Social Entrepreneurs are those individuals with innovative solutions to society’s most pressing prob-lems. In today’s society, technology is a social catalyst that empow-ers communities at all corners of the globe to improve their lives and shape their collective future. Technology is allowing these social entrepreneurs to solve issues not only on both national and global scales. There are a few things that social entrepreneurs must keep in mind while creating their business.

Technology has changed the way that people think about philan-thropy and charity. Where previous generations would mail cheques to their favourite causes, technology now allows donations to be sent with a click. Micro-lending through websites like Kickstarter, have allowed social enterprises around the globe to thrive. By using Kick-starter, entrepreneurs are forced to look at what social values they can provide to communities in or-der to raise their capital. They are forced to look beyond the basic bottom line for corporations and look at the triple bottom line: which

means looking at not only the eco-nomic, but the environmental and social impacts of their businesses. To be a successful crowd-sourced enterprise, creators must prioritize creativity, market viability and produce a good product before all else.

All organizations, especially social enterprises, need to consider how they will interact with their audienc-es via mobile devices. In today’s society, mobile devices such as smartphones are owned by over 90% of the population. Mobile strategy doesn’t necessarily mean having a company website; it can also be engaging audiences on the social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook. These platforms allow organizations to connect with audiences in various ways, whether it is through pictures, articles or videos. Connecting with audiences and being able to differentiate who you are and your cause from others is the key to successful social enterprises.

Tadaaki Sun

with help of Muniba Ahmed

As the Vice President of External Relations, I have had a lot of experience relevant to Social Entrepreneurship, includeing the Social Entrepreneurship Challenge, the Social Venture Accelerator Class, and Vancouver for Acumen Fund Case Competition where I placed as a finalist. From this experience working with students from various faculties, I realized the power of sharing perspectives from different fields. All these distinctive fields are related with Information Technology and therefore fostered to broaden my vision for MISA to serve everyone who is interested in the MIS field.

If you are pursuing or thinking of pursuing an MIS degree, the events that MISA hosts will expand your opportunities in terms of skills and network. MISA is now bringing back their signature events, CATT Tuto-rial and MISA Mixer, which will be a great opportunity for you to gain valuable skills and networks. MISA’s CATT Tutorials for the this semester will include Introduction to Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator, and

Advanced Excel for those who want to develop skills beyond BUS 336 Data and Decisions II. The theme of the 7th Annual MISA Mixer Networking event is “IT Development and Involvement”, where you can connect with professionals in the technology companies as well as those work in the IT Department at various industries. We look forward to seeing a few of you at the event, the world of IT is growing and we want you to be a part of it!

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Will you be the

2013 SFU Entrepreneur of the Year?By Cynthia Su, Co-Program Manager

Six years ago, a small group of students envisioned a stage where aspiring student entre-preneurs could pitch their businesses to estab-lished entrepreneurs from the Vancouver com-munity while gaining valuable insight and advice for their ventures.

Today, SFU Entrepreneur of the Year (SEY) is one of the signature programs hosted by the not-for-profit student organization, Enactus SFU (formerly Students in Free Enterprise). SEY con-tinues to expand as a program and stepping stone for young entrepreneurs; its goal is to inspire, support, and develop the next set of Vancouver entrepreneurs from SFU through two program components: Jumpstart and the 6th Annual Com-petition.

Jumpstart is an eight-week accelerator that takes a knowledge-based approach to pro-vide aspiring entrepreneurs with the valuable skills, knowledge, and resources to launch a

basic business idea into a successful start-up. Weekly sessions are led by local entrepreneurs and industry professionals and include pitch practices, deliverables, and continuous feedback.

After the eight weeks, Jumpstart teams pitch their businesses and prog-ress during Demo Day to a panel of judg-es. The goal of Jumpstart is to provide a supportive environment and resourceful network for Jumpstart teams to launch their business with the support of exter-nal speakers, mentors, and judges.

On the other hand, the 6th Annu-al Competition includes four rounds of judging. The first two rounds of judging are done online whereas the semi-final and final rounds take place in person on November 16, 2013. During the semi-fi-nal round, 10 student entrepreneurs will present 20-minute pitches about their businesses to a panel of judges. The judges will then evaluate each business and determine the four most deserving competitors to enter the final round.

Beyond the prestigious title of “2013 SFU Entrepreneur of the Year,” the finalists will compete for prizes such as $3,000, mentoring sessions provided by industry professionals, media packages, as well as the op-portunity to connect with local entre-preneurs and investors.

SEY founded inspirational student entrepreneurs such as Mi-lun Tesovic (Founder of MetroLyrics), Benjamin Brown-Bentley (Found-er of Adrenaline Productions), Jor-dan Gutierrez (Founder of Libreria LEO), Matias Marques (Founder of Buyatab Online Inc.), and Michael Cheng (Co-Founder WittyCookie). All five entrepreneurs won the com-petition in their year and went on to win other exceptional titles such as ACE Regionals, ACE Nationals, Sur-rey Board of Trade’s Top 25 under 25, Global Student Entrepreneur of the Year and The Next 36.

If you are interested watching the An-nual Competition, look out for ticket sales on www.sfusey.com.

“Its goal is to inspire, support, and develop the next set of Vancouver

entrepreneurs from SFU ”

“ Launch a basic business idea into a successful start-up ”

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Bring Out the Professional "you"The fall semester brings cooler days, changing leaves, and an endless stream of networking events. For some, networking is synonymous with meeting as many people as possible for personal gain. It’s no wonder that networking gets such a bad reputation. However, it’s time to change that thinking.

Have a realistic goal: Why put unnecessary pressure on yourself to collect “x” number of business cards? Make it your goal to

leave the event having made a few meaningful connections, and you’ll end up reaching out to people in a genuine and curious way.

Research: Find out which companies and representatives will be attending, and do some research on those that pique your interest. By preparing some questions in advance, this will help you get the conversation started and ease any nerves.

Know what makes you unique: No two students have the exact same background and experiences. Be able to convey your

story and who you are to stand out.

Attend a workshop: The Career Management Centre will be hosting Networking and Business Etiquette workshops on October

17th and November 2nd (RSVP via Beedie Community).

Follow up: Make it a point to follow up with your new connections within 24 – 48 hours after the event. An email that expresses your genuine appreciation for the insights this individual has shared and/or comments on the topic you had discussed, can go a long way to developing a relationship.

Put your skills to the test at the Beedie School of Business’ first-ever BBA Breakfast Reception. The event will take place on Monday, November 4th and you will have a chance to meet with representatives from 40+ companies who are interested in hiring BBA students into co-op, full-time permanent, part-time, and contract positions. Log in to Beedie Community and go to the “Events” calendar to find out more. Please note that this event is open to students with 60+ credits.

Bonus! Career Advisors are always available to speak with you and answer any of your networking or career-related questions. Drop by our office (WMC 2329), book a career advising appointment via Beedie Community, or send us a tweet, @SFUBeedieCMC.

Networking should focus on relationship building and making connections with people. This is the key. Here are five ways to showcase your polished and professional side at upcoming networking events:

Eunice Koh, BBA Career Advisor (eunice_koh@sfu.ca)Rochelle Diablo, Manager, MIB & Special Events (rochelle_diablo@sfu.ca)beedie.sfu.ca/careers