I watched my father struggle to create a business for over thirty years. I knew that wasn’t going to be me, but I suppose standing right on the line of it is the only way to change things for the better.
After assigning the team to read through “The State of Nature” articles in Wikipedia and to dedicate at least an hour to what we’ve come to refer to as “disciplined thought”, I thought there could be some explaining to do -especially for the new members.
Disclaimer: I suppose there is a first disclaimer to address (one that our clients and collaborators get really quickly): the world of Startups is pretty active, at the moment, and every new, contemporary company is sort of assumed to fit into the Startup standard, which includes a << CEO >>, a pursuit of wealth and a << differentiating factor >> which one protects in order to << beat the competition >>; this is definitely not us.
Setting the context
Our company began not from a business meeting or an entrepreneurial arrangement, but from an afternoon of complaining to a cup of coffee. Four of us had met to -as usual- express our discontent and our ideas of social revolution. We weren’t smart at all, but we were driven to find anything resembling wisdom and a way to put it to practice.
coffee shops became a symbol of idealist conversation. you can imagine we weren’t (Aren’t?) too fun to hang out with around coffee or tea.
A lot of conversations we’ve heard include the idea of “improving the world”, but I tend to feel this term is often used too lightly.
What does it mean to really improve the world? It surely can’t mean making it more practical. I don’t even think making it more sustainable fully addresses the improvements the world needs. We probably need to try a bit harder.
Perhaps it was the education system we had in Mexico, or perhaps it is a generalized thing, but we did not learn too much about ethics, philosophy, sociology or psychology in school. This meant -and means- that we realized our discontent had a reason and that, surely, a structure could be added onto it in order to find an effective line of action.
It made us realize we did not have the necessary tools to deliver answers, but in looking around and coming to the conclusion that others didn’t either, we thought we had enough to at least move forward and explore ways of collectively finding those answers.
Why are our societies broken? How do we fix them? Why do the wheels keep turning and why do we insist that there are tracks in front of them when we see -and consciously forget- that the tracks stopped long ago and we must lay new ones?
So with this in mind, we began a company. A pursuit of impact -in- people, not -for- people. A pursuit which is not external, but internal. A pursuit of -our own- social responsibility.
Getting Practical
In creating a traditional business, the first thing you should probably do is define an activity (typically driven by your strengths and taking advantage of external “opportunity trends”); this, we can refer to as product push or market pull. The benefit of this approach is that it is pretty straight forward in determining the potential for success and it is quick in driving income (if done properly and if the proposal is good) or in pushing you towards a new venture.
Creating a social business or wave of social responsibility, if we may call it that, is a bit different. I probably haven’t given enough thought to it to describe it successfully, but I suppose we can initially visualize it as a process of (1) defining pilar values of “things which should be” (e.g. children and adults should dream and be excited to dream, people should have the ability to improve their realities, knowledge should be shared -these are some of ours-), (2) finding others who agree with those values and who are willing to fight for them, (3) pivoting different ways of promoting these values and making them happen through activities or products which create an income which allows business sustainability, and (4 and probably more important) constantly questioning what new thing you can do -as an individual within an organization- to increase the reach of your social responsibility -not your revenue-. It is easily understandable, to question the validity of this last point; I will invite the original proposer of the idea to explain and aid in my argumentation, if you wish to go more in depth: Rachel Botsman @ TEDGlobal 2012, “The currency of the new economy is trust”.
2013: creative park restoration.
Values: cared-for and inspiring surroundings + waste upcycling.
2014: installing public reading modules.
values: knowledge access + inspiring surroundings + waste upcycling.
2015: teaching children “creative Electronics”.
Values: accessible and inspiring technology + children empowerment.
2016: developing open-source mobility robots.
values: accessible and inspiring technology + knowledge access.
This second process is -I think- a bit more challenging than the former. It has required from us a sort of “memory” whereby the exterior of the organization and its activities might drastically change (see pictures above for a reference of some of the different activities we’ve gone through), but which ensures they remain coherent with a solid interior of value-driven intent which will constantly be put to the test against additional, new, local and international issues and questions.
However difficult and confusing, nonetheless, it is our belief that creating a wave of social responsibility is the only way to actual impact.
Any traditional business which -as an effect- creates impact, will probably create a dent which will eventually disappear. It is positive, but one could probably do much better.
The basic point we’re trying to make is that it is not enough to have one activity which creates business and supports one of the world’s problems, but that the goal should rather be to create a group which cares about and thinks about multiple problems, and which seeks to create a business around helping solve them.
The main activity of the business will naturally be focused on that which it can more naturally address, but the way in which that main activity is developed, the companies with which it collaborates, the additional revenue streams it generates, the messages it conveys through its marketing, the culture it creates within its walls and towards the outside, through its employees… all of this will be positively affected. These activities, more than the main business activity, are what is probably likely to improve the world. Creating a culture of positivity.
On Current International Issues
In following our ideas with congruence, then, we strive to promote acknowledgement, discussion, analysis and action regarding local and international issues. This has typically been done inside the team and not too much towards the outside, but we are starting to believe sharing a bit of it could be beneficial, too.
Engineers and researchers usually don’t think too much about these topics, which is why we think it’s even more important to bring them up.
1. LGBT+ inclusion and respect
Christopher Street Day @ Berlin, 2016.
The North of México is a notably homophobic environment. Even after the last years of international pro-inclusion movements, the environment in Monterrey remains mostly inclined towards rejection of anyone defying the binary norm.
We are absolutely against intolerant behavior and promote that our employees openly share and show their sexual orientations and external-image decisions.
We acknowledge our North-Mexican members are less used to these ideas than others, which is why we promote conversation in an attempt to help them become increasingly tolerant and respectful. Our interview process typically includes screening towards disrespectful tendencies or actions; such prospects are not expected to be integrated in the company.
