The BetterWorld Story
BetterWorld Telecom was founded in 2002 in a climate of upheaval in the telecommunications industry. WorldCom and others had gone bankrupt; the typical customer experience with large, established telecommunications companies was unsatisfactory and services were becoming more expensive as the industry consolidated. Starting a new telecommunications company was challenging in this environment. BetterWorld's founders however, saw an opportunity to create a different kind of business.
Telecommunications products and services were proliferating, spurred by the growth of the Internet and the rapid adoption of broadband access. Customers were ready for a new type of business partner, where service and support were priorities, but acquiring these customers was still a challenge. Large established companies spend millions of dollars in advertising and promotions to reach their target market. A new, small company like BetterWorld could not possibly compete directly — and the founders were not interested interested in cloning the existing telecommunications companies anyway.
BetterWorld is the only nationwide carrier solely focused on serving businesses and non-profit organizations that have social and sustainable missions.
The answer was to build a business based on a mission that the founders believed in, and then find customers, one at a time, that had a similar mission and/or values. BetterWorld began by selling long-distance service and calling cards backed by a socially-responsible business model that was mission driven to “do good” in the world. We defined “doing good” in the following ways:
- Donating 3% of revenues to social and environmental causes
- Saving the customer up to 28% which goes directly to the bottom line
- Providing 100% guarantee of service, and
- Attaining carbon neutral certification
BetterWorld has since increased our product offerings to include local calling, long distance, high-speed Internet and data, web/video/audio conferencing, VoIP, Virtual PBX, and Unified Communications — all available as customized solutions nationwide.
Nonprofit organizations and small- to medium-sized businesses (SMB) were a natural fit to this mission driven approach as they were largely ignored by the larger telecommunications companies and were in need of better service. In addition, these organizations tended to have a socially responsible mission or interest and were generally eager to extend their mission by buying products and services from companies that give back in some way. The BetterWorld marketing strategy has been to promote its products primarily through affiliate programs, like Social Venture Network, and to acquire customers slowly through building lasting relationships. While growth has been slower than it could have been, customers rarely switch from BetterWorld once enrolled.
Today, BetterWorld remains privately held, which enables the management team to stay true to their social justice and corporate responsibility values. In fact, BetterWorld is the only telecommunications carrier in the United States which is tested and certified as a “For Benefit” company by B CorporationTM, and is a member of One Percent For The Planet,, donating at least 1% of revenues to environmental causes. BetterWorld has been elected to theWorldBlu Most Democratic Workplaces™ list all three years that it has been active and we are the only telecom telecommunications carrier in North America to be certified by as carbon neutral by Climate Cooler.
A Company Built on
Triple-Bottom-Line Principles from the Beginning
Founded in 2002, BetterWorld Telecom is the only nationwide voice and data provider that focuses on serving business, enterprises and organizations that have social and sustainable missions.
Our customers save on average 28% off the major providers and we backup our quality and service with a 100% guarantee, while donating 3% of top-line revenues to causes that benefit children, education, the environment and fair trade.
In an industry marked by consolidation, poor customer service and a few very large companies serving most businesses and non profits, BetterWorld is a breath of fresh air — offering full-bundled or a la carte solutions from local calling, to long distance, high-speed Internet, conference calling, and even VoIP solutions: all on one bill backed by our One Call Does it All service — a TRUE communications partner.
Our core management team represents more than 175 years of telecom experience, all committed to making the world a better place than how we found it. We are passionate about helping causes that support social justice and the environment.
At BetterWorld, our mantra is that we help organizations Change the World. One Phone Call at a Time. Each of our customers participates in our "Doing Well While Doing Good" Program.
Our customers "Do Well" in that they get the same personalized service and network quality that the Fortune 500 companies enjoy, while saving on average 28% off the major providers in the industry today for two main reasons: (1) We do not support wasteful and expensive advertising or promotional camapigns; we grow our customers via meaningful, one-to-one relationships. And (2) our state-of-art proprietary web operating system, which creates a streamlined paperless operating environment.