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03 Rethinking Entrepreneurship

preface The international minor Business, Leadership, and Sustainability aims to heighten awareness that the present way of living and doing business is not sustainable in the long term and can negatively affect everyone’s life. We urge our students to rethink the principles of entrepreneurship and create multiple-value business models that benefit communities, the planet, and organizations. During the first semester, students worked on real-life business cases focused on sustainability issues as well as on their own social enterprises. 2

That work resulted in 18 new enterprises, of which four were selected as the most inspiring and well thought of. On the whole, students went from a limited view on sustainability mainly centered on environmental issues to a broader perspective encompassing social, economic, and planetary aspects. Most proposed solutions are community-driven and tackle social issues first, without neglecting the financial aspects. Aina extensively explored the world of finance, contacting specialists and demonstrating persistence, passion, and knowledge. She proposes a sustainable business model for a crowdfunding platform for social and sustainable enterprises or projects. As the world of finance has yet to make the significant leap toward sustainability, Aina’s idea could be a great contribution to this field. Julia’s case is centered on the issue of CO2 emissions. She proposes an app(lication) called Reduco2. This app helps individuals discover the impact of their personal food choices on the environment and then shows how to curb this impact. Reduce CO2 uses the outcomes of different experiments with carbon labelling. Julia advocates for partnerships with different stakeholders to share knowledge rather than competing at the expense of all. After extensive research on all encompassing sustainability issues, Dimitri developed a completely community-driven platform with the goal to be a self-sustainable community where buddies and users create their own social events. This project is a true movement: Hire a Buddy! only functions as a middle man, and the community becomes the owner of the app, creating their own events to tackle loneliness. Marine has interest in social economy, including circular economy, intergenerational dialogue, and the fight against fast fashion. After extended research (linked to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), she decided to develop a business that could tackle these issues. By creating a physical learning and sharing community (social coffee shop) for all generations, she simultaneously fights against loneliness, insecurity, and fast fashion. This community is a safe haven where people learn from each other and share goods. We believe that sharing these cases with the larger public can contribute to more awareness of the issues at hand, demonstrate possible solutions, and inspire entrepreneurs to pursue their own “green (i)deal.” Ingrid Devjak Joost van Hilst Erik Woering Staff minor Business, Leadership, and Sustainability 3

Rethinking Entrepreneurship The importance of combining apples and oranges We can recognize many visions of the future in the design and practices of small, new entrepreneurial initiatives. Businesses with purposes can knit prosperity, planet, and people together to contribute to the realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Over twenty minor students in Business, Leadership, and Sustainability each designed a unique business model that rethinks different aspects of entrepreneurship. From their work, new principles of entrepreneurship can be developed. Based on four of these business models, I delineate the principle of multiple entrepreneurship, or the importance of combining apples and oranges. 4 Godelieve Spaas Lector Sustainable Strategy and Innovation

A call to action The SDGs set the agenda for the coming decade. This Agenda is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. It also seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom. We are resolved to free the human race from the tyranny of poverty and want and to heal and secure our planet. We are determined to take the bold and transformative steps which are urgently needed to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path. People, organizations, and companies are called to action. If we want to reach these goals, a fundamental change in the economic domain is required. We need new mores for entrepreneurship that move beyond taking care of only one’s company household. Collaborations between incomparable partners, unexpected combinations of people, or organizations from different worlds can be a plausible route to realize the SDGs. We must redesign the way we do business; how can entrepreneurship achieve these goals instead of causing the problems they want to solve? Practically, we must redesign incumbent companies and stimulating start-ups to take a radical stand. On a conceptual level, the solution requires rethinking the basic principles or narrative of our economy and allow other economies to emerge. 5

Other economies Another economy requires not only an understanding of how a new economy can work, but also a statement of how we want it to work. A statement that shifts economy to the real world of people living in different circumstances, of what they want or do not want, of how they see themselves, and of who they hope to become (Fischer 2012). The word “economy” (from the Greek words οἶκος meaning “house” and νόμος meaning “rule”) means literally “the rules of our household.” The question we need to answer is this: How can we organize the good life together? (Mc Gregor 2011). From an economic perspective, this means organizing what we make, share, distribute, use, re-use, and preserve in a just way. Using this general and basic definition of economy allows us to rethink entrepreneurship based on how we want to organize this good life together. The other economies framework denotes an economic space that works with and in favor of people and the Earth. The framework shows how we can shift toward an economy that no longer sees people and the Earth as a resource but as a partner in creating well-being for everyone in harmony with the Earth. To move toward a regenerative economy, many new principles for entrepreneurship, such as other ways of working, organizing, doing business, earning, cooperating, and creating and sharing value, need to be developed. 6 Figure 1. Other economies, Godelieve Spaas (2016)

Small changes making big differences Katrien Termeer emphasizes the importance of small wins: small, meaningful steps with tangible results. Small radical initiatives can have a significant impact in creating fundamental change in the overarching economic system. These often local and open initiatives allow everyone to participate and contribute in his or her own way and to his or her ability. The small wins approach is based on three theories. The first is from organizational psychologist Karl Weick, who demonstrates in his research that what a person wants becomes clear by taking action. If one tries to solve the entire world food issue at once, that person will become overwhelmed, which might prevent him or her from taking any action. The second theory is appreciative inquiry. By focusing too much on the problem, a person mainly creates extra problems. However, if one focuses on ambitions and opportunities, possibilities will grow. Third is Lindblom’s muddling through theory, which states individuals go faster in the long term if they move forward with small steps, especially when issues are complex. Taking small steps and initiatives that might influence the grand scheme invites people to stop just talking and start acting. Action is exactly what we aim for when we invite students into the minor Business, Leadership, and Sustainability (BLS) to develop a concrete business model that contributes to issues that matter to them, to people they know, to nature they care for, and to issues they engage with. We asked them to create “pockets of future” that can be embedded in the present. From these business models, significant changes can be identified and positioned in the overarching frameworks and visions of the future. Now 1st horizon Transiton future Visions of the future 2nd horizon Pockets of future embedded in present 3rd horizon 7 Degree of strategic fit with the environment Figure 2. Curry and Hudson’s (2008) seeing in multiple horizons

New business models Twenty students were asked to develop a new business model that they believed would make a difference. All business models address real situations and real problems of real people in daily life and range from reducing waste to intergenerational dialogue and from eating more plants to making the interior of exclusive cars more sustainable to improving social housing in Africa. Many of these students were driven by situations or experiences in their own lives, for example, the passing of a grandparent or the loneliness they experienced studying in another country. Benedetta Bibiani was inspired by Hunkpapa Lakota leader, Sitting Bull, who said in the 19th century, “When the last tree is cut down, the last fish eaten, and the last stream poisoned, you will realize that you cannot eat money.” The four cases selected for this publication were chosen for their creativity, thoroughness, and engagement in rethinking entrepreneurship: • Dimitri Brugmans, Hire a Buddy • Aina Catalan, Value X Fund • Marine David, Social Coffee Place • Julia Rost, Reduco2, Eat More Plants Each of these business models is a potential small win, unveiling plausible principles for entrepreneurship toward a new economy. These pockets of future outline a vision of multiple entrepreneurships and a new narrative based on the importance of combining apples and oranges. Apples and oranges One of the issues in realizing the SDGs is that one cannot implement the goals one by one because they are interrelated. Working on one influences many others. Most companies aim for smart goals, efficient processes, and predictable outcomes.Contributing to the SDGs is the opposite of standard business practices and requires combining different purposes, diverse players, interdependent activities, and various impacts in one movement. A possible pathway to work with this complexity is weaving meshworks. Beck (2007) defines a meshwork as the integration, alignment, and synergy of multiple elements, entities, interests, and motives woven together to create healthy, dynamic, and comprehensive solutions to complex problems. In other words, meshworks combine who one works with, what one does, what one works with, and how one works together with others (or apples and oranges). The business models of the four selected cases each have its own way to rethink entrepreneurship based on this idea. 8

Who one works with With Reduco2, Eat More Plants, Julia creates a hub in which individual people, communities, retailers, scientists, and food producers mutually enforce each other to change their behaviour to a more plant-based diet. In an app, she sets a level playing field where all participants are equal although each plays a different role. The app eliminates incumbent inequalities between retailers and consumers, combating the individuals’ ignorance with scientific knowledge. Hence, this hub calls for food producers to become transparent about ingredients and replace animal-based ingredients with plantbased alternatives. The app arranges the interaction between incomparable partners and levels power relations, thus creating equal relationships with the potential to inform and influence each other for a specific purpose. Julia provides a meshwork of incomparable partners that exchange information in various ways to serve a greater cause. Through gamification, she breaks down the walls between science, entrepreneurship, and the individual and levels the playing field, allowing exchanges to ignite and grow awareness of the positive impact of eating mainly plant-based food. Multiple Players All business models rethink incumbent entrepreneurial relationships, which are essentially a lack of relationships and exchange between parties necessary to shift our daily lives to more sustainable choices (INdruk 02, 2019). Bringing together incomparable partners can also be recognized in the Social Coffee Place business model, which connects young people, schools, elderly people, and local entrepreneurs. To a lesser extent, the Value X Fund also brings people together: formal and informal investors and formal and informal entrepreneurs. All business models have different forms of collaboration between multiple players. This apples and oranges entrepreneurial principle allows collaborations with a purpose to intertwine with transactional relationships, building a meshwork (Jonker 2013) of incomparable partners simultaneously doing business and doing good. Until now, the common idea has been that consumers and producers communicate via markets and economic transactions. Buying or not buying changes what is produced. Communication for change proceeds along supply and demand. The principles of multiple players broadens this narrow pathway of communication to an exchange between all parties involved and enables mutual learning and developing toward an economy that serves all life on earth. 9

What one does Marine David designed a social coffee place that combines a coffee shop with workshops and a thrift store to create a learning and sharing community. This vision is how she wants to concurrently mitigate loneliness and slow down fast fashion. She created a place where people can meet, give and follow workshops, organize meetings and parties, and buy second-hand items, all while engaging in intergenerational inclusion and dialogue. Overall, she wants to contribute to the development of a more social, inclusive, and circular economy. The social coffee place weaves together a variety of activities that are all interrelated. For example, elderly people teaching young people “forgotten” crafts, like repairing clothes, enables the thrift store to sell beautiful repaired garments, which contributes to a circular economy and social cohesion in neighborhoods. Likewise, elderly people who look after young children, share stories from the past, and provide tutoring for students can help children with learning disabilities participate in school. The activities occurring in the Social Coffee Place depend on the visitors; the local residents’ needs; and other initiatives and institutions, such as schools, shops, music, and dance schools. Each Social Coffee Place, weaving together its own activities and people, is partly designed and partly emerges from people’s initiatives and the local context. These shops are run by the community and supported by two professionals who coordinate and interlink the different activities, ensuring the project’s impact reaches its full potential. Multiple activities Each activity intertwines with several other activities, which results in a patchwork of activities that intentionally or unintentionally reinforce each other and the multiple purposes of the organization. Everyone is invited to contribute in any way he or she wants. Sometimes, a person is a customer, other times, that person is the supplier, and often, he or she is both at the same time. The social coffee place puts prosumption and prosumers (Lenstra and Spaas 2017) into action by recognizing everyone as a person with intertwined needs, talents, and skills meeting other people with 10

different needs, talents, and skills in a naturally inclusive setting. Creating a space where these needs and abilities can to be exchanged and further developed redefines the market into an open space everyone can participate in and benefit from. By organizing this space in a physical place, the market moves beyond exchange, sharing objects, ideas, experiences, and services and allowing relationships between activities and people to emerge. How one works together with others How one works together with others Dimitri Brugmans developed Hire a Buddy!, a community owned platform designed to create community and friendship. The app connects people locally. Users can rent a friend to show them around in a new country or town; go to a movie, restaurant, parties or events; or even teach a new skill or hobby. The app connects people with similar interests or people who do not know anyone in that location. Hire a Buddy! is strictly a platonic friendship app and is not intended for dating or other services. As in the Social Coffee Place, people can switch roles depending on what they want or where they are. In one’s hometown, someone might want to meet people who are not local and offer friendship. However, while abroad, the situation may be reversed. To make sure the platform’s focus remains on only friendship and community development, Dimitri designed the app to be completely community driven and owned. Hence, the people using it benefit, and all users are stewards of the purpose, development, and application of the platform. Gradually, this app will develop into a selfsustainable community where buddies and users create their own social events, ranging from going out, co-learning, becoming familiar with a location, or other activities. This is a true movement where Hire a Buddy! only functions as a go-between, and the members of the community are the owners of the app and create their own events to tackle loneliness. In addition, this app is free. 11

Multiple stewardship Like the social coffee place and in Reduco2, many people with different interests, skills, and needs come together. Hire a Buddy adds the idea of multiple ownership, assuming if the platform is co-owned, people will make it work together. They will take the responsibility to safeguard the platform’s purpose and activities. They are the stewards of a common good. The group of stewards is diverse: People come from different places and have and share different hopes, skills, needs, and interests. This variety makes multiple stewardship work and will probably average out misuse and disproportional benefits. The main aim of the app is mitigating loneliness and igniting friendship and community development. Thus, the platform enlarges the space where people can meet based on their needs, interests, and location. Leaving profit out of the equation, this network of relationships functions as a common, joint resource for potential relationships and activities. The app enables the process of commoning (i.e., taking what one needs and giving what one has), and the stewards act as commoners taking care of the common for the long term (Bollier 2015). What one works with Aina Catalan created Funds X Value, a new way of linking finance and implementing the SDGs. She wants to contribute to the development of a sustainable economy through a set of engaged, dynamic and ongoing relationships between businesses and people working toward the SDGs. The Funds X Value serves multiple purposes (SDGs), works with multiple players, and enables multiple ownership of sustainable projects and companies. To achieve its goals, Funds X Value adds cutting edge technology that combines the best of both the virtual and tangible worlds. Merging crypto equity with incumbent equity opens a space for investment that allows many to step in at different levels of financing. Fund X Value combines crowd funding (many people, small amounts), impact investment (few people, large amounts), equity (incumbent currencies), and crypto equity (currencies created by the crowd) to finance and support entrepreneurial initiatives toward the SDGs. This way, she creates a level playing field where many can participate and influence the development of a sustainable economy. 12

