Sosense has matured and offers technology and consulting services for corporations, NGOs and foundations. 3 years after its establishment, Sosense is standing on its own two feet.
In 2010, the young entrepreneurs Patrik Elsa and Linus Gabrielson founded Sosense as a donation and crowdfunding platform. Very quickly they managed to gain the support of foundations, companies and private donors and by the beginning of 2011 they secured three years of funding from the Frey Charitable Foundation.
”We are very proud that we were able to enthuse the Frey Charitable Foundation with our ideas” says Patrik Elsa, CEO of Sosense. “FCF has not only offered us financial support over the years, but has also guided us with know-how and a valuable network in order to become a self-sustaining business. Without the support of the foundation of Rainer-Marc Frey, we would have been unable to achieve this milestone within such a short period.” With the completion of the start-up funds the Board of Advisors has positioned itself anew with Tatjana Frey withdrawing from the Board of Directors and Rainer-Marc Frey from the Advisory Board.
From the beginning, Sosense had the vision of building a business model that would enable the growth of a financially independent enterprise that simultaneously empowers social impact. “Very much like other Start- Ups, we needed to advance our business model and set aside some previous ambitions. It has for example become evident, that in Switzerland it is difficult to run a pure donation and crowdfunding platform focusing on Social Enterprises. Only a combination of a donation platform and the sale of the platform technology and the know- how related to its management, presents itself as a business model that can be sustainable.”
With the service offer Sosense Solutions, the young social enterprise is set out to use technology as its core area of competence. Many resources have been invested into developing this competence over the last three years and so now Sosense can offer companies, NGOs and foundations such technology to make their Corporate Social Engagement Initiatives and Fundraising Initiatives more efficient and professional. The first opportunity to apply the Sosense technology is in collaboration with the renowned Magrabi Foundation (http://magrabi.org) whose mission it is to address blindness in the Arabic countries, especially in the under-served areas. Other companies like PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) have also shown a great interest in the Sosense technology.
“With a combination of Technology service provision and a donation platform, we are surely working towards positive figures for 2013, and are preparing for an exciting expansion in 2014“, says Patrik Elsa.
