vid 5

Impact Investment & Social Enterprise

• Impact incubators and VCs prioritize impact and sustainability over financial returns.
• Impact VCs face a conflict: fiduciary responsibility to investors requires generating returns to avoid liability.
• Traditional VC fee structures (2 & 20) incentivize growth, possibly harming social impact.
• Snowball Impact Management, a fund of funds, reformed fees by eliminating carried interest and basing management fees on middle-class salaries/pensions. Excess returns are recycled into the fund.
• Impact VCs often resist fee reforms despite acknowledging their relevance.
• Social entrepreneurs frequently face pressure to sell, often citing impact scaling as the primary driver.
• Founder-led companies with non-profit structures (e.g., Steward ownership) mitigate the pressure to sell.
• Philanthropy can be inefficient due to lack of transparency and democratic process in wealth distribution.
• Philanthropy can be used for political influence, solidifying the power of wealthy donors.
• Tax-deductible donations to elite causes can drain funds from crucial needs.
• Corporate social responsibility (CSR) might mask unsustainable practices with charitable activities.

Post Growth Entrepreneurship

• Post-growth rejects continuous economic growth as the primary goal.
• The Club of Rome's 1972 "Limits to Growth" report, using the "World3" simulation, predicted consequences of unchecked growth (e.g., resource depletion).
• Recent research confirms the accuracy of the "Limits to Growth" model; the real world mirrors the "business as usual" projected trajectory.
• The report estimated humanity would reach growth limits by 2072.

Growth: Discussion & Alternatives

• The discussion of sustainable growth and planetary limits is longstanding.
• Tim Jackson (University of Surrey) explores the limits of economic growth in "Prosperity Without Growth" and "Post Growth."
• The Post Growth Institute, founded by Donnie McClurkin and Jennifer Hinton, educates on post-growth concepts ("free money day," "enrich list").
• The degrowth movement aims to thrive in a shrinking or slower-growing economy, similar to post-growth but with a specific focus on shrinking economic activity.
• Henry David Thoreau's Walden Pond experience represents an early degrowth ethos.
• The degrowth movement gained momentum in France in the 1970s with figures like André Gorz, Serge Latouche, and Nicolas Georgescu-Roegen.
• E.F. Schumacher's "Small is Beautiful" (1973) questioned the obsession with endless growth and promoted smaller scale economies.
• Jason Hickel's "Less is More" discusses degrowth in a modern context, highlighting resource consumption and environmental concerns.
• Kate Raworth's "Doughnut Economics" sets a framework for balancing social needs and planetary boundaries.

Post-Growth Entrepreneurship

• Post-growth entrepreneurship creates a post-growth economy through individual business practices.
• It aims to build "non-extractive businesses" avoiding resource and human exploitation.
• Post-growth entrepreneurship emphasizes bootstrapping, flat growth, and non-extractive practices.

Main Elements of Post-Growth Entrepreneurship

• The core of post-growth entrepreneurship is "non-extraction," focusing on value creation without profit extraction.
• Sustainable bootstrapping supports non-extractive practices.
• Instead of pursuing SDGs, the focus is on creating social utility in "boring but necessary" businesses by eliminating profit extraction.
• "Ethics by Design," incorporating ethical practices and sustainability from the start, is essential.

Challenges & Examples

• Implementing post-growth principles in existing businesses is difficult due to entrenched structures, shareholder expectations, and corporate culture.
• Yvonne Chouinard's transformation of Patagonia into a climate foundation exemplifies a successful non-extractive transition.
• Continual vigilance and critical analysis are vital for sustaining ethical and non-extractive practices in businesses.

Fair Compensation & Key Stakeholders

• Determining fair compensation is complex and context-dependent.
• Examples include the "Balkenende norm" (maximum income cap) and pay ratios (CEO-to-lowest-paid employee comparison).
• Talent and skill deserve reward independently of location.

Post-Growth Entrepreneurship: Who & Why

• Post-growth entrepreneurship is relevant for startup founders, incubation ecosystems, governments, non-profits/NGOs, the creative sector, and even those reluctant to enter entrepreneurship.

Post-Growth Entrepreneurship Incubator

• The Post-Growth Entrepreneurship Incubator, operated by "Non-profit Ventures," provides support for startup founders focusing on practical post-growth applications.
• Three cohorts (12–15 founders each) have explored applying post-growth principles in real-world contexts.
• The first cohort was in-person on Terschelling, combining personal development and startup bootcamp elements for holistic thinking.
• Online cohorts (2021, 2022) broadened participation globally.

Monica's Story: Sister Speaks & Heels for Pads

• Monica, a social entrepreneur from Nairobi, runs two businesses:
  • Sister Speaks (for-profit): women's events and merchandising.
  • Heels for Pads (non-profit): promoting menstrual health and hygiene.
• Sister Speaks cross-subsidizes Heels for Pads financially.
• Heels for Pads uses a "high heel trade" to collect and distribute sanitary products, emphasizing inclusion, gender equality, and female empowerment.
• Heels for Pads is working towards tech-driven solutions (e.g., dispensers, games, videos).
• Monica emphasizes the importance of business model canvases, impact goals, networking, and knowledge sharing.
• The Post-Growth Entrepreneurship Incubator aided Monica in developing an impactful business model and networking.