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Devin: What do you see as your superpower?
Cyrus: If I had to talk about my superpower, I would say that empathy is my superpower.
Quantibly CEO and co-founder Cyrus Z. Kazi is enabling a vital step forward in impact with improved tools for measuring it. I am honored to serve on his advisory board.
Born in Bangladesh, he says, “I have seen firsthand what poverty and hunger look like. That helped shape the way I see the world.” He says it prompted him to ask, “Is there anything I can do?” He has devoted his career to making a difference.
Quantibly provides tools that seamlessly integrate with existing processes for tracking impact-related activities, allowing more precise calculations of inputs and outcomes. The team built the software around an almost universally accepted framework:
There is one framework that almost every organization kind of agrees on, and that is called the theory of change. The theory of change process essentially tracks your resources, looks at the problem, sets certain assumptions, tracks activities and benchmarks, and sees the immediate mid-term and long-term outcomes of the work.
With that framework underpinning the Quantibly platform, it is being adopted by a wide range of users, from large corporations to smaller nonprofits.
AI Episode Summary
Quantifiable strives to standardize impact reporting for organizations to demonstrate and improve their social impact. Cyrus Kazi's superpower is empathy.
The Superpowers for Good Show is hosting Cyrus Kazi, the CEO and founder of Quantibly, a company that focuses on impact data gathering for nonprofits, social enterprises, and corporate social responsibility departments.
Quantibly is the first platform to collect and report impact data, standardizing the process and making it presentable for stakeholders to see the real impact of their investments.
The platform incorporates an impact framework that tracks resources, benchmarks, and outcomes to provide a holistic view of an organization's impact.
Cyrus has been working with nonprofits, NGOs, governments, and philanthropies for 25 years, leading him to develop Quantibly as a solution for the lack of standardized and verifiable impact data in the sector.
The Quantibly platform simplifies data entry and allows organizations to track outcomes over time, even if the data is collected years later.
The platform also helps foundations and philanthropies monitor the impact of their investments in real time, enabling them to intervene and support grantees as needed.
Quantibly can connect with other data formats, making it easy for organizations to import existing data and avoid double work.
Empathy is Kazi's superpower, which drives his work and motivates him to create value and make a positive impact.
Kazi believes that looking at the world through a value creation lens, rather than a transactional one, enhances empathy and leads to meaningful actions.
Kazi's personal and professional experiences in child welfare influenced his work on Quantibly, as he aimed to use data to protect children from abuse and neglect.
How to Develop Empathy As a Superpower
To understand the value of empathy, Cyrus explains:
We don't live in isolation. Right? So for many, many years, I think either through some philosophical evolution that I had, I started to realize that whatever I am going to do, I can't determine the end result. But as long as my empathy is there, my intentions are there; at least if I can do one good thing for my fellow human beings, I think that will make an impact. So it's a it's a thought process.
He helped me see empathy through a more pragmatic lens I’d never considered before. His view of it is that of a visionary CEO. “I don't necessarily think that I look at the world like I used to when I was much younger–from a transactional point of view. I look at it as a value creation point of view. I think that that helps me.”
Seeing empathy as a tool for value creation in business akin to strategy is a profound insight for a social entrepreneur.
By following Cyrus’s example and advice, you can make empathy a practical skill in your portfolio. With practice, you could make it a superpower that enables you to do more good in the world.
Guest Profile
Cyrus Z. Kazi (he/him):
CEO/Co-Founder, Quantibly
About Quantibly: Quantibly is the first platform to operationalize impact data collection, analysis, and reporting for the nonprofit, NGO, CSR, philanthropy sector.
Website: Quantibly.com
Twitter Handle: @quantibly
Company Facebook Page: facebook.com/quantibly
Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/quantibly
Biographical Information: Since the late 90s, Cyrus has been working with tech companies to drive social impact.
He has extensive experience in EdTech, GovTech, HealthTech, and other areas. He
received his Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Economics from the Purchase College, SUNY, and
holds a Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) in Public Policy & Evaluation from Marxe
School of Public & International Affairs, as well as an Executive MBA) from Zicklin
Business School, CUNY.
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/cyruskazi
This New American Born in Bangladesh Is Empowering a Fundamental Change to Impact Measurement - s11 ep23