This year with AndPurpose didn’t look the way I thought it would.
When I started AndPurpose, I knew one thing clearly: Whatever I built had to be led with purpose. What I didn’t know was how messy, nonlinear, and humbling that journey would be.
This year especially felt like living inside the questions – not having all the answers but choosing to keep building anyway.
PS: Sorry, this is going to be a long one. 🙂
From a Name to a Platform
For a long time, AndPurpose was just an idea I carried quietly – a belief that work, when led with purpose & done honestly, can move systems & the world.
Over the last year, that belief slowly turned into something more tangible:
- a growing community,
- conversations that mattered,
- and spaces where people working on climate, equity, finance, education,
and social change could meet without jargon or performance.
& honestly, we didn’t start with scale. We started with intent.
The community surprised me the most
What began as a simple effort to share opportunities through AndPurpose Grants became one of the most unexpected outcomes of the year.
To this date, we’ve published 1321 global grants, built a 1,300+ strong WhatsApp community of social entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and founders across the world, and watched people help each other & find their tribe with the regional & sectoral communities.
This is still pro-bono, and yet, this feels like some of the most meaningful work we’ve done.
Sometimes, value shows up before the business model does.
The Mighty Team
AndPurpose is being built by a small, young team – largely Gen Z and Millennials – many early in their careers but deeply committed to the work we’re doing. They’ve taken on responsibilities far beyond defined roles, learning on the go while managing everything under the roof – agency, speakers, partnerships, community, marketing, and so much more!
What stands out most is their intent and drive. Through long days, last-minute changes, and uncertainty, they kept showing up with ownership and care.
Much of what AndPurpose has become this year is because of their consistency, curiosity, and willingness to build in ambiguity.
I honestly believe that they are crazy to be here!
The Forums:
learning by doing (and undoing)
This year, we took our first steps with the AndPurpose Forums – hosting three regional editions in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru across the year.
Across these rooms, ~ 600 people showed up: entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, investors, CSR teams, and policymakers working across sustainability and social impact.
They weren’t perfect.
Delhi taught us that if you’ve the right intent, people will find you. We got 300+ registrations, but because of space & budget constraints, we had to limit attendance. Some ~120 people came.
I remember the goosebumps I had the day of the forum, and then, with their kindness, they came.
Bengaluru showed us what’s possible when the ecosystem shows up – 250+ founders, investors, CSR leaders, nonprofits, real conversations, and real interest. Hosted at Sabha, a 150-year-old heritage property, the forum brought art and purpose together, with focused discussions on technology for good, climate and built environment, & the ever-famous finance session bringing all types of investment perspectives together – Philanthropy, Impact and Venture Capital.
Mumbai pushed us to think bigger and sharper. It brought together voices across climate, finance, fashion, and impact. This ambitious city pushed us harder too; unlike our other forums, we delivered a full-day forum at the country’s finest venue (Jio World Convention Centre) & it challenged us on all levels, making it clear that building meaningful platforms here requires both clarity, conviction & community.
What stayed with me wasn’t the scale, but the quality of intent in those rooms people asking real questions, sharing unfinished work, and staying back long after sessions ended.
Seeing our work covered in mainstream publications including The Times of India – felt like a small but meaningful validation. Not because of visibility alone, but because conversations around climate, equity, and impact are slowly finding space beyond niche circles.
This year, we made mistakes. We underestimated costs. We overestimated our own capacity at times. But we also proved to ourselves that there is space for thoughtfully curated, purpose-led convenings in India.
Each forum stretched us in different ways.
And together, they shaped how we think about what AndPurpose is becoming.
And this learning is shaping everything we plan next.
Helping businesses build with Intent
At AndPurpose Agency, we work at the intersection of purpose and profit. Partnering with sustainable organisations across the 17 UN SDGs, from CSR programs and foundations to mission-led enterprises, helping them grow while staying anchored to a good cause. Our work spans social impact marketing, communications, and narrative-building, always rooted in real-world outcomes rather than surface-level storytelling.
This year, our work expanded to the realms of green energy, water, education, leadership development, ESG reporting & more, with work with organisations like WaterAid India, Alcor Consulting, Sentra, and others. We’ve learned that impact doesn’t come from campaigns alone. It comes from consistency, trust, and working closely with teams who are building for the long
term.
The forums, communities, and platforms you see today are extensions of this work, shaped by what we’ve learned on the ground, alongside partners who care deeply about the systems they’re trying to change.
Hits, misses, and uncomfortable truths
This year forced both me personally & at the organisation’s level to confront a few realities:
- Building a for-profit impact venture is not romantic.
- Events excite us – but we’re still learning them from scratch, we’re not an events company & though we work with partners, still operations take a beat.
- I’m not naturally sales-driven. I’m still learning to ask.
- I’m also not instinctively a people person – and this journey has pushed me to show up, connect, and learn in ways that don’t come easily.
There were moments of doubt. Many, actually.
But there was also clarity: this work still feels aligned.
What we’re becoming
Slowly, AndPurpose is evolving into something clearer:
- An ecosystem platform
- Sitting at the intersection of storytelling, community, and convenings
- Focused on sustainability and social impact,
- Built with patience, not noise
We’re experimenting. We’re listening. We’re saying no more consciously.
And we’re preparing – quietly – for what comes next.
A softer view of what’s next
As we move into the next year, I’m holding AndPurpose with a bit more patience and clarity.
We’ll continue to:
- nurture the changemakers community we’ve been building,
- invest in thoughtful convenings rather than frequent ones,
- and deepen our work around storytelling, ecosystem building, and
- knowledge-sharing in sustainability and social impact.
There’s no rush to do everything at once.
Some things need time to find their shape.
What I do know is this: AndPurpose will continue to be a space that values intent over optics, collaboration over noise, and learning over certainty. And that feels like a good place to build from.
Gratitude, always
To the partners who took early bets.
To the speakers who trusted us.
To the community members who showed up.
To the supporters who shared feedback.
To the small team that keeps showing up.
And to everyone who has followed, encouraged, or challenged this journey.
Thank you for walking alongside.
These moments reminded me that slow, consistent work does compound – even when it doesn’t feel like it day to day.
As we look into 2026, some longer-term ideas are beginning to take shape including deeper regional collaboration and a more South Asia–focused lens. Nothing rushed, nothing loud. Just a continued effort to build spaces that are thoughtful, inclusive, and grounded in real work.
More on that when the time feels right.
There’s a lot still to figure out – but for the first time in a while, I feel okay about not having it all mapped out.
With Love & Purpose,
Kamna Hazrati
Founder, AndPurpose
