With all seats in The Society Room filled, Mayor Segarra greeted the crowd with remarks about a woman at a previous event unrelated to social enterprise, doing “Reggaeton perreando.” That comment extinguished anything that may have seemed too zany about the superhero-themed Social Enterprise Awards.
For those not fully indoctrinated, “social enterprise” sounds jargony. All it means is that instead of only seeking to fatten their wallets, business owners first strive to improve conditions for humans and the environment.
On Tuesday, reSET — a social enterprise trust on Pratt Street — presented seven such companies with awards for their vision.
Will Haughey — one of the co-founders of Tegu Corp. — gave the keynote about how he and his brother decided to work with Honduran cooperatives certified by the Forest Stewardship Council to make the toys from mature trees. When getting started, they considered what to make, observing that most of the major exports from Honduras were “low quality.”
Haughey hinted at some of the setbacks the five-year-old company headquartered in Darien has endured, giving advice to the audience whose own experience levels ranged from absolute beginner to having been in business for longer than five years. The product, he said, is intended to be sold to “those with means,” but that he does not want people buying the product just for its social initiatives or because the factory in Honduras employs over 150 people.
Other award recipients included locally popular coffee company, A Happy Life. The team invests 100% of its net profits into farming communities to combat poverty. Tuckerman & Co., Adap Tac Games, CivicLift, Step Stones Jewelry, and The Verge Awards also received awards and recognition. A total of 75 companies applied for awards.
Among those attending the event: a long-time area resident who is fine-tuning her yoga venture, a man with ideas for a gym that is more of an obstacle course than a weight room, and a woman whose latest development is an app for those suffering from Alzheimer’s. Many were eager to talk about the Social Enterprise Accelerator program and how that has challenged them as they begin or grow their business.
CEO of reSET and The Walker Group, Kate Emery, said these entrepreneurs need mentors and support, but also for everyone to “vote with your pocketbooks.”
