Joining The B Team
For a long time I’ve been fascinated by the intersection between entrepreneurship and social change. When I say that I’m not describing social entrepreneurship (a term I really don’t like; it’s not a subset of entrepreneurship, it’s simply “entrepreneurship”) or impact investing, at least not as they’re commonly understood in the current business lexicon. I really mean two things: The first is the application of entrepreneurial principles and startup techniques to solving critical, basic needs problems around the world (many of the companies I’ve worked with as a founding board member at the Unreasoanble Institute fall into this category, as one example). The second is that all businesses, regardless of the product or service they produce, can work to create positive change in their communities, including with their employees, vendors and partners (The Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado and more recently Pledge 1% are both great examples of organizations helping companies create positive impact in the communities in which they are building their businesses).
More recently I’ve become very interested in the B Corp movement. B Corps are for-profit companies certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. At the core of the B Corp movement is the idea that all companies share a duty for building responsible businesses. Responsible to their employees, to their customers, to their communities. I strongly believe that businesses that treat their constituents well attract and retain employees better, innovate faster, grow more quickly and create more value. I also believe that responsibility for creating a better world is something that can happen at all businesses – not as a side project or something that happens after your “core” work is done, but rather in the actions your business takes every day. By integrating responsible practices throughout an organization, companies can build better businesses while at the same time being agents for positive change in their communities and beyond.
This sort of thinking has been a part of Foundry Group since Jason, Ryan, Brad and I started the fund. In fact, before there was Foundry we got together to talk about our core operating principles. Things such as our “no assholes” rule, what we (along with our friends at Techstars) now call #givefirst, putting entrepreneurs first and including all of our employees (and Pledge 1%) in our carried interest all came out of these discussions. As we’ve operated our firm over the past 9 years we’ve expanded on these ideas and tried to further integrate them into our business and our lives.
It is with great pride that we announce that Foundry Group has achieved B Corporation Certification through B lab. We believe that with this action we’re codifying our long-held beliefs as well as setting an example for others in our ecosystems – fellow venture firms, startups and service providers – to consider doing the same. It’s great to talk about these principles. Becoming B-Certified is our way of showing that we’re truly happy living these principles.
We are also excited that two fellow Colorado venture firms – Colorado Impact Fund and Greenmont Capital Partners – are announcing their B-certifications alongside us. We will join 75 other B-Certified companies in Colorado and over 1,700 in nearly 50 countries around the world including well-known leaders New Belgium Brewing, Patagonia, Seventh Generation, Ben & Jerry’s, Kickstarter, Etsy, Warby Parker and Hootsuite. We also join notable tech B Corps in Colorado such as Rally Software (the first ever B-Corp to go public with that certification), Namaste Solar, Simple Energy, and dojo4.
At Foundry we believe that a group of people acting together towards a common goal can have a far greater impact than when they act alone. With this in mind we challenge everyone reading this to consider joining us in the B Corp movement. #BtheChange