We Need More Startups That Don’t Prioritize Growth Above All Else

Corporate America’s “growth at all costs” has worked for too few, for too long. Recently, leading CEOs at the Business Roundtable came to a similar conclusion, issuing a statement on corporate purpose rejecting maximizing shareholder returns as the sole corporate objective. If the CEOs at the Business Roundtable are serious about fixing shareholder capitalism, they need to consider take an honest look at who gets funding, how local communities are affected, and what voices are missing from the conversation. Designed for disruption, dominance, and outsized investor returns, mounting evidence proves that venture-backed companies breed toxic culture, worker exploitation, and homogeneity both in leadership and shareholders. In some cases, these companies can also destabilize sectors that are bedrock to local economies and, some have argued, erode the foundation of democracy. Accredited VC investors— high net worth individuals to begin with—reap an outsized share of the reward. Employees are granted fractional and often expensive stock options that put significant ownership out of reach. Read more at Harvard Business Review.