“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
Why has Warby Parker been able to make such dramatic inroads against the behemoths in the long-established eyeglass market?
Why were the founders of Method able to turn the company’s fortunes around after a near disastrous product launch?
Amid the cacophony of online retailers, why has Etsy seen such explosive growth, with 2013 annual sales north of $1 billion?
Because they are social enterprises, operating from a strong social and environmental purpose that has enabled them to chart their strategies for growth, to build their brand identities, grow their bases of support, form empowering partnerships, and turn their customers into brand evangelists, all in ways that give them a distinctive competitive edge. They are but a few of the groundswell of innovative organizations that have proven the power of pursuing both profit and purpose.
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 organizations that range 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 the nuts and bolts methods they have used to design products and services that harness the power of purpose and to build on that foundation to grow their brand awareness and garner intense customer loyalty.
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. How finding the right opportunity catalyzes impact.
- DESIGN WITH HUMILITY. How prioritizing users creates breakthrough products.
- BUILD THROUGH HUSTLE. How rallying people creates critical momentum for launch.
- FUND BY COMMITMENT. How aligning funders around a vision creates committed partners.
- CONNECT WITH AUTHENTICITY. How authentic connection builds a movement.
- SCALE THROUGH COMMUNITY. How focusing on culture ensures smart growth.
- EVALUATE WITH HONESTY. How 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.
From the Back Cover
Why has Warby Parker been able to make such dramatic inroads against the behemoths in the long-established eyeglass market?
Why were the founders of Method able to turn the company’s fortunes around after a near disastrous product launch?
Amid the cacophony of online retailers, why has Etsy seen such explosive growth, with 2013 annual sales north of $1 billion?
Because they are social enterprises, operating from a strong social and environmental purpose that has enabled them to chart their strategies for growth, to build their brand identities, grow their bases of support, form empowering partnerships, and turn their customers into brand evangelists, all in ways that give them a distinctive competitive edge. They are but a few of the groundswell of innovative organizations that have proven the power of pursuing both profit and purpose.
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 organizations that range 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 the nuts and bolts methods they have used to design products and services that harness the power of purpose and to build on that foundation to grow their brand awareness and garner intense customer loyalty.
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. How finding the right opportunity catalyzes impact.
- DESIGN WITH HUMILITY. How prioritizing users creates breakthrough products.
- BUILD THROUGH HUSTLE. How rallying people creates critical momentum for launch.
- FUND BY COMMITMENT. How aligning funders around a vision creates committed partners.
- CONNECT WITH AUTHENTICITY. How authentic connection builds a movement.
- SCALE THROUGH COMMUNITY. How focusing on culture ensures smart growth.
- EVALUATE WITH HONESTY. How 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.
About the Author
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.
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