I also have a SIB (Social Impact Business) team – SIB refers to groups of startups and companies in the social impact industries:
- Supporting women and children
- Supporting and creating jobs for the disadvantaged
- Supporting female leaders
- Supporting the underprivileged working class.
Models: Recycling, environment, supporting the elderly, children, social welfare, creating jobs for the less fortunate.
However, the biggest challenge for social impact businesses is to maintain their social impact DNA, rather than just using social media messaging to carry out business activities. That’s the difficulty. Founders must possess both a kind and compassionate heart; but they must also be able to calculate, think logically, weigh the pros and cons for the business, and manage finances transparently and clearly. Additionally, in the business world, a businessman cannot do without flexibility, quick thinking, and sometimes a little bit of…cunning. Once you become a business owner, regardless of the model, you will have to face the challenges of being a boss: managing the market, taxes, finance and accounting, transparency for shareholders, recruiting and training staff, building business systems, digital transformation, or navigating the challenges of a leader… We cannot just be called a SIB but not want to grow into a true and suitable leader for the organization we are leading and striving for. Because of this commercial nature, sometimes… the social meanings of SIB founders can be distorted and make the founders uncomfortable.
a) Choose economic success first, then help people.
b) Or choose to help people, but always need support from others, other organizations, other social activist groups?
From an economic perspective, I think:
- We must help ourselves
- Then help our colleagues and family
- Only then can we help society well.
Therefore, in this case, I think we need two brains to balance each other in a social impact business (SIB).
a) A brain and a heart to keep the philosophy, methods, and impact mission of the company intact, with a 70% focus on that and the remaining 30% on understanding economics and business to understand what your teammates and colleagues are doing for decisions related to building and development.
b) A business and economic brain, accounting for 70%, and the remaining 30% respecting the different social impact DNA that the company is pursuing.
I have a goal: for the SIB that our team is supporting to become a classic case study of a business that successfully combines social impact with strong business performance. It should be financially self-sufficient and capable of expanding, using its own funds to help many more people in similar unfortunate circumstances, rather than relying solely on NGOs or struggling to meet its own financial obligations.
I was also very touched by the founder’s story, seeing it from the perspective of someone who has been more fortunate than him and his colleagues in their journey.
However, from a business perspective, I think he need additional co-founders who are ‘sharks’ to support him in turning his SIB idea into a sustainable economic model in the future.
This deal is not a financial analysis, but just a sharing of some thoughts for others in the SIB – Social Impact Business field who are also going through similar feelings and experiences.
I wish you and your team a lot of luck and smooth sailing.
Our team is working on recycled plastics and has created several impacts:
- Encouraging female leadership: We advocate for women to hold at least 20% of voting positions.
- Demonstrating financial viability: We’re proving that our business model is financially sustainable enough to repay loans from venture capital firms, non-governmental organizations focusing on the environment, and even #CSR programs from large corporations as part of their responsibility to address the environmental impact of their commercial waste. This not only fulfills their own responsibility but also their responsibility (as FDIs) to the Vietnamese environment and society while doing business in Vietnam.
- Supporting the disadvantaged: We provide jobs for marginalized people, ensuring they feel respected in our workplace. Traditionally, society often overlooks and neglects these blue-collar workers. Who will be the one to reach out, support them wholeheartedly, and simplify complex procedures so they can follow factory regulations? It’s a challenging task, isn’t it? Differences in understanding and knowledge have caused them to fall behind the times and merely make ends meet, leading them to feel undervalued and rarely proud of their work. Through our team, their CVs can generate significant value while still ensuring their daily livelihood. Our team of two founders is quietly working and contributing. We haven’t been showing off. Once we achieve a Series A funding, we’ll make an announcement. Anyway, congratulations to the founder of the leather shop! I wanted to share a few thoughts, not just for you but also for other founders who might be going through similar experiences and can share their personal perspectives with other SIB teams. Keep up the good work!
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