The question came up again: Why not call a business a Business? or a Firm? Why the insistence on Company?

Businesses and Firms

The sole purpose of a business is to make money for the owners. In Radical-based companies, we want to make money for everybody involved, but it is not the reason for coming together.

A firm, too, is about making money for the owners. It might have meant something else in the past, but it implies power and rigidness today.

Companies

A company is about people and about making a positive impact. It is about people coming together to accomplish something bigger than any one person can. A company is fluid and dynamic. And, of course, they have to make money, too.

A Story

The word “company” comes from the Latin prefix con- (together) and pan (bread). It means people who break bread together. We could have made up a word, but we did not want to sound too alien. The word “company,” on the other hand, is familiar and it has this lovely origin.