Purpose Before Profit: Ian Bentley Of Parker Clay On The Benefits Of Running A Purpose-Driven Business

In today’s competitive business landscape, the race for profits often takes center stage. However, there are some leaders who also prioritize a mission-driven purpose. They use their business to make a positive social impact and recognize that success isn’t only about making money. In this interview series, we are talking with some of these distinct leaders and I had the pleasure of interviewing Ian Bentley.

Co-Founder and CEO of Parker Clay, Ian Bentley, and his wife Brittany began their company when living in Ethiopia and now run a certified B-Corp with 200 employees between their office, warehouse, and flagship store in Santa Barbara and their factory and leadership team in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Bentleys’ mission is to make a better bag for a better world through a brand which is built to showcase the finest Ethiopian leather and craftsmanship, all while providing meaningful job opportunities, vocational training, and beyond living wages for at-risk women. Now as one of the largest employers of women in fashion in one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa, Parker Clay upholds the highest standards of ethical and sustainable processes in both production footprint and social impact.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us your “Origin Story”? Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I grew up just outside of Los Angeles, California before moving up to Santa Barbara in Jr. High School when my parents had to relocate for work. I came from a family of entrepreneurs and learned the value of hard work from a young age. I was raised to always care for those around me and it made me very aware of the needs of others. As I have gone through life, I have found that empathy is a great character trait to carry with us, especially as we work with others from different backgrounds and from different countries around the world.

The story of Parker Clay started in California. My wife Brittany and I met in high school and I think we knew right away that there was a special connection between us. We got married during college, then dove into our careers in business and design. I’ll never forget the moment Brittany told me she was pregnant with our first son, Parker. Not long after, we bought our first home and had our second son, Clay.

Life went on, until a seemingly inconsequential moment changed everything. We’d been talking about having child number three when the topic of adoption came up. We started doing some research and learned that there were, at the time, over 160 million orphans worldwide. As parents, our first instinct was to look at our boys and think “what if Parker or Clay were in their shoes?” Soon after, we were off to Ethiopia to adopt our first daughter.

There, we had a truly life-changing experience. A stunningly beautiful country, with kind, welcoming, and resilient people we would never forget. Though we had come back home to California after adopting our daughter, the feeling we had was that this was just the beginning in Ethiopia. We started talking with different groups working in Ethiopia; non-profits, for-profits… anyone we could connect with. The incredible diversity of stories and challenges was almost overwhelming, but one truth kept appearing — while aid serves an important role, we knew investment and job creation through trade was the sustainable path.

So less than a year after bringing our daughter “home”, we were standing at the airport holding one-way tickets, ready to move our family across the world and make Ethiopia our new home. I remember standing there, thinking… “There’s at least a 1% chance that this could be one of the worst decisions I’ve ever made”.

It’s turned out to be one of the best…

During our time in Ethiopia, we worked with organizations that empowered disadvantaged women through rehabilitation, skills development, and job creation. Meeting these women and witnessing the transformation that can come with just a bit of opportunity was deeply moving, inspiring my wife and I to create Parker Clay to share Ethiopian craftsmanship with a broader audience.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?

One of my favorite memories is of my dear friend, Meselu. Years ago, she came up to me at our factory in Ethiopia and showed me her son’s report card with so much pride and joy. She said that because of her opportunity to work with Parker Clay, she was able to afford to send him to school, where he had received straight A’s and was first in his class. It’s such an important story because it’s not just the opportunity for women that we provide, but it’s transforming future generations. This conversation showed me not only the direct impact that Parker Clay has on our employees but also the effect it has on their families and communities. We are thrilled every day to be able to provide the opportunities we offer — including funding career training, financial literacy, and healthy lunch programs — but to see the significant benefits it has firsthand is amazing and so fulfilling.

We often learn the most from our mistakes. Can you share one that you made that turned out to be one of the most valuable lessons you’ve learned?

Just one… I actually love this question and it’s become one of Parker Clay’s core values: we win, or we learn. I think it’s important to take smart risks that take us forward and teach us. I remember when we moved to Ethiopia, I came in with an American business mindset and had the idea that what made me successful in America would translate to Africa. I learned quickly how important relationships were and that it wasn’t just about deadlines, but it was first about relationships that had to be built. This was often over a few cups of Ethiopian coffee, the best in the world by the way, and I also learned that listening is often more important than speaking. Perhaps why God gave us two ears and one mouth.

