Non Profit ID card: present your project/organisation/campaign
Questions answered by Serena Vento, Director and founder of klessi.
-Where are you based? London, UK.
-What are you called? klessi Limited.
– What are you doing and why? I am the Director and founder of klessi, which is a boutique marketing and communication consultancy working primarily with charities, not-for-profits and social enterprises. I set up klessi because I strongly believe in the role that the social economy can play in re-shaping the traditional business world.
– Do you have a website/email? www.klessi.com; www.businessforchange.com; serena.vento@klessi.com
-Do you have a Twitter/facebook link/name? Twitter: serenavento; business4change
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/serena.vento
–What makes you so special? My passion for using the positive power of business and entrepreneurship to make real change happen. The belief that if you embed strong social and ethical principles in your business practises, you can turn the profit-making motive on its head and make it a powerful tool for change rather than an aim in itself.
The turning point
–How did you start? After obtaining my MSc at the London School of Economics, I followed a fairly conventional career path trying to build a track-record in the corporate world. I started out working in areas related to financial services and had a mix of professional experiences. I ended up spending 12 years navigating my way through corporate life, when I suddenly realised that, despite some visible successes, I could never quite fit in! I am quite entrepreneurial and have always believed in the social value of enterprise and business building, but I needed to carve out my own space and discover my real passions. Founding klessi has given me an opportunity to do that. I think that change is strongly needed in the way that our economy operates, and the ideas of sustainability, democracy and social engagement need to start becoming embedded in the DNA of the corporate world, well beyond the realms of traditional CSR practices. That’s why I created the concept of Business for Change, which is the driving philosophy behind klessi.
–What keeps you going every day? The fact that I am following my passions and staying true to who I really am.
– Who is your target? The social economy.
– How are you financed? I am self-financed at the moment. I am not ruling out external investment in the future, but not at present.
The challenge
–A proud moment? Finding the courage to go it alone and follow what I really believe in, despite the potential risks involved.
–A problem you face? Definitely, the economic downturn which is directly affecting the sector I focus on.
–Your personal motto when things get hard? Success and failure are relative concepts. Once you stop trying to follow anyone else’s idea of success but your own, that’s when you can really start to make a difference to your life and that of others.
–Another cool project/organisation/campaign you would like to recommend?
The Sock Mob: http://www.sockmobevents.org.uk/
Contact: Lidija Mavra lidija.mavra@socialenterprise.org.uk
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