Impact Business Modeling System™

A startup methodology and coaching process for incubators, accelerators and investors to support their portfolio impact startups in making their sustainable impact measurable, operational, and profitable.

We work with leading incubators, accelerators and impact VC in the Nordics and Europe, e.g. Startup Wise Guys, Rockstart, StartMore Impact, Climentum Capital, Ideon Science Park, Climate Resilient Africa Fund, DTU Skylab and NEEW Ventures.

Founder & Managing Partner

BeWo

Investor

Climate Resilient Africa Fund

Advisory Board Member

The One Initiative

The One Initiative is a global gateway for Nordic impact startups and investors in the Nordic region with appetite for green tech and other sustainable solutions.

We run Nordic Impact Business Summit, an annual “by-invitation-only” event matching a selection of ‘Nordic Top 50 Impact Companies’ with hundreds of international impact investors.

Since 2017 we have analyzed 7,000+ Nordic impact startups and surveyed the Nordic investor community on impact investing. This has resulted in some of the first reports on impact business and investing in the Nordics.

Recent partners are among others Nordic Innovation (under the Nordic Council of Ministers) | The Danish Growth Fund (Vækstfonden) | Danish Business Authority | Danish Chamber of Commerce (Dansk Erhverv) | Danish ITC Industry Association | Greater Region of Copenhagen | Novo Nordisk Foundation  |  Nordea Startup & Growth  | +impact (by Danske Bank) and numerous of the leading VCs and investor networks in the Nordics and beyond, such as SEB GreenTech VC, Norrsken, Katapult, Mikrofonden Sweden, Den Sociale Kapitalfond, DanBAN, Keystones, Connect Sweden, Keiretsu Forum Nordic, FiBAN, EstBAN, European Business Angels Network, Global Impact Investing Network, Impact Management Project.

See more at www.oneinitiative.org

Founder & Executive Director

SEEDS

Holder of Seeds currency and member of online community Hypha.earth (DAO - decentralized autonomous organization).

Citizen

Startup Wise Guys

Coaching and mentoring startups with sustainable solutions to develop:
— a thorough definition on the problem they solve
— a method to measure and to show evidence of the progress of the positive impact on people, society, environment and/or nature
— a business model that not only scale the business but also the postive impact
— a solution not only striving to treat symptoms of the problem, but rather improves existing solutions or even systemically changes things so the problem over time vanish

Head Coach - Impact Business Modeling

MATE.BIKE International 

Nordic Impact Business

Advisor, business development and leadership of projects, business opportunities, investments and partnerships in the Nordic and international ecosystem of impact business and impact investing.

Advisor & Investor

Nordic Scalers 

Member of Steering Group

Ringy

Impact Advisor

BUSINESS EXPERIENCE
I am a seasoned entrepreneur in technology and advisor, investor and financier of projects, ventures and organizations with a cultural, social and environmental positive outcome. Since the mid 90’s I have been part of the Nordic and international ecosystem of start-ups and venture financing.

Today I work as an advisor, entrepreneur and investor in solutions with the purpose to improve or systemically change the world to be more balanced, equal and prosperous for each and everyone.

IMPACT BUSINESS & INVESTING
Since 2015 I have founded numerous initiatives and companies around impact business and investing.
-- The One Initiative [www.oneinitiative.org] - we run Nordic Impact Business Summit each year.
-- Impact Matcher [www.impactmatcher.com] - an international matchmaking platform for impact startups and investors.
-- Impact Business Modeling System™ [www.impactbusinessmodeling.org] - we make your sustainable impact operational, measurable and profitable.

🤯 Is it just me getting more and more frustrated!? Or... 

Is this really all there is to innovation in the 21st Century - to become a “rockstar entrepreneur” and "impact unicorn" with success being measured in a 1 Billion USD-valuation?

What is your take on this? Please advise. Cause I don't really get it.

Most GPs, VCs and Accelerator VCs (I guess 99%) emphasize day in and day out how much capital they have invested in "startups with green solutions"... or raised for their new "climate fund"... (measured in billions and billions of EUR or USD).

And innovation media like Sifted, Impact Loop, Tech.eu, EU-Startups, WIRED, Business Insider, Inc. Magazine, Bootstrapping.dk, Shifter.no., Maddyness, Reddit, Inc. Futurology, Forbes, TechSavvy Media and more, publish these capital-focused stories (fairly) uncritically morning after morning in my e-mail inbox, having my first cup of Americano at 6:30am.

What's the point? I don't really get it.

My thesis is that we will not improve anything in the world by measuring the amount of impact investment capital deployed.

You don't agree?

Well... try see it from this angle:

Why don't international Impact VC funds tell us how much CO2 they have reduced in their entire portfolio (measured in gigatons), or how many of their portfolio companies cleaning global soil from toxic fertilizers (measured in acres) or which of their startups using AI to reduce the consumption of fresh water in industrial processes (measured in cubic meters) or how their recent Series A investment supports children with ADHD to succeed in school (measured as number of children who get a better life)?

If this - the social and environmental change - is the outcome (and it is measurable impact unit by impact unit) the startups that REALLY DELIVER THIS CHANGE, will get all the customers, end users and investors they could dream of - and their investors an even higher financial return on investment down the line.

So why isn't this the 24-7 narrative in innovation media, when this is the thing that really matters?

To be honest… I don't get it.

Of course I do - the last 15 years, to become a rockstar has nothing to do with sex, drugs and rock n' roll, but about great tech stories, 100x growth and exits. (And journalists in the 2020's, like journalist in the 1960's, like to hang out with rockstars... uncritically...).

Is this really all there is to innovation in the 20th Century - to become a “rockstar entrepreneur” and "impact unicorn" with success being measured in a 1 Billion USD-valuation?

Let me know what you think - or is it just me getting old, narrow sighted and frustrated?

My more data driven - still frustrated - blog post in Medium... 👇

Yours sincerely,

Richard - impact enfant terrible 🌈 💚 ✊ 

Richard Georg Engström

BUSINESS EXPERIENCE
I am a seasoned entrepreneur in technology and advisor, investor and financier of projects, ventures and organizations with a cultural, social and environmental positive outcome. Since the mid 90’s I have been part of the Nordic and international ecosystem of start-ups and venture financing.

Today I work as an advisor, entrepreneur and investor in solutions with the purpose to improve or systemically change the world to be more balanced, equal and prosperous for each and everyone.

IMPACT BUSINESS & INVESTING
Since 2015 I have founded numerous initiatives and companies around impact business and investing.
-- The One Initiative [www.oneinitiative.org] - we run Nordic Impact Business Summit each year.
-- Impact Matcher [www.impactmatcher.com] - a leading matchmaking platform for impact startups and investors.
-- Impact Business Modeling System™ [www.impactbusinessmodeling.org] - we make your sustainable impact operational, measurable and profitable.

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