Meet a Member: Andrea Schneller
Meet Andrea who is the co-founder of numi.circular, a startup enabling smart and easy product take back for brands.
Andrea, what do you do and how did you get there?
“I consider myself a solution creator and changemaker. I spent quite some years trying to understand the underlying dynamics of our time. I deeply believe in our adaptive power as humans and love to shape change processes.
I am currently using my time and passion to build a solution that adds to a circular economy. With numi.circular we are aiming to keep consumer goods in the loop by facilitating the setup of circular take back programs for brands as a starting point for circular strategies like recommerce, remanufacturing and recycling.”
Why did you join our community and who are you looking to connect with?
“Collaboration and teaming up around impact challenges is one of the most valuable approaches we can take. We need more collaborative action that is done in a hands-on and pragmatic way. I love being surrounded by other humans that have their own skills and experiences but think about similar questions like me. I believe BoP is a great place to meet exactly this kind of humans.”
Is there an aspect of the way business is being conducted today that you are passionate about changing?
“I want to strengthen the human aspect about business. In our increasingly complex world we can only succeed if we take a holistic perspective towards the work we are doing. This also involves feeling save to bring in all our facets as individuals and humans. Creating a business that uses the full potential of its team members is one of my core goals. Leading-by-example is a powerful way to change existing perceptions.”
Why is purpose-driven business the future?
“The challenges we are facing in this decade and century are so big that we cannot just ‘do what we always did’. In order to change existing paradigms we need to get to the core of ‘why are we doing what we do’ and ask ourselves constantly ‘are we still on the ‘right’ path to add positive value?’.”
What advice would you give to someone who is wanting to integrate purpose into their work?
“Always start with self reflection. What is important to you as an individual? Which experiences have you made in your personal and professional life — positive and negative ones — that have shaped how and with whom you want to work? Which surrounding do you need to thrive? The clearer you can answer those questions for yourself the better you can decide where purpose can best be integrated in your work. There is no ‘one-fits-all-solution’ for purpose, you can create the frame that best works for you and your team.”
If you are on a similar mission as Andrea be sure to reach out to her via her LinkedIn or our community Slack.