Multiple level playing field Technology enables different elements to work together when they normally do not. Expanding technological capabilities and changing social, economic, and political practices go hand in hand. Current technology allows us to sense more, to analyze better, and to create new items, such as our own currency. This ability democratizes the entrepreneurial playing field, allowing different players with different means to join forces. A multiple level playing field enables a variety of means and people to cooperate and exchange apples and oranges. Anyone can become an investor independent of his or her means, and different currencies can be used to support the same goals. Technology can create level playing fields between large and small players, entrepreneurs and people, and entrepreneurs and investors. Considering technology an equal partner opens new paths to the SDGs (Haraway 2016). Using technology to enlarge space for people and means working together in realizing the SDGs contributes to equal treatment of all people and human dignity, equalizing power relations and empowering relations between companies and citizens. Multiple entrepreneurship Considering each business model as a fractal or microcosm of the grand scheme, the models provide a vision of multiple entrepreneurship. Each of the described business models are potential small wins that could change the economic system. These pockets of future create other plausible economies by rethinking entrepreneurial practices based on multiplicity. Boundaries incumbent companies face are exceeded, and businesses become meshworks. Meshworks contain a variety of players, intertwined actions, and a diverse group of stewards working together in a layered multilevel playing field. Combining apples with oranges enables organizations to contribute to the realization of the SDGs by doing justice to their interdependency. 13

References Beck, E.D. (2007). The Meshworks Foundation: a new approach to philanthropy. A spiral full of foundations. Bollier, David, (2015). Commoning as a Transformative Social Paradigm, https://thenextsystem.org/sites/default/ files/2017-08/DavidBollier.pdf Cooperrider, D.L. & Sekerka, L.E. (2006). Toward a theory of positive organizational change. In Gallos, J.V. (ed.) Organization Development: A Jossey–Bass Reader (223–238). San Francisco: Jossey–Bass. Curry and Hudson (2008). Seeing in Multiple Horizons, Connecting Futures to Strategy. Journal of Future Studies 13 (1) pp. 1-20 Fischer, Edward F. (2012). The Good Life: Values, Markets, and Wellbeing Posted on September 20, by OAC Press Working Papers Series #14 ISSN 2045-5763 (online) Janssen, Karen, Spaas Godelieve (2019). Circulair ondernemen, Alleen Meerwaarde door samenwerken, Indruk 02, Avans Hogeschool Expertise centrum voor Sustainable Business Jonker, Jan. (2013). Werken aan de WEconomy, duurzaamheid coöperatief organiseren, Kluwer Deventer. Haraway, Donna, J. (2016). Staying with the Trouble, Making Kin in the Chthulucene, Duke University Press. Kool, L., J. Timmer, L. Royakkers en R. van Est, Opwaarderen, (2017). Borgen van publieke waarden in de digitale samenleving. Den Haag, Rathenau Instituut Lenstra, Michiel. Spaas, Godelieve. (2017). Visiedocument voedsel en landbouw, voorbij het breekpunt naar systeemverandering, Wire groep Lindblom, C. (1979). Still Muddling, Not Yet Through. Public Administration Review 39 (6):517-526. Mazzucato, Marianna, (2018). The Value of Everything: Who Makes and Who Takes from the Real Economy McGregor, Allister, (2011). Facing the challenge of living well together The Brooker Mitchell, W.J. (2004). Me++: The cyborg self and the networked city, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 14

Rathenau Instituut (2019) From technological dreams to societal action https://www.rathenau.nl/en/digital-society/ technological-dreams-societal-action Raworth, Kate, (2017). Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century, Economist. Spaas, Godelieve (2016). Organizing fields: towards a breakthrough in social entrepreneurship, Unisa Pretoria Spaas, Godelieve (2016). Waarom leren en samenwerken met voorlopers voorwaarde is voor transitie Essay in het kader van de ontwikkeling van een Nationale Omgevingsvisie, in opdracht van het ministerie van I&M Spaas, Godelieve (2015). Waarom verhalen van mensen ertoe doen, Essay in het kader van de ontwikkeling van een Nationale Omgevingsvisie, in opdracht van het ministerie van I&M Termeer, C.J.A.M. and Dewulf, A. (2018). A small wins framework to overcome the evaluation paradox of governing wicked problems. Policy and Society. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 14494035.2018.1497933 Termeer, C.J.A.M. en Dewulf, A. (2017). Mogelijkheden van de ‘small wins’ aanpak voor de transitieopgaven van het Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat. https://www. wur.nl/en/newsarticle/Rapport-small-winsaanpak-voor-detransitie-opgaven.htm Weick, K.E. (1984). Small Wins: Redefining the Scale of Social Problems. American Psychologist. 39(1): 40–49. Weick, K.E., and Quinn, R. (1999). Organizational Change and Development. Annual Review of Psychology. 50: 361386.

REDUCO2 My Name is Julia Rost. I am from Germany and in the third year of my marketing degree. Besides a strong interest in the economy, I share a passion for sustainability. I do my best to take care of my environment in my personal life and get excited when I can use my business background to help change the system in which we currently operate. I believe in the power of each individual to make a difference on a big scale. 16 JULIA ROST Student Marketing

Introduction Our current mode of consumption, operation, and behavior is no longer sustainable.We, individually and collectively, need to think of ways to assure a safe environment for ourselves, our loved ones, our future children, and every living species on this planet. Reduco2 can help people reach their personal goals on reducing the production of greenhouse gas emissions.Our goal is to ensure a safe environment for this planet and all its life to our fellow human beings and, ultimately, to ourselves. 17

Problem As everyone knows, we are currently facing a challenge that is called climate change. The leading cause of the rising temperature is carbon dioxide, also known as CO2. One can find this substance in only 0.04% of our air, but the effects on our climate are drastic. There are more gases responsible for the climate crisis, such as methane, but CO2 is the most important one to focus on. If one adds up all greenhouse gas emissions in Germany, 88% of them are CO2 emissions. Because Germany has reduced the number of coal-fired power plants, the amount of CO2 has also steadily declined over the past few years. Nevertheless, it is still the main cause of 35% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Right after this sector, agriculture, forestry, and other land use are responsible for the climate crisis with 24%. Over two-thirds of these are caused by the livestock sector. The following substances are released during agricultural processes: N2O = nitrous oxide; CO2= carbon dioxide; CH4= methane (CarbonCloud, 2019) 18

Our consumption of food has, therefore, a huge impact on climate change. However, people have no chance to get educated in that field because there is no knowledge available. During a survey of ifeu Which was carried out in Heidelberg, in Germany, results showed that 9% of Germans do not feel educated enough about CO2 emissions caused by food consumption. Specifically, 85% of them would like to have access to more information about that topic, but almost half of the participants are convinced that food suppliers will not publish data on the greenhouse gas emissions that they produce while manufacturing their end products. That is why two out of three Germans want the government to force food manufacturers to put a CO2 label on their food (ifeu, 2019). "To transform the food system, to achieve Food 2.0, we need to increase people’s awareness of where food comes from and change our behaviors to ensure the proper functioning of our food system." -João Campari, WWF Food Practice Leader (WWF, 2019) Looking at Germany, every resident produces 1.75 tons of emissions per year just from food consumption. According to Germany’s climate targets, the amount for one person per year should be below 0.6 tons, which entails that individual gas emissions have to drastically decrease not only to reach the set targets but to ensure a safe environment for the world’s population and future generations, too. Eighty percent of Germans consider the knowledge about CO2 emissions of food as a human right and believe that every person is individually responsible for saving the planet; therefore, the time to take action has come (vegconomist, 2019). Climate change forces us to change our behavior and the way we think and get out of our comfort zone. Especially wealthy first-world countries 19

such as Germany, the US, and Europe in general should rethink consumption in a broader sense. Residents of these innovative countries have the privilege to make their own choices and decisions which do not rely on surviving. Therefore, every person makes hundreds of decisions each day for or against the planet. Other than the fact that everyone knows that a burger has more calories than a salad, it is not known how much impact certain foods have on the environment. Since the issue of saving the planet and trying to overcome this crisis is getting more attention on a wider scale and younger generations find it crucial to change the whole system we live in, it is safe to say that more and more people are willing to adapt to a more sustainable lifestyle. The only problem, then, is the lack of information. Even plain facts like the benefits for the environment of eating less meat are not fully established. Therefore, detailed information on each product is even harder to be transmitted individually. 20

Solution: Reduco2 The idea developed through a deep wish of mine to become more aware of my choices and actions on consumption. I am Julia. I would consider myself as a pretty sustainable-minded person. There is always more that you can do to become the perfect version of yourself, but, as a starter, I am confident and proud of the lifestyle I manage to maintain. Three years ago, I started to change my eating to a plant-based diet. It was initially just for fun, but after a short period of time, I educated myself on veganism, its background, why people are doing it, and all the other positive effects on health and, particularly, the environment. Just by turning to a vegan diet (which means you cut out animal-based products like meat, fish, dairy, and eggs) you can cut your impact on carbon emissions by half (Wilson, 2015). By following a vegan diet for three years now, I achieved to save: • 4.5K liters of water • 9K kg of grains • 3K m2 of forest • 1K of animal lives and • 9K kg of CO2 (https://thevegancalculator.com/#calculator) 21

However, there is still room for improvement. Even if you only drink plant-based milk, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions fluctuates significantly. While rice milk is known to have the highest impact on the planet (0.23kg per serving), almond milk has the lowest (0.14kg per serving). In comparison, traditional dairy milk produces 0.63kg of greenhouse gas emissions per serving (Stylianou, Guibourg, & Briggs, 2019). • Almond Milk: 0,14 • Rice Milk: 0,23 • Dairy Milk: 0,63 All this has led me to do more research on different products and their impact on the environment. While trying my best to stay away from different brands after reading an article about one or two companies who claim to be sustainable but are not, I also came across the petition of OATLY, which wants to introduce a CO2 label on foods. The goal of the petition was that food manufacturers should include CO2 emissions on each food they supply. By CO2 emissions, they mainly refer to CO2 but also other equivalent greenhouse gas emissions like methane). OATLY itself already voluntarily put their CO2 emissions on their milk packaging to help customers make responsible and self-aware choices. This is where the idea of reduco2 started to form itself. What if there is an app, which is similar to most other food tracking apps I love to use (such as “Life sum” and “Myfitnesspal”) but does not focus on nutrients but the greenhouse gas emissions one ultimately is responsible for when buying the product? By simply implementing a carbon label onto every food, consumers will be able to make reasonable and, hopefully, more sustainable choices. By creating a user-friendly application to help the consumer keeping on track with the individual impact on the environment through educational techniques, we can promote an increasing awareness and aim to collectively get out of the crisis that we are facing today. 22

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Business Model Our main customer segment is made of consumers buying groceries. Since our mission is that everyone should be aware of their footprint when it comes to food consumption, we ultimately target every consumer. Nevertheless, to be more precise and give a clear face to my target group, we have created a persona that represents our preferred audience. By defining people like Clara (p.17) as our target audience, we hope to take advantage of their already existing motivation to live a responsible life and inspire them to take their internal motivation to the next step and turn it into action. Furthermore, we want to reach the consumer who does not have that motivation yet, but by beginning with people who are already aware, we aim to achieve a starting point. We know that the majority of Germans wish for more information regarding food choices to make sustainable decisions, and this is a societal need that we can tackle. These consumers already have the thrive to make more responsible decisions but there is a lack of information, which we from Reduco2 will fill. Moreover, this issue is being widely spread at present because of influencers such as Greta Thunberg; it receives significant attention around the globe, and politicians and big investors are blamed for not 24

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changing their behavior or for not coming up with laws to reduce this crisis. However, no one is talking about the impact that every consumer individually can have and how we as a population can change together. The problem -I asked myself at the beginning- is how to do that. In the present age, we have an app that makes our lives easier for almost everything. Therefore, to fill that lack of information we need to create access to it. We see this access as our main value proposition–what our target audience is looking for. The given information should cover the produced CO2 emissions when producing, delivering, and packaging a specific food item, how to reduce its emissions to finally make a difference on the bigger scale. To answer the question of why and how people will pay for our service, we need to have a look at the service we are providing. For the sake of a better understanding, I created a prototype for the app which represents the service Reduco2 is providing. To download the app, the user does not have to pay anything. They can get access to the basic options, such as tracking their food with the in-app barcode scanner, collecting points, and choosing from incentives, and they can receive basic information about their food choices. Moreover, relevant news articles and statistics are being uploaded daily. If users want to take their experience to the next level, they can upgrade to the premium membership. While the options from the basic membership are already unlocked, users can join challenges and plans 26

to follow and ultimately feel more pressure to reduce their CO2e. Furthermore, they can get more insights into detailed information about specific products. These insights cover alternatives with a lower impact and show how much water and land is being used. Furthermore, the user can see his or her overall impact on the environment and how it has changed over the time of using the tracking app. If the user decides to subscribe to the premium membership, there are two possibilities: either they subscribe for a month, which will cost 9,99€, or for six months, which will cost 49,99€ and equals 8,33€ per month. For the payment method, users can pay through their app store after setting up their preferred payment method. To create and deliver the value proposition to our customers, we need to cover certain key activities. The most important ones are to provide information and knowledge and therefore educate the end-user. To do that, resources such as experts on the field of CO2e in the food industry, sales and marketing people, and IT experts to keep the app up to date are needed. When we manage to transfer our knowledge to the consumer, we will ultimately reach our second main target, which is to inspire and motivate users to take action against the climate crisis. Another key activity that we set for our business plan is to partner up with the retailer. With the app comes an individual QR-Code, which is attached to a card that users can find on their account. When doing groceries at a supermarket that cooperates with us, they can scan the QR-Code when checking out and collect points for their shopping. If they spend 10€, they gain five points. For 20€, they get ten points, for 30€ fifteen points, and so on. 27

