Logo

    Articles

    Contributions et remerciements

    Contributions and Acknowledgments

    Politique de confidentialité

    LinkedInRSSInstagram

    The Guide to Responsibility in Startups

    MVP

    Project Definition Stage: founding team, MVP building, initial funding

    Pre-Seed

    Pre-Seed Stage: marketable product (PoC) in search of business model, first round of funding (€0.3-1M), first hires

    Seed

    Seed Stage: Second round of financing (€1-5M), business model iteration, team expansion

    Structure & Governance

    How is the startup structured and how will it finance its growth? How can all stakeholders be involved in decision-making processes?

    ⭐ Protection of the company’s purpose

    ⭐
    By what means will the startup fulfill its purpose?
    ‣
    Aligning cofounders around shared founding values

    How will founders express the deep purpose of their entrepreneurial activity?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Defining a corporate «why»

    How to formalize the startup's mission to align business model and common interest?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Aligning operating model with purpose

    Are the operations of the startup aligned with the mission?

    How is the mission translated into concrete commitments in the startup’s activities ?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Monitoring progress towards achieving the companyʼs purpose

    How do founders ensure continuity towards the startup's mission?

    👉 Read more

    ☝️ Decision-making

    ☝🏼
    How is the management team structured? How do they make operational decisions?
    ‣
    Defining the relationship between cofounders

    How do founders define their respective roles, contributions, and power within the startup?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Board Composition

    How to ensure the creation of an independent board with a diverse profile?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Integration of employees in decision-making

    How to promote transparency in decision-making and collective intelligence?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Business Ethics

    What are the principles of conduct that influence the startup’s activities and its relations with all its stakeholders?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    ESG Strategy

    How to prioritize environmental, social, and governance criteria in internal policies?

    How to adopt more responsible environmental, social, and governance initiatives?

    👉 Read more

    💰 Funding

    💰
    How does the startup fund its growth?
    ‣
    Non-dilutive funding

    What options do startups have to fund their activity without dilution ?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Choosing investors & ESG audit

    What should be taken into account when a startup is looking for investors?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Transparent relationship with investors

    How to establish positive and fruitful relationships with investors?

    👉 Read more

    🤝 Community Engagement

    🤝
    How can the startup improve its impact on the communities in which it operates?
    ‣
    Relationships with stakeholders

    How to identify different stakeholders and manage their engagement in the project from the beginning?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Open Innovation

    How to adopt a collaborative approach?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Pro bono

    How to expand the startup's sphere of influence through pro bono services or product offerings ?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Philanthropy policy

    How can a startup develop a philanthropy policy?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Measuring impact on communities

    What is the impact of the company’s products and services on broader communities?

    👉 Read more

    Team

    How does the startup build a complementary team capable of accomplishing its mission? How does the startup contribute to the financial, physical, professional, and social well-being of its team members?

    🫂 Recruiting & Management

    👥
    How does the startup build the right team to achieve its mission?
    ‣
    Building the founding team

    How to put together a complementary team?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Defining values & culture

    What values and culture do the founders want to integrate to their company?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Inclusive recruitment process

    How to create an inclusive and responsible recruitment process at each stage to build the team capable of carrying out the startup's mission?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Onboarding of new employees

    How to best onboard new employees?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Monitoring diversity & inclusivity

    How to assess and monitor diversity within the startup?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Team follow-up

    How to establish regular follow-up of team engagement, satisfaction, and performance?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Co-defining values and culture with employees

    How to collectively define the company's values and culture?

    How to enrich the work already done on this subject by the founders?

    👉 Read more

    📪 Compensation & Training

    📪
    How does the startup contribute to the financial, physical, professional, and social well-being of its team members?
    ‣
    Fair compensation for interns and freelancers

    How do we choose to compensate non-employee team members?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Fair and transparent salary policy

    How to define and communicate your salary policy?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Value-sharing

    How to ensure a fair distribution of wealth within the company?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Encourage career development and training

    How to contribute to the professional advancement of team members?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Parental leave policy

    How to establish a culture that destigmatizes and values parenthood?

