Welcome!

What is this?

We're building a community resource for the venture ecosystem to better understand and deliver impact. We're taking an entrepreneurial approach to building this so expect more resources, content, tools, etc. to be added over time as we learn.

If you want to contribute, give us feedback, or have any questions please do get in touch.

Why are we building it?

While the world has never been short of social and environmental challenges, the last few years have pushed us to new boundaries. Challenges to democracy; the BLM movement; climate disasters occurring at an alarming frequency; and of course, the pandemic, have made it abundantly clear that the responsibility for tackling these issues is no longer exclusively the work of governments and the third sector. As Paul Polman notes, the economy cannot thrive unless people and planet are thriving, and so, business has a fundamental role to play.

The good news is that many business leaders want to do more. They want to set up, grow, and invest in, businesses that avoid harm, benefit stakeholders, and contribute to solutions. Or as it’s increasingly being referred to, create impact.

The challenge is that this is an emerging area, there's no playbook here. So we decided to create one. This resource is a guide to help tech founders and investors navigate impact in a way which benefits people and planet whilst acting as a source of value towards organisational performance.

Who's building it?

This is a collaborative project managed by Big Society Capital's venture team. Where specific contributors have built a dedicated section, this is noted in the relevant section. The full list of contributors include:

1. Big Society Capital

2. Balderton