Catalysing Growth & Impact in the Pet Industry
Spencer B. Hodgetts
Driving Social Change in the Pet Space as an Event Host & Super Connector | Disrupting Norms & Shaping Future Business Cultures
Are we progressing towards a state of social-washing? As society did with green-washing.
Recently my respected colleague Beth Miller wrote My 2￠: THE NEXT UNICORNS won’t just be tech giants but social impact leaders.
The balance between nonprofits, government, and the private sector in driving social good is completely out of whack—and that kind of chaos always breeds opportunity.
Whilst I can see the potential for such companies to create disruption at scale in what may appear a comparatively short time. My concern is that given the existing ruthless business model of VC Investment banking that funds these Unicorns, then once they have achieved their craved for financial growth & exited, will the social element just be abandoned along with all the people & animals it was purporting to support?
What I believe is required, if we are to achieve this social-impact at scale, are innovative new business models that whilst sustainably profitable & scalable have the social purpose embedded in their culture. That intention is discussed in HBS Business for Social Impact Forum 2014
It is intention that distinguishes an impact investment from an investment with impact. A company, as part of its for-profit activity, might make an investment that achieves some incidental social impact. By contrast, an impact investment is made with the specific intent of having a focused and measurable social impact.
Surely to 'achieve some incidental social impact' is tantamount to the social washing that I mentioned at the beginning.
One of the most informative papers I have recently read is:
Social Impact in Social Innovations: Definition, Design & Evaluation, Luis Portales Derbez
11.4 Alignment of Social Impact in Social Innovations
The social impact of social innovations is directly related to their raison d’être. However, and like economic innovations or developed from traditional or non-social companies, not all have the same results or achieve the double purpose of generating economic and social value at the same time (Díaz Foncea, Marcuello,& Marcuello, 2012).
This situation arises for one of the following reasons: The first is the absence of a sufficiently innovative social business model that allows the organization to position itself in the market and guarantee sufficient economic income to generate the seek impact.
In this case, companies should look for a better product or service based on the needs of the market they try to serve. The second reason is the inefficiency to resolve the tension between the generation of income and the social impact. In this case, it is convenient to classify the enterprises according to the degree of integration that the social mission has to which they seek to attend. The third reason is the lack of an impact model that allows them to demonstrate the way in which social innovation will achieve the impact they want to meet.
For other definitions you may wish to read a previous newsletter Social What? You May Well Ask?
My second concern is that we don't just emulate those charitable & philanthropic models which deliver a product/ service to/at excluded populations, but instead develop new social business models which include excluded populations in both their design & delivery.
Wonderful examples of such can be found in Deep Tech & the Amplified Organisation, Robinson, Couto, Moraes Robinson.
MY CALL TO ACTION!
I'M INVITING YOUR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST FOR
REBOUNDOG THE SUMMIT 11-12 SEPT 2025
Catalysing Growth & Social Impact in the Global Pet Industry
IN PERSON UK & LIVE-STREAMED TO THE WORLD
I'll be your host & we will have awesome conversations of the sofas
Forthcoming Events
Reboundog Global Networking
February 27th 6pm UK / 1pm EST
Imagine who else you may meet here? Will it be someone who offers a different perspective on your business project? Will it be someone with whom you wish to enter into a joint venture partnership?
Business networking should not just be about growing your business for more money. Anybody can do that.
Slow down for a moment & think what if.... Business networking could also be about enabling a huge social-impact, adding social value to your community and creating an inclusive society.
I grew up listening to the Coca Cola advert song “I’d like to teach the world to sing.”
As I can’t sing, I’d like to teach the business world to network for social good.
Reboundog Sofa Meet-up
March 13th 6pm UK / 1pm EST
Innovate to Elevate:
A Roundtable on Getting Shelters to Embrace New Tools
The Challenge: You’ve built a product or tool that could?save shelters time, money, and lives—but?implementation is the roadblock.?Many shelters are reluctant to adopt outside solutions, fearing more work, loss of control, or a shift in how they operate.
The Shift: Instead of focusing on?why shelters won’t change,?this session will?explore how we can shift our approach to get shelters to say YES.?This is about?rethinking messaging, identifying key decision-makers,?and building a?bridge shelters want to cross.
Key Questions to Solve Together:
Join Mindy Dutka,? Chief Storyteller at Dogs I Meet & Caroline Johnson Vice Chair ADCH (Association Dogs & Cats Homes), so we can brainstorm and create actionable solutions that work.
Reboundog is proud to support Every Life Matters
STOP PRESS
Earlier this month I was due to write a one off special newsletter, which was postponed due to other new & exciting projects which are now in development. So as a commitment to myself, this will now be published before the end of February & as such you will receive two newsletters within a week
Senior Managing Director
3 天前Spencer B. Hodgetts Great post! You’ve raised some interesting points
Speaker | Consultant | Creator | Leader | Author
4 天前Thank you so much for the shout out and your inspiring thoughts. I agree that this is quite an onion to peel and it will take quite a while for a new reality to emerge. In my opinion, we need to start at the source by educating young entrepreneurs and students in general about the potential for success when they recognize that social entrepreneurship is a magnet for revenue, brand loyalty, etc. Terrifying times/exciting times.