Honk If You Love Cheeses: March 2010

"For Benefit Corps" thumbs up or thumbs down?

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Mon at 5:05pm

Today John Margolis posted a well written article on his news blog called "Corporate Values" (http://www.vermontnewsguy.See Moregrowth and prosperity in any sector is assisted by fundamentally altering time worn financial strategieis with what I would argue are non monetary perspectives. To answer the question regarding investment capital, most who I asked thought that but for limited capital investment by a scant few who have the luxury to play around a bit, significant investments at all levels would be stunted by the public benefit corp model.
Yesterday at 4:40pm · Report
See Moreinvests in financial assets. Driving a company towards short term financial gain at the expense of People and the p
Planet has proven to produce artificial wealth and a roller coaster boom and bust economy. Yet corporate law requires that companies do exactly that.
So a Benefit charter protects directors who want to make decisions that are in the best long term interests of a company. Benefit corporations act in the best interests of all stakeholders, including shareholders. They are not "non-profit" or limited profit like the L3C. They make money in a prudent - I call it old-fashioned - way.
This law protects them.
Yesterday at 6:00pm · Report
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Nate Freeman
Will, I didn't mean to suggest anything negative in reference to L3Cs and NPOs. My apology if that's how my comment came across.
Cairn, you know, I think there's no good reason to oppose S.263. Pass it into law and see how it flies. We did so with other novel corporation types including captive insurance and L3Cs. It's fun to kick the ball around hypothetically and conclude Benefit corps won't attract investors, but in terms of legislation I suppose it makes sense to let proponents to take the ball and run with it.
Will, in terms of stimulating investor interest, I think a feasible way to raise capital might be through bond offerings and/or convertible preferred shares. These types of investments are probably a good fit for investors with a long term view. ... See MoreReport
Cairn Cross
One thing to clarify. A "B-Corporation" is different than a "for benefit" corporation. "B-Corporations are certified by an organization known as B-Lab and any corporation located anywhere can applied to become a certified B-Corporation. However, the certification does not offer much in the way of legal protection. The for benefit corporation as ... See MoreReport
Cairn Cross
I came across this piece today and while not exactly about S.263 or for benefit corporations, it has an interesting perspective on social responsibility which ties loosely into this discussion. Worth a read. http://www.trinitynet.com/Report
Cairn Cross
To be clear the link above brings you to a landing page and you are looking for the article titled small business and sustainability. It is pertinent to some of the comments that Jim Smith made earlier in this thread.
6 hours ago · Report
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When it comes to marketing Equity of a Corporation to Capital Markets, my general experience as a Marketer leads me to believe that the "Investor Benefits" of B-Corps (as Will Patten has beautifully articulated above) will be Valued by "Some Investors", for "Some Portions" of their Investment Portfolios. This is nothing more (or less) than a theory of strategic marketing Segmentation applied to Capital Markets. My response to Nate Freeman's question regarding "where's the need for Benefit Corp's that's not already been addressed by NPO's and L3C's, I would ask, "Where's the need for iPhones, when there are already so many other Smart Phones and MP3 players out there in the marketplace that cost less?" It's all about market Segmentation, Branding and great, targeted marketing. Not everybody has an iPhone and certainly nobody "needs" and iPhone. But there IS a market for them! I believe Equity in B-corps "Should" be appealing to certain types of investors for certain portions of their portfolios. That's only because I also believe that market-worthy Products and Services marketed by successful B-Corps must, by definition of "Success" be appealing to major segments of Consumers. Stakeholders and Society.
Earlier today, @BCorporation just tweeted and posted on their Facebook page (which I RT'd as @DavidRVT) an article totally relevant to this discussion, from the Impact Investor Blog:
http://www.theimpactinvest
http://bit.ly/aJIJ5N
My personal experience and outlook are 100% aligned with what James Smith has written above, when it comes to the First Order of Business for any Enterprise (whether Socially Responsible or Otherwise). As Unilever's first CEO of Ben & Jerry's, my friend Yves Couette, succinctly put it to the B&J's Leadership Team in early 2001 : "The least socially-responsible thing that any socially-responsible company can do is to go out of business. To be a sustainable, any business MUST return adequate profits to its shareholders."
In summary, I agree with those in favor of passing the VT legislation and letting the Capital Markets decide upon the value of the equity in B-Corps. As with any product launch, the Buyers decide! All my best wishes to you All!
5 hours ago ·
Cairn Cross
David. Very elegantly written and thanks for your input. I am trying to round up a few further viewpoints here to broaden the discussion.
4 hours ago · Report
See Moremarket its equity as a For Benefit Corp. As always, we'll have to learn which way the Thumbs will point from the Market for Ideas! Back to the Yin & Yang of Visioning & Due Diligence!
3 hours ago ·