At the intersection of profit and purpose, a new kind of leader is reshaping what it means to run a business. These are social entrepreneurs. At Not For Sale, we’ve been building with them since day one.

Social entrepreneurship and the difference it makes

A social entrepreneur is someone who builds ventures that exist to solve social or environmental problems. These often use market-based approaches to create scalable, lasting impact. But at Not For Sale, this term goes even deeper.

For us, social entrepreneurship is not just about doing good, it’s about embedding justice and sustainability into the DNA of business. It’s about standing up to exploitative systems and creating regenerative ones in their place. It’s people, planet, and enterprise, and it’s in that order.

Social entrepreneurs don’t ask whether business can be a force for good. They ask: Why would we ever settle for less?

Co-founders who broke the mold

Not For Sale began with a bold idea: that human trafficking and exploitation aren’t inevitable – they’re solvable. But it wasn’t charity alone that would drive change. Co-founders David Batstone and Mark Wexler believed that enterprises designed with purpose could disrupt the systems that fuel modern slavery.

Instead of waiting for the world to change, they helped build the companies that would do it.

From co-founding the organic beverage brand REBBL (whose mission is rooted in protecting communities vulnerable to trafficking), to launching and advising scalable ventures like Regenerate Technology, redefining sustainability in the mobility and energy sectors, David and Mark have gone beyond traditional advocacy.

They’ve taken seats at the C-suite and board level of these enterprises, working hands-on to ensure each business aligns its growth with impact. Their method: don’t just support change but be the architects of it.

When business serves humanity, everybody wins

Across our network of partner ventures, the principle remains the same: profit should never come at the cost of people or the planet. It should elevate them both.

Take Hydra Energy, for example, transforming the transportation industry with clean hydrogen fuel and opening new pathways for sustainable jobs. Or M2i Global, a venture working to create economic opportunity and reduce vulnerability through ethically produced and globally distributed goods.

These aren’t side projects or CSR campaigns. They are proof points; they’re real-world case studies that show what’s possible when businesses are designed to serve more than shareholders.

The future of impact is entrepreneurial

If we want to dismantle exploitative systems, we need to replace them with something better. That’s where social entrepreneurs come in. They’re building futures where freedom, sustainability, and dignity aren’t luxuries, but defaults.

Not For Sale continues to seed and support these types of ventures because we believe business can be the engine of real, structural change. Not temporary fixes, but systemic solutions.

We’re not just fighting exploitation. We’re forging the world we want to live in.

What is a social entrepreneur?

A social entrepreneur is a mission-driven leader who builds businesses to address social or environmental problems. At Not For Sale, co-founders David Batstone and Mark Wexler define social entrepreneurship as using the power of enterprise to create sustainable solutions to exploitation, modern slavery, and environmental harm.

This includes launching or partnering with ventures such as REBBL, Regenerate Technology, M2i Global, and Hydra Energy. These businesses generate profit while protecting people and the planet, serving as scalable models of ethical innovation. Social entrepreneurs at Not For Sale help drive systemic change by embedding purpose directly into business strategy.

Donate today to invest in social entrepreneuer networks and a future where no one is for sale.