Changing the world needs more than a marketing slogan.

One of the biggest cliches in technology and startups is that every company wants to change the world. It’s what the founders will tell you, it’s what the websites will proclaim, and it’s said so easily and frequently that it starts to lose all meaning. For many founders, it might even be something they believe, it might be something they genuinely want to do - but it doesn’t mean a thing if it’s not put into practice. 

There’s nothing wrong with being idealistic. But there’s so much wrong with pretending that we’re doing something we’re not. 

I want to see every founder create a company that improves the lives of people. You can be creative with all of the metrics and statistics you want, but if no one is getting good things for their money then it is just being thrown away. It’s time for everyone who says they want to change the world to start changing it.

For me personally, it’s about taking responsibility.

This is what I know: it’s everyone’s responsibility to do something about climate change. It’s everyone’s responsibility to do something to make the world better, to respond to the issues around us in a meaningful way. And if you’re a tech company, if you’re building products with applications that actually could make a difference, you have even more reason to stand up and back your claims with real-world action. 

When I founded Goterra, it wasn’t only to build a business. That’s a great thing to do, and creating jobs and a company culture where people are happy and looked after is a good path; but more than that, I saw a chance to put my money where my mouth is on sustainability and dedicate myself to producing tech that can actually play a part in reducing and lowering emissions. When we became the first company to commercialise modular waste disposal that uses robots to tell actual insects to break down organic waste and generate alternative protein in the process, I took a leap towards that goal. I have not regretted a single moment since. 

When you commit to creating change, there are opportunities. Huge opportunities.

Too many people engage with the same industries, the same tasks, the same models and priorities without questioning them. But new opportunities open up all the time if you are prepared to look for them instead of ignoring them. You should not let the existing systems dictate how you execute and dictate whether or not you do the right thing for the right reason, because outside that system there are industries that have yet to be build. Renewable energy is a huge market that people still don’t take seriously. For us at Goterra, alternative protein represents an opportunity we would never have found if we weren’t dedicated to creating change. 

You can be consistently surprised at the possibilities that emerge by taking risks and being persistent with your mission, instead of just paying lip service to it.

These aren’t normal times. These are interesting times.

We’re facing problems that are unprecedented. That’s a word that gets used a lot, and it’s because we are facing bigger issues than ever. Climate change isn’t going away, and the impact of it is going to be clearer and clearer. People are demanding real action, real change and real responses. If all we can give them in return is a few tweets and a banner, they’re going to walk away in droves. 

And let me warn you that this is going to take time and effort. There will be some indignant flailing, a bit of drama and people wanting you to back down and — to be honest — a few furious people demanding that you invest your time in profits over sustainability or just do it for the cameras. But if you give your consumers a reasonable roadmap, it is not impossible to build a company that creates real, actual change. It is not impossible to walk the walk more than you talk the talk.