When collecting a certain amount of points, they can choose from different incentives like coupon codes or get the chance to donate their points to a charity organization of choice. This is how the partnership going to work: We benefit from the data we can collect through the scanning of the QR-Code. Since the customers scan it at the end of their checkout, each item they bought is listed on their code. Furthermore, we get information about when and where customers went shopping. All these data can be used only with the permission of the user. If no permission is given, we simply store it and delete it after trading it for an incentive. We lay a strong focus on the aspect of showing the user the importance of agreeing on letting us use and sell the data.Here comes the fourth key activity into account, which is to pressure the food industry to become more sustainable. By collecting the data of our customers, we assume that the food choices they make are low in CO2e or at least steadily decreasing. When selling retailers this data, they gain insights into a consumer’s behavior and preferred choices. Ultimately, the food manufacturer that supplies retail stores should acknowledge that today's consumer places a substantial value on products which have a low impact on CO2e and eventually favor those producing the lowest amount. 28

Besides the current focus on competition on providing the lowest price or the highest quality, we aim to develop a competition about having the lowest impact on the environment. This is the competition we thrive for. Besides accepting the card, we ask partners to hand out incentives when the user reaches a certain amount of points. This could come in the form of coupon codes for a discount when bringing their mug to a coffee place. In this way, we aim to playfully motivate the user to start collecting as many points as possible to get access to incentives that can help him or her become more and more sustainable. Another way of spending points is by donating them to a charity organization that we partnered up with. When they donate their points, we convert them into money and donate it to the chosen charity. In return, they will promote our business on their social platforms and websites. Therefore, we benefit from their reach, and they gain donations from our work. The overall motivations of these partners are to maximize the impact on CO2 reduction. Against the prejudice that every business is doing partnerships to gain more money, we seek partnerships that benefit from each other in the sense of sharing knowledge, reach and impact. This is important to us and will also influence the choices we make when choosing suitable partners. We do not want to work together with firms that contradict our value proposition. Examples of possible partnerships are PETA, Fridays for future, diverse bulk shops, Alnatura, but also some rather unexpected retail chains like Jumbo or Albert Heijn. By partnering up with these kinds of shops, we hope to reach more people, make sustainable shopping more attractive, and finally benefit from a wider community of consumers who are motivated to reduce their impact on climate change. 29

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To connect with the user, we need to use specific channels. With the help of the following customer’s journey, the cycle of our relationship with the customer should become clear, and we can create shared added value through the following actions: • show people via channels like Social Media (Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook) and offline Marketing (the information booth and posters at cooperating partners) information about the impact of consumerism, especially in the food industry • share the necessity of reaching the climate goal: production of CO2e of every person per year should be below 0.6 tons • share best cases and what they were able to achieve • (Sweden can reach climate goals) show a lot of statistics and proof The resources to deliver these activities are the following: Physical: We need an office space where up to five people can work in. Because we do not want to use too many emissions ourselves, we are going to rent a coworking space in Mannheim (https://zamedia.de/coworking/). To work, every employee needs a personal laptop. The internet connection is going to be provided by the coworking office. Human: We will start with five people, including the founder. The team should consist of an IT expert who can operate the app, an expert on the field of CO2 emissions, one a person who is trained to speak to partners and consumers to persuade them (sales and marketing), a content creator for social media and the app, and, finally the founder, who is in charge of business operations such as managing the team, financing, controlling, planning, and overall leading. Financial: The needed financial capital should come from a loan that will be paid back. I will go deeper into the financial plan further on. 31

Marketing plan To promote our business idea, we need an offline and online strategy because we target a huge and diverse audience that does not belong to one specific demographic. Because the younger generations seek to be reached via personalized online ads and older people prefer to have conversations and experiences with the brand, we also decided to create a multi-channel marketing plan. We are active on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube with our content, but, for us, it is essential to also cooperate with a suitable influencer. This strategy is proven to work especially with Generation Z and Millennials who are usually very hard to reach (O'Neill. 2019). We lay a strong focus on the selection of influencers since their authenticity and credibility strongly depend on their values, interests, and already existing partnerships with other brands. To work with them, we ask them to create a video, story, or post talking about grocery shopping with the help of our tracking app. For payment, we provide them with a free premium membership account and invite ongoing partners to our events. This procedure refers to the first few years when we do not expect to make much profit with this business. Hence, we cannot work with a famous influencer who only accepts partnerships if they get paid with a specific amount of cash; micro-influencers who are gaining more and more publicity today are a safe option for us to still benefit from social media-generated attention. When we make more money to be spent on marketing techniques, we want to provide influencers with a payment of actual cash. Therefore we can aim to work with influencers with a higher reach, which ultimately results in more purchases and usage of our app. We want to work with influencers on Instagram and YouTube because these platforms are the ones proven to work the best with younger people. For the sake of a better understanding, we have created some examples of how these sponsorships could look like. 32

Instagram post Peta Zwei Peta is a well-known German association who created the ongoing campaign Peta Zwei. They specifically target the youth of Germany, and the majority of the members also are young people. Activities like street activism, working with artists, and provocative campaigns are included in the core of this association. The main focus of Peta, in general, is to ensure the rights of animals. Therefore, issues like the meat, dairy, and egg industry, animal testing, and cruelty-free fashion are being covered. Besides that, they also spread awareness about related topics like consumption and waste production. Because they often post content about brands that share the same values and the fact that a vegan diet is known to produce the lowest amount of CO2e, this partnership would definitely make sense for both sides. Without having to worry about payments, this strategy could be built to be beneficial for both sides while laying the focus on sharing knowledge and reach. Therefore, each party can create a sponsored post about the other brand. We benefit from the reach of Peta Zwei when they tag our Instagram account on their post about Reduco2. On the other hand, Peta Zwei benefits from our rather small reach; furthermore, by informing our target audience about the positive impacts of a vegan diet on CO2e, Peta Zwei will gain more attention and reach their goal of giving animals what they deserve. (https://www.petazwei.de) 33

YouTube video from Chloé Kian Chloe Kian is an influencer and Youtuber who mainly focuses on sustainability. In her weekly videos on YouTube, she posts about her vegan diet, sustainable fashion brands, and sustainable consumerism in general. Because she only agrees to sponsorships that she believes in and share the same values as hers, she is the perfect choice to create an authentic partnership. By providing her with a free premium membership, we ask her to include our tracking app in her vlogs. A possible idea would be to show her viewers what she buys in a week and how high her impact on the environment is. Another great aspect of Chloé is that she consistently works with the brands she likes. So, by keeping the collaboration alive, we will invite her to events of ours to thank her and give her a platform to speak about other related topics she feels passionate about. Maybe this partnership will result in another great business idea that will help people become more sustainable. (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ nLVbBclU39zLlIacEAlQ) 34

Offline campaign with information booths Because we also target older people who do not use and trust social media that much, we want to meet them on a personal level. By starting with an information booth in the city, we hope to reach a few people and tell them about the negative impact of releasing too much CO2 into the atmosphere with the food choices we make and provide them with the solution to this problem which is our app. We need a nice and persuasive but not too aggressive person to do this job to have success. Provocative posters and flyers should attract pedestrians and persuade them to talk to our team members. When we achieve some partnerships with the retailer, we aim to install this booth in the retail shop to reach the target group exactly where they would need and use our app. This booth should be equipped with a wifi-connection that he or she can download the app directly and start to use it for the grocery shopping. (https://www.bbc.com/news/scienceenvironment-46459714) 35

Market and competition Why is our business different and what makes it unique? Why are we going to succeed and others are not? These questions are simple to answer since our idea was created around a current issue and the requirements of the CO2e labeling will be given soon. Looking at the competition, we identified only one available competitor.The “Worldwatchers” app has started it's crowdfunding in September this year. They already reached their first investment goal of 35.000€ and want to reach the remaining 185.000€ in March 2020 to update the app beyond basic features. It is unknown if they can reach their goals. Currently, they have 40.000€. Therefore, in three months, they need to collect 145.000€ to reach their goal. Their app includes every aspect of living a low CO2e life, which entails that one can keep track of the use of energy when heating and the use of fossil fuel when driving, to give some examples. It also relies on a databank that is kept updated from scientists. One can imagine that they will change their strategy when the law of CO2 labeling comes into life. Ultimately, we already have a qualified competitor. Nevertheless, looking at the market of food tracking, we also see a huge supply of great apps. It is a matter of functionality, simplicity, and appearance that will bring success. Moreover, our concept of collecting points and changing them into incentives is unique. By closely working together with the different retailers, we can provide the consumer with a unique selling position. 36

Interestingly enough, the business plan of world watchers does not explain how they are going to make a profit out of this idea. The only revenue stream that we can identify is through crowdfunding, which should only cover the costs of the app. Our idea, therefore, already includes the aspect of feasibility. We can confidently claim that our business will be tangible over a long period. Finally, by aiming to pressure the whole food industry, which defines the main goal of our business, we think that we can change the definition of competition. We are convinced of the fact that there are never enough organizations and businesses who take a stand in tackling the climate crisis. Therefore, we should share our knowledge and try to help each other as much as we can to attract as many people, reach climate goals and even go beyond that. (https://www.worldwatchers.org) 37 "we should share our knowledge and try to help each other as much as we can to attract as many people, reach climate goals and even go beyond that"

Financial Plan Platform Selection UX Design Login System User Profile Database link Content Management and System (CMS) Extra functionalities Total investment costs 4.500 3.000 4.200 3.080 7.200 10.000 8.960 40.000 When taking out a loan in the amount of 40.000€ to cover the costs for the app, a period of payback for six years is set, which should be attainable. The effective rate of interest is 2.9%, and we wish to have liquidated the initial investment with monthly payments. This results in 72 months of payment with an amount of 605,28€ per month to pay. 38

Other costs we need to pay every month are: Salary for 2 employees Wages for 3 mini job employees Rent for a co-working space Total Cash out 819 * 2 450 * 3 180 * 5 1.620 1.350 900 3.870 The average in-app purchase amount is 5.000€ per month for Android and Apple devices (buildfire, 2017). All this money should be generated through inapp purchases (either 9,99€ per month or 49,99€ for six months) and advertisements shown in the basic membership. This relies on the fact that app user spends 24% more on in-app purchases than on upfront app payments. Moreover, mobile app users spend 9,20€ on in-app purchases per month (Gartner, 2016). With our option of paying 49,99€ for six months, the user spends 8,33€ per month, which is below the average. This confirms that once users are confident that an app delivers the expected value without having to pay upfront, they find it easier to spend on in-app transactions. With the help of sponsorships, the sale of data from a user who agrees on these terms, and partnerships with retailers who want to accept our card at the check-out this business idea should be feasible. (https://bit.ly/35gzUiz) 39

Conclusion The need for innovations and new initiatives, organizations, and businesses with a strong focus on social values is greater than ever. By encouraging students to think in a more sustainable way and asking them to come up with a business idea that follows this approach, we feel optimistic about the future. Reduco2, our social enterprise, is an idea that could result in a great way of educating today's consumers and spreading awareness of the impact our daily food choices have. Since OATLY achieved the goal of collecting signatures for introducing a carbon label, and an initiative already exists that follows a similar idea to ours, we are looking forward to doing our groceries in the future while being fully aware and transparent of the decisions we make. 40

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References Buildfire. (2017). buildfire. Retrieved from: How to Build a Mobile App That Actually Makes Money com/build-profitable-mobile-app/ CarbonCloud. (2019). CarbonCloud. Retrieved from: The Challenge https://www.carboncloud.io/challenge/ Garnter. (2016). Garnter. Retrieved from: Gartner Mobile App Survey Reveals 24 Percent More Spending on In-App Transactions Than on Upfront App https://www.gartner.com/ en/newsroom/press-releases/2016-05-26-gartner-mobileapp-survey-reveals-24-percent-more-spending-on-in-apptransactions-than-on-upfrontapp-payments ICTSD. (2013). ictsd.Retrieved fro: Sweden Tells All with CO2 Emissions Food Labels https://www.ictsd.org/bridges-news/ biores/news/sweden-tells-all-with-co2-emissions-food-labels Ifeu. (2019). Energy consulting in the project Climate Protection and Energy Transition Concrete" of the Consumer Centre North Rhine-Westphalia (KEKproject). Heidelberg. OATLY. (2019). Press portal. Carbon labelling of food is to become law - Oatly addresses the German Bundestag with a petition: https://www.presseportal.de/pm/134132/4402644 O'Neill, S. (2019). Convince and convert. By How to Attract Millennials, the Hardest-to-Reach Generation: https://www. convinceandconvert.com/digital marketing/how-to-attractmillennials/ Stylianou, N., Guibourg , C., & Briggs, H. (2019). BBC. From: Climate change food calculator: What's your diet's carbon footprint?https://www.bbc.com/news/scienceenvironment-46459714 vegconomist. (2019). vegconomist. 85% of all Germans are in favour of CO2e labelling on food:https://vegconomist.de/ studien-und-zahlen/85-aller-deutschen-sind-fuer-eine-co2ekennzeichnung-auflebensmitteln/ Wilson, L. (2015). shrinkthatfootprint.Retrieved from The carbon foodprint of 5 diets compared Read more at http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/food-carbon-footprintdiet#mSwylEX6rh6c7HcJ.99: http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/ food-carbon-footprint-diet https://buildfire. 42

