Med startup for an accountant: social systems view on knowledge- intensive social entrepreneurship

Have you seen the film “Extraordinary Measures”, depicting the story of John and Aileen Crowley? With two children diagnosed with a rare disease, they raise the funds and build a company to develop the drug and bring it to the market. This movie is based on a real story, and, however strange it sounds, not a rare one. Philanthropies started by parents are becoming a major player in the orphan drug market, and their stories are numerous. We aim to contribute to a better understanding of this phenomenon and uncover how people without relevant knowledge launch social ventures in knowledge-intensive industries. We start with a case of a CEO of a biotech company developing gene therapy treatments for orphan diseases. Ten years ago she worked as an M&A consultant when her newborn daughter was diagnosed with a rare disease. She had no prior experience or knowledge in biomedical technology field, nor had she experience in building a high-tech business. The venture creation was fueled by the desire to help her child and other families affected by rare diseases. We employ a longitudinal analysis of multiple case studies. We find evidence for a crucial role of social networks at the initial phase, and that of cultural (industry logic) and strategic (strong legitimacy) capital during development. We further find that venture goes from problem solving towards opportunity exploitation when all capitals are well developed with focus on cultural and strategic capitals. These findings may serve better understanding of how opportunities develop in the field of social entrepreneurship.