Making a lot of money is not usually associated with doing good. However, some investors claim to have achieved outstanding business results while making a lasting social impact. One of them is Rick Segal, the founder and leader of Rethink Capital Partners, who has꧋ written a book describing how to go about doing the same.

Impact Investing Becomes More Accessible

Impact investing—benefiting society or the environmen🌱t while also generating financial gains—starts with new ideas, say💦s Segal, and these ideas come from entrepreneurs who need money to turn their ideas into reality. Previously, the average investor may have struggled to find entrepreneurs with a lucrative plan to do good. Now, in the internet age, there are platforms to connect them.

Mainstream options are also becoming available. Segal claims today’s younger🥃 generations care more about doing good than previous generations and that Wall Street is both paying attention and responding.🦄

Impact Investment Ideas

Technology has helped make impact invesꦛting accessible. According to Segal, it’s also creating more opportunities to profit from doing good iಌn the world.

One sector he’s particularly interested in is education. Entrepreneurs, he says, have been through the school system and seen its flaws, and parents are increasingly becoming concerned with how their children are educated, recognizing you can’t just leave it in the government’s hands, they are more willing than ever to invest in their children’s educ🐎ation.

He also mentioned healthcare. According to Segal, impact investing ideas can come from creatinꦬg solutions capable of lowering thཧe cost of healthcare and helping people understand their symptoms or diseases.

The Pillars of Impact Investing

In his book, Segal refers to pillars he uses to guide his investment decisions. Among the tips he writes abo💃ut are the following:

Happy and Inspired Workforce

Before investing in a company or project, Segal says it’s fundamental to examine its culture, investment🌸 base, and how the entrepreneurs are being mentored.

“One of the things you need to understand as an investor is that if your leadership or your staff is not adequately compensated, is not happy at work, is not engaged, that is not going to be a successful investment,” he says. “When you talk about entrepreneurial things, you are talking about innovation. People have to be inspired. Entrepreneurship or impact companies are all about inspiration. About inspiring everybody in the full chain."

Inspiration, according to Segal, comes from providing the resources needed to be competitive and succeed but is not just about money. Capital isn’t the only way to make people feel valued. The right work environment must a🎐lso be created.

Don't Chase the Crowd

Most investors can be tempted to follow the crowd, especially in areas they are not familiar with. Segal advises against doing that. He’s more of a contrarian investor who sees value in investing in places where other people aren’t willing to. “You want to make sure valuations are rational and expectations are rational and you are not ca⛄rried away with the hype,” he said.

Rather than fဣixating on crowd appeal,🎃 Segal recommends focusing on sincerity and authenticity, values that are more likely to create long-term success.

One area he believes has been overlooked is businesses launched and run by women. “Investments that are woman-led are more in need of capital,” he said.

The Bottom Line

Impact investing is a relatively new space to navigate and still generally considered an inferior way to make money compared to conventional investments. The likes of Rick Segal, however, think otherwise and offer useful tips to help make this type of investing more🍷 appealing, accessible, and potentially lucrative.