I agree Anna, Lush is awesome! This is a great example of how a company can be profitable and have a strong positive impact on the world. Lush is very favorable among its young clientele and perhaps this is an example of how businesses will need to operate in order to be successful with younger customers. (https://www.forbes.com/sites/walterloeb/2017/04/07/lush-beauty-taking-the-industry-by-storm-thanks-to-young-love/) . In general millenials and younger generations are more concerned with buying products that have a positive impact. Any business that has strong corporate social responsibility efforts while remaining profitable is sure to do well with this segment.
Great point Andrew. I work for JPMorgan Chase (JPMC) and a few months ago our CEO, Jamie Dimon, explicitly called out this problem in his annual letter to shareholders. He mentioned that JPMC has a responsibility to hire from this talent pool because to help successfully integrate these people back in to society. Dimon often speaks about political and societal issues and I thought it was awesome that he spoke to the issue of recidivism. Hopefully more CEOs follow in his steps and look to hire these individuals.
I agree that I think there should be some sort of industry standard or regulation around cybersecurity. However, it is important to recognize potential adverse affects of this on innovation. The more regulated things become, the tougher it can be to innovate in a space and quickly make changes. Working for technology in a bank, I can see the effects of this firsthand.
I donāt know the right answer as to how some sort of standards would be created and it is an extremely difficult problem to solve. Maybe it could operate in a tranche model where startups/companies of different sizes/user bases would have to increase their security as they grow?
I hadnāt really heard much about this ābuy one, give oneā concept before encountering these great examples on this discussion board. The examples of companies that seek to address inequalities in race, gender, class, etc. seem particularly useful. I wonder if such social entrepreneurship will help companies like Cora compete more effectively with larger companies like P&G, or if these larger companies will simply appropriate these ideas (or if Cora will be content to remain a niche competitor). At any rate, the idea is a powerful change from the BOGO model, where weāre encouraged to think about how much we as consumer are getting (e.g., two-for-one iPhones).
In my own field, in education, a criminal record is also usually a deal breaker. While this makes sense to a certain extent (depending on the crime), ex-cons might also teach students some valuable lessons about life choices.
John, good question about whether social entrepreneurship will help companies compete against The Big Guys. This is something I struggle to understand because although the product and mission is great, how can a company (not sure of its size) compete when itās giving away product with every sale? Iām sure the production costs work out in the end, but Iāve always wondered about that. The BOGO concept definitely isnāt for all companies, so as long as they can do it profitably I think it will continue to differentiate them.
Interesting article Matt. Iām going to be honest, Iāve never really known that this was such a big issue for us. However, it makes me happy that even the CEO of JPM supports this mission. I think it was Anna who mentioned she works in defense, as do I - and this kind of statement would NEVER be made in our industry. Due to other security concerns, we canāt hire non-US citizens either. There are reasons, but it makes for awkward conversations at career fairs! With so much publicity and changes these days about immigration and inclusiveness, I feel horrible that we have to deny people no matter how qualified they are because they are not citizens - or have a criminal record (although those conversations are done by HR).
Hi, Sierra. I too donāt fully understand the finances/marketing of either buy one, give one, or BOGO. I suppose that businesses who have this sort of deal can charge more for the one that the customer is buying. The customer is willing to pay a little more to get one for āfreeā or to donate. And, as you say, these deals/ give-aways also differentiate the company and provide a powerful way to market the product.
Itās very interesting to think about hiring ex-cons in the banking industry. Dimon does say that these are ex-cons with minor offenses, not people who have, for example, robbed banks. I like this idea of providing training and jobs for people in order to benefit society as a whole.