About SVN
Social Venture Network connects, supports and inspires business leaders and social entrepreneurs in expanding practices that build a just and sustainable economy.
We work to achieve this mission by:
Convening CEOs and founders : We focus on building valuable peer-to-peer relationships among high-impact, innovative business leaders.
Bringing entrepreneurial thinking to everything we do : We helped incubate many of the world's leading organizations advancing sustainable business, including Business for Social Responsibility(BSR), Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), Net Impact and American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC).
Fostering an active collaboration model : We foster active collaborations among our members to create new ideas, partnerships and solutions.
Engaging members holistically : We support the entire person and develop both personal and professional leadership.
Continuing to pioneer a new path : With a 25-year history, we are the network of pioneers of socially responsible business. SVN and its members are innovating every day.
SVN's Value Proposition
SVN connects you to a growing community of innovative business leaders and social entrepreneurs to help you improve your business, enhance your leadership, and expand your impact.
The Story of Our Founding
Wayne Silby and Josh Mailman co-founded Social Venture Network 25 years ago. Silby and Mailman envisioned a platform to connect, inspire and support influential entrepreneurs who wanted to use business to create a values-driven and sustainable world.
The concept behind Social Venture Network might seem conventional today, but its beginning was the result of an uncommon vision. As Josh Mailman says, "We decided to build a new paradigm: one in which business operates to add value to society — without compromising the well-being of future generations."
SVN began in 1987 as a small group of value-oriented entrepreneurs and leaders who gathered for a meeting at Gold Lake Ranch in Colorado. Today, SVN is a highly influential network of accomplished, values-driven business leaders, social entrepreneurs, and impact investors.
Businesses and nonprofits have embraced this common vision. "People have started to merge business and social change," Mailman explains. "Social Venture Network helped to innovate that shift through its focus on values.”
Indeed, thanks to the visions and actions of the founders and hundreds of other innovators who are a part of the SVN community, socially responsible enterprises continue to thrive and grow throughout the United States and around the world.
Because of the connections forged amongst its members, Social Venture Network has incubated organizations like Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), Net Impact, Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), SVN Europe, and the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC).
Social Venture Network has helped thousands of entrepreneurs create more successful, responsible and sustainable enterprises.