Innovators in Boston: Root Cause Staff and Fellows Join the Dialogue

Recently, a number of Root Cause staff and fellows took a trip over to the Fort Point neighborhood of Boston for a night of social innovation and fun among Boston’s community of young social entrepreneurs.

The occasion was Pokin’ Holes, an event where Boston-based, under-30 entrepreneurs present their ventures to a panel of other young experts and receive feedback on the strengths and gaps in their business models. The event, which is part of DartBoston’s monthly line-up, was co-hosted by the StartingBloc Boston board, giving the typically for-profit-focused event a for-impact layer.

Gustavo Quiroga, StartingBloc fellow and founder of RePlant Building Solutions, presented his model for introducing a new type of sustainable building material into the US market. The audience asked a number of questions, ranging from market size to product differentiators and the relationship with the manufacturer. A panel of StartingBloc fellows with backgrounds in corporate responsibility communications, social enterprise incubation, and sustainable investment followed with their feedback on the concept. The panel itself was fascinating to watch and learn from, but what struck me the most was the air of collaboration that permeated the room.

At Root Cause, we talk a lot about collaboration, and we often discuss how it can be seen in practice. To me, this event was a prime example of individuals sharing best practices and supporting each other candidly in order to find the strongest solutions possible to meet a real social need. After the panel concluded, we all had the opportunity to chat with the panelists, Gustavo, and other attendees. The room felt reenergized and it was hard to hear above the excited chatter, but the interest in social innovation was truly palpable.

Anecdotally, I had learned that twice as many tickets had been issued for the event as had been for the previous Pokin’ Holes episode. But the greatest testament to the booming interest in the field of social innovation was the conversations with people who had come to Boston from across the nation and abroad to break into the field, people who had years of experience in the social sector and plenty of thoughts on the presented business model, or people who were simply fascinated by the idea of a double bottom line. It was the combination of these people, each with his or her unique perspective, questions, and insights, that made for a wonderfully productive night of social innovation.