What makes a social entrepreneur different from a traditional entrepreneur? At HBS Social Enterprise Initiative, we’ve continued to explore this question—and now, through a new free online HarvardX course developed and led by HBS Senior Lecturer Brian Trelstad, learners around the world can dive deeper into the principles and practices that drive social innovation.
Social Entrepreneurship and Systems Change examines how mission-driven leaders create lasting social impact by transforming broken systems. Through case studies and interviews with the protagonists, the course highlights how social entrepreneurs tackle challenges like climate change, the caregiving crisis, economic opportunity, and early childhood education—redefining the use of business tools as a force for a more just and sustainable world.
To mark the course launch, we spoke with Brian to learn more about what inspired this offering—and what learners can expect. Brian is a Senior Lecturer at HBS in the General Management Unit and the Faculty Chair of the Advanced Leadership Initiative. He teaches elective courses on Social Entrepreneurship and Systems Change and Investing for Impact, and the first-year required courses on the Social Purpose of the Firm and Leadership and Corporate Accountability. His research focuses on social entrepreneurship, systems change, impact investing, and the role of business in society.
How did the idea for this course come about?
A strategic pillar of the Social Enterprise Initiative is to democratize our content, so that instead of reaching a hundred MBAs a year, we might reach thousands of learners around the world. The goal was to create an on-line version of the course that I have taught in the HBS MBA Elective Curriculum, that distills the core principles into six modules, but uses the same case studies and protagonists that visit my class in the fall.
What value does this course offer to both HBS alumni and those outside of the HBS community?
For anyone involved with or seeking to start or scale an organization—for-profit or non-profit—the course will help you recognize and think through the common challenges, from new product development, to choosing the right legal form, to finding the right kind of capital, to measuring impact, to building collaborations to drive long-term change.
What are the biggest takeaways learners can expect?
The first is that social entrepreneurs are distinct from traditional entrepreneurs, and that their commitment to transform a broken system is what sets them apart. Second is that social entrepreneurs are implicit systems thinkers, whose understanding of the system gets more explicit as they engage in the work. And third, the course is built around the social entrepreneur’s roadmap, a framework that helps chart the various stages of building a social enterprise, but that recognizes the iterative and ultimately collaborative process by which long term change happens.
What do you see ahead for the field of social entrepreneurship?
While it is a time of great uncertainty with fluctuations in public spending and challenges to traditional philanthropy, now is a great time for social entrepreneurs to think about how to use scarce resources to drive measurable social and environmental change for the next generation.
Reimagined from his acclaimed MBA course in an accessible format, this new HarvardX offering brings HBS insights to learners around the world. Designed for those just starting out or leading an established venture, the course provides practical strategies to build and grow a social enterprise. Available now until May 2026, the course is free to audit or can be taken with a verified certificate on edX. Learn more and enroll here.
