The Social Responsibility of Corporations — Intrapreneur Stories #10

Featuring Paul Ellingstad, intrapreneur at Hewlett Packard.

Featuring Paul Ellingstad, intrapreneur at Hewlett Packard.


It seems like every big corporation is involved in some sort of nonprofit project nowadays.

Being it donating unpronounceable amounts of money to NGOs, giving away their top-of-the-line products or raising their own foundations and social organisations, philanthropy is no longer just an altruistic action, but also a political game and a race to the best and biggest. Not that we’re complaining.

When he met Martin Burt, founder of Fundación Paraguaya, Paul knew that Hewlett Packard could do much more for these people. Together, they set on a journey to fight world poverty with Poverty Spotlight.

They developed a system that allows the foundation’s workers to gather a wide range of information in a fast, integrated and interactive way, using pictures, geotagging and analytics. HP’s Visual Survey Platform app saves several hours to the volunteers, and helps to pinpoint every family’s specific needs and best solutions.In the end, this joined venture turned out to be more than just a particular social enterprise. It became a commercial solution for some of HP’s largest clients.

Do you want to share your story with the community, or do you have a question for the next intrapreneur? Send an e-mail to afonsor@bundl.com.

In the Interview:

  • The start of the (ad)venture — 01:51
  • Falling in love with the problem — 05:11
  • The balance between trusting the concept and showing results — 07:38
  • Milestones & agility during the process — 09:31
  • Corporate politics and brand image — 12:50
  • From a philanthropical project to a profitable product — 14:24
  • The one decision that changed everything — 18:48
  • The status of intrapreneurship today — 21:27

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