We help build Better Businesses.
Our mission is to elevate underrepresented entrepreneurs, using their unique perspectives to build Better Businesses, that drive prosperity and shape a more inclusive world.
“67% of Small Medium sized Enterprise owners believe their purpose gives them a competitive advantage” (ABA)
We believe that the purpose of business is to create solutions to societal problems in a responsible and sustainable way, and in the process produce profits. That’s what we do.
…we help build Better Businesses.
Purpose is WHAT impact you want your business to make in the world. Being responsible and sustainable is HOW you go about executing that i.e. making decisions; working with stakeholders; allocating profits, etc.
Better businesses are conscious on both WHAT they do and HOW they do it.
Our focus is on helping you deliver outcomes that matter and so we work with frameworks and certifications that best suit your ambition, context and culture. These could include:
What we do to build Better Businesses
We help entrepreneurs transform themselves, their business models and their culture in pursuit of meaningful societal change, so that impact is at the heart of everything they do. We do this in 4 ways:
Outsourced Impact Adviser
We work with entrepreneurs to widen and deepen their societal impact using their business, by
- Getting clear on their ambition and goals for impact
- Building alignment and commitment with key stakeholders
- Creating a plan to shift ways of working, and
- Supporting mindset and behaviour changes that last.
We assess our impact by tracking the change in an organisation’s Better Business score.
Mental Fitness Coach
We equip entrepreneurs with the tools needed to nurture wellbeing and remain resilient in the face of ongoing business challenges.
Being an entrepreneur is hard work.
We know that entrepreneurs are 50% more likely to suffer from mental health conditions like anxiety, depression and substance abuse than non-entrepreneurs – yet 71% pretend everything is okay (Superpowers HQ).
What would the world of business look and feel like if business owners felt mentally and emotionally strong, every day, every hour?
We assess our impact by tracking the change in an entrepreneur’s or the leadership team’s mental fitness ratio.
Good Business Talking podcast
Ravi speak with business leaders who are walking the talk, and share their stories – the ‘how’, the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ – of running a business that is a force for good.
How can businesses profitably solve the problems in society? What does it take to make that transition? What are the challenges, tensions and solutions to being impact driven, as well as profitable? These are just some of the questions he explores with his guests.
Future Leaders Internship
We connect overlooked youth and young adults with impact driven businesses for internships that provide them with experience, skills and the confidence they need to believe in and build a prosperous life.
Children with the greatest socio-economic disadvantage grow up to earn 20% less as adults than those with more favourable childhoods. It takes nearly five generations for children from low-income families to approach the average income in their country (OECD).
More than half of disadvantaged young people would like to run their own company, but 82% view the sector as difficult to access, and 4 in 5 wouldn’t know where to go to get advice about starting one (Innovate UK).
We assess our impact by tracking the number of internships completed and number of interns hired into job types 1-5
Why be a Better Business?
Being a Better Business is good for business in more ways than just creating great financial results. Here are a few independent findings:
2.5x
Brands with high perceived positive impact enjoy a 2½X increase in brand value compared to lower positive impact brands.
Kantar Purpose study
53%
53% of executives who prioritise purpose said their organisation is able to drive successful innovation and transformational change, and deliver consistent revenue, compared to 19% of companies who don’t think about purpose at all.
Harvard Business Review
21%
Organisations that prioritize stakeholder relationships outperformed their peers, showing 21% higher profitability and driving greater innovation and expansion.
Professor Raj Sisodia
4x
Employees who report that their job has a special meaning are:
- 4X more likely to give extra
- 11X more committed to staying with their organisations
- 14X more likely to look forward to coming to work
…than employees at peer companies.
Kantar Purpose study
4x
Brands with a societal purpose have on average 4X higher EBITA valuations.
Monitor Deloitte
20%
Teams that motivate employees to create a lasting impact outperform those that disregard it by 20%.
The Purpose Dividend
86% of B2B companies recognise purpose as important to growth, but they are still working out how to implement their purpose so that it influences business and social outcomes
Carol Cone
… that’s where we come in.
We build better businesses.