WWF. (2019). wwf panda. From The food system is the single biggest threat to nature today:https://wwf. panda.org/our_work/food/ Links ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● https://thevegancalculator.com/#calculator https://zamedia.de/coworking/ https://www.petazwei.de https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ snLVbBclU39zLlIacEAlQ https://www.bbc.com/news/scienceenvironment-46459714 https://www.worldwatchers.org https://www.mylermedia.nl/kostenapp/?gclid=CjwKCAiAzanuBRAZEiwA5yf4 uns8ljUS7n-v-6E9Y8-HB8foToZEmXwjyanMyzBNIWb9dJwP9NGRoCL7wQAvD_BwE#calculator https://zamedia.de/coworking/

FUNDS X VALUE Aina Catalan is a 21-year-old Business Administration student from Barcelona, Spain. She started her degree in 2016 in the University Pompeu Fabra. Besides learning, she loves traveling and visiting art galleries. In 2019 she moved to Breda, The Netherlands to live her Erasmus experience and study in Avans Hogeschool. She had the chance to be part of the Business, Leadership and Sustainability minor and learn about sustainability in a very international environment. 44 Aina Catalan Student Business Administration

Introduction Funds x Value is a social enterprise focused on the crowdfunding industry. Through the platform, we enable investors to find sustainable enterprises or projects to invest in and obtain returns, and we make it easier for sustainable enterprises to raise funds for their green projects. "We believe that the investments we do today will determine the world we'll have in the future" Our mission is to offer a gamechanging community, gathering people and organizations willing to tackle today’s challenges. The main goal of our company is to accelerate the transition toward a sustainable economy. To make this possible, Funds x Value works with a small team of independent, experienced partners with several years of experience in sustainability and financial markets. In addition, all companies with Funds x Value contribute to one or more Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). All these requirements are part of our sustainability strategy. 45

SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY Based on SDGS Sustainability can be understood from many points of view. Many organizations and experts have their own interpretations of the topic. For Funds x Value, sustainability is a crucial part of the business model, which ultimately means everything is related or involved in a sustainable way. We understand a sustainable economy as neverending and involving business relationships. To become a part of this economy, we need impact investors and sustainable enterprises. In Funds x Value, we make it easier for them to reach their goals. In order to reach this future economy and make the change,we created a sustainability strategy based on the SDGs. The model is divided in three stages: activities, results, and impact. Each stage is part of the transition to a sustainable economy. Moreover, in the other axis are the three parties involved with Funds x Value: the enterprises that submit their proposals, society and industry, and the impact investors. In the first stage, all the activities taken by the platform toward the other parties can be found. These mainly explain what services Funds x Value is offering. In the second stage, we can observe the outcomes of those actions. It basically shows what that party can obtain by using our service. Finally, the last stage explains the effects that these actions and their results would have in our society and lifestyle. 46

Activities Provide funding for their sustainable projects or campaigns Extra services (promotions, marketing, financial assessment) Promoting sustainable finance Making society aware of sustainable investments Increase transparency in the financial industry Facilitate their research on sustainable projects Transparency and confidence through the escrow acount Attractive returns on investment Transparency and clear information efficient and trustworthy way to invest Sustainable returns Result Attractive projects Professional project proposals Higher exposure and more potential customers Potential growth Increase of impact investors and sustainable enterprises More capital invested in sustainable projects Growth of the alternative finance sector, emphasis on sustainability Offer a large number of sustainable projects An increase in the number of investors that are aware of today's situation. Investments are crucial for our future.. A growing industry based on SDGs, where both poeple and enterprises are focused on a more sustainable lifestyle.. Impact Entrepreneurs, enterprises, and projects that are purpose-driven and willing to take society closer to a sustainable economy with successful ideas. î î FXV for investors FXV for society/industies FXV for Enterprises

cryptocurrencies The future in our hands To understand cryptocurrencies, three other concepts need to be understood: digital currency, blockchain, and cryptography. "After all, cryptocurrency is a digital currency, where transactions are recorded on a public digital ledger called a blockchain, and every process along the way is secured by cryptography" Basic concepts If a currency is digital, it only exists in computers. It can be exchanged between people, but there is no middleman like a bank. In contrast with traditional currencies, all transactions are recorded on a digital public ledger called a blockchain. Even though it is public, both the data and the ledger are encrypted or created using cryptography. Another difference from traditional currencies is that cryptocurrencies are decentralized. They are only controlled by users and computer algorithms. 48

How do cryptocurrencies work? When people send transactions, they use a software called cryptocurrency wallets. Through them, balances can be sent from one account to another. Of course, to do so, each party needs a password. As stated before, all transactions are encrypted. However, they are broadcasted to the cryptocurrency network and queued up to be added to the public ledger (this action is called mining) that users can then download and run a copy of the software (called a full-node wallet). "The transaction amounts are public, but who sent the transaction is encrypted." Not all users have to do this in order to keep a record of their transactions. There are third parties, like Coinbase, that can hold the currency. To make it easier to understand, here is an example. We can imagine that every transaction is in a box that can be unlocked with a specific set of keys. The owner of the keys also owns the amount of cryptocurrency in that box. All these boxes, with transactions inside, are called blocks and are added though the process of mining, that is, adding blocks to the public ledger. The technology used is called blockchain, because it is a large chain of blocks full of transactions. 49

CRYPTOFUNDING In recent years the use of cryptocurrencies in crowdfunding has been increasing. When an enterprise decides to include cryptocurrencies in their way of funding, they make an ICO (initial coin offering). This is an alternative way of funding powered by crypto-tokens in crowdfunding. This new trend was born due to several problems enterprises and investors faced when using crowdfunding platforms. For instance: campaigns have nothing to give to of offer to but a promise that they will be rewarded when the project is completed. Other problems are the fact that campaigns’ promises cannot be transferred between users, and that successful campaigns end quickly, so supporters lose the chance to invest and campaigns miss out on raising more money than their goal. Another problem is that although there are many crowdfunding platforms, campaigns must go through a different selection process for each platform. This is the reason why many enterprises have decided to start using ICOs in crowdfunding. 50

What is an ICO and how is it done? First, companies create their own cryptocurrency on a blockchain platform. This is analogous to issuing company stock. With ICOs, investors buy cryptocurrency tokens that represent the shares, much like how the stock market works. This is also known as crypto-equity. Low transaction costs compared to other digital payment methods such as PayPal PROS Since the market is volatile it can be a high reward investment Trading is available anywhere as it is decentralized Equity crowdfunding using cryptocurrency is a great way to create an extra value of the savings and have with future gains Transactions are quick, permanent and not fake Difficult to comprehend and changing value of the coins taxes are not well defined CONS Not everyone knows how to use cryptocurrencies There is no central institution that can control thevolatility of the currency 51

FxV & cryptocurrencies In order to facilitate the use of cryptocurrencies in our platform, FxV has decided to work with Tokenly, an enterprise that provides tools to create, distribute, store, swap, and generally empower an enterprise’s digital token representing specific reward tiers. Tokenly will mainly act as swappable passwords, enabling a direct line of communication between the project and whoever is holding the reward at the time. So, instead of a promise of a reward, with Tokenly, backers receive a token that they can trade with other backers at any time. Campaigns and platforms do not have to worry about what they owe and to whom. In this way, tokens create new markets and opportunities for entrepreneurs and consumers alike. Regarding our platform, Tokenly connects crowdfunding platforms so when enterprises post their projects, the creators can decide whether offer it to their community as well. The campaign will appeal to potential investors on many platforms. Each additional platform that lists a campaign earns a percentage of the commission for funds raised by its investors. Connecting crowdfunding platforms means better visibility and fundraising for everyone, allowing the best campaigns to become viral and successful thanks to the millions of investors that were able to see their project. In conclusion, Tokenly creates a secondary market for tokens to enable investors to exchange their rewards and obtain benefits. In addition, it enables communication between crowdfunding platforms and increases a project's visibility. MACRO ANALYSIS In this section of the Personal Business Assignment you will find several models that have helped me analyse the industry of Crowdfunding: Five Forces of Porter and Scenario Planning. 52

five forces of porter There is a very high threat of newentrants, as many have seen the potential of crowdfunding. The reason behind is that enterprises are having more difficulties in getting finance from banks, so they look for alternatives, such as crowdfunding. The crowdfunding market is projected to grow to 300 billion by 2030. So, many entrepreneurs are interested. THREATS OF NEW ENTRANTS There are many potential customers as enterprises are finding it harder and harder to get funds from banks. Competitors can be differentiated as easch platform can offer a different type of crowdfunding or can specialize in a topic for projects. However, customers (green enterprises) have a strong power of negotiation, because they can easily choose to go to another BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS Instead of suppliers, we have a partnership with Tokenly. Tokenly is larger, so they have more power of negotiation than Funds x Value. Nevertheless, we still have some power, because they need more enterprises so their business model can work efficiently. THREATS OF SUBSITUTE PRODUCTS The biggest threat is bank loans. However, this threat is not significant, because enterprises are being rejected from their service and looking for new ways of financing their projects. Rivalry among existing competitors crowdfunding website. BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS 53

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rIVALRY AMONG EXISTING COMPETITORS As explained before, Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform where projects can raise funds. It is one of the earliest platforms, is very well known, and therefore is one of our biggest competitors.From Kickstarter, projects can reach a lot of potential customers and investors. Indiegogo is also one of the most well-known platforms in the crowdfunding industry. It accepts donation-based campaigns for many areas: music, hobbies, personal financial needs, charities, and so on. Their success is due to their flexibility, broad approach, and, just as Kickstarter, an early start in the industry. Crowdfunder is a platform created in the UK and is mainly focused on growing a social network for investors, technological startups, small businesses, and social enterprises. Since 2010, Rockethub has been funding projects in 190 different countries. It is considered one of America's largest crowdfunding platforms. Crowdrise is a platform that helps projects for causes and charities to raise funds through donation-based crowdfunding. They have raised funds for inspiring causes and needs. Somolend is a site for lending for small businesses in the US though debt-based crowdfunding. Those businesses have to be qualified with existing operations and revenues. In addition, this platform has partnered with banks to provide loans. Appbackr is a crowdfunding platform that raises funds through donation-based funding to build new mobile apps. AngelList is a crowdfunding platform that works with startups, angel investors, and people that are looking for jobs in startups. It was created in 2010 and only accepts donations given by accredited investors and institutions (business angels). Invested.in is a website that raises funds in order to create other specialized crowdfunding platforms. 55

sCENARIO PLANNING In this section, we analyze the paths that will lead Funds x Value to several alternative futures. This analysis is not a prediction of the future, an estimation of past events, or a preferred future. Scenario planning is a very useful tool with many business applications. It lets businesses forecast possible risk situations and plan how to face them. Specifically, scenario planning is about identifying critical uncertainties and goals in a business. Low awareness High AWARENESS If the economy is growing but people are not aware of sustainability, FxV will not have investors interested in their projects. Addionally, there will not be many purpose-driven enterprises, so there will be fewer potential customers for their services. If the economy is growing, people have more money to invest. In addition interest rates and ROLs would be higher too. Moveover the probability of enterprises succeeding will be higher. For FxV the fact that awareness and the economy are growing is very positive as it maens more potentional customers. If the economy is growing but people will save money rather than invest it. Moreover, interest rates will be low, so it would not be attractive for investors. Failure and bankruptcy will be a great threat for small enterprices and startups. For FxV the fact that people are not aware of sustainability is a big drawback as society will not be interested in these kinds of projects. 56 If people are aware of sustainability but there is a recession period in the economy, people will not be willing to invest but may be willing to help in other ways. There will be many enterprises interested in sustainable in projects but few investors willing to raise funds. In addition, he change of failure of projects will be higher. reseccion period Growing economy

mICRO ANALYSIS The micro analysis is based on the factors in a company’s closest environment that affect its capabilities to operate effectively. - Innovative campains - Entepreneurs have a feeling of control - Capital accessibillity is high - Opportunity to test the product or service with potential customers - Beneficial for both national and international communities - Lower risk for investors (escrow account) - Mobile-friendly designs - Personalized campains - High interest rates and low commissions SEO - Social networks (for promotion) - Positive effects on economy and sustainability - Large investmentopportunities - Cryptocurrencies - Worldwide investments - Unserved markets for specific products - Legal restictions and changing regulatory environment - Fear of unknown in the field - Risk assumed by small businesses - Increased competition - Manage to transmit a high level of trust - Angel investors and banks - Administrative and accounting challenges - Copyright and stolen ideas - Everything is internetbased, no physical contact with anyone - Potential fraud (unless cryptocurrencies are used) - Lack of investors because the platform is small - Limited fime to raise funds 57

financial analysis The financial analysis is a crucial forecasting evaluation of the costs and benefits that an enterprise can obtain, and it helps when determining their performance and sustainability. Basically, it will prove if an enterprise is sufficiently stable, solvent, liquid, or profitable. Sustainable enterprises Sustainable enterprises or fundraisers will be Funds x Value’s main customers. This is why it is very important to take care of their profitability when using our services. Below are the three linear cost models for each type of crowdfunding offered in Funds x Value. LINEAR COST MODEL FOR FUNDRAISERS (ENTERPRISES) REWARD-BASED CROWDFUNDING ∏ = - (funds raised) + cost of additional services + 2% commission + 1% credit card processing fee + cost of rewards EQUITY-BASED CROWDFUNDING ∏ = - (funds raised) + cost of additional services + 2% commission + 1% credit card processing fee + dividends LENDING-BASED CROWDFUNDING ∏ = - (funds raised) + cost of additional services + 2% commission + 1- credit card processing fee + fixed income until loan expires Funds x Value’s main sources of income will be the costs of additional services, the 2% commission, and the 1% credit card processing fee. > Additional services Once a project is submitted and accepted, Funds x Value will offer the fundraiser several services that will help them make their project more successful, such as promotion on the platform, making the project more attractive for investors, guidance for cryptocurrencies, and so on. 58

