Gradually, then suddenly
Happy Friday everybody! As you ease into the weekend, we wanted to kick things off with a quote from Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises:
How did you go bankrupt? ... Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.
We believe that societal change happens in the same way. Over time, we may notice events here and there — events that, on the surface, seem disconnected. Then suddenly … the world is completely different.
In the future, we aim to aggregate those little, seemingly unconnected events that are building up to the next major shift in society — what some have been calling The Sustainability Revolution. A shift that is borne out of the idea that sustainability is fundamental to growth: it is no longer a cost to the system, but an opportunity.
Today, we’re sharing our thoughts on business and the world.
💱 Better Business
Our bet (and feel free to quote us) is that in 2050, the only companies that will matter will be ones that combine profit and purpose.
Today, more money is going towards investments that “generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return.” The market size is estimated to be approximately $502 billion (some even say a few trillion … a big gap, we know 🤷), and it’s growing.
This category is traditionally called “impact investing” (others may describe it as mission-driven investing or one-pocket investing). However, we think it’s unproductive to classify this form of investing as something different. Why? Because, the term “impact investing” comes with a lot of baggage — it carries the scars of weak returns and unproductive projects.
All investments, including “impact investments” should be anchored to market returns. This goal is unfortunately often forgotten by some “impact investors” who invest in less-than-ideal business models and then give excuses for their smaller returns.
So let’s move away from using the term “impact investing,” and rather, believe that the best investments are those that marry profit and purpose. This is the old standard, with a renewed focus.
Now, why do we believe in marrying profit and purpose? It is the best framework to build a company that can exist into infinity (and beyond?).
When the average lifespan of a company on the S&P 500 is under 20 years, this may seem like an impossibility. How do you build something that outlasts economic cycles, competition, and generations?
We don’t know yet, but we believe it could only be a company that reaches market dominance and wins the universal support of society.
This company plays the long-game, becomes entrenched, and works to produce benefits for as much of the world as possible. It becomes structurally necessary and no one wants to see it go.
We’re calling this the Forever Company.
In the near future, we’ll share ideas and stories about combining profit and purpose.
🌍 Better World
If you asked yourself, “what is the state of the world?,” you’d probably recall recent stories that you’ve heard. Amazing things happening somewhere and terrible things happening elsewhere. But something that is obvious to all of us is that there are a lot of issues that need to be addressed.
To many, the solution they fall back on is technology. Technology will pave the way. Technology will revolutionize how we do things. However, technology is not enough.
It alone can’t solve the world’s problems. The world doesn’t only need more technology, but better incentive structures. It doesn’t only need new tools, but how, why, and when we can better use the ones we already have. If we only changed the existing systems around us — businesses, governments, and societies — we could still make exponential leaps in solving a lot of humanity’s greatest problems.
It’s hard to put a number on change, so we’re using the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a measurement framework:
In 2015, the UN defined the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as a “shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.” The focus is on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice.
We’re using this model because it's currently the most widely used and accepted. It allows us to speak the same language as our peers.
Unfortunately, progress towards these goals remains slow, and it is estimated that we need to dedicate $5-7 trillion annually to accomplish them by 2030. To achieve this, we need to come together to build exponential solutions.
In the near future, we’ll share ideas and stories about improving the world and its incentives.
🙃 From our community
Every week, we want to highlight some of our community members and the amazing things they’re doing:
Watch this recent CNN video with Angela Luna as she discusses how her company Adiff is changing the fashion industry through sustainability and human empowerment. 🌍
Dan Q. Dao writes in Forbes about Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport, the first airfield powered by 100% solar energy. ☀️
Congrats to Michael Tanney for joining Magnus Financial Group! 💸
If you or anybody you know is working on something incredible that you’d like showcased to our subscriber base, please let us know!
Finally, if you like what you read, please share this newsletter!
Cheers,
Jon & Tej
Tomorrow is an Apart company. Apart is a venture company focused on accelerating the Sustainability Revolution. In the next 10 years, we’re igniting the launch of 1000 startups building a better tomorrow.