“I want to see skilled people dare to go into a social project”
–John Bird

Name: John Bird
Age: 61
Business: The Big Issue
Role: Founder and editor-in-chief of The Big Issue
Where: Started in London, now nationwide

He still writes a column in the magazine each week and has led its expansion into places like Tokyo, as well as working on numerous other ventures, including the Wedge Card. This is the loyalty card that encourages people to shop locally through a discount scheme, which also raises money for charity.

The inspiration for the magazine came from Street News, a newspaper sold by homeless people in New York.

It works through homeless people registering with the Big Issue to become vendors, they have to sign a code of conduct and they’re given 10 free magazines to start them off.

After that, they only get what they can pay for, and managing money becomes an important issue, although the business does run a bank to help the workers save money.

Any post investment profits the Big Issue generates are invested into its charity wing, The Big Issue Foundation.  

John fills us in on his childhood and what he thinks makes someone a good social entrepreneur

click here to read John's blog