For budding social entrepreneurs trying to get their ideas off the ground, the question of business-first versus mission-first is often at the forefront. Do you start with a strong vision for social change and build from there, or do you start with a strong, successful business and eventually tweak its direction towards social change?

Starting a business is hard. Starting a business that attempts to solve large-scale social problems is even harder.

But that hasn’t stopped the most idealistic and ambitious entrepreneurs from trying. In fact, over the last five years, social entrepreneurship has increasingly become the motivation behind startup business plans and a point of consideration in corporate boardrooms. Whether they’re tackling world hunger, improving education or helping people rent out the things they aren’t using, companies of all sizes are seeking ways to make positive change in the world.

As the social innovation movement has grown, so has the interplay — and in some cases tension — between business model and mission. Entrepreneurs trying to both make money and benefit a social mission are often playing a game of chicken and egg, having to decide which comes first: their social cause or their bottom line.

Check out Catherine Clifford’s full piece here.