> 2% commission If the funding goal is reached, Funds x Value will charge a 2% commission on the total funds raised. The money from commissions will be reinvested in the company in order to keep the platform and Tokenly services active. > Card processing fee This fee is only charged when an investor uses a credit card to make the investment. This kind of fee will promote the use of cryptocurrencies when investing. Impact investors Just as we analyzed the benefits for the enterprises, we evaluate the interest rate formulas for our impact investors in each type of crowdfunding. Debt-based Crowdfunding The interest rate for debt crowdfunding is similar to bank loans or leasing. The first one has a slightly larger influence on the control in the company, and it has a higher level of cost. The second has this same influence on the control in the company but is less expensive. Where: i debt: cost of debt-based crowdfunding i: annual interest rate paid to our lenders f: fee paid to the platform (credit card) n: years of maturity c: cost of preparation and launching the campaign F: face value of raised capital In the formula, three aspects are taken into account in order to find the interest rate: - Interest rate paid to the creditors, - A fee for the crowdfunding platform, - The cost of the campaign (preparation and launching). 59

Equity-based Crowdfunding Equity-based crowdfunding is the most sophisticated way of raising capital for projects. It is very similar to the way enterprises issue shares. The cost of capital raised from equity-based crowdfunding could be recognized as a cost of capital raised from a new issue of shares. However, this formula assumes a constant growth rate in dividends that most startups and small enterprises do not have. Nevertheless, an offer in the crowdfunding campaign frequently includes, besides the shares in equity, defined shares in profits. Reward-based Crowdfunding Reward-based crowdfunding is very different from debt- or equity-based crowdfunding, as the investors receive a tangible asset in return. It is similar to pre-sales or provision of services. However, if we want take into account time and changes in value such as inflation, we should use discount methods, for instance the IRR method. Where: r: cost of capital D: dividend per share payable in one year P: present value of share F: cost of issuing and selling the new shares g: constant growth rate in dividends 60

SROI ANALYSIS Social return on investment Leaving aside the purely financial analysis, an approach that is very interesting for Funds x Value is the analysis of the SROI, the sustainable return on investment. The SROI calculates the change that is important to those, people or enterprises who contribute to social value. The SROI cares about value even though it is measured with money. There are two main ways to calculate the SROI: A.EVALUATIVE SROI: We first look at past events and then compare them to today’s outcomes. B. FORECAST SROI: We make assumptions on how much social value we will create with specific activities. For FxV, the forecast SROI is useful, as there are no past events to analyze. However, we can use the evaluative SROI after using the forecast SROI to analyze the impact. SROI CALCULATION SROI Social Return On Investment 61

7 PRINCIPLES OF SROI 62

IMPORTANCE FOR FxV The SROI is not only important in order to determine what change we are making; it also helps us measure the impact of our activity, make more sustainable decisions, prove results to our stakeholders, and so on. There are five main aspects that SROI can improve for Funds x Value: Maximizing the social impact our service creates through strategic discussions Targeting appropriate resources when something unexpected happens Proving how important it is to cooperate and collaborate with other social parties Maximizing the value between what the enterprise wants and what the stakeholders want Involving stakeholders in a meaningful way 63

MARKETING ANALYSIS In this section of the report are tools and models related to the marketing analysis: positioning map, Ansoff matrix, communication, and rankings. Positioning is a very useful tool in order to find a target audience. Below is a positioning map with the most wellknown crowdfunding platforms. More sustainable less sustainable 64 lower reach higher reach

Targeting Investor profiles Vivian, 33 Life: Vivian studied environmental engineering and worked in big multinationals. Now she has decided to invest her money in her future. Frustrations: Hard to find a trustworthy and sustainable platform Transparency with the enterprise she is investing in Goals: Make a social impact Find valuable projects and assume their risks Marcus, 42 Life: Marcus has always been involved in the finance world. Lately, he has been concerned about sustainability. Frustrations: Finding platforms that are sustainable and follow their mission and vision Goals: Impact investments Be part of sustainable projects 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 sustainable lifestyle awareness experience in finance rankings Nº of projects media and marketing successful projects website design 65

RANKINGS & COMMUNICATION Website The website is the face of the enterprise. It must be attractive to new investors. One way of doing so is by giving the user an intuitive and pleasant experience with precise and complete information Value communication Communication is the base of the whole strategy. It is important to bond with the user. One way of doing so is through storytelling. The message must be clear and logical. For instance, include an "about us" section in the website. Referails If the enterprise is mentioned in an article or a blog or has comments from happy customers, it is important to share this with future clients. There is nothing more trustworthy than hearing other's opinions. Communication strategy Two types of communication can be observed: - INTERNAL: Within the company - EXTERNAL: With the clients They are both equally important. It is crucial to be active in both categories, as if one fails, then the other is incomplete. SEO tools Search engine optimization (SEO) is the tools used to obtain better positions in rankings or in search engines such as Google. As crowdfunding success is based on the number of visitors the website has, these tools are crucial. 66

ROI CALCULATION FOR SEO As stated before, one of the main assets for a crowdfunding platform is how many people can be reached, that is, how many investors end up on the website. To do so, SEO tools are very useful. PRODUCT: Crowdfunding service Quantity of new customers acquired via SEO that convert into a sale, during the month Average net profit from each crowdfunding consumer (enterprises that publish their projects Total net profits from the newly acquired organic search customers Average number of projects, per newly acquired customer, over a lifetime Monthly marketing budget (expense) Total projected lifetime profit roi 500 63 31,500 2 3,000 63,000 21% On average, a crowdfunding platform has between 1,000 and 3,000 visitors to the website every month. This is why SEO is so important, as 500 visitors are typically obtained through it. Moreover, assume 50 projects are published per month on average, and they raise €7,000 on average, but only 30% are successful. Therefore, from €105,000, a 2% commission and 1% from credit card fees totals €3,150 per month. Dividing by 50 (number of projects) results in €63 per successful project published. On average, each crowdfunding campaign lasts 35 days; as one campaign ends, a new one can begin, making the community larger. The ROI on SEO tools is 21%, that is, every euro invested earns €21. ***All data was collected from different websites that are quoted in References, Crowdfunding Data (end of report) 67

THE MODEL 68

bUSINESS MODEL Every enterprise has a business model to illustrate how their activity works. Funds x Value is no different. Based on our analysis, we have created a sustainable business model that explains how the platform works, who is involved, and the value created. In this section of the report, we analyze step-by-step all the parties (green) and activities (gray) involved in the process of crowdfunding. 69

THE MODEL SUSTAINABLE ENTERPRISES Sustainable enterprises will make the first step by sending us, the crowdfunding platform, their project proposals. FUNDS X VALUE Once projects are received, a group of experts in sustainability and finance (our team) will decide which project proposals will appear in the platform's website. PROJECT APPROVAL After approval, additional services will be offered to sustainable enterprises and then posted on the website with the fund goal and time to raise funds. ESCROW ACCOUNT While the project is raising funds, all the money from investors will be saved in the escrow account, or a "security box." The main objective is to keep all the money there and only give it to the enterprises when the funding goal is reached. If it is not, the money will be returned to the investors. FUNDS RAISED OR NOT If the funds are not raised, as stated before, the money will be refunded to the investors. However, if the goal is reached, the funds will be given to the enterprise and Funds x Value will keep a commission. INVESTORS The investors are those enterprises or people willing to make a change in the world through impact investments, that is, willing to invest in sustainable projects. 70

ESCROW ACCOUNT An escrow is a legal concept in which an asset or money is held by a third party on behalf of two other parties that are in the process of completing a transaction. The word comes from the French word escroue, which means a scrap of paper or a scroll of parchment. Many interpret that as if a third party holds the transaction until it is completed. Internet escrow emerged at the same time as Internet auctions and commerce. On July 2, 2001, Internet escrow companies were allowed to function as a licensed class by the US California Department of Business Oversight. HOW DOES IT WORK? 1 Agree on terms Begin the transaction and agree to website (escrow.com) terms of transaction. 2 Pay fees The crowdfunding platform submits the payment, and when escrow.com verifies the payment, the investor is notified. 3 Verification After payment verification, including reaching the goal, the investor is authorized to send money 4 accept funds The funds are transferred to the enterprise. 71

Workflow The workflow explains in a detailed manner how the enterprise develops its activity. Poject selection The first stage is the project selection. - Sustainable Enterprises: Will log in or register on the platform. After that, they will upload their projects. - Crowdfunding Platform (FxV): Will receive all projects and qualify them. - Impact Investors: Will log in or register, check the available projects, and finally select one. Investment commitee - Sustainable Enterprises: Will receive final information regarding project approval. If a project is not approved, they will cancel the project. - Crowdfunding Platform (FxV): Will decide if a project will be uploaded to the website or not.If a project is approved, they will prepare for the launching. In any case, they will notify the enterprise. Prepare launching - Sustainable Enterprises: Will prepare a budget for any additional services and finally pay them. - Crowdfunding Platform (FxV): Will schedule the launching and start using the additional services. 72

Crowfunding - Crowdfunding Platform (FxV): Will upload the project to the platform and save all the funds in the escrow account. - Investors: Will enter the amount they want to invest and proceed to the payment. If the payment was not successful, they may retry. When payment is successfully made, the money will be sent to the escrow account. Post-investment management - Sustainable Enterprises: Will receive funds - Crowdfunding Platform (FxV): If the funding goal is achieved, they will receive a commission and release the funds to the enterprise. If not, the enterprise will be notified and the funds will be returned to the investors. - Impact Investors: Will receive a return on investment or a refund. 73

CREATING A CROWDFUNDING ENTERPRISE The process From the beginning I knew I wanted this project to be financebased, as it is one of my main interests. In addition, before earning this minor, my idea of sustainability was based on tangible activities rather than services. Given the opportunity to create a social enterprise, I decided its main activity would not be tangible, selling a product, but rather intangible, offering a service. After making this decision, I had to choose exactly what area in the world of finance I was most interested in. My first option was capital investments. This is the reason why I first decided to create a sustainable investment bank. I did not really know how could I make an investment bank's business model with multiple value creation. Luckily, I had the chance to talk to Godelieve Spaas, and she guided me through the many possibilities I had. However, a sustainable investment bank was too complex to be created in such a short period of time (17 weeks). There are many rules and legislations to be taken into account. It was at that moment that I realized that I needed to think in terms of alternative finance. Alternative finance includes all types of investments and ways of being financed that are different from the traditional ways. Crowdfunding is part of alternative finance. Marleen Janssen Groesbeek, an expert on sustainable finance in Avans, recommended talking to Ronald Kleverlaan, the director of the European Commission of Alternative Finance. Kleverlaan has helped me though the rest of the process and creation of Funds x Value... 74

FIRST DRAFT Before settling on my final business model, I created another one. This first model also consisted of three main parties: green enterprises, impact investors and the crowdfunding platform, Funds x Value. The light green activities were the ones conducted outside the platform for the platform, such as the percentage of profits from the investor's benefits or the fees the enterprise would pay to use the platform. The dark green activities were the ones directly related to the platform, like the funds or the platform itself. I decided to change this model as most crowdfunding platforms work with this model nowadays, and it is not attractive to investors or enterprises. Both parties would have to pay even if they did not reach their goals. Furthermore, there is no value added in this model. 75

CONCLUSION The investments made today will determine the future The world is on track to welcome a new economy based on sustainability and ecofriendly lifestyles. Every day, more people and enterprises realize what can be done in order to develop this new economy. One area is finance. Numbers show that people are more concerned about the situation and are currently looking for alternatives, such as crowdfunding. Based on the SDGs, Funds x Value is a new way of approaching finance and sustainability. It works as a link between those who want to make a change and enterprises that are sharing their projects and ideas to be one step closer to a new, sustainable economy. Several lessons have been learned, from the basics on sustainability to the complex world of cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, many graphics and studies show how the sector is evolving toward sustainability and long-term growth. Lastly, I would like to appreciate all the people that have been involved in the process because this is the only way we can achieve our goals, together. . 76

References Banking & alternative finance https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/banking-andfinance/green- finance_en https://www.unpri.org/https://pymwymic.com/ https://thegiin. org/giin-investor-forum-2019 https://www.toniic.com/about/ http://www.crowdfundinghub.eu/ https://www.altfinator.eu/ https://www.unitedway.org/my-smart-money/immediateneeds/i-need-more- affordable-financial-products/ understanding-alternative-financial-service- providers# https://www.uu.nl/en/organisation/european-centre-foralternative-finance Crowfunding (business model and Workflow) Branzov, Todor & Maneva, Nelly. (2014). Crowdfunding Business Models and Their Use in Software Product Development. Karadogan, Berkay. (2019). CrowdFunding. Jäckels, Melana. (2019). Civic Crowdfunding. https://www.fatbit.com/fab/script-features-to-launch-procrowdfunding- website/ https://www.agriya.com/blog/launch-your-crowdfundingplatform-business- model-features/ https://www.corporatecomplianceinsights.com/p2p-lendingrisks-and- business-models/ https://justcoded.com/blog/crowdfunding-business-modelswhat-is-the-best- choice-for-your-startup/ http://en.pedaily.cn/Item.aspx?id=220799 https://justcoded. com/blog/crowdfunding-business-models-what-is-the-bestchoice-for-your-startup/ https://crowdengine.com/crowdfunding-business-models/ https://cooperativecity.org/2017/11/08/regulatingcrowdfunding/ Market evolution LAWTON, Kevin & Marom, Dan. (2010). The Crowdfunding Revolution. Social Networking Meets Venture Financing. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2458638 Cryptocurrencies Salman, Asma & Razzaq, Muthanna & Cretarola, Alessandra & Figà-Talamanca (2019). Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies. 77

