The Impact Entrepreneur Breakthrough: A Field Manual for the Regenerative Economy

The Impact Entrepreneur Breakthrough: A Field Manual for the Regenerative Economy

The extractive economy is failing. The regenerative economy is being built. This is the definitive field manual for entrepreneurs, investors, and changemakers ready to stop tinkering with a broken system—and start building what replaces it. When Laurie Lane-Zucker coined the term impact entrepreneur in 2011, he named an emerging movement. Fifteen years later, that movement has reached a breakthrough. The Impact Entrepreneur Breakthrough maps how to join it. Part manifesto and part operating manual, this book shows how enterprises, ownership, capital, markets, security, and culture must transform together—and provides practical tools to begin immediately. Drawing on three decades at the forefront of impact investing and regenerative economics, Lane-Zucker introduces powerful new frameworks, including the Five Pillars of Real Security, the Prevention Dividend, and Defense as a Service—reimagining protection as shared resilience rather than fortified isolation. You’ll learn to design enterprises that heal communities and ecosystems; - structure ownership so mission survives growth and succession; - deploy capital for long-term resilience; - rethink risk through prevention and collaboration; and - translate regenerative values into concrete strategies and decisions. Each chapter moves from analysis to action, with real-world applications from practitioners already building the Impact Economy. The breakthrough is happening now. The question is whether you’ll participate. “The most comprehensive and compelling vision I've ever seen for how business can regenerate—not just repair. I thought I understood the landscape, but Lane-Zucker reveals possibilities I hadn't even imagined.” —Jeffrey Hollender, cofounder of Seventh Generation; Adjunct Professor, Stern School of Business, New York University “A groundbreaking and motivational manual—it opens new horizons for the vision of the entrepreneur. A brave vision for creating value and justice for all relations: the co-owners, the community, the customer, the environment, society, and the generations to follow.” —Tom Chappell, cofounder of Tom's of Maine and Rambler's Way “This dire moment calls for deep commitment, and this book illuminates not just the best practices of impact entrepreneurship but a wider notion of how we can rebuild culture, markets, and ourselves to enable the future we want.” —Jason Jay, Senior Lecturer and Director, MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative “The problem isn't a lack of good intentions—it's the systems themselves. This book names what I've seen after decades in the field: We've been trying to solve systemic problems one venture at a time. A field manual for building movements, not exceptions.” — Sarah Holloway, five-time impact entrepreneur; faculty and Director, MPA, School of International & Public Affairs, Columbia University “Lane-Zucker’s book makes a compelling case that our current economic system is driving both social and ecological collapse—and offers a clear path forward. A vital guide to moving from extraction to regeneration and finding your role in building an Impact Economy before it’s too late.” — Judy Wicks, local economy pioneer and author of Good Morning, Beautiful Business “This important work cuts through the rhetoric of ‘doing good’ to show where justice in entrepreneurship actually lives: in ownership, governance, and capital. A clear, rigorous field manual for building enterprises designed for equity and regeneration.” — Latha Poonamallee, Professor of Management and Innovation, Parsons School of Design, The New School Laurie Lane-Zucker is founder and CEO of Impact Entrepreneur, an impact economy business that hosts the Impact Entrepreneur Network—a large, global network of systems-minded entrepreneurs, investors, consultants, and scholars of social and environmental innovation. He is also editor and publisher of the digital magazine Impact Entrepreneur and host of the Building an Impact Economy webinar series. He has been a pioneer in sustainability, social enterprise, and impact investing for 35 years. He was the founding executive director of the international environmental organization Orion Society, founder of the global sustainability think tank Triad Institute, and founder of Hotfrog (a founding B Corporation).