Greg Starbird

Greg Starbird is a pioneer and leader in distributing goods and services to broad populations. He has deep, long-term involvement in multi-unit and franchised enterprises since 2003; millions of people have purchased goods or services through enterprises he has started, run, and/or closely advised. His work has included:

• Instigating the launch of networks of franchised medical clinics in multiple countries
• Creating playbooks in five industries, used by entrepreneurs replicating successful social business models
• Constructing customized What-If tools for entrepreneurs and investors/funders, dynamically interrelating 100+ factors
• Attracting corporate, philanthropic, and institutional funding
• Bridging technologies and business methods into new environments
• Unit-level profitability
• Non-profit / for-profit hybrids
• Social enterprise accelerator curriculum design & development
• Advising impact investors replicating social enterprises in new markets

Greg founded Starbird Consulting in 2016 as a vehicle to catalyze entrepreneurs, corporations, philanthropists, and nonprofits to use innovative business models and technologies to distribute life-enhancing goods and services to broad populations. Prior to running Starbird Consulting, Greg served as CEO of The HealthStore Foundation, an award-winning US 501(c)(3) organization whose CFW franchise network in Kenya has served over 5,000,000 people with life-saving primary care. Greg has also played key roles in developing and launching healthcare businesses in Ghana (2005-2006), Rwanda (2007-2011), and the DR Congo (2012-2014). Greg and Starbird Consulting have worked closely with Miller Center (world’s largest social enterprise accelerator) to create social enterprise “playbooks” used to train dozens of entrepreneurs around the world in last-mile distribution (2017), minigrids/off-grid energy (2018/2020), retail optical care (2019), and agricultural value chain businesses (2020). Through Starbird Consulting, Greg has also worked with clients who are inventing new impact investment vehicles to stimulate local lending to base-of-the-pyramid entrepreneurs, replicating impact-centric businesses in new geographical regions, etc.

Greg serves on The International Franchise Association’s Social Sector Franchising Task Force, and the Social Sector Franchising Initiative at the Center for Social Innovation & Enterprise, University of New Hampshire. He also served as a member of the Board of Directors of Zagaya, an anti-malaria organization that is the offshoot of Amyris, a public American company (NASDAQ: AMRS) whose technology has been used to produce tens of millions of doses of malaria medicine (ACTs) per year. Greg was the lead author of the recent Stanford Social Innovation Review feature article, “The Promise of Social Sector Franchising” in Spring 2021.