LEG A CY
WEALTH & PURPOSE
PURPOSE IS THE NEW CURRENCY
It is not unusual for successful business people to spend their later years focused on charitable work. More novel is the entrepreneur who, by age 40, spends 90% of his time on a project that makes him no money. Alexandre Mars spoke to Alexandra Newlove about Epic, his non-profit start-up, and making giving the norm
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Alexandre Mars, founder of Epic
WE DO NOT TAKE ANY CUT, ANY COMMISSION. WE WANT TO HAVE SOMETHING VERY PURE
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lexandre Mars’ outlook on life is buoyed by the belief that people want to help others—though, he concedes they do not always act on this impulse.
So this gap between intention and action
was what Mars looked to address when, aged 39, he decided his lucrative career creating and selling tech start-ups should draw to a close. Instead, he began putting his entrepreneurial ingenuity towards a solution which would get people to give more, and give often. “When you start a business you try to
understand the market. So [before setting up Epic] I started with the market research,” Mars explains. “I went to many places, interviewed many
people, and realised a lot of people are giving. But many of these same people know they do not give enough.” Mars says he found three main factors
which discouraged wealthy donors from giving more: They did not trust charitable organisations; they lacked the time to research the sector; and they had trouble identifying the most impactful charities.
Epic was born in 2014 as a kind of
“middle man” to address these barriers. “We select amazing organisations, we
track and monitor them, and we engage the donors.” Mars funds Epic’s operations with his
own money, about $2 million a year, so any donations go directly to the 36 social organisations across 13 countries in Epic’s portfolio. “We do not take any cut, any
commission,” Mars says. “We want to have something very pure.
So if someone asks, where does the money go, to Alex’s pocket? We can immediately say no.” The portfolio is made up of social
organisations which address child and youth issues, including areas like healthcare, education, protection, and economic employment.
PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF EPIC
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