The Humanization of Business: The Competitive Advantage of the Purpose-Driven Company

You are probably familiar with the term purpose-driven brand in some way or another, also commonly referred to as a values-based company. Maker and Moxie define a purpose-driven brand as one “that is motivated by their core mission. The reason why they exist is to solve a problem or meet a need in society, and that purpose informs the brand’s vision, mission, story, visual identity, decision-making, and more.” While it is easier now than ever to launch a company, at the same time, consumers are the most informed they have ever been. Humans around the world spend hours per day consuming media. They are acquiring information through an abundance of sources: traditional news outlets, social media, podcasts, music, magazines, books, and TV to name a few. Regardless of reliability in terms of truth, these outlets are still providing highly influential points of view and information that are affecting the ways in which consumers not only view the world and each other but make purchasing decisions. We no longer live in a world where businesses have the power; consumers today hold the leverage and are more ready than ever to stand on the hilltops preaching support for a company they love and admire or conversely call out and boycott a company whose behavior or values they disagree with. Forbes, Deloitte, Fast Company, and the Ad Council among many others have researched and reported on the concept that embodies the purpose-driven brand. Deloitte specifically notes that

“purpose-driven companies witness higher market share gains and grow three times faster on average than their competitors, all while achieving higher workforce and customer satisfaction.”

These companies are able to achieve this competitive edge because they are experts at empathizing with their customers and focusing on the cultural shifts that are happening today. They realize that consumers are opting into companies that align with their personal values and are choosing where to spend their dollars intentionally. Therefore, to be a startup in today’s day and age is to acknowledge the power that consumers have in making or breaking the success of the company and conducting business with a purpose that drives your solution forward. Consumers respect an authentic show of support and are easy to spot and steer clear from disingenuous activity.

We are converging as a society. People have causes they care about and recognize that companies hold power. If a brand aligns with any of those causes and acts on what they say, consumers will become more loyal to that brand, just like they would if they saw a person acting in good faith, being their genuine self, or speaking out against something they were passionate about. At the risk of oversimplifying, businesses are being humanized. Companies are proving they can not only be successful businesses but also increase their value-add to society at the same time, and consumers are rewarding them for this. And let’s be clear that a purpose-driven brand is not the end all be all. In fact, purpose is nothing without a financially and operationally viable business at the core. However, for most companies now, strictly being the latter is not enough and consumers will opt to spend their money on brands that not only solve their problem, but also do so with a goal to better the world around them.

Chingona Ventures from day one has emphasized its commitment to partnering with overlooked founders, industries, and businesses. This purpose works hand in hand with investing in young companies that are also conducting great business as can be seen from their traction in the market, revenue, growth potential, partnerships, sales pipeline, unfair founder-market fit, disruptive technology, guerrilla marketing, and beyond. While Chingona Ventures is not an impact fund in the way we invest and track companies, many of our businesses have strong values that support their bottom line. We believe that is a competitive edge and brings value to the company culture and fosters a great connection between the company and the consumer.

The vast majority of Chingona Ventures’ portfolio companies also embody this spirit of conducting badass business with purpose. The companies listed below are key examples of Chingona Ventures’ investments that not only are strong, core businesses making waves in their respective spaces, but also have a genuine, purpose-driven ethos that works to further drive value in the lives of their customers and our world. Check them out below.

Beni — Making second-hand shopping simple.

Career Karma — Providing the information, tools, and support you need to quickly get into a tech career.

Connect Care Hero — Helping build engaging communities for older adults.

Dame — Enriching female well-being by promoting sexual wellness and deepening connections.

EarlyBird — Helping parents, family, and friends to collectively invest in a child’s financial future.

Expectful — A haven of holistic care for moms: hopeful, expecting, and new.

Innovare — empowering education leaders to make data-driven decisions that positively impact students and communities.

Sigo Seguros- Working to create an equitable and inclusive world by supporting the Spanish-speaking community by providing transparent, reliable and affordable car insurance.

Suma — The leading financial technology company devoted to increasing prosperity, opportunity, and financial inclusion for young U.S. Latinos by making financial inclusion fun, accessible, and simple.

Tiny Organics — Helping kids form a lifelong positive relationship with eating through healthy, organic baby food.

Vantage Point — Using immersive technology to help employers drive empathy and fundamentally make the world more human, our primary goals are to address corporate training around the most pressing social, soft skills and EQ-related issues, embracing empathy is a value we strive to represent at our core.

Topl — Building an impact technology economy that enables digital and sustainable transformation across value chains and empowers the monetization of impact.