The Susilo Institute for Ethics in the Global Economy

A company so dedicated to their values that they shut down their webshop on Black Friday. No flash sales. Just a commitment to making garments that last a lifetime, not a season. When the Questrom School of Business, Boston University crew and I toured the Woolpower AB factory with COO Ulrika Rogeman, we found that the real secret behind their garments - is the people and their values. One employee, for instance, told us how after completing their master’s in textile studies, they moved all the way from southern Sweden to Östersund especially to work at Woolpower - one of the few companies that still takes pride in practicing domestic textile production for real. The employees we spoke with didn’t just share why they joined Woolpower, they explained why they stay. They described it as a place where one can grow, both professionally and personally, in a culture of genuine friendliness and support. A diverse workplace where authenticity matters, and where people can be themselves in ways they hadn’t experienced at work before. Curious to know more? Follow the green thread in the video and discover how it weaves together the people, the purpose, and the planet! Music: Jeff Kaale - Mornings

Congratulations to schools from the America's (2), Ireland and Italy in EMEA, and Georgia and Indonesia in the Asia Pacific region. They are the six finalists in the Questrom School of Business, Boston University, The Susilo Institute for Ethics in the Global Economy Business+Ethics case competition. This is quite an accomplishment, given we began with 44 teams from 20 schools in 12 countries. A true testament to planning and teamwork: 20 judges from across the globe, cultural and business consultants (Claudia Sundberg), case writers (Soleha Patel, Alexander Orta and Ankit Saraf), administrative support (Sandra Zarotney Keldsen and Sophie Zschirnt) and leadership with my friend and colleague, in that order, David Epstein. The next stop is Sweden and we'll be announcing the clients in mid-February.

Congrats to Ankit Saraf, Soleha Patel and Alexander Orta on a job well done this week. We met with multiple companies and experts on Swedish culture. Can’t wait to send the cases to the six finalist teams. David Epstein , Claudia Sundberg, The Susilo Institute for Ethics in the Global Economy

Excited to be in Sweden this week with the The Susilo Institute for Ethics in the Global Economy with David Epstein, Claudia Sundberg, Soleha Patel, Alexander Orta and Ankit Saraf. We are interviewing companies and writing case studies and connection with the 2025 Susilo Business+Ethics case competition! We have moved from 44 teams at 20 universities in 12 countries to the semifinals. In 2 weeks we are going to have 20 teams compete for six finalist spots and come to Sweden for the finals in June of this year.

Good evening. A huge thanks to Mark Clay, his wife Finna Huang, and the entire team (inside and outside of the Sekar Group) that helped create this wonderful seven minute recap of the 2024 The Susilo Institute for Ethics in the Global Economy Business+Ethics 2024 Case Competition Video Compilation. Susan James Leyva, Katie Gauthier, Paul Alexander. Enjoy! Greg & Team

Why ~ are there so few legit startups ~ in Japan? Ikuo Hiraishi is a professor at the ONLY entrepreneurship university course in Japan. He also is a serial entrepreneur since the internet boom. Oh, and did I mention he has a Yahoo! JAPAN exit, an IPO, portfolio with a unicorn INFARM (unfortunately it went bankrupt) and an a16z backed startup AnyRoad and that his book about his own entrepreneurial failures is a favorite of Taizo Son’s? Around the time I was born, Ikuo was already building things in Japan. So he’s seen a lot. And so I was so so so excited to finally meet him in person (you should follow his Substack, linked below↓) Ikuo shared his theory on the six reasons why we see so few legit and SV worthy startups in Japan. 1️⃣We are a homogenous society; we never had to understand the rest of the world. 2️⃣We speak Japanese; a language spoken by only 120M folks. 3️⃣But we are (atm) the 4th largest economy. ↑these three is why we are the Galapagos of markets because while we are insulated, it’s also big enough to just stay domestic. 4️⃣The talented people are still mostly in the big companies; sunk cost of leaving is huge. But social views of this are changing. 5️⃣80% of founders in Japan have non-tech backgrounds; we hardly see any paradigm shifter Googles or OpenAIs. 6️⃣The market cap for IPOs is lower; many founders will hustle, IPO, earn the honor of IPO-ing, and buy a home and Benz in Daikanyama. That’s it. Witnessing Tokyo’s startup space and just living in Tokyo, I can’t help but feel like we’ll never see great change from this lukewarm-ness unless something huge happens that shakes it all up. And Ikuo seems to think so too. It'll probably be devastating, where we’ll feel like there’s no other option but to innovate, hustle, and grind. But I feel like Japan will make it through; just look at all of the historical comeback stories we’ve had;) So until then what we can do is plant those seeds of possibility and self-efficacy among entrepreneurial Japanese youth through education, exposure, and execution. This is why Ikuo, despite having his own company, DreamVision, despite being an operator and innovator for decades, still dedicates so much of his time and effort to sharing his experience and opening up doors to young entrepreneurs, would-be-entrepreneurs, and his students. On a more personal note, I felt like my conversation with Ikuo is one I’ll remember for a lifetime. It’s very rare to meet someone as accomplished as himself but still so incredibly humble and willing to share his knowledge with me, a mere aspirer. I could just feel how committed he is to doing what he can to educate and empower young Japanese entrepreneurs, despite the many many hurdles we still see in this ecosystem. His perspective on the startup space here is a very realistic but proactive one, just doing what he can to just get an inch closer to what he hopes it to be. Thank you so much Ikuo san for your time. I am so grateful⭐️