Dear aspiring change-maker, future and current social entrepreneurs
Tip no5: Embrace Your Identities
Until recently, I hadn’t truly paused to reflect on my identities. One of the most powerful aspects of my fellowship with Acumen Academy has been exploring the stories we tell, about ourselves and about others. This journey has prompted me to consider the many identities I hold.
I am the youngest child (something I never thought of as an identity, but it’s shaped me deeply), a migrant, a husband, gay, a human rights activist, a brother, a son, a dog rescuer, a blogger, Italian, an animal lover, a “multipotentialite” (referred to in the TED talk in the resources below) a social entrepreneur, and many more I’m still discovering.
Each one of these identities could inspire its own blog. But today, I want to focus on being a social entrepreneur.
My First Social Enterprise
I launched my first social enterprise when I was six.
I was lucky to grow up in the countryside outside Padova, in northeast Italy. Our home had space, space that I turned into a sanctuary for animals. I fenced off 100 square meters of our garden and called it theirs. I even created a small lake in the middle, which seemed like a great idea… until the summer heat turned it into a smelly mess. Even the ducks avoided it!
I had parrots, rabbits, canaries, guinea pigs, a goat, hens, ducks, squirrels, fish, turtles, you name it. I’m not sure whether my parents were thrilled or just relieved that my animal obsession kept me out of trouble.
I loved feeding them, playing with them, watching them grow—and, yes, reproduce. Ducklings, baby chicks, rabbits—it was pure joy. But with that joy came real costs. Food wasn’t cheap, and eventually my parents gave me a choice: either stop expanding, or figure out how to fund it.
That’s when my entrepreneurial instincts kicked in.
I began selling some of the animals to friends and local pet stores. This way, I could earn money to buy food, make space for new arrivals, and bring joy to other kids who bought my animals.
I even had a unique selling point: I discovered that feeding cooked egg yolk to parrots led to bright yellow chicks, a rare colour that pet shops loved. I remember getting in the car with my mother, cage in hand. She’d wait outside while I negotiated with the shop owner. I’d return with an empty cage and a fistful of liras (6,000 per parrot—I felt like the richest kid in the neighbourhood!).
Even back then, I had a system. I’d choose some animals to sell, the healthy, vibrant ones. And I’d keep others, the ones that were fragile or looked different. In a way, I was using the income from the beautiful parrots to support the underdogs.
This venture lasted well into my teens. Rachele the rabbit (who grew to be the size of a beagle), and Reginetta, my black hen with the golden crown (who may have had dementia, laying one egg and sitting on it forever), lived long and memorable lives.
Looking back, I realise I was already a social entrepreneur. I just didn’t have the language for it. I felt pride. I felt purpose.
Losing (and Reclaiming) the Title
Between my teenage years and my thirties, life happened. University, a couple of master degrees, moving across countries. Somewhere along the way, I disconnected from my early entrepreneurial spirit. I even flirted with the idea of working for a hedge fund.
I did meaningful work during those years, but something always felt… off. I couldn’t quite name it, but there was a quiet misalignment. I certainly wouldn’t have called myself a social entrepreneur.
That changed in 2012, when I founded Micro Rainbow—a social enterprise that would become the UK’s largest provider of housing for LGBTQI people fleeing persecution. I was 34.
And yet, even then, it took me nearly a decade to fully claim the identity of social entrepreneur. It felt like a fraud. I didn’t think I’d “earned” the title.
So, what shifted?
Proving the model worked. Earning investor trust. Innovating. Building financial sustainability. That validation gave me the confidence to name the identity I’d long been living.
But if I’m honest, I miss some of that childhood naïveté. The joy of small wins. The thrill of 6,000 liras in my pocket. The clarity of knowing what I loved and doing it wholeheartedly.
In many ways, given the risks I took when I created Micro Rainbow, perhaps I was more of a social entrepreneur 13 years ago than I am now. Back then, my husband and I had our savings on the line. I had no roadmap: just a dream, conviction, and a willingness to risk it all.
Now, we’ve raised millions. We have a strong track record. I earn a good salary. Our savings are safe. Surely it’s easier now?
It isn’t.
Because being a social entrepreneur isn’t about ease or balance sheets. It’s about dreaming of a better world and having the courage to pursue that dream, with or without a safety net.
Today, the difference is that I can finally own the title. I can say: I am a social entrepreneur. I always was.
Claiming Your Own Identities
As I reflect on my journey as a social entrepreneur, I realise how much it would have helped to stay connected to my younger self, to explore my identities, to embrace the story of who I was becoming.
If you’re beginning this journey yourself, here are some resources and questions that might support you:
- Brené Brown’s book: The Gifts of Imperfection.
- Emily Wapnick – Why Some of Us Don’t Have One True Calling (TED Talk) I believe many social entrepreneurs are “multipotentialites”!
And here are five coaching questions:
- What are your identities?
- What stories do you want to change about yourself?
- What have others told you about your identity that you want to keep? What do you want to release?
- Which identities are yours to claim?
- What stories do you want to tell about yourself?
Your story is made up of many parts. Embrace them all.
I hope you enjoyed this blog! Let me know if it sparked any reflections. If you’d like to stay updated, feel free to sign up for my monthly newsletter on LinkedIn as well.
With my very best wishes for your purpose driven career,
Sebastian
PS. For more tips, see the Build a Social Enterprise Blog
@sebastianrocca @buildasocialenterprise
