Johanna Hernandez Schaefer

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PURPOSE was founded in 2015 by Adrian and Achim Hensen, Alexander Kühl, and Armin Steuernagel. Through their experiences as entrepreneurs and employees, they witnessed the impact conventional ownership structures and shareholder-maximizing business models can have on companies and people. They aimed to support companies in choosing ownership and financing forms that prioritize purpose and values over short-term profits. After more than a year of development based on their experiences, they created the concept of steward-ownership and began assisting companies in implementing this structure and securing alternative financing.

Today, PURPOSE operates as a network of various entities with different activities and focuses around steward-ownership. The core team of PURPOSE comprises around 30 people dedicated to steward-ownership.

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Through our work on steward-ownership, we identify the most effective levers to strategically support the entire ecosystem around steward-ownership and inspire the world with our efforts. Since the founding of PURPOSE, the idea and concept have become more well-known and implementable – globally. We see ourselves as the heart of a worldwide movement around steward-ownership, which is growing daily. Together with the Purpose partner organizations Purpose LatAm, Purpose US, and Purpose Switzerland, as well as regional partnerships in the Netherlands, Greece, Belgium, Scandinavia, Rwanda, and Spain, we are building an international ecosystem around steward-ownership.

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PURPOSE can best be viewed as a network of various entities. With different activities and focuses, we work together to make steward-ownership more well-known and accessible worldwide. We engage with suitable financing forms or directly support companies in transitioning to steward-ownership. As individual Purpose entities, we operate independently but are organizationally connected.

The Purpose Foundation engages in non-profit work around the topic of steward-ownership and alternative ownership and financing forms. Its mission is to make steward-ownership – the international term coined by the foundation in 2016 – and Steward-Ownership Aligned Financing more accessible and well-known worldwide. The focus is on international field building, which includes activities related to cultural, research, and educational work. The Purpose Foundation sees itself as the heart of a global movement around steward-ownership.

Purpose Ventures is dedicated to start-up financing, investing in start-ups that prioritize the purpose and mission of their business and aim to remain autonomous in the long term. As a financing partner, Purpose Ventures supports start-ups in finding financing forms that suit their needs and values, while preserving their mission and independence.

Purpose Evergreen Capital (PEC) finances small and medium-sized enterprises with patient, values-oriented capital. The goal is to support as many medium-sized companies as possible in remaining independent and true to their values through financing and advising on succession solutions in steward-ownership.

Purpose Consulting assists entrepreneurs in finding tailored ownership solutions for their companies and provides advice on founding, business succession, financing (in steward-ownership), and process support for individual ownership and governance solutions.

The non-profit Purpose Foundation based in Basel, along with its 100% subsidiary, Purpose Stiftung gGmbH based in Hamburg, are particularly committed to the topic of steward-ownership in the fields of science and education. Additionally, the veto share solution was developed to simplify the implementation of steward-ownership. The background here is that, as long as there is no dedicated legal form for steward-ownership, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups need an alternative to existing foundation models that enables them to implement steward-ownership. The Purpose Foundation offers a solution through the veto share model, where a so-called controlling shareholder, e.g., the Purpose Foundation, oversees and secures the principles of steward-ownership. The Purpose Foundation holds veto shares of companies worldwide, while the Purpose Stiftung gGmbH is responsible for companies based in Germany.