Smith, Sean. (2019). Cryptocurrencies & The Financial Services Landscape. https://bnktothefuture.com/pitches/2749/_ tokenly-connecting-crowdfunding- and-cryptocurrency.html https://blog.apruve.com/should-you-fund-your-startup-withcryptocurrency https://justcoded.com/blog/cryptocurrencyand-crowdfunding-a-match- made-in-heaven/ https://born2invest.com/articles/6-crypto-crowdfundingplatforms-need- know/ https://thenextweb.com/insider/2018/02/09/cryptocurrencycrowdfunding- perfect-match-fundraising-company-thinks/ Fintechs http://www.okahr.co/financial-management/types-of-fintechbusiness- models/ https://ksr- ugc.imgix.net/assets/004/112/401/ d3af95d619a02143922c17419cd3ef38_original. jpg?ixlib=rb2.1.0&w=680&fit=max&v=1436323499&auto=format&gifq=50&q=92&s=5553aa77dce0906ac754e18b16f953d5 5 forces of porter, pestel and SWOT https://i2.wp.com/www.business-to-you.com/wp- content/ uploads/2017/04/Five-Forces-Model-Porter.png? resize=768%2C432&ssl=1 (5 FORCES) https://www.slideshare. net/KvinCCILE/final-report-62468284 https://embapro.com/ frontpage/pestelcase/6335-kickstarter-hanson (PESTEL) https://kimbia.com/fundraising-organization-swotanalysis-2014/ (SWOT) https://www.researchgate.net/figure/ SWOT-Analysis-of- Crowdfunding_tbl2_266318067 (SWOT) Iconic cases https://businessmodelnavigator.com/pattern?id=8 Hu, Weifeng & Yang, Rui. (2019). Predicting the Success of Kickstarter Projects in the US at Launch Time. Communication & rankings https://www.brickfunding.com/news/20180924-how-to-marketwell-your- platform-to-attract-investors/ https://www.brickfunding.com/ https://www. searchenginejournal.com/top-paid-seo-tools/321999/ https:// www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-cost-calculator/264305/ 78

Crowfunding data https://www.statista.com/statistics/757196/crowdfundingaverage-amount- raised-worldwide/ https://www.fundera.com/resources/crowdfunding-statistics https://enventyspartners.com/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-torun-a- crowdfunding-campaign/ https://blog.fundly.com/crowdfunding-statistics/ https:// www.statista.com/statistics/653473/average-crowdfundinginvestment- per-project-in-the-netherlands-by-investmentcategory/ https://nonprofitssource.com/online-givingstatistics/crowdfunding/ https://www.statista.com/ statistics/251629/visitors-to-the-crowdcube-website- bycountry/ https://www.startups.com/library/expert-advice/keycrowdfunding-statistics Financial analysis Motylska-Kuzma, Anna. (2016). THE COST OF CROWDFUNDING CAPITAL. Van Dijk, Marlon (2012). The Beginners Guide To Social Return On Investment Escrow acount https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escrow https://www. investopedia.com/terms/e/escrow.asp https://www.escrow. com/what-is-an-escrow-account https://www.escrow.com/ escrow-account https://www.thebalance.com/four-types-ofescrow-accounts-keep-money- safe-4177307 https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-create-an-escrow-accountfor-a- crowdfunding-site Crowfunding fees https://www.thebalancesmb.com/entrepreneurs-guide-to-feeson- crowdfunding-platforms-985187

Sustainable business model in a social enterprise Hire a Buddy! Hi! My name is Dimitri Brugmans. I am currently a fourth-year Business Administration student at Avans University of Applied Sciences. Last semester, I participated in the minor Leadership, Sustainability, and Business. During this minor, I came up with a social business model that would tackle loneliness among the young generation with a community-driven buddy app. 80 Dimitri Brugmans

INTRODUCTION In the face of sharp volatility increases across the global economy and proliferating signs of resource depletion, the call for a new economic model is getting louder. In the quest for a substantial improvement in resource performance across the economy, businesses have started to explore ways to reuse products or their components and restore more of their precious materials, energy, and labor inputs. The time is right, many argue, to take this concept of sustainable business models one step further, to analyze its promise for businesses and economies, and to prepare the ground for its adoption (Ellen Macarthur Foundation, 2013). 81

the idea The hire-a-buddy concept has the purpose of creating community and friendship. Users can rent a local friend to show them around a new country or town; accompany them to a movie, a restaurant, or parties and events; or even teach them a new skill or hobby. Perhaps none of their friends are interested in the same things as them, or they simply do not have anyone to go with. Hire a Buddy! is strictly a friendship app, not intended for dating or any other services. A couple of examples on how people could use this app are as follows: ● People who travel to a new city can hire a local to show them around town. It is always good to know someone from the area who can give firsthand information about where to go and what to avoid. ● A member may have an invitation to a work party, a wedding, or other social events and does not want to attend it by themselves. ● Someone might want to see a movie or go out to a restaurant but does not have anyone to go with. ● Many people have unique talents and skills. They can teach you a new language, tutor you, and share a new hobby and do art, dance, and much more with you. It is also a great way to meet people from different cultures and religions. ● People who travel often for business and are looking for local friends to go out to dinner with, go to the bar with, or watch a sports game with: It is always great to have friends in different cities. ● People who have an extra ticket to a sporting event or concert and do not want to go alone: They can “hire a buddy” to go along with them. ● Someone who may want a workout partner: Renting a friend to help motivate and spot them during their workout can be a lot cheaper than hiring a personal trainer. ● Just looking for someone to give personal advice: There are many people who just want to get real advice about a situation, and it is always great to get an outsider’s point of view. 82

It will be a completely community-driven platform, with the ultimate goal of becoming a self-sustainable community where buddies and users create their own social events. Hire a Buddy! is a true movement wherein it only functions as a middleman and the community becomes the owner of the app who creates events in order to tackle loneliness. This needs to be embedded within the enterprise’s DNA. 83

why Loneliness and feeling out of touch with this world are not things that are experienced by only the elderly people. It is estimated that 3%-10% of young people between the ages of 12-30 experience severe loneliness, and 46% between the ages of 16-20 indicate that they feel lonely sometimes, but are too afraid to talk about it (rtlnieuws, 2018). Especially in today’s society where the pressure to perform and have this “perfect apparent life” is so high and everyone is seemingly living their best lives on social platforms, people are ironically enough finding it harder to seek out social contact. They face difficulty in accessing social support and creating and maintaining friendships and look at the world through black and white lenses where they see something that they are “supposed to be” (rtlnieuws, 2019). Some initiatives and platforms such as eenzamejongeren.com help tackle this problem. With this app, I want to contribute towards addressing this problem. 84

HOW WOULD IT WORK Hire a Buddy! will be a community-built and community-driven app. This means that users will be able to register for free. They will be able to set up their account, set the activities/events for which they would like to be a buddy, and determine their price for these activities. Both being a buddy and looking for a buddy will be completely free in order to lower the bar for using such a platform. Once users register with an account, they can contact a buddy using the built-in direct messaging function or they can put out an open request to which registered buddies can make an offer. Users looking for a buddy can view all of the buddy’s photos, profile descriptions, ratings, and reviews for free. This will allow the user to find a reliable and trustworthy buddy. In order to get started, the buddy needs to complete the following steps: 1. Sign up and create a free account ● Username ● Location ● Languages you speak ● Activities/days/time you are available ● How much you charge ● E-mail address 2. Upload photos Photos are very important, as it makes the profile more personal and trustworthy. First impressions are important; people are more likely to hire you if you come across as a fun and friendly person. 3. Verify phone number If a buddy wants to be able to get in contact via phone, then they have the ability to add and verify their number, although the built-in messaging functionality is also an option. 4. Make new friends and get paid If everything is in line with the terms of use, a buddy’s profile will be accepted by the staff of Hire a Buddy! and they are ready to go. 85

WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE The search bar at the top will include a drop-down menu where a user can add filters to their search request. The user could search based on the location or activity only and also based on the location as well as activities and availability (days and time). The search query will then show a list of people who are available for the user’s specific activity and availability. Each profile will have a review and star rating system in order to determine the buddy’s reputation. Once a suitable profile is found, the user can book that person. (Showaround, z.d.) ¹ ¹ https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com. showaround&hl=nl 86

Users need to complete the following steps in order to book a buddy: ² 1. Plan your activity Plan your activity using our digital platform. Find a suitable buddy Find the buddy that fits your needs. Every profile will show the buddy’s bio, price, ratings, and reviews. ² Instruction pictures come from: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?time_continue=3&v=Qy8Yp6-9Xv8 87

Select the preferred buddy and check the information on their profile. Does it suit your activities and hourly rate? If yes, then hit Connect. 2. Have a good time and do only what truly interests you Meet new people around the world. 88

(Showaround, z.d.) 89 Skip all the tourist traps and see only what you want to see.

FEASIBILITY Hire a Buddy! plans to pilot in Breda, because Breda is a booming student city with a lot of target audience and thus will have a lot of overlooked young people suffering from loneliness and isolation. As of January 1, 2018, Breda inhabits 25,565 young people between the ages of 15-25 and 47,839 people between the ages of 25-45 (allecijfers, 2018). Breda is also number 87 on the list of highest-income counties in the Netherlands with €27,300, which indicates good financial health (allecijfers, 2018). Down to the specifics, why is this idea feasible? First of all, the very low investment and production costs make this idea very feasible. Low investment is needed, no raw materials (in fact, no materials of any kind) are required, no physical facilities are needed, and no logistics and transportation other than the buddy’s traveling arrangements are involved. The only investment needed is building and maintaining the app, website, and other digital platforms. Not only is this a rather low-cost idea, but it is also very environmentally friendly since there are no material depletion, barely any CO2 emission, and no human or planetary exploitation of any kind, which are exactly the conditions of my opinion on sustainable development mentioned in Chapter 1. There are multiple sources of income to keep this business model social, yet financially sustainable: ● Ads: the app will include free and pro versions. The free version will include generated ads that will produce revenue for Hire a Buddy! ● Pro version: at €4.99, users can upgrade to the pro version in order to eliminate ads permanently. This will be a one-time payment. ● Premium subscription: users who plan on using the app frequently can subscribe to a premium account for €9.99 a month, thereby receiving a fixed discount on activities and unlocking premium features. It will not include a quarterly or yearly pricing plan, because this app is supposed to eliminate the need for the app in the first place. 90

● Hire a Buddy! will receive a 10% fee for all bookings made through the app. It will use a “fair exchange” method to ensure that users and buddies would not simply exchange phone numbers and cut Hire a Buddy! out as a middleman. Payment must be made prior to the activity. Hire a Buddy! will temporarily hold the money until the customer confirms that the activity has been completed. Hire a Buddy! will then wire the money to the buddy’s account and keep a 10% fee. Buddies who are booked but have no confirmed payment will be red-flagged by the system, and disciplinary action might be taken. Pricing is based on both the psychological pricing method and competitor pricing method. Majority of similar apps charge €4.99 for the pro version and subscriptions are usually between €8 and €15 (Chand, z.d.). 91

STRATEGIC BUSINESS THEORY Customer intimacy and community building Customer intimacy is one of the value strategies developed by Treacy and Wiersema. Community building is a newer extension to this (Knoot, z.d.). Hire a Buddy! is all about creating a community and friendship and thus wants to pursue a customer intimacy type of approach. The app focuses on delivering excellent service to customers and maintaining relationships, individual solutions, and repeated purchases, until it has fulfilled its purpose and the customer does not need it anymore. This idea is also a community-building model as the app will be completely community driven. The buddies are looking for a social engagement while earning money and the customers are looking for that connection with a buddy to accompany them to their event. BCG matrix The BCG matrix is the most widely used marketing model for analyzing the portfolio of a company. The model takes a close look at the various product–market combinations (PMCs) and distinguishes among question marks, stars, cash cows, and dogs. The goal is to determine the product groups that are interesting to retain and that the company can divest. Hire a Buddy! can use this model to determine where its idea is at. Hire a Buddy! is clearly a question mark but has the potential to become a star. This is because it is a new idea and thus has a low market share, but it has a high capability for growth due to its high potential market population and easy, free access. There are also very few competitors in the market that offer a complete package, especially those that focus on the Netherlands. This creates a possibility for a high market share. More on competitors at the 5 krachten analysis. SWOT analysis The SWOT analysis will map the strengths, weaknesses (internal), opportunities, and threats (external) of this idea. 92

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COMPETITION RentAFriend The only similar company is a company called RentAFriend with 621,585 friends available for hire worldwide. However, their website looks very outdated, and there is no mobile app, which is a huge downside in 2019. Furthermore, the gender search functionality makes it look more like a dating site than what it is actually intended for. They are worldwide and not focused on the Netherlands. https://rentafriend.com/ Showaround - Find a Local Showaround is the same for all intents and purposes but is only focused on finding traveling buddies. https://play.google.com/ store/apps/details?id=com.showaround&gl=NL Withlocals - Personal Tours & Travel Experience This is exactly the same as Showaround. https://play.google. com/store/apps/details?id=com.withlocals.Withlocals Meetup: Find events near you This app connects with local groups and events so you can meet new people and try new things. The key difference is that it lets you meet new people at preplanned events, not your own events and the activities you want to do. https://play.google.com/store/ apps/details?id=com.meetup&gl=NL NMLK Nieuwe Mensen Leren Kennen This app does the exact same thing as Meetup, but for the Netherlands only. https://play.google.com/store/apps/ details?id=nl.nmlk.app&gl=NL 94

RESISTANCE TO CHANGE One of the biggest threats to this business model is how people might perceive such services. People might find it sad and pathetic that people have to go to such lengths and pay money in order to find friends. They might be uncomfortable or even feel like its dangerous to meet up with a complete stranger. They might be afraid to make the first step, to initiate a potential connection. People will need to be made aware of this application. Old behaviors, ways of thinking, and patterns must be carefully examined. Communication is especially important so that potential customers can become informed about the app, the logic behind it, and how it will benefit them. The idea is that the more we know about a change and the more we feel it is necessary and urgent, the more motivated we are to accept the change. This is when the change becomes real. It is also, consequently, the time that most people struggle with the new reality. It is a time marked with uncertainty and fear, making it the hardest step to overcome. During the changing step, people begin to learn new behaviors, processes, and ways of thinking. This phase is when the app will be launched and implemented. In today’s society, loneliness among young people is becoming more and more common. The taboo is decreasing, and with that such tools as Hire a Buddy! will become more socially acceptable. 95

