Some people are solely motivated by wealth, material benefits, and financial success, while some thrive on appreciation and admiration. Then there is a third category of people, which is quite rare. These are the people inspired by change and positive transformation. They believe in the collective good of both the people and the planet.
Meet Jonathan Tjoa Algreen, a serial entrepreneur and a flagbearer of sustainability in business who is changing lives for the better through his one-of-a-kind approach to business.
Background story
Jonathan’s conscious efforts to eradicate poverty through his companies, Impact Business Investment Group and Business For Planet, stem from his rough childhood.
“I come from a lower-middle-class Danish family, had a relatively rough upbringing with some struggling financially, especially during the difficult times in the ’80s for my family as well as the loss of my mother at a young age.”
Born and raised in Jutland, Denmark, Jonathan spent most of his early years living in the countryside and rarely made trips to the city. Copenhagen was his favorite place to visit, and he moved there at the age of 26, shortly after selling his first successful business alongside pursuing his education. Soon he was able to build another, which set many records in its niche.
Developing the mindset of success
Jonathan is a multipotentialite entrepreneur who developed a success-oriented mindset early in life. Being born to hard-working parents helped him learn early in life that nothing comes easy in life.
“If you want to achieve something you need to work for it you need to be dedicated and focused and ready to sacrifice not important things. Dreams are not just dreams. Both dedication and ambition are strongly needed, but it also needs to go hand-in-hand with patience. Success doesn’t come easily or fast, it might take 10, 20, 30 years, or even a lifetime to achieve it, so don’t lose faith, dedication, persistence, drive, or patience, because you will need them all and for a very long time.”
His mindset of a warrior is the reason that while being fully committed to academics and pursuing Bachelor’s and master’s degrees, he managed a repertoire of building successful businesses from scratch.
Jonathan’s initiative Business for Planet is providing education and investment to innovative and impact-driven startups. He is redefining social responsibility with his efforts in the field of sustainability and impact-investment.
Today, Jonathan and his wife Rea bring together their expertise in building businesses and sustainability to make an impact through their Danish luxury fashion label, 1 People, built on a people and planet-centric approach. As he says ”I always prioritize a people and planet approach in my businesses and I truly believe that we can change the world to a better place for more people and the planet through business.”
