We are pleased to present Dorota Nowicka’s article, which appeared in the latest (and third!) report, “Positive Impact Startups 2021. Radical Social Innovation,” prepared by Koźmiński Business Hub. Dorota Nowicka has been a member of the Positive Figures Panel since the first edition of the Ranking and manages social innovation projects at the Foundation.
The publication of this latest report was a special day for the Foundation, also because it marked the launch of a new version of the Dobry Rynek platform – a free tool for promoting exceptional companies that prioritize responsibility, finding solutions to growing social challenges, building business relationships based on trust and reliability, striving for environmental neutrality, and sharing resources to support others or valuable initiatives. These are the values on which #DobryMarket and #NurtPozytywnegoWpływu are based.
Let’s read the article.
*** Mindfulness and Responsibility
Every change we observe is reflected in the language we use to describe it. We need new words and phrases. Some time ago, thanks to the “Positive Impact Startups” ranking, this very concept entered our language.
Each new edition of the ranking arouses curiosity: which companies will be included this time? We look at their services, look for innovations in production methods, and notice that they want not only to sell but, above all, to solve specific social challenges. We pay attention to the scope and scale of their operations. We estimate revenues, assess the company’s attractiveness to potential investors, and so on.
When we examine the startups in the ranking, something else catches our attention, something that lies at the heart of all these business ideas. Behind every company or brand stands a person and their story, a sense of responsibility, passion, determination, and mindfulness. Today, we especially need this mindfulness and responsibility. The new reality, as some describe the coronavirus pandemic, could be a generational experience. It is also a significant test for many companies.
A fundamental issue for businesses is staying afloat, but another, no less important, as life demonstrates, is whether and how we have cared for others during this time. This question isn’t so much about the resources available to the company, but above all, about mindfulness and concern for others. We also see this approach in the people who founded the startups we selected. A consequence of the trend they have become a driving force is a positive change in the market.
We see a growing number of companies that don’t limit their negative impact but rather, from the very beginning, aim for a positive, social impact (it’s impossible to avoid the English borrowing – social impact).
This is the essence of change. Our habits are changing, we are becoming different consumers, we are buying more responsibly. The idea we believe in and want to support is becoming increasingly important.
It is us, responsible customers and consumers, that startups need to grow. Let’s look for them when planning our purchases and promote them in our activities. We’re increasingly seeing startups with a positive impact in the field of social innovation. At the Cooperation Fund Foundation, we’ve created platforms like skyrocketplatform.eu and dobryrynek.pl for companies like these.
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The Good Market Project is an initiative of the Cooperation Fund Foundation, supported from the outset by Professor Bolesław Rok from Kozminski University and Better/Goodbrand.
