The Investable Social Entrepreneur

Introducing Builder Capital

Why have we written the book?

We want to see a world where those social enterprises capable of providing alternative, innovative and thorough business solutions to social need are able to access capital which provides them with the capacity they require and buys them time to find and develop markets for the social impact they can deliver.

In the book we describe the reality of current social finance funding from the standpoint of the social enterprise. We explain why we think the money that is currently on offer doesn’t fit with what is required – it is the wrong sort of money.

The authors have each applied over 2 decades of experience, respectively as a social enterprise practitioner, and as a professional investor, to understand what the right sort of money for funding social enterprise will look like. We call this money Builder Capital.

This book explains what Builder Capital is, why it is needed, the difference it will make and how we plan to contribute to the development of a market for it.

Who should read it?

• Experienced social entrepreneurs who are leading enterprises that trade to meet social need, looking for investment that will enable them to achieve sustainability.
• Investors who want to use their money to solve social problems and to create a lasting legacy while doing so.
• Anyone who wants to understand why the social finance market does not currently meet the funding needs of most social enterprises in the UK.

What is the book about?

In the book we describe why we believe that Builder Capital is the key to enabling more social enterprises to achieve sustainability while at the same time providing investors with the opportunity to see their money do much more than just generate a financial return.

We show how both of these can be achieved.

By providing the right sort of money to social enterprises at appropriate stages of their development Builder Capital will be a significant contributor to growth of the social investment market over coming years.

We explain what we think is required to make that happen and how we are planning to contribute to the development of this much needed new market.

About the Authors

Robbie Davison is the Director of Can Cook CiC.

Robbie started his social enterprise work in the 1980’s. A founder member of the Furniture Resource Centre, he spent 7 years developing various aspects of that model.

In career moves that were both in the Third and Public Sector his roles have always specialized in creating and/or leading initiatives that were wholly focused on treating the problems associated with inner city deprivation.

He has raised £millions to facilitate social programmes/enterprise, accessing money from European & Central Government, regional, sub-regional, charitable and private sources.

In 2007 he created Can Cook, an enterprise established from work with a Sure Start programme and dedicated to changing food behaviours of people through cookery and training. Can Cook has since trained over 11000 people and has had its social impact independently measured by City University, London. Can Cook also has an incubator kitchen, a street food wagon, caters in a nursing home, campaigns on the issue for food poverty and is in the process of setting up COOKED - a fresh meal delivery service for adults and children in their homes or in care settings.

Directly related to this work, Robbie has an MA (DIST) Social Enterprise.

He is the author of: Does Social Finance Understand Social Need?

Robbie can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Helen Heap is an independent social investment analyst and the founder of Seebohm Hill Ltd.

Helen spent more than 2 decades working in the financial services industry as an analyst, equity salesperson and investor, mostly in Japanese equities.

Her career started at Abbey Life where she analysed companies and managed equity portfolios, including one of the very first socially responsible investment funds, The Ethical Trust. While working at Goldman Sachs, in both London and New York, Helen was involved in selling Japanese shares to institutional investors around the world. At Sloane Robinson she was responsible for selecting stocks for Japanese portfolios and was Head of Sector Research.

Seeking a change in direction, Helen spent 2011 working with a number of social enterprises, social investors and the Cabinet Office in roles involving the measurement and reporting of social value.

In 2012 she joined employment charity Tomorrow’s People as Social Investment Manager. It was in this role that she met Robbie Davison and together they have co-authored two papers on social finance:

Can Social Finance Meet Social Need?

Financing Social Enterprise - The Role of Builder Capital

Helen went freelance in July 2013 and established Seebohm Hill later that year.

Helen can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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