A company’s mindset-its intent to do good, avoid harmful consequences, and innovate responsibly-is not enough. That mindset must be supported by a business model, a mechanism that leaders must intentionally and proactively build along with the company from the ground up, one that incentivizes and rewards the organization for fulfilling its intentions. Companies need a new set of KCIs, or key consequence indicators, that measure factors such as its impact on customers’ energy consumption, whether its product is being used equally across socioeconomic groups, or if it is actually solving the social problem it is addressing. Not only is this the right thing to do-increasingly, it is what customers, employees, and shareholders demand of business.
In this inspiring guide, Hemant Taneja lays out the argument for why a new model of company building and leadership is necessary-and how it can lead to better performance; explores why social-good businesses are some of the greatest opportunities today, detailing examples of billion-dollar startups that are addressing inequality, climate change, systemic societal problems, and chronic disease-all while generating profit and positive shareholder returns; and presents a topic-by-topic road map that addresses business models, artificial intelligence, ethical growth, culture, governance, and good citizenship.

Unscaled identifies the forces that are reshaping the global economy and turning one of the fundamental laws of business and society — the economies of scale — on its head.

An innovative trend combining technology with economics is unraveling behemoth industries — including corporations, banks, farms, media conglomerates, energy systems, governments, and schools-that have long dominated business and society. Size and scale have become a liability. A new generation of upstarts is using artificial intelligence to automate tasks that once required expensive investment, and “renting” technology platforms to build businesses for hyper-focused markets, enabling them to grow big without the bloat of giant organizations.

In Unscaled, venture capitalist Hemant Taneja explains how the unscaled phenomenon allowed Warby Parker to cheaply and easily start a small company, build a better product, and become a global competitor in no time, upending entrenched eyewear giant Luxottica. It similarly enabled Stripe to take on established payment processors throughout the world, and Livongo to help diabetics control their disease while simultaneously cutting the cost of treatment. The unscaled economy is remaking massive, deeply rooted industries and opening up fantastic possibilities for entrepreneurs, imaginative companies, and resourceful individuals. It can be the model for solving some of the world’s greatest problems, including climate change and soaring health-care costs, but will also unleash new challenges that today’s leaders must address.