    👉 Read more

    ⛰️ Well-being & Work Environment

    🏔️
    How does the startup create a responsible work environment?
    ‣
    Mental health and well-being of founders

    What practices can protect the mental health of the co-founders and ensure their well-being?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Work flexibility policy

    How to create a work organization that promotes harmony between professional and personal life?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Mental health and well-being of employees

    How to enhance the physical and mental well-being of team members at work to ensure their good health and reinforce their engagement?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Work environment

    How to establish and maintain a sustainable work environment that contributes to employees' well-being?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Commuting mobility plan

    How to implement a mobility plan?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Measuring of the effectiveness of the work environment

    How do we ensure that the work environment contributes to the creation of value for the startup?

    👉 Read more

    Products & Services

    How does the startup create value by addressing the needs of targeted customers and users? How does the startup take into account the impact of the entire value chain?

    ⚒️ Design & Iteration

    ⚒️
    How does the startup take into account the environmental and social impact of products and services ?
    ‣
    Iteration of the value proposition

    How to construct your value proposition responsibly from the start?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Eco-design

    How to integrate ecological concerns into the design of products and services from their conception?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Inclusive design

    How to incorporate accessibility concerns into the design of products and services from their conception?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Training teams in responsible design

    How to ensure that the team integrates responsible principles from the inception of products and services?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Iteration of responsible design

    How to build upon initial responsible design accomplishments for continuous improvement?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Impact measurement and monitoring

    How to implement measures related to the impact of products and services during their use?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Life cycle assessment

    When and how to engage in a life cycle analysis of your products and services?

    👉 Read more

    ⛓️ Value Chain Management

    ⛓️
    How does the startup take into account the environmental and social impact of the entire value chain?
    ‣
    Building the value chain

    How to ensure building an efficient value chain aligned with the mission?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Sustainable management of IT equipment

    How to optimize the efficiency of IT equipment?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Sustainable choice of suppliers and service providers

    Which suppliers/service providers to choose within the scope of one's business activity and CSR policy? How to structure the relationship with them?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Sustainable choice of hosting provider

    Which suppliers/service providers to choose given the business scope? How to structure the relationship with them?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Carbon footprint measurement

    What processes and tools to use for rigorous monitoring of the carbon footprint throughout the value chain?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Regular audit of partners

    How to ensure that chosen partners (suppliers, service providers, and others) continue to align with the company's needs, requirements, and values?

    👉 Read more

    Customers & Users

    How does the startup continuously improve the value it creates for its customers and users?

    📣 Marketing, Communication, and Transparency

    📣
    How does the startup communicate transparently to its target audience?
    ‣
    Transparent customer information

    How to ensure authentic and honest communication with your target audience?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Sustainable marketing

    How to reduce the environmental impact of physical and digital communication materials?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Inclusive marketing

    How to be more inclusive in communication to avoid excluding certain target audiences?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Promoting responsible consumption

    How to support customers and users in more responsible approaches?

    👉 Read more

    📞 Quality & customer support

    📞
    How does the startup manage post-purchase follow-up?
    ‣
    Building strong customer relationships

    How can the project’s design phase create a virtuous feedback loop that dramatically increases its chances of success?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Warranties and certifications

    How to ensure product/service quality and optimize the customer experience in case of returns?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Building an efficient and responsible customer support

    How to leverage the early stages of a project to choose the most effective and responsible ways to integrate customer support into operations ?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    User satisfaction

    How to ensure the value, relevance, and sustainability of your offering to customers over time?

    👉 Read more

    🔐 Privacy and Protection of Customers & Users

    🔐
    How does the startup handle the data it collects?
    ‣
    Data collection and protection (GDPR)

    How to ensure secure data collection and data protection?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Physical security

    How to guarantee that the product or service offered does not compromise the physical safety of consumers/users?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    IT risk management & cybersecurity

    How to safeguard your startup against cybersecurity risks?

    👉 Read more

    ‣
    Optimization of data management

    How to ensure that data management is optimized and meets the requirements of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)?

    👉 Read more

    🤝

    🤝 Responsible by Design

    EDHEC is committed to fostering a generation of socially responsible startups.

    Discover the initiative

    🗣️

    📣 Giving feedback

    An opinion? A suggestion? Our EDHEC Entrepreneurs team is here to listen to you!

    Send a feedback

    💡

    💪 Get involved

    Do you like this initiative? Do you want to get involved and contribute?

    Join us

    image