Why has Warby Parker been able to make such dramatic inroads against the behemoths in the long established eyeglass market? How has Method revolutionized the soap aisle? Amid the cacophony of online retailers, why has Etsy seen such explosive growth, with 2013 annual sales north of $1 billion?
These companies all have been disruptive because they are operating from a strong social/environmental purpose. They are proving a counterintuitive truth - purpose can drive profits. But it's not just innovative startups that are getting in on the action. Blue chip companies such as Nike, Coca-Cola and IBM are innovating within their organization to create a positive social and environmental impact globally.
This is not a trend. It's the future of business. Based on in-depth interviews with founders, Profit & Purpose profiles a number of the most successful pioneers of this new way forward, telling the stories of thirteen social enterprises ranging from non-profits like Charity:
Water and DonorsChoose.org, to for-profits, like Method and Burts Bees; from startups like Etsy and Warby Parker, to multinational corporations with market capitalizations in the hundreds of billions, like Coca-Cola, IBM and Nike. Kyle Westaway digs beneath the public stories of these organizations' success to reveal how they have harness the power of purpose.
Taking readers behind the scenes, he shows how these leading social enterprises progressed from concept to scale, how they overcame common pitfalls, and how they managed to find an optimal balance between their mission and their business mandates. Westaway reveals that though there is no magic bullet formula that guarantees success, there are seven core practices that distinguish these market leaders from the pack of contenders. They are:
DISCOVER THROUGH CURIOSITY // Finding the right opportunity catalyzes impact. DESIGN WITH HUMILTY // Prioritizing users creates killer products. BUILD THROUGH HUSTLE // Rallying people creates critical momentum for launch. FUND BY COMMITMENT // Aligning funders around a vision creates true partnerships. CONNECT WITH AUTHENTICITY // Authentic connection builds a movement. SCALE THROUGH COMMUNITY // Focusing on culture ensures smart growth. EVALUATE WITH HONESTY // Honest measurement ensures continual improvement.
Profit & Purpose takes the literature on social entrepreneurship an important step forward, providing the practical tools for turning good intentions into breakaway success.
By:
Kyle Westaway
Imprint: John Wiley & Sons Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 158mm,
Spine: 25mm
Weight: 408g
ISBN: 9781118708613
ISBN 10: 111870861X
Series: Wiley Nonprofit Authority
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 29 August 2014
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Acknowledgments ix Introduction xi Moving Beyond Shareholder Value xvi Moving Beyond Giving xvii A Better Way Forward xx Can I Really Do Well and Do Good? xxii How Social Enterprises Are Leading the Way xxiv What Sets These Social Enterprises Apart? xxviii Behind the Scenes xxx 1 Discover Through Curiosity 1 Identifying the Problem of Eyeglasses 2 Recognizing the Right Problem for You 6 A New Kind of Marketplace 13 Method to Their Madness 15 Inspiration at a Sleepy Roadside Stand 17 Innovation from Within 19 The Bumpy Path to Innovation 21 Africa's Moonshot 22 Key Takeaways 25 2 Design with Humility 29 Bringing Brilliant Design to the Poor 31 Letting the Users Guide You 34 Discovering You Need to Pivot 36 Don't Underestimate the Challenges of Distribution 37 You Don't Need to be an Expert 37 Embracing Challenges 41 User Testing Has Many Benefits 43 Knowing What to Outsource 43 Finding Early Adopters Takes Work 44 Creating Demand 45 Good News Travels Slow 46 Key Takeaways 48 3 Build with Hustle 51 The Intuitive Hustle 52 The Strategic Hustle 57 Best Laid Plans 59 Beating the Burn Rate 62 Simple and Sincere Can Work Wonders 68 Key Takeaways 70 4 Fund Through Commitment 73 Promoting a New Version of Capitalism 74 When Profit Trumps Purpose 75 The Benefits of the Benefit Corporation 76 The True Cost of Free Money 76 Smart Crowdfunding 78 Kickstart 80 Follow-On Funding 83 Going to the Well 86 Embrace 2.0 88 Vision Capital 91 Not Having to Ask for Money Again 94 Investing in the Ecosystem 97 Key Takeaways 98 5 Connect with Authenticity 101 Values Drive the Brand 103 Establishing the Brand Hierarchy 104 Give Them a Delightful Experience 106 Reworking One for One 107 Offer Delightful Experiences 108 Selective Partnerships 109 Hit the Road Jack 110 The Marketing Method to the Madness 111 Don't Talk at Your Customers, Listen to Them 118 Building a Community 119 Press Coverage Trumps Ads 120 Build Momentum with a Pre-Launch Campaign 121 Key Takeaways 123 6 Scale Through Community 125 Making a Mission Truly Meaningful 126 Keeping on Top of Employee Engagement 128 Wild Growth 131 Keeping the Magic Alive 133 The Limits of Hustle-Tough Decisions 134 Selling Doesn't Necessarily Mean Selling Out 135 A Road-Side Startup Goes Corporate 136 Dumpster Diving 138 A More Sustainable Supply Chain 139 Learning from the Big Guys 141 Becoming More Innovative 142 Sticking with Strengths 143 The Challenges of a New Location 146 Your Reputation May Precede You, But You Need Community Support 149 Key Takeaways 150 7 Evaluate with Honesty 153 Baking Metrics Into Your Process 153 Considered Design 154 Throw It Over the Wall 157 Measuring Your Footprint 160 Learning to Love Data Mining 161 Hacking Education 162 The Bigger You Are, the More Data You Have 164 Collecting Data Over Time 166 Key Takeaways 168 Conclusion 173 About the Website 177 Index 179
KYLE WESTAWAY is Founding Partner at Westaway & Co., an innovative Brooklyn law firm that counsels social entrepreneurs, and a Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School, where he co-teaches a course on social entrepreneurship. He writes on social innovation, entrepreneurship and emerging markets for The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, TIME and Quartz. He launched socentlaw.com, a blog on the legal side of social enterprise, and careerinbeta.com, a blog on the future of work. Kyle co-founded Biographe, a socially conscious fashion brand employing and empowering survivors of the commercial sex trade in Southeast Asia. He advises companies on social innovation strategy and speaks around the country on social entrepreneurship and the future of work. Kyle also serves as a mentor for Harvard's I-Lab and Praxis.
Reviews for Profit & Purpose: How Social Innovation Is Transforming Business for Good
Whether you're a scrappy startup or an established Fortune 500 firm, you can reap great rewards by tapping into the power of purpose. But how do you turn purpose into profit? Kyle Westaway reveals the secrets behind the success of purpose-drive market disruptors like Method, Warby Parker, and Etsy, as well as how giants such as IBM and Nike have harnessed the power through innovative product and brand development. Profit & Purpose provides an essential roadmap for all those seeking to crush it with purpose. -Gary Vaynerchuck, CEO of VaynerMedia, New York Times bestselling author For billions of people who live at the based of the pyramid (BoP) job opportunities and access to life enhancing products and services are top on their list of needs they value most. Social businesses are uniquely positioned to deliver these life-enhancing essentials to those the free market has traditionally left behind. Westaway's thought provoking book should be read by anyone who is interested in learning about how business can be harnessed as a force for good. -Jordan Kassalow, Founder, Co-Chairman, VisionSpring, on the Forbes Impact 30 List Kyle Westaway has the unique ability to distill complex ideas into simple authentic truths, and he's created a masterful gift in Profit & Purpose. -Adam Braun, Founder of Pencils of Promise and New York Times bestselling author