Are you ready to unlock your full potential?
Responsible Technology Assessment
“The Responsible Technology Assessment was a great evaluation to go through. It is amazing to know which things I need to keep an eye on as we grow and expand the team.”
STEP 1
Introduction
Dear founders,
What makes or breaks a business? The ability to not just satisfy stakeholders’ needs but to convert them into champions of their products or services. There’s an unobservable quality that startups who know the needs of actors in their ecosystem inside and out: they assume responsibility, towards their customers, employees and even society as a whole.
The Responsible Technology Assessment helps your startup develop its full potential.
STEP 2
How can being responsible
accelerate your startup’s growth?
Customers are 4-6x more likely to purchase, promote and champion products of value-driven companies!
Workforce retention of value-driven companies is on average 40% higher than their competitors’!
Value-driven companies attracted over $4 Billion capital investment in 2019, 6x more than five years ago!
A startup that truly adds value to its stakeholders is a business that thrives.
Being responsible simply means internalising the belief that your startup isn’t only shareholder but also stakeholder-driven!
How is it beneficial for your venture?
1
Win customers
Close to 50% of customers take a business’ behaviour into account when making purchase decisions. Just as many believe their decision actually has a direct effect on how responsible a company behaves.
2
Attract more investors
The market for ethical products and services is growing. Being able to pinpoint and formulate how responsibility is being factored in at your startup will enable you to gain a competitive advantage in the investor arena
3
Engage top talent
Brilliant people are looking to create value with the work they do. Responsible leadership brings out the best performance in its team, who want to see their leaders walk the talk.
4
Drive positive change
Being a responsible and ethical startup builds reputation and increases credibility Being at the forefront of a shift towards stakeholder-oriented business values means you’re shooting for the moon – the worst that can happen is that you land among the stars.
Good reads on responsible technology
STEP 3
Key Pillars of Responsibility
Responsibility as a startup has three dimensions: responsibility towards your customers, towards your employees and towards society as a whole. The Responsible Technology Assessment approaches these dimensions through six key pillars:
Business Ethics
Socio-Cultural Understanding
Technology Design
Health Risks
Democratic Risks
Social Risks
But how does this look in action?
“Responsible technology is a very important topic and something creators should be more aware of - including me, to be honest. There is always room for improvement.”
PS: A Clarification
What our assessment
should be used for:
- To assess ethical risks of technology companies with a MVP, at least
- To educate entrepreneurs and other stakeholders on the importance of responsible technology
- To help participants analyse their status-quo and offer insights from an ethical perspective!
What our assessment
isn’t meant to be:
- A test that you can pass - the RTA is a self-evaluation framework, not an official certification
- An assessment to determine a business’ environmental impact - the RTA focuses solely on societal ethics, not environmental ethics
- A step-by-step guide - the RTA enables founders to come to their own conclusions that fit their respective companies; to co-create a detailed action plan with one of our experts, request a 1:1 consultation here!
