How to base investment decisions on 'world-changing' principles - Bird Lovegod

Some of the no nos are so called ‘green investments’ that actually do nothing to reduce environmental damage. Carbon offsetting, for example. Others are complex technologies without reason for existing, like crypto.

This VC is genuine about wanting to fund good businesses, and genuine about wanting to make money at the same time, and there’s a clear dilemma in their post as they struggle to balance the two criteria.

In my opinion, they should not try to balance the criteria, in doing so they risk investing in ‘luke warm’ companies, ones that do a little bit of good, and make a little bit of money.

Better to go full on all in. Preferably in the right direction.

In answer to the question, where are your red lines, my response is as follows.

Focusing on 'doing the least harm' with a red line of 'too much harm' is still going to take us exactly where we are heading, just perhaps a tiny bit slower.

In order to make any meaningful impact the required approach is not to do minimum harm, it's to do maximum good.

A helpful definition of the word 'Ethical' is 'Life Enhancing'.

When exploring a business with a view to investing, or when starting one, it’s easy to ask yourself and the other parties involved; How life enhancing is this? Whose life? At whose expense? To whom is it not life enhancing? How do we make it life enhancing for everyone? For the planet? For everything? How do we increase life enhancement? And keep increasing it.

How life enhancing is this?

That simple question cuts to the core of the issue.

If the aim is to do maximum good, and embed life enhancing practices and systems throughout the organisation, there is no reason for any of it to be covert, opaque, or less than self evident.

Indeed, the more transparent the better. Open goodness generates PR and marketing and a sphere of influence that attracts talent and funding.

From an investment perspective, a better question is what would you fund if you looked for companies that do the maximum good?

Ignore the financial implications for a moment and ask that one question. Then follow it through. Think about it.

Companies that do immense good at scale will change the world. World-changing companies are the ones you want to be investing in. They’re the ones you’re looking for.

And if making money is important, which for VCs it is, what better companies to invest in than world-changing ones?

World-changing companies transform more than lives. They transform markets and create entirely new ones.

If I was a VC I would seek and find the companies that have the potential to be world-changing.

If they're world changing, they're going to be valuable.

How can you tell if they're going to be world changing?

Because they're already life changing.

Is this a life changing company? Yes or No.

Can it scale to World changing? Yes or no?

These are the questions to ask – how hard can it be? You’re welcome.