Guest Session at the Startup Incubator: Analyzing and Scaling the Impact of Social Enterprises
2026-06-10 At the Holistic Impact Incubator (HOLII), founders spend six months developing their own impact-oriented business ideas until they are market-ready. The Leuphana Social Innovation Community held two workshops for HOLII participants on the topics of impact analysis and scaling.
How can founders effectively collect data to better understand and demonstrate the impact of their business ideas? And how can social innovations extend their impact beyond local boundaries? These were the questions addressed by the two workshops organized by the Leuphana Innovation Community on June 10 at the Körber StartHub in Hamburg as part of HOLII.
Twelve social entrepreneurs from various sectors came together to further develop their business and impact models in a targeted manner and explore paths to sustainable growth. The first workshop focused on the question of how progress toward desired impacts can be systematically monitored and evaluated. This is relevant for three reasons: first, for the social enterprises’ internal learning; second, for reporting to (funding) partners; and third, for communication purposes.
Using established methods from academia and practice, the founders identified which learning questions can lead their impact analysis and which indicators could help them both in their own development and in communicating with partners and funders. By the end, all twelve teams had initial plans for how they intend to gain insights from relevant stakeholders within a structured data collection plan.
The primary focus was on developing individual approaches that do justice to the often complex interrelationships between entrepreneurial activities and societal impact.
The second workshop addressed the question of how innovative solutions can be successfully scaled to tackle societal challenges on a larger scale.
Based on research insights and practical examples of successful scaling processes, the participants developed individual scaling canvases. These helped them reflect on their existing approaches, define concrete development goals, and devise appropriate strategies for the next phase of growth. The intensive exchange within the group opened up new perspectives and helped further refine existing concepts.
To conclude the workshop, the social entrepreneurs outlined their next steps to put the developed strategies into practice. It became clear that societal change does not arise solely from good ideas, but also from the courage to think bigger in terms of impact, as well as from the necessary resources and long-term commitment to sustainably realize that impact.