News From the Entrepreneur-to-Entrepreneur Network

For many of today’s top entrepreneurs, running a successful business is only part of their legacy. Increasingly, business leaders are seeking to have an impact on the world beyond their companies. And while traditional philanthropy is a classic route, many entrepreneurs want to have a more tangible...

In July 2024, Illai Gescheit, serial entrepreneur and member of Ashoka’s Entrepreneur-to-Entrepreneur Network , published an open letter to the tech and media community called “Let’s cover grants and catalytic funding as if they were venture capital deals.” A seasoned founder and investor himself...

What does it take to create large-scale, systemic change? Large, engrained systems, like a national education system, are exceedingly difficult to shift. This is in part because so many people from so many different backgrounds depend on it. And yet, if we bring together forward-thinking actors from...

Ashoka is excited to announce the induction of another new high-impact entrepreneur into the Entrepreneur-to-Entrepreneur (E 2 ) Network: Wemimo Abbey. Wemimo Abbey is the co-founder and co-CEO of Esusu, a fintech firm that fosters financial inclusion for the millions of Americans without access to...

Ashoka is thrilled to announce the induction of a new high-impact entrepreneur into our Entrepreneur-to-Entrepreneur (E 2 ) Network : Illai Gescheit. Illai is an Israeli entrepreneur, investor, and venture advisor living in London, U.K. He is passionate about bringing innovation to large and complex...

How many founders of Fortune 500 companies are driven from the start by a desire to do good? Philippe Villers founded Computervision, his industry-leading CAD company, in 1969 with the goal of using whatever money and influence he gained for social change. In 1981, he and his wife co-founded...

When transformative CEO, investor, and member of the Ashoka Entrepreneur-to-Entrepreneur (E2) Network James Rhee started writing his popular TED talk , he considered opening with questions about what we teach our children. “Maybe we should stop lying to our kids. Why don’t we just rewrite a lot of...

Friday, March 31st marked the Ashoka Entrepreneur-to-Entrepreneur (E 2 ) Network's first official, in-person convening. Called Meet the Change: Boston Edition , the event brought together our three newest E 2 Members, several Ashoka Fellows, as well as other changemakers from Ashoka's network. Below...

Over the past two years, the world’s wealthiest people grew their wealth by one third , despite mounting global crises like climate change and Covid-19. Some high-wealth entrepreneurs desire to use their resources to address the crises we face. To make a positive difference. And perhaps, to be just...

Drawing from insights gathered during a panel discussion she led during the Get WISER Summit , Ashoka’s Njideka Harry pens her thoughts and reflections on how women around the world are changing philanthropy. On the panel were distinguished guests philanthropist Lisa Greer , African Philanthropy...

James Rhee is a high school teacher, turned private equity investor, turned CEO/entrepreneur, turned movement builder. Deeply shaped by his life experience as the son of immigrant Korean caregivers, James led the much-acclaimed reinvention of the company Ashley Stewart, with a unique focus on human...

Chinedu Echeruo is a New York City-based serial entrepreneur. His slew of start-ups includes HopStop, a transit navigation app he sold to Apple in 2013. Most recently, he has intensified his study of natural sciences—especially physics—in a quest to re-design organizations. His aim is to align how...

What is great leadership? Bob Chapman has been pursuing this question as the CEO and Chairman of Barry-Wehmiller, an industrial manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, that was founded in 1885. When Bob inherited the company in 1975, it had $20 million in revenue and a...