An Unreasonable Code of Conduct

At Unreasonable, we envision a world where our greatest leaders are those who see vulnerability as a strength, prioritize people and the planet over numbers, and act with integrity. We believe these very leaders will ensure the most valuable, influential, and lasting companies of tomorrow are those solving humanity's most pressing challenges today.

We stand on a belief that the challenges of the 21st century will never be solved by one person, one team, or one company. Absorbing lessons learned from ecology and the wisdom inherent in natural systems, we believe in a collaborative advantage over a competitive edge. Within our community, we strive to always assume good intentions and commit to supporting one another now and into the future. We acknowledge that together, we are stronger ("We > I").

This Unreasonable Code of Conduct provides guidelines for all members of the Unreasonable community — our team, our mentors, the investors we work with and every individual we are humbled to support via the Unreasonable Fellowship. By participating in any of our gatherings, and receiving the benefits of being a part of our global community, you are agreeing to this Code of Conduct. Violations of this Code of Conduct could result in suspension, and possible removal, from the community.

Simply put, the standards set out in this Code of Conduct, as outlined below, are a commitment to integrity, humility, acting ethically with honesty and empathy, and complying with the letter and intent of the law. This Code of Conduct enables us to establish the foundation of trust needed for a global community that is positioned to usher in a more regenerative, just, and inclusive future. We are forever grateful and humbled to be on this journey with you.

