Liam Black is a UK based social entrepreneur, impact investor and writer. He is co-founder and the Chief Encouragement Officer of Wavelength a company with the mission of ‘changing the world for the better through business’.

Wavelength brings together leaders from a wide range of sectors and industries and his clients, members and partners include Rolls Royce, the BBC, Dyson, Lego, IKEA as well a global range of social businesses including Grameen, Aravind, and many community based organisations engaged in finding solutions to some of our societies toughest problems.

Liam has helped create and led a dozen social businesses including  Fifteen, which, with Jamie Oliver, he grew into a global brand. He also helped create and advises two investment funds: Impact Ventures UK and Ignite (created by energy giant Centrica) which between them are investing £50 million in social innovation.

Liam is the author of There’s No Business Like Social Business (2004) and in November 2014 published The Social Entrepreneur’s A to Z: On Anxiety, Leadership and Getting Enough Sleep which draws together the advice he gives the many young entrepreneurs with whom he engages around the world.

In this interview, Liam talks about:

• What it means to be a social entrepreneur
• The reality –and challenges-of fundraising for social good
• Lessons from the private sector
• The current state of the social entrepreneurship in the UK
• The importance of transferring knowledge across social businesses