Rebecca Goldcrump and Sarah Holdeman are both PSU MBA alums who after graduation sat down and discussed how to make business better by becoming social impact strategists and starting their own company.
The Impact Collective was founded to help organizations with B Corp certification/recertification, long-term impact strategy, impact storytelling, and leadership coaching. The mission: to empower whole humans and whole organizations to actualize their vision of a better world.
We sat down with both Rebecca and Sarah to discuss their journey from student to graduate to business owners.
What led you to PSU?
Sarah: I majored in English Literature at University of Colorado - Boulder with dreams of being a starving artist. This romantic notion, along with the fact that I wasn’t actually that good of a writer, led me to years in the restaurant industry. I ended up as the GM of a Laughing Planet location, and fell in love with the idea that business could be about more than just profit. This was my first experience in a truly mission driven organization, and I excelled at both people leadership and operations. I decided I wanted to earn an MBA to further those passions, and PSU was the only school I had my eyes on. The focus on social impact and sustainability, specifically the Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship Certificate, was what drew me to PSU. I actually didn’t get into the program on my first application. I had a bit of a rough time in undergrad, and my transcript reflected that. I was so determined to pursue this degree, and so dead set on PSU being the only school that matched my values, I ended up taking a few graduate-level courses that then counted as my transcript, and was admitted after my second application.
Rebecca: I started my career as a CPA and always knew I wanted to earn an MBA eventually. I’m a (recovering) over-achiever, so that seemed like the natural next step in my career journey. I also realized that my work as a CPA wasn’t making me feel fulfilled. I wanted to make an impact through my work and I knew that my work in spreadsheets and accounting systems all day wasn’t creating the change I wanted to see in the world. When I was getting ready to apply to MBA programs, I studied hard for the GMAT and scored very well. In my mind, I had a very clear decision to make - whether to do what I always did and go for the highest ranked MBA program (according to traditional metrics of success that no longer felt true to me) or listen to my gut and go to a school that was more in line with my values and the impact I wanted to make in the world. This time, I decided to listen to my gut. I knew deep down that PSU’s MBA program, with its focus on community, sustainability, and social impact, was the right program for me. There were so many unknowns. I had no idea what kind of career pivot I wanted to make or what focus I would want in the program. All I knew was that it felt in alignment with what I wanted, not necessarily with what everyone else told me to do, and so I went with that.
What was your experience at PSU?
Sarah: My first term at PSU was a whirlwind of emotion. The biggest thing I felt during those few months was imposter syndrome. I was still managing the restaurant while in the part-time program, so I would show up to my evening classes after a full shift with shoes covered in Pico de Gallo juice and smelling like beans. I sat in classrooms with people from Intel, Nike, adidas, and Daimler. I remember sitting there just thinking “Why did I ever think I belonged here.” Not to mention, accounting was in my first term and numbers are NOT my strong suit. I think I also underestimated what it would be like to do the part-time program – four hours of class after a nine-hour work day was really tough. I remember falling asleep in my accounting class one night, and opening my eyes to Donna Philbrick just gently nudging me awake. It wasn’t until Brian McCarthy’s leadership class in my second term that I really started to get my bearings, and realized that I was in school to learn. It didn’t matter that I didn’t know the difference between credits and debits (honestly, I’m still not sure I do). What mattered was my passion, drive, and commitment to using business as a force for good. Once I settled in and gained confidence, the rest of the program was so rewarding. It wasn’t easy by any stretch, but all I had to do was remember my why and I could get right back on track. Halfway through the program I took a job with a speaker from one of my courses, and my career trajectory changed drastically. Everything that happened during my program has set me on the path I’m on today.
Rebecca: At the start of my MBA program, I really wanted to find a way to make a positive impact in the world using the skills I had gained as a CPA. I wasn’t ready to let go of the license I had put so much time into earning (plus, I love numbers), so I first tried pivoting into finance. I thought that would allow me to be more involved in forward-looking decision making at a mission-driven company. It was also 2016. There was a lot going on in the news that both scared me and motivated me to be a part of the change I wanted to see in the world. I signed up for my first finance class and a few weeks in, I realized just how wrong that was for me. It was more of the same. More spreadsheets and numbers that were disconnected from the humans and the environmental impact they represented. That was the last finance class I ever took. I realized that was the easy and “stable” choice, which I knew would just cause me and therefore the world more harm. I then got involved in Net Impact and volunteered as part of B Impact to help a local company get B Corp certified. I learned about using business as a force for good, and it all clicked. I completed the Graduate Certificate in Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship, where I developed and worked on a startup idea to increase access to mental health services, a problem I am deeply passionate about. And I found a community of people committed to making real change, including my cofounder, Sarah Holdeman. I love the work I do now, but really it’s the people I’ve met along the way that have made all the difference. Those people I met in the program who made choices in line with their values and the change they wanted to make in the world now make up what we consider the “collective” part of The Impact Collective. They are our partners, clients, community members, and friends who inspire us every day in the way they are working to make an impact and a better world.
What was your journey after PSU and how did an MBA help you reach where you are today?
Sarah: As I mentioned previously, I transitioned out of restaurants early in the MBA program. I stayed in touch with a speaker from one of my classes, and he ended up hiring me to do sales for his small software company. It was my first “office job,” and the first of several early-stage tech startups that I would end up working for. We left that first company to start a new venture, and when that shut down I joined another tech startup. Those years were incredibly educational. I can say confidently that if you’re looking to accelerate your experience, join a startup. At one of these companies my title was Growth and Operations. So… just... everything! There was one thing that was always missing throughout these experiences – purpose. A purpose beyond profit, beyond shareholder reports, beyond getting new investment. I was always trying to figure out what the “Ted Talk” was. What is the point of this business? What impact is it having in the world? I spent the first half of 2020 unemployed (and living in a studio apartment with my husband and two dogs, just a few short months after we got married) and generally pretty miserable. That is until I started doing pro bono business consulting with the Portland Business Support Project. I worked on various teams helping local businesses navigate the pandemic. And, I reconnected with Rebecca. For the first time I felt that I could answer the question “What would you do if money were no object?” I would help small women- and BIPOC-owned businesses grow, scale, and thrive. Alas, money is an object, so Rebecca and I turned that passion, experience, and skill into a business: The Impact Collective!
