So that was an interesting year

We launched BOAS January with a simple idea. We would be a company that would build something that people want, we would pay our employees normal wages, and whatever profits would be left we would give to charities that save lives instead of shareholders.

I never thought this was such a radical idea. It seems obvious to me that people prefer working for and buying from these Profit for Good companies, and that's why they would grow faster and be able to generate more profits, which would go to those who need it most rather than shareholders. With one caveat: we need to find philanthropists to "invest" so we can grow faster than our competition.

Besides this being good for business, we shouldn't forget that this model works better for the 99% of people who are not wealthy investors and founders. You could buy what you were already buying, at the same price, but any profits from your purchases would go to saving lives, restoring nature, or whatever change in the world you would like to "buy"!

However, we live in a world where everyone assumes that the only model that can work is our current model; the one that's generating increasing inequality in the form of the biggest wealth gap we've ever seen. So naturally most people thought we were crazy. That's when I met Brad West, another guy who'se postively crazy. Brad is the founder of the Consumer Power Initiative, promoting profit for good companies. Together we're leading the Charitable Profits Alliance, an alliance of the world's first companies donating all profits to charities. Brad's thinking is that if we can get people to start, work for, buy from and invest in companies that donate profits, we could move more of the world's ten trillion dollars in profits to good causes.

And with a world where we have ten trillion dollars of profit each year, the changes we as consumers could fund are incredible. Back of the envelope: 1.7 trillion to get us on track with the paris climate accord. 5 trillion to double the income of everyone living below the extreme poverty line. That's 700 million people who'se lives would be greatly improved let alone saved. There's also 5 million kids dying each year from preventable diseases. You could save most of them with the money that's left.

If our crazy idea has even the smallest chance of moving some of that money to where it's needed most instead of least, it seems like a good idea to try and devote your life to and we're not alone in thinking that. 3 of my cofounders thought so, and we've had more than 1.000 applications to work for BOAS this year. Yes, people really do like to work for companies that are "radically" good. Right now, BOAS is still mostly a vision. We have 12 people working for us and we've donated €2378.32 to charities that save lives, but we've got a lot of work left to reach our mission of saving a million kids lives, and we're even further from our vision to move the world's profits to where it's needed most, but we're more alive than ever!

So everyone thought we were crazy. And then something amazing happened: Patagonia switched to the Profit for Good business model. That was an extremely significant moment for us. One of the most innovative and "good" companies in the world thought our business model was good enough for them to switch theirs to it. We, and the other companies already giving away their profits to charities became a little bit less crazy that day.

The ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones that do.

I know everyone says this, but all of this would be completely impossible without the selfless help of many, many bright people. There are a bunch I need to thank in particular. Matthias Kullbach , Or Perlman and our stealth CTO, for devoting large parts of your lives to our vision. The incredible BOAS team with Hasan Albanna, Johanna Haberkorn , Julius Ogunsola , Lucia L. , Misato Sandoval , Patricija Karpaviciute , Séforah Siep and Su Cizem . The invaluable advice from people like Ruben Kranendonk , Iwein Fuld , Michael Pirron , James Read & Rob Peters . Brad West for being crazy. Ellie Leszczynski for all the help. The entire Profit for Good Initiative team. All members of the Charitable Profits Alliance for moving their profits to where it's needed most. Generous Minds for agreeing this can work and working with us to make it work. All brands trusting BOAS to get them sales in the future. My friends and family for their support and Isaura Cooke for being there. Finally, the literally hundreds of people who've helped, asking only for a better world in return. You are why we might just win, and why we might just make this crazy dream a reality, one dollar to charity at a time. My gratitude cannot be expressed in words, so I am just going to say THANK YOU!.

He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how

On a personal note, this year has been amazing. Being a founder is certainly not easy, but knowing that you're working on something that you think is incredibly important and can improve, and even save, the lives of many is something that's incredibly fulfilling and a great source of hapiness. Knowing that many people have our backs is a great source of comfort and gets us out of bed. I hope and think 2023 will be the year we'll take off and turn the possibility of saving lives into a reality.