Recently, our CEO Michael Walsh was interviewed as part of a Conscious Capitalism Dallas fireside chat with chapter President Danielle Mairs.
So what exactly is “conscious capitalism” and why are we so passionate about it?
It’s a global movement that unites businesses in a common goal of creating positive change in the world. We focus on better business practices, social awareness and our responsibility to shift business culture. Every day, we’re driven by this higher purpose and use profits to achieve it—prioritizing meaningful impact on the lives of all stakeholders above everything else.
Cariloop believes that purpose-driven business is the future.
Our concierge Caregiver Support Platform® for employees taking care of loved ones is here to reduce the physical and emotional strain felt by all of these caregivers. The conscious capitalism mindset is creating a brighter path forward for Cariloop and all of our stakeholders—our team, customers, shareholders, members and our planet.
Learn more with the following excerpts from Michael’s interview answers.
Deconstructing what we thought a business should be
“Years ago, as we were starting the company, my co-founder and I chatted a lot about some of the baggage we had from our first jobs. We talked about some of the experiences we had with leadership and structure, where it had a tendency to feel very siloed and disjointed.
So we decided to wipe the slate clean and start fresh with how we wanted Cariloop to run and to grow. We literally took our four core values—service, empathy, innovation, integrity—and used them as the base units and anchors for our organizational structure. The values actually power the business functions.”
A foundation of empathy
“Empathy is one of our core values. To us, it means seeking first to understand before being understood—and that’s not easy. But it’s been such a guiding value, just doing our absolute best to understand what people are going through in each of our stakeholder groups and building around and in harmony with it.”
Operating with a higher purpose through Conscious Capitalism
“We didn’t initially use the tenets of Conscious Capitalism to build Cariloop, but we certainly looked to the tenets to validate the way we had built Cariloop. When I was first introduced to Conscious Capitalism about a year ago, I thought, Wow, we’ve been doing this all along. We just didn’t know it!”
I’m a believer in the power of what these tenets unlock from a cultural standpoint, from a growth standpoint and from an overall business standpoint. You’ll face a number of challenges along the way—that’s inevitable—but these tenets and core values are incredible North Stars to use, especially in the tough moments.”
A good company is a successful one
“A few years ago, we realized that it wasn’t enough for us to just build a product and a business that stood for change in how we look at supporting caregivers. If we really wanted to move this needle on a global scale, then we needed to think a little bit differently about the type of business that we were and the types of policies and procedures we were instilling in the company.
Two years ago, we actually converted Cariloop to a Public Benefit Corporation, which gave us the legal structure and designation as a company that upholds positive societal impact. With that, sustainability and social responsibility became more than our ideologies, and instead are integral to the very structure of our business.”
Taking good business a step further
“Thinking about Cariloop, we knew that if we were going to use our business to change the way society views caregivers, we had to do more. We had to make this about the impact that we’re having on society, versus just the revenues and profits in business—that’s a huge driver of all of it. If you’re really going to embrace conscious capitalism, you’ve got to take it a few steps further.”
And Cariloop is doing just that. In 2022, Cariloop became a certified B Corporation. To become a B Corp, we underwent a rigorous verification process conducted by B Lab—a nonprofit network focused on transforming the global economy into a system that balances profit with purpose. A thorough audit of our business practices made clear our dedication to using our business as a force of good.
Read Cariloop’s first annual Impact Report to learn more about how we continue to navigate as a conscious company. When you’re ready to explore the impact Cariloop can make in the lives of your employees through its Caregiver Support Platform®, schedule a demo below.