Ethical Startup Playbook
By: Ryan Reece
Tags: Impact Investing, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Startup, Impact

17 Sustainable Development Goals from The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Adopted by All United Nations Member States in 2015.

IMPACT

Ethical Startup Playbook

On April 11, 1953, Mark R. Sullivan, president, and director of the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. said,

Just what form the future telephone will take is, of course, pure speculation. Here’s my prophecy: In its final development, the telephone will be carried about by the individual, perhaps as we carry a watch today. It probably will require no dial or equivalent, and I think the users will be able to see each other if they want, as they talk.

On June 7, 2010, Apple launched FaceTime, and Mark’s prophecy came true. It only took Steve 57 years, two months, and four days to change the way people communicate forever.

The lesson here is that sometimes dreams do come true.

Humanity is in trouble, and most people don’t like to talk about it.

We rely on nonrenewable resources not just for energy but for life-saving medical equipment, virtually all manufacturing, transportation, batteries, and so much more. In other words, when oil eventually runs out, the world will time travel back to 1859 virtually overnight — unless we discover ways to replace this non-renewable resource completely.

People also don’t like to talk about many other existential threats to our future, such as coordinated social uprising following the proliferation of automation, a third worldwide war, the rise of the machines after the merge, an eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano, significant meteoroid impact, and countless other potentially catastrophic events.

I believe that we, as a species, can pool our collective brainpower to solve the world’s most significant challenges and massively extend the average length of life. Although I don’t think we can do it any time soon. This change will take generations and radical public education reform. And it won’t come from any government. Modification of this magnitude will require a private sector that adopts a triple bottom line framework into the fabric of it’s being.

I have a dream for a new kind of startup that follows a code of conduct explicitly designed for the advancement of humanity and planet Earth over the next century and beyond. This playbook outlines beliefs and practices and invites others to join the cause.

An Ethical Startup is radically ethical, and they lead by example for the entire world to see and follow. They are mission-driven and put society and Mother Nature ahead of shareholder profit.

Requirements of an Ethical Startup

The corporation must be a Public Benefit Corporation. The corporation must obtain B Corp Certification within three years of founding. Any board of directors of five or more members shall have no more than two white male members. Any board of directors of five or more members shall have a female majority. Any board of directors of five or more members shall reserve one board seat for an employee elected non-executive representative. Offical board meetings must be silently observable by any employee. Individual employee salaries and bonuses must be transparent to all other employees. Employee benefits shall extend to all employees equally with no exceptions. The corporation must follow regenerative design practices wherever applicable, and especially as it relates to construction, infrastructure, and agriculture. The corporation shall not leverage single-use plastic, palm oil, or other environmentally destructive resources. The corporation must measure its social and environmental impact on at least three different sustainable development goals approved by the United Nations. The corporation shall split profits from data monetization equality with the data providers. The corporation shall opensource all AI that is responsible for protecting human life. The corporation shall not force employees to do anything they do not agree to do. The corporation may only revoke an employee’s salary and access privileges upon recommendation from a company-approved 3rd-party arbitrator as part of a formal dispute resolution process. The corporation shall offset all carbon output from operations and all employee transportation. The corporation shall make every attempt to ensure all supply chain partners and vendors adhere to Ethical Startup practices.

A Path to Change

Every startup created at the AARRRG startup studio will be an Ethical Startup. Eventually, each Ethical Startup will leverage a software protocol and business operating system to facilitate transparent adherence to these practices. We also plan to opensource a set of corporate bylaw addendums so that any corporation may legally adopt these principles.

Through the practices above, Ethical Startups will eliminate wage gaps, discrimination, gender inequality, ethical fading, abuse of natural resources, and so much more. We hope these radically ethical startups will lead to impactful change for humanity, bringing about more significant levels of peace and prosperity than have previously been imagined.

We invite you to join our cause. Subscribe to AARRRG to follow our story, and comment with any concerns, criticism, support, or other thoughts that you’d like to share.