Sustainable Inclusion that Scales
At Bright Ventures, the founders we work with want assurance that their inclusive vision will remain intact as their company scales. These founders know that they are operating in an inequitable market. They need a strategy for how their company will inclusively lead and equitably engage with their stakeholders. Without a plan, venture leaders miss opportunities with key potential employees and customer groups, especially those who, like more than half of all consumers today (and more than 60% of Gen Z!), say they value equity and sustainability over price.
So, how do we build scalable inclusion into our companies? We make inclusion a habit, and scale inclusion as the company grows — this is Inclusive Innovation, a leadership philosophy and organizational alignment framework developed by Bright Ventures.
The surest way to build sustainable inclusion is to make it a foundational part of the business model as a whole, not a separate pillar of the company’s mission. Bright Ventures identifies the earliest signals of scalable inclusion at the pre-seed and seed stages through our Leadership Index assessment. This proprietary tool was developed in partnership with Seven Stones Leadership Group and is a catalog of skills and qualifiers that help us quantify, predict, and develop a founder’s capacity for sustainable success in our fragmented market.
What are the elements of sustainable venture success in this new environment?
We see three areas that founders must focus on to build a venture that can sustainably reach scale: personal leadership, inclusive organizational systems, and stakeholder engagement.
Personal Leadership:
Leaders must remain self-aware and be in an ongoing exercise of self-development. A well, healthy leader creates a well and healthy organization.
Inclusive Organizational Systems:
Redefine the parameters of this new environment within your organization. Create sustainable systems and processes that integrate diverse perspectives. Systemic inclusion brings out the best in everyone involved through intentional connection and creative collaboration.
Stakeholder Engagement:
Leaders are responsible for how their company impacts their employees, customers, and the world around us. They build feedback loops into their business model to ensure market awareness and responsible engagement.
Lenore Champagne Beirne
Lenore is the founder of Bright Ventures, and an expert in Inclusive Innovation. Under her leadership, the team at Bright Ventures invests in and coaches startup leaders, and cultivates equity and access in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Lenore is deeply committed to developing and partnering with leaders to build a future that represents the needs and interests of communities of color.
