The Unreasonable Institute for Social Entrepreneurs

Daniel Epstein is the co-founder of an organization with an unlikely name: The Unreasonable Institute. The institute in Boulder, Colorado has a mission to cultivate social entrepreneurs who are keen to solve pressing social problems while making some money too.

The Unreasonable Institute offers a six-week program that connects social entrepreneurs with one another, and enables them to network with business executives, investors and thought leaders who may be able to contribute to their endeavors. The institute's name is inspired from the famous George Bernard Shaw quote: "All progress depends on the unreasonable man."

The institute's core philosophy is that profit making businesses may sometimes achieve in areas where a nonprofit may falter. Epstein, who is already a serial entrepreneur at the young age of 25, says that the focus of the institute is to engage with aspiring social entrepreneurs who are willing to think big, despite the skepticism surrounding their approach.

The Unreasonable Institute's six-week program has many takers. This year more than 300 candidates vied for 26 seats. Previous attendees are all praises for the valuable networking opportunities that the program provides. Some of the attendees have even been able to get their social enterprises off the ground with this program.

Epstein, who founded the institute along with Tyler Hartun, 26 and Tenju Ravilochan, 24, says, "We select for-profit ideas that we think have the ability to meet the needs of at least one million people." The chosen social entrepreneurs include people such as Myshkin Ingawale, 28, of Biosense Technologies, a manufacturer of an innovative testing device for anemia in women and children; Jamie Yang, 31, who founded a social enterprise that sells rechargeable batteries through a portable power grid in Tanzania; and Luis Duarte, 30, who runs "I Recycle" in Mexico.

Cynthia Koening, 33, who attended the program this year, says that the institute's model is in contrast to the existing models of international aid. Cynthia's social enterprise Wello is based in India's desert state of Rajasthan, where it sells a cylinder-shaped product that enables women to roll water home from the source rather than carry it on their heads while walking long distances. Epstein believes that such socially innovative but market based solutions are critical to spurring economic growth in the developing countries.

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