It is not our role to educate the public in this matter, but it is our responsibility to show our stand in this issue, as well as in others.
Albeit one might not find a numerous number of posts discussing LGTB+ Inclusion in our Social Media, it is a stand we increasingly try to project through our branding and marketing.
2. Misogyny and the fight for equality
Mexico City. PHoto by santiago arau, 2019. Plataforma arquitectura.cl.
México is also notably misogynistic and this last year has seen a rise in women’s voices against the constant aggression, violence, and fear they must endure day in and day out.
August, México City saw not only the anger of its women but also the back-lash of its un-empathetic males.
It seems absurd, to need to explain why we support these women and what they’re fighting for; perhaps this excerpt from internal communications regarding these events will help.
You all know we are a company of idealism.. and it is important to be congruent and active about it. I feel it is important to recognize that this is not just any common week in our country. There are a lot of things being said about what has happened in the last days, in CDMX, and I actually feel pretty lucky to be here, in this (in my understanding and hope) historic time.
I don't believe I can transmit any of my thoughts to people on social networks, or anywhere else, but I can try to do so with you: our team. There are many things which are deeply wrong with our country, but there is only one which is the most important one, right now: our society has created and is still creating a disgusting and -deadly- environment for women. this is not normal and it is not acceptable… and there are brave women out there, right now, doing everything in their understanding to change it.
You are free to disagree with any, some, or all of their methods… but I urge you to show them nothing but support and admiration for their long-needed uprising and their strength in standing up for something we should all have stood up for before.
Change is needed and we all know it. They are leading. We must follow and help them keep on pushing.
We can suggest privately, but we must only support publicly.
This is something we believe in, even for our own team; and this is something I ask of you, too, for this important social movement.
As a company, our actions in this topic are simple, but hopefully effective: it is our policy to favor hiring women engineers and professionals in general. Additionally, all women members are pushed to pursue leadership positions. We understand this might sound unfair to males wanting to enter the team, or to those aiming for leadership positions.. but we don’t really care.
The balance has been shifted towards the other side long enough, and we believe achieving balance means leaning it to the other side for a while.
3. Sustainability and climate change
Failed 3D-Print PLA Waste.
Technology and product development, as many other activities, involve waste generation. Obsolete plastic parts, packaging, shipping carbon footprint and inefficient electricity usage are four of the main pollution sources identified within our activities.
One of the most notorious issues is the first one: obsolete plastic parts. We typically produce a single part in 3D-Printing PLA at least two or three times before the part is deemed final; each part in average includes 50g of plastic and a prototype may include anywhere from 10 to 25 parts, which means we might be producing around 3kg of plastic waste per prototype.
Even if the numbers are not too large at the moment, as the company grows and the projects become more numerous this plastic waste is sure to increase; additionally, we realize more and more people we collaborate with and introduce to the process of product development will engage in the same waste production.
Considering obsolete parts are typically manufactured in only one material (PLA, ABS or Nylon in our case) we believe it should not be too complicated to recycle these parts and turn them back into 3D-Printing reels. We are yet to find a partner who can help us with this process, and our collaborators in Mexican, US-Based and French Universities have this problem too, so we hope to find a solution for us, and for them, soon.
With regards to carbon footprint from shipping, we focus on using manufacturing processes which can easily be found or implemented locally, in order to prototype and produce products where they will be used. 3D-Printing is specially good for achieving this.
Additionally, favoring standard and off-the-shelf components (at least for proof of concepts, prototypes and artistic installations) significantly increases the probability of finding local suppliers for components required, therefore reducing the need for shipping. Reducing shipping needs also reduces the need for plastic and disposable packaging. Whenever required to ship or transport prototypes, products and installations, boxes which have been delivered to us in purchases are typically used (whole or in parts) to protect our work; we also favour using blankets, carpets and pillows instead of disposable plastic films and styrofoam fillings.
4. Racism and the idealized human aesthetic
Takeshita Street diversity @ Tokyo, 2017.
The last five years have seen an increase in the discussion about these issues at an international level, and also in a contextualized way in México.
Suffice it to say, we promote diversity of race and style within our organization, seeking the integration and visibility of members whose clothing, hairstyle, tattoos, shaving-no-shaving decisions are guided by their own, personal decisions and principles and not guided by social pressures which surround us all.
Our main directive is to promote self-expression and tolerance, acknowledging both have been increasingly restricted by our social constructs of idealised images, especially in America.
5. Junk food and illegal-substance consumption
Fit + Zero-Waste INDI Christmas 2016 @ Monterrey, México.
Placing these two topics together is a statement. It is our posture that (1) content and long-term repercussions of everything we consume are more important than the short-term pleasures it provides and (2) staying within the law is crucial in creating sustainable impact (sometimes laws need to be changed, yes, but that’s a different topic).
It is a topic of increased importance, for us, to promote local, sustainable, and healthy food choices. Although we don’t enforce behaviors on our team, we try to lead by example ensuring simple and sustainable choices are offered in workshops and meetings, and well as adopting zero-waste practices to reduce the impact of events we host.
Consuming alcohol and other legal drugs, and behaving like an idiot on social media are two very different things; the latter is the one which will get someone fired.
Our policies on substance usage are contextual, and depend upon the law of each country and state where we operate; nonetheless, our standards are strict with regards to behavior.
6. Income gap and elitism
The Social Gap 2016 @ San Pedro Garza García, México.
Being born in México, we are no strangers to the concept “cheap labor”. We believe this is one of the symptoms and drivers of numerous social problems around the world, including numerous levels of violence.
I am glad to pay more for the cinema, a haircut or for coffee, because that’s what will allow them to close on weekends and have a rest, too.