Rubicon Bakery is deservedly famous for its 12-layer chocolate cakes and other rich confections that generate some $2 million annually in sales. Each sale helps underwrite job training and other programs for poor and disenfranchised people. This social enterprise works wonders for the 4,000 people in the San Francisco area that Rubicon Programs reaches annually with its bakery and landscaping businesses, along with its housing, mental health, legal aid, and other social services. But for those who are down and out in most other communities, chances are slim of finding the same kind of help. After 23 years at the helm of Rubicon Programs, Rick Aubry has decided it’s time to take “the next big leap forward,” and design social enterprises that can succeed on a national scale. “Most social enterprises have remained local or at best regional,” he says. Goodwill Industries and the Salvation Army are rare exceptions, both using a thrift shop model that’s more than a century old. Figuring out what those national solutions might look like is the task facing Rubicon National Social Innovations. The best fit for scaling, Aubry predicts, will be a sustainable idea that fills a widely occurring need. Similar to for-profit franchises,…