Conscious Capitalism in Action: A Conversation with Karen Sammon on Empowering Startups through CodeLaunch

If you’ve attended CodeLaunch, you’re likely familiar with Conscious Capitalism. Its logo is prominently displayed at every competition, and CEO Karen Sammon even spoke at CodeLaunch ATL 2023. 

At CodeLaunch, we proudly embrace Conscious Capitalism and integrate its principles into everything we do. During our 61st podcast episode, we had the privilege of sitting down with Karen to delve into the ideals of Conscious Capitalism and CodeLaunch’s active involvement in promoting its values. 

What is Conscious Capitalism? 

Conscious Capitalism represents a transformative business philosophy that encourages companies to uphold ethical standards while actively seeking profit.  

At the core of Conscious Capitalism are four pillars: Higher Purpose, Stakeholder Orientation, Conscious Leadership, and Conscious Culture. These pillars guide organizations to operate with a broader perspective, emphasizing their purpose beyond just profit. Conscious Capitalism helps organizations prioritize the well-being of all stakeholders, fostering conscious and empathetic leadership, and cultivating a culture of integrity and mindfulness. 

“It sounds like common sense, and it is, but in practice, it takes a lot of work,” Karen said during the podcast conversation. “We want to bring in more leaders in that are looking to do well and do good.” 

The organization helps leaders integrate Conscious Capitalism into their business by providing a community, a strong network, and education opportunities. Karen said there are just under 200,000 current businesses that practice Conscious Capitalism in ways that help them drive better results for not only their business but for all their stakeholders. Karen told us their goal is to have that number increase to 10 million conscious leaders. 

CodeLaunch’s Conscious Capitalism Journey 

Before we even knew what Conscious Capitalism was, we were actively implementing its philosophy. Our journey with Conscious Capitalism began when Improving became part of CodeLaunch initially as a competing hackathon team years prior to acquiring CodeLaunch in 2019. During this time, Improving leaders introduced Conscious Capitalism to CodeLaunch Founder Jason W. Taylor, initiating a deeper exploration of its principles within our organization. 

“That’s when I realized I had unconsciously been practicing Conscious Capitalism,” CodeLaunch President and Founder Jason W. Taylor said. “But from that point forward, I became conscious about it.” 

Improving is now the producer of CodeLaunch, and they are a major supporter of Conscious Capitalism which means we are too. You can learn more about Improving’s involvement in Conscious Capitalism here. 

Conscious Capitalism and CodeLaunch Partnership

CodeLaunch is a highly visual example of Improving’s commitment to the support of Conscious Capitalism and the outcomes that can come from it. Together, we are making CodeLaunch a well-known amenity for North American tech founders and investors to come together and launch ventures.

We work to find the best startups that only seem to be limited by the difficulty of building a world-class digital product. We help these startups overcome that challenge and set them on a course to attract investor funding and launch, never expecting a dollar or any equity in return in exchange for the benefit of CodeLaunch. North American tech startup founders can find out more about the benefits and outcomes of participating in a CodeLaunch cohort here.

What’s Next for Conscious Capitalism

Under Karen’s leadership, Conscious Capitalism is in the next phase of growth. Right now, the organization has several organizations that are partners, but they aim to have more tailored membership opportunities in the future. However, Karen emphasizes that Conscious Capitalism welcomes businesses of all sizes and structures, promoting an inclusive environment for all.

“We distinguish ourselves by being a big tent for all diversity,” Karen said. “Diversity that you think about normally, then diversity of business, diversity of industry, and diversity of dialogue. So we really stand firmly in the middle to make sure that we are open to and encouraging conversation, ideas, and dialogue.” 

If you want to learn more about Conscious Capitalism (and you’re not in the Minneapolis area planning to attend CodeLaunch MINN 2024), a prime opportunity is happening in May 2024. The Conscious Capitalism Conference in Dallas will take place on May 9th and 10th. This event is hosted and sponsored by Improving. Learn more and get your tickets here: https://www.consciouscapitalism.org/cccdallas 

From October 22nd to 24th 2024, Conscious Capitalism is hosting its CEO Summit where 250+ CEOs, Founders, and Presidents will converge to discuss how to elevate humanity by building businesses that serve the planet and its people while upholding its bottom line. Learn more about the Summit here: https://ceosummit.consciouscapitalism.org/