The elea Way - Preview

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elea’s FOUNDATION AND OPERATING MODEL

Having explored entrepreneurship and capital in more general terms, we now focus on elea as one possible way in which our formula “Entrepreneurship times Capital equals Profit and Impact” can be brought to life. After discussing the founders’ motivations and intentions in creating elea, we show how it is rooted in an ethical framework that we call “liberal ethics.” We reveal how this ethical framework, with its guiding virtues, shaped some of the important initial design decisions and then elaborate on how elea works today. Philanthropic impact investment management, which is at the core of its operating model, is the process by which new investment opportunities are sourced, evaluated, and selected, and thereaf- ter supported over 7 to 10 years, until elea eventually exits the investment. In addition, our philanthropic investors’ circle ensures elea’s sustainability in terms of its funding, and our professional development program facili- tates the critical resources required to support its portfolio companies with non-financial support in the form of expertise and knowledge-sharing. 3.1 Founders’ motivations and intentions 1 elea was founded by one of the two co-authors of this book, together with his spouse, following a long career in consulting and banking. The process of creating elea was not straightforward. It took approximately