Teaching Case: Social Entrepreneurs and Impact Investors: A Match Made in Heaven?—Case Study of Le Champignon de Bruxelles

This teaching case addresses the strategic choices of social entrepreneurs and the issues they face in search of funding. In the heart of Europe’s capital, Brussels, two aspiring entrepreneurs founded Le Champignon de Bruxelles to produce exotic mushrooms. Being true social entrepreneurs, they use a recycled substrate—brewery dredge—to do so, as such, minimizing the distance the mushrooms travel from farm to plate. After the typical “entrepreneur-in-the-basement” start, they are now at a turning point. They established themselves as a serious player in the market, producing over 6000 kg of mushrooms every month. This journey, however, did not come without its challenges. Along the way, they struggled to reconcile their idealistic mindset with the realities of the economic system and adopted a more pragmatic approach in response. At the moment, they are at a decisive moment in the company’s development and are contemplating whether their current business model should be diversified and internationalized.