New Podcast Communicorn: Insights into sustainable entrepreneurship!

New Podcast Communicorn: Insights into sustainable entrepreneurship!

Today the new podcast **“Communicorn”** is presented, which focuses on social, sustainable and community-oriented companies. The podcast initially includes eight episodes, released every two weeks and available in both audio and video formats. The moderation is the responsibility of the experts Prof. Dr. Steffen Farny, Dr. Frederic Penz and Charlotte von Wulffen, who are all part of the Leuphana Innovation Community. A special focus is placed on **Community Entrepreneurship**, which combines scientific findings with practical stories. Topics are covered not only from Lüneburg and Hamburg, but also from other cities in Germany.

In the first episode of the podcast, Timm Duffner, Managing Director of Heyho Müsli, speaks with his slogan "At HEYHO we don't hire people to roast oats, we roast oats to hire people." illustrates how important it is to put people at the center of entrepreneurial activity. The podcast is produced in English, and both transcripts and translations into German are available upon request. Leuphana reports that the project aims to shed light on the successes and challenges of community-oriented forms of business.

The challenges of social entrepreneurship

While the podcast aims to provide exciting insights into the world of community entrepreneurship, the reality is often challenging for many socially minded entrepreneurs. As PergenZ says, these companies require capital in the start-up phase, similar to other sectors. One of the biggest challenges is not only securing initial funding, but also reducing reliance on these financial sources. It is also necessary to combine high entrepreneurial skills with social responsibility.

Social responsibility must be integrated into economic responsibility. Social entrepreneurs are faced with the task of critically questioning their ideas and concepts and strengthening their inner conviction and resilience to economic criticism. A crucial skill is understanding the interrelationships within the community in order to adapt the company accordingly. There are crucial differences between new startups that focus on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) right from the start and established companies that only implement CSR later. PergenZ explains that companies that switch to social entrepreneurship at a later stage are often confronted with greater acceptance problems.

The role of CSR in social enterprises

Implementing CSR requires advanced management skills and can pose different challenges in a variety of social and economic contexts. Entrepreneurs must realistically align their vision with the needs of the community and develop solutions that are both socially and environmentally sustainable. Such approaches promote a deeper connection between companies and their communities.

The transformation from conventional agriculture to organic farming is often accompanied by conversion problems. This shows that companies that take responsibility for social issues at an early stage generally have fewer difficulties being socially accepted. Access describes how important these considerations are for promoting sustainable solutions in the economy.

It remains to be seen how “Communicorn” will raise awareness of these issues and deepen perspectives on social entrepreneurship.