Caltech/MIT Enterprise Forum

Entrepreneurs identify problems and find ways to solve them. In a typical business, the idea is to do that and make some money. What happens, though, when the problems are big and have social aspects that don t have an obvious revenue source? Are nonprofits the only organizations that can solve these problems, or are there ways to make money (and find funding) while making life better for people at the bottom of the economic pyramid? Cellular technology and increased communications have given parts of the developing world unprecedented possibilities for empowerment. Meanwhile, enormous markets exist with counterintuitive opportunities for novel business models in sectors ranging from sanitation to product design to transportation. This Enterprise Forum session will be keynoted by Caltech alumnus Jim Fruchterman, who pioneered business models which start off as nonprofit public benefit uses of technologies, but find ways to then leverage those results to create sustainable businesses. The panel will then bring together a group of experts from academia and business to talk about what works. Bring your idealism and your business smarts to this unique event.