Rebecca: One of the reasons I chose to complete my MBA at PSU was because I knew that would be the best place to build my community, since I planned to stay in Portland for the long haul. That turned out to be a wise decision. Immediately after graduating from PSU in 2018, I started my independent consulting business while also working on my startup idea at PSU’s Business Accelerator. My first consulting client was a referral from the director of PSU’s Center for Entrepreneurship. I helped a local nonprofit with a variety of projects that all helped to operationalize their impact. I found I really enjoyed consulting – the variety, the challenges, and the way I could use all my skills both as a CPA and MBA to create change for mission-driven organizations. I did that independently for several years, drawing on what I had learned in the MBA program as well as the people I met along the way to help both nonprofit and for-profit clients maximize the impact they were making. Then came COVID. I, like so many others, lost almost all my client work. The forced slowdown and time to reflect made me realize that, while I enjoyed a lot of the aspects of consulting and owning a business, working independently had been a lonely experience. I longed to work on a team in the way that I had throughout my MBA program.
Thankfully, that opportunity presented itself in the form of the Portland Business Support Project – a volunteer effort created by several MBA alumni, dedicated to helping small businesses in the Portland area pivot at the start of COVID. I joined and was able to reconnect with some amazing people from the MBA program. One of those was Sarah, who I had met through the Graduate Certificate in Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship. We ended up working on several pro bono consulting projects together and also bonded over our shared vision for the change we wanted to see in our community. We realized there were no consultancies in Portland dedicated to the kind of social impact work we wanted to do. So, we started one ourselves and The Impact Collective was born.
Why is what you are doing important for Portland?
Sarah: On a more granular level, helping purpose-driven organizations become B Corp certified provides them a framework for impact. The Impact Collective’s mission is to empower whole humans and whole organizations to actualize their vision of a better world. The emphasis here is their vision of a better world. We work with businesses who have set out to create impact – we’re there to guide them on that journey, to provide a roadmap and a compass. Portland has experienced a lot of change over the last several years. I believe in Portland, I love Portland, and I will continue to support the community that makes this an incredible place to live. That’s not just businesses – that’s people, artists, entrepreneurs, and visionaries. Whole humans make up the whole organizations that we work with. When people find purpose, joy, and a sense of community, it makes us all stronger.
Rebecca: I moved to Portland because I loved the culture and more importantly, the humans who live here. There has been a lot of change in the ten years that I’ve lived here. We’ve had to reckon with an overwhelming amount of issues – homelessness, mental health, racial justice, the climate crisis – the list goes on. It can be easy to feel hopeless. But I find hope in the humans who keep showing up, who keep trying, who rather than leave they decide to dig in and be a part of making it better.
What we are doing at The Impact Collective is trying to make things better for the humans in our community. Our mission is to empower whole humans and whole organizations to actualize their vision for a better world. That starts at home in Portland. We work with incredible humans and organizations who are trying their best every day to do what is right and to create a better Portland for people and the planet. We don’t shy away from the tough stuff – we turn towards it because we love this city and we love what we know it can be.
Any advice to future or current MBA/grad students?
Sarah: YOU BELONG HERE! If there’s anything I’ve learned from my career, it’s that business takes all types. Analytical thinkers who focus on the numbers, passionate leaders who care for their people, creative types who make things beautiful. There is no “one type” that is right for an MBA program, or business for that matter. As a wise man once said “Every time someone steps up and says who they are, the world becomes a better, more interesting place.”
Rebecca: The MBA program is an incredible opportunity to explore who you are as a leader and how you want to show up in the world. You’re going to hear a lot of advice about what to do next, and that can be difficult to wade through. Having a clear understanding of your values and what is important to you will make that process much easier. Your gut holds a lot of wisdom – don’t drown that out in other people’s opinions and measures of success.
What is The Impact Collective up to in 2024?
We are so pumped for 2024. 2023 was a huge year for us, and we can’t wait to continue building on our momentum, and growing our impact. In 2024 we are excited to help more organizations join the B Corp movement, develop long-term impact strategies, and to more effectively tell the story of their impact. We’re also excited to grow our work with the humans in those organizations, helping them to develop into the kind of leaders who can do the difficult work of using business as a force for good. One of the biggest projects we’re excited about is our work with Prosper Portland and Purchasing With Purpose. We’re working on a pilot program that’s bringing together businesses, nonprofits, universities, and governments to make commitments to purchasing from verified social enterprises.
Portland has the opportunity to show that when we shift some of our everyday purchasing to enterprises that are reinvesting their profit into putting people and planet first, we can support the reduction of inequality, improve livability and achieve climate goals, to make our communities inclusive, regenerative, and sustainable.
Rather than work with one or two standalone companies or city managers, this project will engage the whole community, helping to raise awareness and standards for what is possible when we purchase differently. Members of the local community will be able to feel connected to the change they want to see in their city and will be able to envisage how their purchasing has a direct impact on this.
We’re looking for businesses interested in obtaining the social enterprise verification, as well as larger organizations to commit dollars and actions to this initiative. If you’re interested in learning more, reach out to hello@theimpactcollectivepdx.com.