As a successful leader, it’s clear that you uphold strong core values. I’m curious what are the most important principles you firmly stand by and refuse to compromise on. Can you share a few of them and explain why they hold such significance for you in your work and life?

Our core values really boil down to this — what we know matters, but who we are matters more. We value sustainability and community: sustainable employment for women in Ethiopia and sustainability in the fashion world. Parker Clay is a Certified B Corporation, meeting the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. We source and manufacture full-grain Ethiopian leather, with all leather products handmade at our company’s factory in Ethiopia to reduce the environmental impact of the industrial process, while providing dignified employment for at-risk women. We own our entire operation, including our factory in Addis Ababa, to ensure the highest quality of production, implement sustainable processes, and create a safe workplace for our employees who have become like a second family. Through our vertically integrated supply chain, we are changing the fashion game entirely and working towards eliminating fast fashion while improving the lives of those who work with us.

Community is a huge part of Parker Clay. Our saying is “if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Aligning with this phrase, we launched a fundraising campaign in 2023 inspired by the idea of building the community. As one of the first B Corps to raise capital through Regulation A+, we were able to empower sustainable consumers to play a more direct role in shaping the future of fashion. Through this community fundraising, we expanded production capacity, hired and created impact for more employees, and scaled up our retail capacity and market share in the United States and internationally. This exciting new chapter for Parker Clay is something we want our customers to be a part of. We built a community of customers who have helped scale our impact by purchasing products. Through the crowdfunding campaign, we wanted to offer not just a product, but the opportunity for a financial return. By democratizing the investment process, customers can truly invest where their values are.

What inspired you to start a purpose-driven business rather than a traditional for-profit enterprise? Can you share a personal story or experience that led you to prioritize social impact in your business?

When living in Ethiopia and seeing the ways that disadvantaged women were supported and the significant changes that came from creating sustainable employment, my wife and I knew we wanted to get involved. Not only did we want to start a company that celebrated and shared the craftsmanship of the people we met and worked with in Ethiopia, but we wanted our work to have a larger and longer-lasting impact. It’s one thing to start a company in the fashion world, but it’s another to start a company that is challenging fast fashion and benefiting someone in need with literally every single purchase. It’s great to see your business succeed but it’s even better to know that there is a bigger purpose behind it.

Can you help articulate a few of the benefits of leading a purpose-driven business rather than a standard “plain vanilla” business?

There are many benefits to leading a purpose-driven business, including bettering the lives of others and the environmental impact of fashion. We provide better — better bags and better production to make a better world. While we create beautiful, quality products, the long-lasting effects and meaning behind each bag is what drives me every day. Being able to provide a better life to women in Ethiopia and their families is something that will trickle down for generations to come, not only bettering the lives of our employees but so many others along the way.

How has your company’s mission or purpose affected its overall success? Can you explain the methods or metrics you use to evaluate the impact of this purpose-driven strategy on your organization?

Our mission and purpose are what drives us and keeps our company growing. 46 percent of our employees in Ethiopia are receiving a reliable salary for the first time, ever. We calculate living wages based on a “basket of goods” model, which reevaluates the local cost of living on a regular basis to ensure that the lowest salary we pay is always enough to provide for a family in Addis Ababa. To protect against fluctuating local currency, we pay our wages in USD.

Since the formation of Parker Clay, we have partnered with an organization called Ellilta Women at Risk (EWAR), with a goal of restoring independence to women who have been exploited through prostitution, ultimately fighting to end prostitution in Ethiopia. They have successfully graduated thousands of women through their program, with over 90 percent of the graduates being able to remain free from prostitution.

So, we monitor and evaluate the social impact closely and it’s one of the reasons we are one of the highest rated B Corps in the world in the leather goods industry.

Can you share a pivotal moment when you realized that leading your purpose-driven company was actually making a significant impact? Can you share a specific example or story that deeply resonated with you personally?

One of the moments that really solidified our company’s impact and how far it’s come was when we became a certified B Corp in September 2018, meaning we met the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. The process to become a certified B Corp isn’t easy — it’s very lengthy and detailed and doesn’t always end with certification, but this is important as the rigor of the assessment is what makes the certification so important. It’s proof that what you say is what you do, and I think that’s one of the most important aspects of the B Corp certification.

There are countless stories of seeing how this has been felt on the ground in Ethiopia, but another aspect is how it’s impacting our customers. We had one woman share a story with us about when her son was going through cancer and a group of women came together to get her our Miramar Backpack. When she received it, she told us that while wearing the backpack she was reminded of all the women who had her back. I think that hit me in terms of just how powerful the idea of making a great product that also serves a great purpose could become.