Our Purpose
Our work primarily contributes to Sustainable Development Goal SDG 8: reducing inequalities, promoting social inclusion, and ensuring that economic development is sustainable and benefits all members of society, leaving no one behind.
Some of the awesome companies we have worked with
Ravi’s support from being an advisor to an actual player during the change was a key differentiator
Chairperson
I approach very difficult conversations that I would previously avoided, I am better able to cope with the challenges of life and my wellbeing is in a completely different place as a result of Ravi’s selfless wisdom and guidance
Founder / CEO
I cannot overstate the value (and good vibes!) Ravi has brought to our company. He has guided in articulating & aligning us all on our purpose, mission, vision and creating a plan of action for our start-up that is building a culture of innovation, collaboration, and fairness
Founder / CEO
Ravi has helped me and my co-Founder focus on our company’s mission & values, which has made decision making much simpler. He has also helped us understand how we think and behave which has created better conversations and less confrontation.
Founder / Director
Ravi has a unique gift when working with entrepreneurs by helping to silence the noise that inevitably engages our negative emotions and thought patterns that limit our clarity in any given situation. His model is remarkably simple and if followed will produce dramatic change
Founder / CEO
The entrepreneur mental health fitness programme was truly life-changing. I am now putting it in place for my entire team
Founder / Director
Ravi is a breath of fresh air. He has the energy and intellect coupled with a pragmatic approach, that we needed so desperately to cut through and develop a coherent plan for our business
Chairperson
With Ravi’s support, I have strengthened my mental resilience to the roller coaster ups and downs of growing my social enterprise and to better focus to see the bigger picture in all areas of my life
Co-founder / CEO
Having Ravi on board has reinforced our identity as a purpose-driven business. He magnified our ethos, helped us communicate it effectively, and ensured it remains ingrained in our team as we expand. His contribution is invaluable
Founder / CEO
About me – Ravi Rai
Having grown up as the son of first-generation working-class immigrants and now successfully running my own business, I intimately understand the challenges faced by both those traditionally underserved and entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds.
Despite humble beginnings, I am grateful for the unwavering support of my parents, which enabled me to become the first in my family to pursue a university education. This journey exposed me to individuals from various walks of life and paved the way for opportunities with organizations such as General Electric, Zurich Financial Services, and Brambles. Recognising the rarity of such opportunities for many from underprivileged backgrounds fuels my commitment to making a difference.
Harnessing my expertise as a certified Conscious Capitalism Consultant and over three decades of business experience, I am dedicated to bridging the gap between entrepreneurs and those who have historically been overlooked.
My mission is twofold: I empower overlooked entrepreneurs to cultivate thriving businesses, while also facilitating connections between businesses and those underserved, providing them with avenues to grow, network, and foster confidence. Together, these efforts contribute to the creation of a more prosperous world for all.
Collaborators driving change and purpose
These are the amazing people and businesses I partner with, each with deep expertise in their field and, most importantly, a common set of values and ethics.
Recommended
Companies
We are lucky to get exposed to many Better Businesses. Some are B-Corp certified, others follow the principles of Conscious Capitalism. For us, it does not matter what framework is used. What we have come to learn is that each of these businesses are intentional in the positive impact they want to make in the world and are intentional about doing it in a fair and ethical way. So here are our small but growing list of recommended B2B companies:
B1G1
B1G1 is a social enterprise that enables businesses to incorporate effective impact creation into their everyday activities in a simple and powerful way.
The Chancery Lane Project
The Chancery Lane Project (TCLP) is the largest global network of lawyers and business leaders using contracts to drive ambitious climate action.
Good FX
GoodFX is a B-Corp that specialises in international payment and turning banking profits into funding for your favourite charity.
Milk & Honey
Milk & Honey is the highest scoring B Corp communications agency globally which help create and share stories that change the world.
Parla
Parla connects employees with experts in period health, pregnancy loss, fertility and menopause, offering a holistic approach to reproductive health so your team can feel happier and healthier.
X+Why
x+why provide innovative, flexible workspaces and events spaces support a community of impact-driven leaders, companies, and movements who believe that business should be a force for good. It is the place for Better Business.
Let’s have a chat about how we can help you build a better business