The significance of industry-wide collaboration, relationship building, and the role of psychology to drive sustainable change took center stage at the GCA accelerator week in NYC. Here are our takeaways: ✔ Be brave, be confident “You have to be comfortable that things don’t go according to plan - that’s how you push innovation”. This quote by entrepreneur, celebrity chef, philanthropist and member of the GCA expert panel Miles Kubheka was a timely reminder that real change and true innovation comes with significant uncertainty. ✔ Build the right partnerships Partnerships can take many forms. Whether it’s with a new employee, new investor, an industry mentor, or a potential vendor, deciding who to partner with can be a business-critical decision. This was illuminated by CEO, investor and advisor Caroline Brown who in her session ‘Accessing Early-Stage Capital’ with investor and circular fashion expert Julia Viner, spoke about the importance of “curating the right people to invest”. ✔ Involve as many people as possible in the conversation U.S Program Director at Accelerating Circularity, Sarah Coulter encouraged the winners to think about the system as they’re growing their businesses and the ever increasing need to establish common goals and parameters between themselves and their partners. ✔ Harness the power of positivity Being an entrepreneur means wearing many different hats, and usually involves talking to and positioning a narrative with a wide range of people and organisations. To do so in a positive way that shows confidence, creates interest, and fosters trust, is not something that comes easily to many of us. Prof Carolyn Mair PhD emphasized the importance of understanding human behavior to effectively instigate change. Doom and gloom narratives often fail because they overwhelm individuals, making them feel powerless rather than empowered. ✔ Make time for the unexpected Many times, it was the coffee breaks, non-scheduled lunches and time in between workshops and sessions, that contributed to the magic that helped foster unexpected connections and synergies. As reminded by Christiane Dolva Törnberg, one of the Strategy Leads at the H&M Foundation, “the key word here is together”. Learn more about our accelerator week in NYC: https://lnkd.in/dN3g4E8g Algreen Ltd. | ALT TEX | DyeRecycle | Nanoloom | PHYCOLABS | Refiberd | #KBColsScience | Rethread Africa | SXD | #Tereform | Accenture | KTH Royal Institute of Technology | Beatrice Oldenburg | Indira Furniss Söderström | Christiane Dolva Törnberg | Dominic Roter | Josefine Olsson | Sara R. Cederlöf (f. Rahiminejad) | My Ewrelius Ryde | Anna Dadfar
Thamires Pontes
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Great insights from the GCA accelerator week! Innovation is driven by collaboration and embracing uncertainty. Thanks for sharing! 💜