Have you ever faced a situation where your commitment to your purpose and creating a positive social impact clashed with the profitability in your business? Have you ever been challenged by anyone on your team or have to make a tough decision that had a significant impact on finances? If so, how did you address and reconcile this conflict?

We have found that the profit is in the purpose — it’s a simple yet powerful statement. It is hard when the fashion world is still consumed with fast fashion, but we do see more and more people shopping for their values today than ever before. We will never compromise on the quality or people behind our products.

When we think about our impact, we tend to think down to the small details. And that’s not a bad thing! We think about our employees, 80 percent of whom are women, and their families. We think about the difference that a safe, dignified, and well-paying job can make for them. Thinking small means thinking about the individuals, and that’s what’s shaped our journey so far. That’s where it all starts.

But we also think big… like thinking of our model as the future of the fashion industry. Africa might just be the next great global manufacturing hub — what if we applied a more sustainable, equitable, and ethical way of doing business? What could that do for people, for communities? For climates and environments? Making better choices doesn’t have to be complicated and we can do it at the intersection of profit and purpose, where our beliefs and values determine where we invest our resources.

When you support fast fashion, you’re choosing products over people. We don’t think that should even be an option. Free trade, fair trade, conscious consumerism — these aren’t buzzwords. They’re the language of a better world, where people’s lives — whether they’re making goods in Ethiopia or buying goods in California — matter just as much as another.

What advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs who wish to start a purpose-driven business? What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Purpose-Driven Business.”

Read good books, find great mentors and learn that it’s often the obstacle that becomes the way. You will face challenges and have to make difficult decisions but if there is one thing you don’t want to do, it’s waiver on your original purpose. When you know what that purpose is, you can stick to it, even if it does not make sense to those around you.

1 . There’s an old African proverb that reads ‘If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go together.’

2 . You either win or learn.

3 . Be curiously resourceful.

4 . Be courageous.

5 . Empower others.

I’m interested in how you instill a strong sense of connection with your team. How do you nurture a culture where everyone feels connected to your mission? Could you share an example or story that showcases how your purpose has positively influenced or motivated people on your team to contribute?

As a CEO, I am always trying to make sure my team has as much support and connections as possible. Whether it’s training a new employee or more personal issues, at Parker Clay we go together. One story that resonates with me when discussing community was with a woman named Marta. We met Marta in Ethiopia two years ago when she first joined the Parker Clay team. Before we got to Ethiopia, our team noticed that Marta was making a lot of mistakes on our products. Instead of getting upset and scolding her, we were curious and had a feeling that her eyesight might be bad. After taking her to the eye doctor, we discovered that she couldn’t see more than 5 inches in front of her. Marta was legally blind and had no idea. We thought to ourselves how horrible Marta must have felt living for 20 years feeling ignored, having no one to help with an issue like that. After we got her glasses, Marta thanked us and said, “for the first time in my life I can actually see, but for the first time in my life I feel seen.” It’s stories like this that show how our strong sense of community trickles down to all our employees and is important to all of Parker Clay.

Imagine we’re sitting down together two years from now, looking back at your company’s last 24 months. What specific accomplishments would have to happen for you to be happy with your progress?

We will have doubled our factory size and be the largest leather manufacturer not just in Ethiopia, but in Africa. We will have also expanded our training program to bring thousands of more women into the industry and provide even more opportunity to the community to not just survive but thrive.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I would love to get people to think about one thing they can do to empower someone else and then inspire them to do that thing, even if it’s small. Shift the focus off ourselves and towards supporting someone else without expecting anything in return.

How can our readers further follow your work or your company online?

You can follow us on Instagram @ParkerClay or my personal @ian.w.bentley and on our website www.parkerclay.com

This was great. Thanks for taking time for us to learn more about you and your business. We wish you continued success!

A
bout the Interviewer: Chad Silverstein, a seasoned entrepreneur with over two decades of experience as the Founder and CEO of multiple companies. He launched Choice Recovery, Inc., a healthcare collection agency, while going to The Ohio State University, His team earned national recognition, twice being ranked as the #1 business to work for in Central Ohio. In 2018, Chad launched [re]start, a career development platform connecting thousands of individuals in collections with meaningful employment opportunities, He sold Choice Recovery on his 25th anniversary and in 2023, sold the majority interest in [re]start so he can focus his transition to Built to Lead as an Executive Leadership Coach. Learn more at www.chadsilverstein.com