The Hustler's Digest StaffWhen we look at successful people and study their work, we see that one of the major factors in their growth is their mindset or approach. If they are innovative and creative, they will likely walk the ladder of success and glory. Jonathan Tjoa Algreen is a thriving business expert who has 20 years of experience in creating several businesses from the ground up and scaling them into flourishing ones. His ability to think out of the box while keeping in consideration the people and the planet has earned him a lot of appreciation.
As the CEO of a sustainable fashion brand, 1 People, and the owner of Impact Business Investment Group (IBIG), he is building his own legacy of sustainable businesses. Merging the role of an NGO with a for-profit business is his way of leading the business and that is what sets him apart from the others in the field.
Jonathan belonged to a middle-class Danish family and had a rough upbringing as a child. Financial constraints and the loss of his mother early in life tainted his childhood. He was raised in the northern part of Jutland in Denmark and hardly visited the capital city. But when he did, he couldn’t help but be in a state of awe.
He dreamt of city life throughout his teens. At the age of 26 he sold his first successful business and moved to Copenhagen. His hunger for knowledge and curiosity of the world took him to more than fifty countries across the world and even lived in Bali, Indonesia for 6 years.
Jonathan earned his Master’s degree in Public Management from Roskilde University in the year 2008 and despite being fully invested in scaling his first business at the time, he still completed his education with outstanding results.
As a young boy, Jonathan recalls his desire to bring change and positive impact to the world. This drive helped him shape his business ideals as he says, “I’m driven by how we can change the business community from within by changing the main business objective to “how businesses can become a platform for positive and social impact in the world.” I believe businesses can do much more than just drive profit to the founders and shareholders. Businesses can be the perfect platform to change someone’s life, and even to end poverty and illiteracy globally.”
Jonathan is a vocal and active advocate of poverty eradication. He believes ending the curse of poverty is not possible with NGOs as they require funding and charity from people and businesses. The merging of NGOs and for-profit businesses is the perfect way to help eradicate this problem in a long-term sustainable way. As a supporter of sustainability, Jonathan firmly believes that it is a social and moral responsibility of new and old businesses to adopt sustainable and impact-driven options in running businesses.
