Intervening in Social Systems
Guest Lecturer: Assaf Weisz APS 1015: Social Entrepreneurship
University of Toronto
Systems =
sets of interlocking business models
systems change when business models change
DISRUPTION AS SOCIAL CHANGE
Disrup'on: from ownership to sharing
Disrup'on: disintermedia'on
Disrup'on: unlocking & liquifying inventory
Disrup'on: commodifying a source of value
Disrup'on: servicing non-‐consumers
Disrup'on: changing the capital/risk sequence
Disrup'on: commodi'zing produc'on
“Your margin is my opportunity”
Characteris-cs of disrup-ons
Fundamentally change the economics: • Ini-al products are less good, but good enough
• Less profitable (lower margins), but higher volume
• Ul-mately grow the market by servicing non-‐consumers
Sinking business models • Scarcity • High margin human services • Informa-onal imbalance