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS Value proposition This business model will give people access to connections and friendships that they otherwise might not have made, whether someone just needs a buddy to attend an event or that person is suffering from loneliness and wants to use this platform as a means for seeking out community and friendship. Our user-friendly platform will easily give the user the possibility to seek out a reliable and trustworthy buddy in order to create that social connection and possibly even make friends. As described in (p96) WHY, there is a current trend of increased loneliness among the younger generation. This value proposition aims to tackle that problem. Customer relationship The app will have the functionality to receive personal assistance for any problems that the users might have. They may be experiencing platform functionality issues, they may have had a bad experience with a buddy, or there may be payment issues. Hire a Buddy! will do everything in its power to provide both customers and buddies with the best experience possible. However, most of the platform usage is community driven and will therefore rely on self-service. Finally, this platform ultimately aims to close the relationship we have with our customers by giving users the tools they need to create and maintain friendships and communities themselves, thereby eliminating the need for this app. Customer segments Hire a Buddy! will focus on users of multiple platforms, that is, Apple, Android, and computer users. The target group will be the younger generation between the ages of 15-30, as the research discussed in (p96) WHY shows that this group is suffering from increased loneliness. Nevertheless, Hire a Buddy! will also target people who do not suffer from loneliness or isolation, but simply want someone to attend an event with and do not have anyone to go with at that moment. 97

Key activities Key activities will include creating the platform and network for people to use. Even though it is up to the community to build the actual community and network, Hire a Buddy! serves as a middleman and mediator and will therefore have to build and maintain the digital platforms and ensure that both customers and buddies have a good experience. Key partners Key partners will include Google AdWords and SEO. Getting publicly released on Google Play and the App Store will be vital to reach the potential community. Furthermore, in order to build these digital platforms in the first place, partnership with designers is necessary. Finally, Hire a Buddy! could work together with organizations such as join-us and Een tegen Eenzaamheid to reinforce both positions. Key resources The key resources needed to realize the value proposition and execute the key activities will be the intellectual property in the form of digital platforms, distribution channels in the form of the app and play store, financial resources, designers, and employees who will monitor and maintain the communities and the app. Channels Hire a Buddy! plans on reaching their target via Omnichannel: the app will be available on mobile devices and as a platform on computer devices. Awareness will be created via digital/online marketing, various online media platforms, and word of mouth of users. Cost structure There are only a few, simplistic costs. These include both the creation and maintenance of the app/website/platforms/social media, the salaries of future employees who will monitor the app and maintain the community, and the online marketing to create awareness. 98

Revenue streams As described in FEASIBILITY, there are multiple sources of income to keep this business model social, yet financially sustainable: ● Ads: the app will include free and pro versions; the free version will include generated ads that will produce revenue for Hire a Buddy! ● Pro version: at €4.99, users can upgrade to the pro version in order to eliminate ads permanently. This will be a one-time payment. ● Premium subscription: users who plan on using the app frequently can subscribe to a premium account for €9.99 a month, thereby receiving a fixed discount on activities and unlocking premium features. It will not include a quarterly or yearly pricing plan, because this app is supposed to eliminate the need for the app in the first place. ● Hire a Buddy! will receive a 10% fee for all bookings made through the app. It will use a “gelijk oversteken” method to ensure that users and buddies would not simply exchange phone numbers and cut Hire a Buddy! out as a middleman. Payment must be made prior to the activity. Hire a Buddy! will temporarily hold the money until the customer confirms that the activity has been completed. Hire a Buddy! will then wire the money to the buddy’s account and keep a 10% fee. Buddies who are booked but have no confirmed payment will be red-flagged by the system, and disciplinary action might be taken. Eco-social costs The eco-social costs are extremely minimal, if at all present, because this is a digital platform. There is only a small percentage of CO2 emission coming from users’ travel arrangements, which could be reduced by using public transportation, which is very common among that age group. Eco-social benefits The social benefits include a reduction in loneliness/isolation among this age group, increased sense of social access, and creation of community and friendship. Furthermore, not only is this a low-cost idea, but it is also very environmentally friendly since there is no material depletion, barely any CO2 emission, and no human or planetary exploitation of any kind, which are exactly the conditions of my opinion on sustainable development mentioned in Chapter 1. (Alexander Osterwalder, 2010) 99

REFERENCES Alexander Osterwalder, Y. P. (2010). Business Model Generation. Duitsland: Campus Verlag Gmbh. Opgeroepen op november 11, 2019 allecijfers. (2018). Informatie gemeente Breda:. Opgeroepen op november 10, 2019, van allecijfers: https://allecijfers.nl/ gemeente/breda/ Chand, S. (z.d.). Methods of Pricing: Cost-Oriented Method and Market-Oriented Method. Opgeroepen op november 10, 2019, van yourarticlelibrary: http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/ marketing/pricing/methods-of-pricing-cost-oriented-methodand-market-oriented-method/32311 Ellen Macarthur Foundation. (2013). Towards the circular economy. Opgeroepen op oktober 30, 2019 Knoot, J. (z.d.). WAARDESTRATEGIEËN TREACY EN WIERSEMA. Opgeroepen op november 2019, 2019, van strategischmarketingplan: https://www. strategischmarketingplan.com/marketingstrategieen/ waardestrategieen-treacy-en-wiersema/ National Research Council. (1999). Our Common Journey: A Transition Toward. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. rtlnieuws. (2018, september 17). Helft jongeren is eenzaam, maar durft er niet over te praten. Opgeroepen op november 10, 2019, van rtlnieuws: https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/lifestyle/ gezondheid/artikel/4419301/helft-jongeren-eenzaam-maardurft-er-niet-over-te-praten rtlnieuws. (2019, september 4). Tienduizenden jongeren chronisch eenzaam: 'We hebben nu pas oog voor ze'. Opgeroepen op november 10, 2019, van rtlnieuws: https://www.rtlnieuws. nl/nieuws/nederland/artikel/4836246/eenzame-jongereneenzaam-eenzaamheid-nadi-meldpunt-stichting-join SDSN. (2016). Enabling conditions for sustainable development. Opgeroepen op november 1, 2019 100

Showaround. (z.d.). Opgeroepen op november 10, 2019, van https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com. showaround&hl=nl Study. (z.d.). Lewin's 3-Stage Model of Change: Unfreezing, Changing & Refreezing. Opgeroepen op november 10, 2019, van Study: https://study.com/academy/lesson/lewins-3-stagemodel-of-change-unfreezing-changing-refreezing.html SustainAbility. (2019). Food & Agriculture. Opgeroepen op november 3, 2019, van trends.sustainability.com: https:// trends.sustainability.com/food-agriculture/ SustainAbility. (z.d.). What's next for sustainable business? Opgeroepen op november 3, 2019, van https://trends. sustainability.com/: https://trends.sustainability.com/ The Natural Step. (z.d.). The Four System Conditions of a Sustainable Society. Opgeroepen op november 1, 2019, van naturalstep: https://www.naturalstep.ca/four-systemconditions Value based management. (z.d.). Summary of Rogers' Innovation Adoption Curve. Abtract. Opgeroepen op november 10, 2019, van Value based management: https://www. valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_rogers_innovation_ adoption_curve.html WiseGEEK. (z.d.). How Do I Choose the Best Social Business Ideas? Opgeroepen op november 3, 2019, van wiseGEEk: http:// www.wisegeek.net/how-do-i-choose-the-best-social-businessideas.htm 101

A Social Coffee Place Marine David: I am currently in my last year of my bachelor’s in international management in France. I would like to continue with my master’s, then work in the field of sustainability. Therefore, I chose a minor in business, leadership and sustainability in Avans during my Erasmus exchange and focused my business cases on circular and social economy. 102 Marine David

INTRODUCTION For many years, I have been interested in social economy, including circular economy, intergenerational dialogue and fight against fast fashion. Thus, I designed a business that would answer these problems. Although these problems do not seem related, from my own experience volunteering for Oxfam with elderly people in a charity shop aiming to reduce poverty and fast fashion as well as stories I have heard, articles I have read and conferences I have watched, I am certain that those three issues are related. In this project, I created a learning community for all generations to bring them together and fight against loneliness, insecurity and fast fashion while creating a safe place for this community. In this safe place, everyone can feel welcome and learn from others. I also tried to implement ideas from circular economy by increasing products’ lifetimes through reuse in businesses. 103

I. Why: Problem analysis In this problem analysis, I explain the problems I tried to solve with my project. Each problem is related to one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals as indicated at the beginning of each section. Figure 1. https://sustainabledevelopment. un.org/?menu=1300 A. Aging population and loneliness of young and elderly Europe's population is growing older. While the total population in the EU is projected to increase from 511 million in 2016 to 520 million in 2070, the working-age population (people between 15 and 64) will decrease significantly from 333 million in 2016 to 292 million in 2070.¹ As a result, EU member states need to find solutions to take care of the elderly. 104 ¹ https://ec.europa.eu/info/news/ economy-finance/policy-implicationsageing-examined-new-report-2018may-25_en

²https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/ loneliness-in-older-people/ According to Age UK, more than 2 million people in England over the age of 75 live alone, and more than a million elderly people say they may spend over a month not speaking to a friend, neighbor or family member.² In addition, the elderly are not the only people to experience loneliness. According to a research paper from the European Commission’s science and knowledge service, loneliness affects all age groups. However, the elderly may be more socially isolated than other age groups and do not report more frequent feelings of loneliness. Poor health, unfavorable economic circumstances and living alone are all associated with higher rates of loneliness. Last, loneliness is more prevalent in Eastern and Southern Europe than in Western and Northern Europe.³ ³https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/sites/jrcsh/files/fairness_pb2018_ loneliness_jrc_i1.pdf Figure 2. European Commission’s science and knowledge service 105

In United States, 25,000 young people live in foster care without a family every year. Most of those young people will end up unemployed, uneducated and unhealthy, leading to loneliness. Therefore, lonely young people who feeling useless in society would benefit from the love and support of the elderly. Conversely, the lonely elderly, feeling useless, would also benefit from the love and support of younger people. 106

B. Lack of intergenerational dialogue Young people have knowledge to share with the elderly; likewise, the elderly have knowledge to teach younger people. People over 60 often worked in the same job for 40 years, grew up after World War Two and potentially lived amazing stories. They have skills lost these days, such as traditional cooking, object repair, sewing, crafts or gardening. In contrast, young people are the future. They may not learn the same skills as older generations in school, but they have other skills, such as using a computer, creating PowerPoint presentations, and making online calendars. Therefore, we need to bring the generations together. In addition to combatting isolation for young and old people, this knowledge has to be shared. Otherwise, a story that happened in 1968 in the Paris streets during the famous May 68 social movement may be lost if it is not shared now. Stories, as well as knowledge and skills, need to be shared between generations C. Fast fashion and overconsumption: a change in the way we consume Repairing or buying new? It is now easier to change wardrobes, as people can often buy new clothes because of fast fashion. As a result, when their clothes tear, they simply buy new ones since going to the tailor is more expensive that buying new. In addition, fashion makes people want to buy new clothes to change their styles. However, there is a price for this luxury. 107

Environmental cost First, cheap clothes usually means the products may not last for a long time. In addition, the clothing industry uses large amounts of water: 3000 liters of water is needed to make one cotton t-shirt. Thus, the fast fashion industry uses 2.5 billion liters of water each year. This issue is important because millions of people across the world lack fresh, drinkable water. Plus, 85% of a fast fashion company’s products ends up as waste, making the issue of garbage even more serious. Social cost One in every six people works in the clothing industry, and news often reports on the terrible circumstances workers have to endure whilst working in this industry. These workers, who are often children, frequently face discrimination and exploitation. Is the cost worth it? Most people never wear half the clothes they purchase, and people are buying more than in the beginning of the 21st century. According to a study from the European Environment Agency, “between 1996 and 2012, the amount of clothes bought per person in the EU increased by 40%. At the same time, more than 30% of clothes in Europeans' wardrobes have not been used for at least a year. Once discarded, over half the garments are not recycled, but end up in mixed household waste and are subsequently sent to incinerators or landfill.” 108 https://europa.eu/youth/node/57432_da http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/ BRIE/2019/633143/EPRS_BRI(2019)633143_EN.pdf

II. What: a possible solution A. The idea The idea is to provide a “social coffee place” to create a learning and sharing community. The business will be divided into three interdependent sections. 1. The workshop Workshop lessons in cooking, baking, gardening, crafting, sewing, art, and poetry will take place in one room. The classes’ teachers will be elderly people willing to volunteer. Class attendance will be via monthly subscriptions paid by people wanting to attend a few classes a week as well as schools paying for some of their students to join classes. Part of the food used to cook will come from the garden, and the rest will be bought from local producers. Intergenerational knowledge sharing will mostly occur during these workshops. 2. The coffee shop Another part of the business will be the coffee shop. In this room, part of what has been cooked during the lessons will be sold. The waiters will be full-time paid employees, and the drinks (e.g., fresh juice or smoothies) will be made from products bought from local partners or grown in the garden. Every evening, the coffee shop will be open for a night event (displayed on the schedule). This area will also be important for intergenerational exchanges. 3. The thrift store The last section of the business will be a thrift store where donated clothes or fashion accessories will be sold after being sorted by volunteers and repaired in the sewing and crafting workshop. People will donate clothes they no longer use, to have more space at home, feel less guilty about buying new clothes or simply give to a fair cause. In exchange, they will receive a voucher for a free coffee and a piece of cake in the coffee shop. The salespeople will be volunteers. Below a possible schedule for a week is presented. Each week, the schedule will change, according to the volunteers’ availability. Likewise, the menu will vary depending on the season and the different workshops. 109

