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Maiko Schaffrath
Founder of Impact Hustlers | Supporting Impact-Driven Founders
Capitalism and profit-driven business models can be used to solve the world’s biggest social & environmental problems. Sad to say, there’s a lack of positive inspiration and direction for innovators to come up with the right solution.
There’s a huge disconnect between having a business while maximising impact. What exists is an uninviting path for social entrepreneurs to rise because most of the existing guides only focus on social good over profit.
After spending almost half a decade in the impact ecosystem, I have built a community of more than 3000 entrepreneurs and talked to 200+ founders solving the world’s biggest issues.
Through the Impact Hustler’s podcast, I was able to connect changemakers to investors, curate stories, and provide profit-driven business strategies that help social entrepreneurs live a profitable impact-driven life.
If you’re looking for support on your social entrepreneurship journey, send me a message at [email protected]
Highlights
Excited to have 🚀 Victor Adefuye, Impact Hustlers sales coach host a Masterclass on B2B Sales for ClimateTech startups next Wednesday (9AM PST/ 12PM EDT / 6PM CEST)!
Early-stage sales is tricky to get right and most startups fall into common traps that slow down traction and achieving product-market-fit.
If you're a ClimateTech founder & want to join us, leave a comment below and I'll invite you along via DM!
(Make sure to connect with me first, if you aren't already)
Today I want to talk about something very personal and share what I've been working on at Impact Hustlers. (& explain the photo)
I am a second-time founder, have been employee #1, and helped launch five startups from idea to profitability as a fractional Head of Product.
I’ve designed and run multiple startup accelerators and founder support programs, taught customer and product development to hundreds at University College London, personally invested in 10 startups, mentored 100+ founders, and built the largest global community for impact-driven founders.
Sounds great, right? But that’s not the whole story.
I’ve had more failures than successes and struggled massively on many levels.
I’ve read all the books: Lean Startup, Startup Owner’s Manual, The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Value Proposition Design… and dozens more… just to ignore or forget the lessons learned in my day-to-day as a founder.
I’ve worked hard, 7 days a week, many 12-hour days, only to burn out four times in five years. I didn’t ask for help or surround myself with supportive people. My startup obsession hurt my relationships, health, and fitness.
It took me too long to prioritize my wellbeing over my startup and focus on deep, meaningful relationships rather than struggling alone.
I spent $10k+ on coaching and therapy to strengthen my mental fitness, resilience, gain clarity on Impact Hustlers’ strategy, and focus on what truly matters.
Despite unstable revenue streams, this investment has paid off.
The work isn’t done, but I’m more prepared than ever to tackle challenges and enjoy the journey.
This journey drove me to elevate our ClimateTech Founders Fellowship.
I aimed to build an experience combining practical support on priorities like sales and fundraising with a tightly-knit community of founders.
I wanted to foster deep friendships, surround founders with expert coaches and experienced entrepreneurs, and make startup life a little less hard for those who couldn’t spend $10k on coaching.
This passion fuels my commitment to the ClimateTech Founder Fellowship.
We’ve built something magical that works and are just getting started. The feedback we receive convinces me that we’ve created something desperately needed.
If any of this resonates, check out the link in the first comment to join our next discovery session.
PS: The photo is symbolic to me: It's me flying a powered paraglider. Paragliding represents freedom and the belief that I can achieve anything by overcoming my perceived limitations. It's taught me a few valuable lessons for my entrepreneurial journey and I can't wait to take off again!
