A new kind of business model

I became a YGL in 2010, at around the same time as I was toying with an idea somewhat like Tau Investment Management, a company that today invests in underperforming manufacturers and producers in emerging markets to transform supply chains and achieve financial, social and environmental sustainability. Back then, I was looking for something that would have a big impact and make financial sense. The YGL community gave me a great opportunity to knock the idea around with people from all walks of life, from different parts of the world. In fellow YGL Ben Skinner, I found someone who had tracked down slave traders in such places as Indonesian rain forests as part of his investigative journalism into human trafficking. In Sanjay Gupta, who ran a Forbes 50 family office with $7 billion under management, I met someone with vast experience of and access to very large ultra-high net worth investors. Other YGLs brought their experience of working with environmental non-profits, banks, hedge funds, emerging market investors and so on, and I was able to use the community as my personal think tank to hone this idea for over two years. Of course, there were other people who played a big role. But the core drive came from the YGL community. 

Tau had a soft launch at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, and in September 2013 we made a $1 billion commitment, over the next three years, to invest in transforming supply chains in the global garment industry. I think our tagline, “Capitalist solutions to capitalism’s failures”, resonates with the YGL community, which has been a very good talent pool that matches our ambition. In addition to co-founders Ben and Sanjay, three YGLs are on our advisory board – Brett House, a former global strategist with a macroeconomic hedge fund who has also been a policy advisor at UNDP; James Gifford, a former executive director with the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment Initiative; and Brian Behlendorf, who has done pioneering work in the open-source software movement. Probably a few more will be joining over the next six months in full- and part-time roles.

For me, an old saying that you have two ears and one mouth, which you should use proportionally, is apt. When you’re with fellow YGLs, listen and learn, give to the community and do favours rather than asking for them, and you will be rewarded with a lot of satisfaction and fun. Being a YGL has helped me develop numerous meaningful and personal friendships that have enriched my life in many ways and will last a lifetime.