Guiding Principles

1. We always put family and health first. If we are feeling sick or an urgent family need arises, we collectively agree to prioritize taking care of those we love and of our own mental, physical, spiritual and emotional health. As a team who cares about you, Unreasonable is here to help you live this value in any way we can. Your health, your well-being, and your family are always more important than your work or our work at Unreasonable.
2. We strive to help Unreasonable Fellows whenever possible. We all have significant pulls on our time, but when an Unreasonable Fellow has a sincere and realistic ask, we respond and do our best to help.
3. We respond quickly to requests from within the Unreasonable Community. We make every attempt to prioritize and respond to requests from within the Unreasonable community, ideally within two business days.
4. We respect "no" as an answer. If someone says "no" to a request, we respect their decision and cast no judgment. In doing so, we allow members of the Unreasonable community to protect their time and feel confident gracefully declining any requests that may be asked of them.
5. We appreciate it when others help. No one goes at it alone - business is a team activity. We share gratitude when helped by other members of the Unreasonable community. You can share gratitude with anyone in our global community using the Gratitude Feature.
6. We don't impose our opinions. Although sharing our perspectives and feedback is a needed form of support, we avoid phrases like "you should" or "you must."
7. We disclose known conflicts of interest early. We err on the side of disclosure.
8. We commit to our commitments. We only make commitments that we can deliver and we strive to always follow-through on any commitments we make. If we can't follow through on a commitment, then we strive to notify the impacted party as far in advance as possible.
9. We respect confidentiality. When we are entrusted with sensitive, confidential, or personal information we use appropriate measures to keep it secure. We respect requests for privacy and confidentiality and acknowledge that confidentiality is critical to creating an environment where we can all feel safe to share and collaborate on our toughest challenges. Great communities stem from trust and trust is rooted in vulnerability. To protect our ability to be vulnerable we agree to respect confidentiality.
10. We prioritize emotional and physical safety. In our pursuit of creating a deeply collaborative environment, we strive to ensure everyone feels safe and included; regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, political views, sexual orientation or ability. Towards this end, Unreasonable does not tolerate harassment or discrimination of any kind. We also ask that if you hear or see something that makes you or others uncomfortable, you speak up rather than act as a bystander. If you see anything that you find concerning, please notify a team member at Unreasonable and/or share your account via Vault Open Reporting — a safe, secure and optionally anonymous way to report workplace and community misconduct.
11. We disagree well. The beauty of a global community is set in the richness and diversity of people, ideas, perspectives, and beliefs that we all bring to the collective. To benefit from such an array of lived experience, it's imperative that we are able to disagree while still respecting the people whose worldview may be different than ours. We embrace dialogue with people we disagree with, we listen with the intent to learn, and we acknowledge that what makes us similar is stronger than what may divide us. We can have strong beliefs and respectfully collaborate with others, towards a more just future, who believe differently. To achieve our goals, we must.
12. We trust in the process. If you are a member of this community, you are likely used to leading teams, chairing boards, and keynoting conferences. For your time at an Unreasonable gathering, it's not that we are asking you not to be a leader, but rather, we are asking you to trust us in the processes we have designed. Unreasonable's job is to create the conditions upon which we see creative and productive collisions between people and ideas that likely would never forge outside of the walls of our gatherings. By trusting in the process, we believe the results can be profound.
13. We treat one another's time as the precious resource it is. Wrangling dozens of entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, and creatives is no simple task. We all play our part in showing up on time to any sessions that are held, whether virtually or in person, as part of an Unreasonable gathering.
14. We create conditions for introverted voices to be heard. We have learned that different people's genius is sparked in different ways and we strive to create an environment in which the ability to discover and share breakthrough ideas is democratized. We strive to make room for everyone's ideas to be shared and voices to be heard (introverts and extroverts) — By doing so, our collective impact will be that much more profound.
15. We honor the principle of "no new romance.” We hope that at Unreasonable gatherings and across our community, love is a word that resonates for describing your experience. Love for the Fellows we support, our broader community, and for the act of coming together to steward a more regenerative future. That said, if you find yourself falling romantically in love with someone while you are at an Unreasonable gathering, we ask you don't pursue this new romance until the gathering has concluded. We have a zero-tolerance policy on this front. Ensuring no new romantic interests are explored is critical to the emotional safety needed to create a deeply trusted community. If your significant other is participating in the gathering with you, of course, public displays of affection (within reason) are acceptable.
16. We participate in both offline and online forums with respect. We participate in respectful discourse in all forums. We do not comment anonymously or with false identities.
17. We practice integrity. If we say something either publicly or privately, then we believe that it is true. We do not intentionally omit important and relevant factual information and we do not intentionally embellish the truth in a way that may deceive others. We strive to be clear and transparent in our communications.
18. We honor our legal agreements. We follow the spirit and intent of our legal agreements, including, but not limited to, any contractual relationships we enter into.
19. We do not steal assets, IP or content. We do not plagiarize content from anyone. We do not steal assets or intellectual property.
20. We abide by all local and federal laws of commerce. We honor international sanctions. We are careful to do business only with lawful parties and we work to ensure we are always on the right side of the law.
21. We do not pay or accept bribes or kickbacks. We do not engage in any form of corruption. We act with integrity in our dealings with others and strictly prohibit corrupt activities.
22. We act responsibly at all Unreasonable gatherings. If consuming alcohol, we do so responsibly and in moderation. Alcohol is never provided to minors. We do not drive under the influence of alcohol or any drugs or medicines that may impair our judgment. We do not distribute or use illegal drugs (defined by the local law), while participating or engaging in any Unreasonable gatherings or events.
23. We do not engage in any form of sexual harassment. Not at Unreasonable gatherings, in our workplaces, or anywhere else for that matter. The Unreasonable Community defines sexual harassment as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is not welcomed by one or more parties.
24. We are not spammers. We do not send bulk unsolicited email nor do we scrape contact lists and abuse them. We do not harass prospective partners, investors, advisors, or any members of the Unreasonable community, who have clearly said "no" to us and/or opt out of our communications.
25. If we fail, we fail well. As members of the Unreasonable community, if we are going out of business, we will notify our customers and make their data available to them as early as possible. We will advise every one of our investors and provide the chance to discuss what went wrong in live conversations. If we know our company is going to fail, we attempt to return as much capital as possible to our teammates, investors, our teammates, and our stakeholders.
26. We avoid gossip. We do not share disparaging comments and rumors about others. We are constructive in our feedback and always provide it directly to the individual or company to which it pertains. If we feel uncomfortable doing so, we will report any concerns via the Vault Open Reporting Tool — a safe, secure and optionally anonymous way to report workplace and community misconduct.
27. We strive to maximize our positive ecological impacts while minimizing our negative environmental impacts. Nearly every decision we make has an impact on the health of our planet. In our day-to-day lives and within the operations of our company we seek to usher in a more ecologically healthy and eco-centric way of being. Together we can help inspire a transition from an industrial economy to an ecological economy. Overtime, we can help ensure that humanity has a net-positive relationship with nature. If we fail to do so, all our efforts in the long run may be eclipsed by a collapse of the natural systems we love and live by.
28. We stand up for others. We report violations and we appropriately intervene in situations when we witness breaches of this Code of Conduct.

Enforcing the Code

This Code of Conduct applies to every member of the Unreasonable Community. Simply by participating in an Unreasonable gathering, you are affirming that you understand and commit to the Code of Conduct. Violations of this Code of Conduct could result in suspension, and possibly removal, from the community. The significance of a violation and any consequences may vary based on the circumstances determined through the Unreasonable’s investigative process. Repeat offenders are addressed with less tolerance. Expulsion from the Unreasonable Community is a possible consequence.

As a global community, we leverage the power of markets to create impact at scale. The 401 ventures in the Unreasonable Fellowship operate across more than 406 countries, have collectively generated $15 bn in revenue, raised $16 bn in financing, are positively impacting the lives of more than 1,422,223,385 people, and have mitigated an estimated metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. As a community, we exist to harness business to create a more just and regenerative world. Sound Unreasonable? We hope so. Because reasonable ideas seldom change anything. All that said, we will fail from the start if we don’t all align behind this simple Code of Conduct.

The Unreasonable Code of Conduct is a living document. By participating in any Unreasonable gatherings or as an ongoing member of our global community, you are agreeing to this Code of Conduct. For suggested changes, please contact us.