The aim of this study was to examine how work integration social enterprise (WISE) established their enterprises. To reach the aim we collected data through qualitative in-terviews from six persons with experience of starting a WISE. Four managers, one exec-utive and one consultant. The research focused on their experience of the enterprises’ start up periods. The research shows that the enterprise is searching for legitimacy from its surrounding but in different ways depending who they are interacting with. The research presented in this study also shows four different factors important to WISE in the estab-lishment process; relations, needs, personal resources and the story about WISE.

The field of the social economy and of the work integration social enterprises (WISE) in particular, is for many a more or less unknown area. Unlike ordinary enterprises the WISE's are different due to their aim of integrating disadvantaged people through work. In comparison with other small enterprises earlier research has shown that the WISE's are dealing with challenges regarding recruitment, participation, leadership, sustainable business ideas but above all, the access to funding. The purpose of this essay has therefore been to examine and analyze the financial situation of eight WISE's located in the Stockholm County. The results indicate that half of the enterprises perceive their economic situation as very unstable and as an obstacle to their further development. This perception seems to be more common among the younger enterprises which have not differentiated their businesses activities enough, which results in a greater reliance of the purchases of the public sector. The studied WISE's express a desire to reduce their dependence on the revenues from the public sector by increasing the revenues from other business activities, but this is something that has been proven to be both difficult and time consuming. In line with e.g. age, business maturation, expanded areas of business activities and increased knowledge, more funding opportunities seems to occur. A vast majority of the enterprises have a negative attitude towards external funding in terms of external equity capital, due to its presumable intrusion on the determination of the company. The field which WISE's are operating in is undoubtedly an important socioeconomic area since they react to one of the society’s most prominent problems; people in exclusion and all the problems the exclusion causes. The analysis of the examined enterprise's funding opportunities and its consequences are the main contributions of this essay as well as the further suggestions on how the WISE's financial situation can be improved.