Janson Photo by Justin Knight

Second-year student Carlin (“Carly”) Janson divides her time between studying at HBS and managing the Catalyst Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship (Catalyst Alliance), the Cambridgebased social enterprise consultancy she founded while working at Accenture. Catalyst Alliance helps nonprofit organizations develop sustainable strategies for effecting social change. With offices in Boston and San Francisco, the organization is developing plans to expand to Chicago and London.

What brought you to HBS?

The main reason was the Initiative on Social Enterprise, because I’m passionate — obsessed, really — about social entrepreneurship!

Where does this “obsession” come from?

My parents, probably. My father is a doctor, and my mother is a psychologist — both “caring” professions. I was raised to help others who did not have the opportunities that I had.

Has it been difficult working at Catalyst Alliance while attending HBS?

Sometimes I think I’m crazy! Actually, it’s worked out pretty well. The second-year curriculum is project-based, so I’ve been working with several teams of HBS students and Catalyst Alliance staff on a few strategic issues. For example, one team from my Entrepreneurial Management class is developing a fund-raising strategy in which we’ve identified a new mission focus. In the past, we were inclined to play up our association with Accenture, but our research indicates that it’s the partnerships we maintain with several business schools that differentiate us.

What do you do for fun?

I love movies. My favorite is Goonies! I’ve seen it about a hundred times. I also loved Endurance, the story of the Ernest Shackleton expedition to the Antarctic. They didn’t accomplish exactly what they set out to do, but what they did achieve was so much more incredible. They never gave up.

What are your post-HBS plans?

I plan to stay in this sector my entire life. I’d like to use Catalyst Alliance as a means to attract more MBAs into social nterprise — I want to contribute to making it as appealing as the private sector as a career choice.

— Nancy O. Perry

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