Hypertelling, social responsibility and disruptive women: C2 Montréal in quotes

PARTNER CONTENT

Here are our top grabs:

Tatiana Fraser, Girls Action Foundation — on disruptive women
"Social innovation is about creating a world from our passions, from our roots, from our growth and from our visions. It’s about transformation. But it’s also about systematic change. It’s about culture shifting.

"Social innovation with a gender stance is more than equality between male and females; It’s about reframing social innovation. It’s about reframing social issues in a way where we understand their holistic nature, their interconnectedness and the broader ecosystem. We need [women’s] perspectives, we need their narratives, we need their creativity in the world."

Chad Dickerson, CEO, Etsy — on how businesses are changing in the age of The Many
"I think getting bigger only allows you to think bigger, and think bigger about what impact you can have. Scale is your friend."

"We believe that being socially responsible is good business. Some companies, they look at it as a sacrifice."

"My biggest fear is that the old way of doing business won’t go away quickly enough."

Mike Yapp, founder, The Zoo, Google — on "hypertelling": How technology is driving a narrative leap akin to the printed word
"The medium has always attempted to enhance the story, whether it duplicated it by writing and the invention of print, or illustrated, or animated it, or made it into a movie. We’ve always tried to link the experience tighter and tighter to the true emotional experience."

"The solitary experience of virtual reality will become social. We’re really becoming storydoers rather than simply storytellers."

Emily Chang, CCO, Intercontinental Group —  on the  changing role of brand management
"You have to go at the speed of the consumer, and you have to shift how you’re thinking. We have to be the creative curators of our own brands, and redefine some of the language we use. We talk about brand management. ... I don’t think we know what that means anymore."

"Whatever business you’re in, you create these lines and then you’re constrained by them. It’s all about the labels we put on; when we do that we look in a limited way at our potential."

David Suzuki, broadcaster, author and co-founder, David Suzuki Foundation — on getting business leaders around the world to take a stand against climate change

"The challenge is how do we cut through a lot of the propaganda and the explosive things that are being said and get down to reality and work together?"

"If we’re constantly having to give an economic justification for what we’re doing then we’re going to lose every time. How do you put a price on something that’s sacred? The forest that’s performing functions to keep the planet safe and alive. We can’t change nature but we can change the economy — we created it. How can we find balance?"

Harley Finkelstein, COO, Shopify — on how technology has changed entrepreneurship
"About 200 years ago, the main ingredient for building a company was capital. You needed money. And what happened was technology got really good, really fast. About 10 years ago, the technology got so good, that for the first time in the history of business and commerce, small businesses were able to afford the tools that large businesses had. It’s probably the most exciting time ever to be an entrepreneur."

Joel Simkhai, founder and CEO, Grindr — on how to build an app
"The idea is just the beginning. What’s the solution? You want to find a very simple solution — the simpler the solution, the better. We often try to overcomplicate things so the solution becomes an even bigger problem. So find a really easy way to solve the problem."

Chip Conley, Head of Global Hospitality & Strategy, Airbnb — on disruption
"The next disruptor will be someone who understands psychology"