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B. What I know from this field Although this idea sounds idealistic as I am asking old people to work for free for a for-profit business, I believe this concept can work because I know it from experience and international best practices. 1. My own experience Last year, I interned at an Oxfam Charity Shop in North London as a volunteer manager assistant. At this shop, products are donated, and the staff mostly consists of volunteers. The profits are given to a charity, Oxfam, which aims to end poverty around the world. During the three months of my internship, I learned about non-profit organizations, secondhand businesses and multiple value creation. This experience also allowed me to meet wonderful people who I have been excited to talk with. I do not think I would have met these kinds of people if I had not volunteered here. I identified three types of volunteers: 1. Elderly people who volunteered mostly to combat loneliness, to feel useful and to share their knowledge 2. Unemployed people who volunteered to continue working, to prevent loneliness, to feel useful, to meet new people, to help a cause, and to obtain references for their resumes 3. Young people who were often sent by their school to enter university, and shy young people who wanted to make friends. Although these people were not paid, most worked their shifts every time they were scheduled, especially the elderly people since they did not have school, homework or appointments for their kids. The charity shop was the only place they felt valued and were able to talk with someone. As a result, even when some volunteers where not scheduled to work, they often came by to have a cup of tea and chat with the staff. Likewise, some customers visited the shop a few times a week and spent more time chatting with the volunteers than trying on clothes. Thus, this charity shop created a community in addition to selling secondhand clothes. 111

During this time, I also felt valued for my work because I knew it had an impact on customers who were able to buy clothes for a few pounds; for Oxfam, which was then able to redistribute the money to help people in need; and for the rest of the volunteers with whom I was talking and sharing my stories, as well as listening to theirs. During these three month, I spent more time with the elderly volunteers than I spent with my grandmother in the past few years. If I felt valued by my time spent in this association "despite having many friends and projects, so never feeling lonely or useless," the volunteers, especially the elderly who only had the association, must also feel valued. From this experience, I trust elderly people will be willing to give their time for free in exchange for spending time with other people, feeling valued and receiving free coffee. In addition, I know that people will join this learning community since the prices will be low and they are actually looking to share stories, learn and meet new people. 2. International best practices To prove the feasibility of my business, I present international best practices that encourage intergenerational exchange. a) Humanitas, Netherlands Humanitas is one of the main social services and community building organizations in the Netherlands. This non-profit association aims to support people who, for a range of reasons, temporarily cannot manage on their own. Among the different programs it offers, Humanitas helps elderly people combat loneliness with the aid of young people: ● Vriendschappelijk Huisbezoek (friendly home visit): people can visit old people to have conversations with them ● Humanitas Taalmaatjes: this service helps people learn Dutch ● Humanitas Ontmoeting: this service allows people to meet new people ● Humanitas Maatjes: people go out with someone (such as helping an old person shop or go to the park). 6 112 6 https://www.humanitas.nl/themas/eenzaamheid/

One Humanitas program also invites young students and professionals to live with elderly people for free in exchange for their company. This service provides young people with free housing and amazing stories happen to their host while they enjoy each other’s company. The young people also help the older people in the house or teach them how to use a computer. An interesting story about this experience was told by Jurriën Mentink, a student who lived with an old lady for years. 7 b) Bridge Meadows, United States Bridge Meadows apartment homes is a community in Portland, Oregon where young people without families live with elderly people. The community wants to “change the world - and we’re starting where we live by providing safe, stable and supportive communities for youth in foster care, adoptive parents, and elders.” For this purpose, the community “develops and sustains intergenerational neighborhoods for adoptive families of youth formerly in foster care that promote permanency, community and caring relationships while offering safety and meaningful purpose in the daily lives of older adults”. More information can be found in inDerenda Schubert‘s TED Talk. She is the Executive Director of Bridge Meadows, and she explains how the community creates multiple value for different generations by bringing them together and discusses the importance of intergenerational dialogue. 8 9 c) Les talents d’Alphonse, France The French start-up Les talents d’Alphonse was founded a few years ago and connects the elderly with younger people while taking classes together. For €15, young people can have a private lesson with an “Alphonse,” the teacher. The Alphonses register online to offer their services, such as cooking, guitar playing, gardening, crafting and sewing. Recently, the platform has allowed elderly people to care for children in exchange for money. This service is a solution to the shortage of daycares for young children in France. Les talents d’Alphonse also encourages intergenerational knowledge and helps older people feel useful while teaching younger people a skill for a low price. 113

A TED talk was presented by the start-up’s two co-founders, Thibault Bastin and Bathélemy Gas, who explain how they developed this idea and what social value their company creates. 10 There are many other examples that prove that intergenerational sharing exists. These three examples, however, demonstrate that it exists everywhere in the world and can take different forms. 7 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt58fu-TjWc) 8 https://bridgemeadows.org/about-us 9 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb0fzZJuOoU&feature=youtu.be 10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_8rIem2xOU 114

III. How: The business model canvas and multiple value creation To tackle problems important in today’s society, I decided to create a social coffee place. I used the business model canvas to develop my idea and prove its feasibility. 1. Value proposition a. What values do I want to deliver to my customers? First, I want to create a community of elderly and younger people, especially a learning community where knowledge is shared and stories are told. In this way, I hope to reduce loneliness of the elderly, young and unemployed. I want to create a place where everyone feels welcome no matter their income, gender, ethnicity or any other factor. In addition, I want to provide them with cheaper access to local and eco-friendly products and services: clothes, learning workshops, food and beverages. In summary, I want to create purpose for people. I wish that every time they enter this place, they immediately know what they came for and feel welcomed as member of a family. b.Which one of our customers’ problems are we helping to solve? As mentioned, this community would help old people, young people and the unemployed combat feeling lonely and useless, as well as the expensive cost of living. People who are not working do not have a large income stream and can often not afford to buy new products or access services, such as a simple coffee in a cozy location. c. What bundles of products and services are we offering to each customer segment? Elderly people will receive contact with younger people by becoming teachers in workshops. They will feel rewarded and respected by younger people willing to learn from them. In addition, old people volunteering will have unlimited access to the services of the coffee shop and could decide to spend the afternoon there as appreciation for their volunteer work. 115

Alternatively, younger people the coffee shop could provide workshops for affordable prices as well as a place to relax, work or have a coffee and vintage non-expensive clothes and non-expensive food and vegetables. We will also provide a place to organize night events, such as karaoke, open mics, parties for students, or dances for the elderly. For the schools, we will provide classes for children and workshops for cooking, gardening or sewing for a small price. We will enable children to learn from the elderly, and the elderly to feel useful as they share their knowledge with the youngest generation. d. Which customer needs are we satisfying? We do not aim to satisfy basic needs but rather focus on the top of the Maslow’s 116

Pyramid: - Self-fulfilment: By teaching or receiving lessons, people will achieve their full potential with creative activities and knowledge sharing. In the thrift store, they will be able to buy new clothes and feel creative and original in the way they dress. - Belonging and love: People will be able to share their stories or simply drink coffee in a warm, safe atmosphere. 117

2. Customer relationship: What type of relationship does each of our customer segments expect us to establish and maintain? I want to have a relationship with my customers based on mutual care. The staff members should know most of the customers personally and take time to chat with them and listen to their needs. I want every person to feel he or she is welcome. 3. Channels: Through which channels do our customer segments want to be reached? We will be located in a building that is open from Monday through Saturday. To reach younger generations, we will use social media, such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. We will also organize events at the opening to make people aware of this new concept. A weekly newsletter will be sent via email to people registered for our mailing list. In the newsletter, we will announce upcoming events and display pictures and stories of previous events. Furthermore, we will introduce new members of the staff and mention people leaving. Last, we will publish a wish list of the coffee shop’s needs, so people can bring items they have to the store in exchange for a voucher. The staff will call elderly people who are registered (for free) twice a month to talk with them. In this way, elderly people are updated on upcoming events that could interest them or have a conversation starting with “how are you doing?”, “is everything okay?” or “how was your day?” The most important way to reach the customers will be word-ofmouth. The community should be able to grow when people tell their friends or their family about this place. We will also have a website in which we will present the store’s concept with the three sections, pictures of the workshops and testimonials from volunteers and customers. Last, we hope that the city in which we establish this business will help us communicate in local media. 118

4. Customer segment a. For whom are we creating value? We aim to create value for every customer. The value will be mostly the same for everyone. The social value is the learning community. The environmental value is the reduction of waste in clothes (thrift store), in food (our products will be given to people in need or associations at the end of the day), and in objects (most furniture in the coffee shop will be secondhand, bought or donated). We thus want to create value for elderly people, the unemployed, young people, families, schools and every person who feels the need to visit this business. b. Who are our most important customers? Everyone will be important and welcome in the coffee shop. 5. Key activities: What key activities does our value proposition require? Our value proposition requires three key activities each located in three sections of the business. Each section will be interdependent. a. The workshop The first part of the project is the workshop. In the workshop, people will find an open space with tables, chairs, sewing machines, tools, sinks, cookers, refrigerators, ovens and baking machines. The workshop classes will take place in this room. Outdoors, there will also be a little garden where gardening lessons will be held. b. The coffee shop This shop will sell a portion of the food products, such as cakes or biscuits, made during the workshop lessons, as well as smoothies, juice, coffee, tea or other drinks made directly by the staff. The products will be seasonal and from partners who are local producers to provide our customers with healthy products and promote healthy lifestyles. In addition, baskets of vegetables, fruit and fresh produce will be sold or given to the elderly. 119

c. The thrift store This store sells clothes donated by people in exchange for a voucher for a free drink and piece of. After being sorted by volunteers, young, elderly or unemployed people, the clothes will be repaired if needed and displayed in a small part of the shop to be sold for a fair price in the thrift store. 6. Key resources: what do our value propositions require? Without the volunteers, the business will not be able to survive. Every kind of help, including knowledge, will be welcome. For example, volunteers may be a former chef or a retired lady who has a secret apple pie recipe, a handyman, or a former library worker. We will also need donations of clothes and furniture to furbish the shop and provide the thrift store with clothes and products to sell. 7. Key partners a. Who are our key partners? For the three key resources, we will need to create strong partnerships with local suppliers from the region. To create a learning community, we must develop strong partnership with different institutions, such as retirement homes and local associations as distributors of our surpluses in food and clothes. We also want to create partnership with schools and local producers of goods. b. Who are our key suppliers? Which key resources are we acquiring from partners? Which key activities do partner perform? Since the shop will aim to be self-sufficient in terms of energy, we will install solar panels and a water tank to be our own energy suppliers. This will promote green energy while reducing our long-term costs. In addition, one-third of the food will be grown within the shop in the garden, taking into account that every season has its own vegetables and fruits and seasonality will need to be considered when completing the card and cooking lessons. 120

8. Cost structure a.What are the most important costs inherent in our business model? The most important costs in the business model are the rent and employees. Although we will mostly work with volunteers, we will need to have staff that can work five days a week to ensure that the shop is open six days a week. The store will be in an old building provided for a fair price by the city of Paris. The energy and water will only cost the price of installation since we will install solar panels and water tanks in the building to be energy self-sufficient. As outlined in key resources, we will need to pay for the perishable groceries. We will try to reduce the prices by creating partnerships. Most of the furniture and tools for the workshops will be donated, and the rest will be bought at a fair price in secondhand markets, online or in markets. By creating partnerships with other associations, such as furniture charity shops, or by using the newsletter announcement, we will find what we need for low prices. We will not buy the clothes since they will be donated. As a result, they will not be considered in the costs. The most expensive key resources will be food and drinks, rent, employee pay and insurance for the volunteers. The most expensive activities will be the coffee shop because it will need employees and a food supply. The workshop will also be an expensive activity since we need to pay the rent, as well as pay for machines (e.g., cold room, cooking machines, cooker, oven) for which we will not be able to reduce the price, and the ingredients. 121

Epilogue I was happy to work on this project, which is important to me. I have been able to develop my own idea based on my value drivers, my previous work experiences, the trends I like and the sustainable development goals I want to tackle. I hope than one day I will be able to create a business like this because I truly believe that circular economy and intergenerational exchanges are a way to fight fast fashion and help people combat loneliness. This project is mainly based on people willing to change and be part of change. This kind of project needs people to believe in what they do and be ready to give their time to create multiple value creation. The keys for this project’s success are time, willpower, passion, and creation of partnerships. 122

Colophon Final editing Godelieve Spaas With contributions from Julia Rost, Aina Catalan, Dimitri Brugmans, Marine David Editorial assistant Miranda Kallenberg Composition and DTP Imke Rademakers Contact Center of Expertise Sustainable Business Location Breda: Hogeschoollaan 1 Location ‘s-Hertogenbosch: Onderwijsboulevard 215 P.O. Box 90116, 4800 RA Breda 088 - 525 80 83 info.esb@avans.nl Published by Avans Hogeschool, Center of Expertise Sustainable Business 2020

InDruk InDruk is a series of publications in which we share proposals for, questions about, and imaginations for other economies. The Sustainable Strategy and Innovation research group investigates what economy, doing business, and organizing can become and how it could function if we are actually caretakers instead of takers of natural, social, and human resources. We collect stories of radical innovators, we design “pockets of future” to envision the future from practices, and we develop tools and insight for transformation. Investigating developments or discovering and designing what could be implies treasuring the unknown, walking untrodden paths, and having the courage to continuously adjust insights and ideas. We do not have the time to wait until we understand it all because many people and the planet are suffering already. We operate by trial and error, finding our way toward an ecologically, socially, and economically just future. Thus, we share our in between insights and invite everyone to co-think, act, and imagine with us. The purpose of each InDruk is to communicate our cutting-edge proposals for economic renewal to inspire, to build on, and to share. This InDruk is about the principle of multiple entrepreneurship. The issue explores four business models designed to serve people and nature in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. Each practice is a microcosm of the grand scheme, rethinking different aspects of multiple entrepreneurship. Together, they outline the importance of combining apples with oranges as a strategy for sustainable business.

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