Failure with Impact: An Open Discussion on Setbacks in Social Entrepreneurship
2026-09-17 Failure is part of being an entrepreneur—even in social entrepreneurship. At the Community Day at Utopia Lüneburg, social entrepreneurs joined the Leuphana Social Innovation Community to share experiences, challenges, and insights related to failure.
With an impulse talk on the topic “Failure with Impact,” Robert Hoyer - who conducts research on failure in social entrepreneurship - provided food for thought to spark a collective discussion. The focus was on the challenge of reconciling social and economic goals, as well as the particular psychological strain that can arise when social entrepreneurs feel a sense of responsibility toward the people they aim to support.
In a safe and trusting environment, participants were able to speak openly about their failures, learn from one another, and develop new perspectives on how to deal constructively with failure.