From the small Butzbach make the world a bit better, and that through a simple homepage. This is what the Social Startup Magazine has set itself. The idea is to introduce companies that want to solve social or environmental problems.
A desk in the study of his apartment, a laptop, a second monitor, Christian Deiters does not need any more for his heartfelt affair. From his apartment in Butzbach he controls the platform Social-Startups.de. The website collects information for companies in the social field, and the so called Social Entrepreneurship.
On the page, initiatives and companies are presented, in theme weeks, priorities are set, such as the protection of bees. Then there are companies that care about the welfare of the insects, for example with beehives that can be placed anywhere, initiatives that protect bees or even a bee sauna that kills the deadly Varroa mite.
This is not only clear for the consumer, it also makes the idea developers known. There is also direct support for the founders, such as an overview with apps that can be helpful in founding, funding or tips for financing. Especially in the sustainable and social area, it is not so easy to get money, explains Deiters. In addition, the portal answers questions.
Frustration on Google Search
That the platform exists is due to a frustrating Google search by Deiters. He wanted to find out about social enterprises, but could not find a collection point for information. So he founded himself together with a friend social-startups.de as according to their own information first German language page for this division.
It has become an important contact point in the industry, because the idea of solving social problems entrepreneurially is still quite new. That’s where information is needed, explains Michael Wunsch. He heads the Frankfurt Social Impact Lab, which promotes social startups and networks the industry. Wunsch speaks of a welfare idea that is unique to all companies in the field. The new thing is to implement the desire for change with modern technologies and working methods.
Flower pots and cocoa sponsorships
According to the Social Entrepreneurship Monitor for 2018, which problems should be solved with a social startup can be quite different. So you can find on social-startups.de manufacturers of flower pots, which dissolve in the earth and avoid plastic waste or companies that can help cocoa farmers in Cameroon by tree sponsorships. For Christian Deiters, the idea to developers in social startups are the solution to many acute problems.
Social-Startups.de creator, Christian Deiters and the more than 20 editors of the portal at heart. You can tell by the fact that everyone volunteers for the site in their free time. And all from home, because the team is spread all over Germany. Deiters and his team are far from finished with their plans. Now they want to support social enterprises regionally stronger first in the university town Giessen.
Also published on Medium.