In July, the B Corp community and the wider world of purpose-driven business mourned the loss of Andrew Kassoy, who sadly passed away at the age of 55.
Below is the link and a transcript from one of his final interviews. It serves as a powerful and deeply moving reflection on the role of business in creating a better world.
As a purpose-led business owner, I recommend having a tissue handy. It’s just a few minutes long, but it stays with you and digs deep into the heart of why we have collectively chosen this new paradigm of business.
Andrew co-founded B Lab, and in doing so planted the seeds of a global movement that empowers companies to pursue both profit and purpose. Today, B Corps stand as living proof that business can be a vehicle for social and environmental regeneration, and not just financial gain.
At a time when the world is hungry for new models of business, the B Corp movement continues to challenge and reshape the narrative around capitalism, systems change, and what purpose in business truly means. It hasn’t always been perfect, but that doesn’t diminish its impact. In fact, recent changes in the standards are some of the most systemic and transformational yet, and I have no doubt the movement will continue to lead with courage and clarity.
You can watch Andrew’s full interview here:
🔗 Watch the Interview on YouTube
A Business Community Rooted in Care
This conversation is a reminder that, at its core, the B Corp movement is about community and the care of that community.
What began with three people blossomed into something much greater and is underpinned by a belief that a true community looks after one another.
“Wasn’t that the idea — that a community cares for one another, that people look out for each other?”
Andrew shared this insight through a deeply personal lens, drawing a sharp contrast between the dominant systems of today and what B Lab stands for. He said:
“One of the things that makes capitalism not work as a system is that it was built on the idea of carelessness. That people should accumulate wealth for themselves, and that others didn’t matter. It’s embedded in so many aspects of society. Think of The Great Gatsby. The line about the carelessness of those with everything, and how nothing and no one else really mattered.”
In contrast, B Lab and its global partners have built something fundamentally different. Not just in sentiment, but in structure, care has been embedded into the very fabric of the organisation and its standards.
The B Corp standards ask:
- How are we caring for our workers?
- How do we serve our communities?
- What is our responsibility to the planet?
This idea of a duty of care is now also reflected in Benefit Corporation legislation in the US. The legislation mandates that companies don’t simply aim to do good, but take responsibility for caring for their employees, their supply chains, their communities, and the Earth itself.
As Andrew shared:
“The depth of that idea — care as the opposite of carelessness — is something we’re only just beginning to fully explore. But it’s clear to me that we’re at a critical moment. Any system that aims to do good in the world must be built on a foundation of care. That’s the future we’re shaping together.”
This vision of care — woven into standards, law, and culture — is one of Andrew’s greatest legacies. But it was never just about frameworks. For him, it was always about people. About the relationships that sustain a movement long after the headlines fade. His words below, shared with such humility and insight, remind us what it truly takes to build a future grounded in care, courage, and collective strength:
“I think in our case, the B Corp movement is more important than it’s ever been, many social movements over time where they start to fade. Maybe it’s as they’re not needed anymore. But the other reason is that the relationships that have bound people together, that have caused them to go on when things are hard, have started to fade. I think the challenge is that we need to make sure that these kinds of relationships that we all have with each other, and that means not just get together and have a nice chat, like we’re doing right now, which is beautiful, but that they be operational, that they’re about how we solve problems day to day, or that we continue to use those relationships and care for each other in a way that ensures that the movement continues to have strength, financial Strength, political strength, but also like deep spiritual strength, and in that, I think, is where we build influence and power and are able to truly take on some of the negative forces that exist out there that we’ve all committed ourselves to take on. So my greatest aspiration is that we not just continue to do that, but step it up, that we take it on ourselves in a bigger way, each one of us than we ever have before.
Personally, seems to me like we’re all looking for being good ancestors, and I cannot imagine a better way and a better example of someone that is transcending as a good ancestor, as you’re doing, my brother.
So thank you for that. Thanks.
Thank You“
With a background in pioneering socially responsible companies, Jannine Barron now offers Regenerative Business Mentoring and Regenerative Business Design for Founders seeking to incorporate Conscious Marketing, Business Strategy, Intuitive Guidance, Leadership Coaching and Nature Immersion Days for radical transformation. Her conviction is informed by what she calls The 13 Wisdoms essential for the contemporary paradigm shift needed in these times.
You can subscribe to Jannine’s inspiring short newsletters, event invitations, and business mentoring tips here. You can read more articles written by Jannine on Medium, or LinkedIn.
