Profit or not-for-profit?

What did you wish you knew before starting a social enterprise?

My partner and I had the opportunity to contribute to a panel last Wednesday with the founders of some great organizations:  Pieter Dietz from My Social Actions, Aleece Germano, founder of The S.W.A.P Team as well Lucie Chagnon, an Ashoka fellow and President of Commodus: Concilliation travail famille.

The panel discussion, which led to some heated debates, was part of a sold-out two-day social entrepreneurship conference organized by YES Montreal that provided some much needed (and particularly hard to come by) guidance for young social entrepreneurs.  I'd thought I'd share some of the main ideas/debates, on this page...