Countdowns have a strange effect on us humans. Consider the Times Square New Year’s Eve ball drop and the camp-outs that accompany every Apple product release. Hell, we get excited when the odometer clicks over a big number in the FG-mobile.
So it’s not so surprising there was a day a few weeks back when half a dozen of us were huddled around a computer waiting for Better World Books to raise their ten millionth dollar. It took nearly an hour and a half of checking, but when that last 9 rolled over and triggered a shower of zeroes, we clapped and cheered. And then we remembered we’d come to this site for a reason.
In what’s becoming a tired tale, Better World Books began with three Notre Dame students looking to make a little extra dough. We’ll fast forward through the rest — graduation looming, dotcom bubble bursting, crappy jobs tutoring, no prospects forthcoming.
Until one of the dudes decided to put his buddy’s books on the Internet. (Mind you, this was long before online commerce was big. So far in fact, “internet” was still being capitalized.) And sell, they did.
Fast forward a little farther — more textbook gathering, fund-raising, business plan writing, contest winning, concept evolving.
What now separates Better World Books from all the other startups — and makes them a Challenger in the for-profit world — is their commitment to the Triple Bottom Line, which means giving back socially, environmentally and economically. Better World Books is a model for how a company can look out for people (literacy programs, library building), the planet (carbon offsetting, landfill reduction) and their own profit (using a BOGO system, over five million books donated means over five million books sold).
“We aim to change the world through business and capitalism,” said John Ujda, VP of Marketing. “So we set-up our business in a way that as we succeed it automatically funds programs that improve literacy throughout the world.”
It’s hard not to love a for-profit company that has saving the world built into its business model. Even with the dreadlocks and “That’s what she read” t-shirt.
