By: Georgette Virgo
In the often highly competitive world of business consulting, Joshua Kirshbaum represents something of an anomaly. The co-founder of Impact Ventures International (IVI) built his career on lessons from 15 years in humanitarian work, focusing not just on profits but on sustainable impact. He steered clear of the usual cutthroat business tactics.
This outlook makes him part of a small but growing cohort of consultants rethinking fundamental assumptions about how businesses should operate and scale.
Kirshbaum poses a deceptively simple question to the business owners he advises: “If you took a vacation for 30 days, would your business still be thriving when you got back?”
From Relief Work to Business Resilience
Before co-founding Impact Ventures International (IVI), Kirshbaum spent over 15 years in humanitarian and nonprofit consulting. He oversaw numerous UN civil society contracts and helped secure significant funding for global humanitarian efforts.
During this time, he developed a wide range of educational programs and supported the careers of thousands of young adults worldwide. This work took him to some of the most challenging environments, where he learned to build systems that could adapt to crises, personnel changes, and resource fluctuations.
“I often observed how great ideas would falter because they lacked the financial or operational foundations to grow long-term,” Kirshbaum explains. “That’s when I started shifting my focus to helping mission-driven organizations and nonprofits build strategies that could better sustain their vision and impact.”
What makes IVI stand out is not just Kirshbaum’s background but how directly he translates humanitarian principles to business challenges. The same frameworks that helped sustain educational programs in refugee camps despite personnel turnover now inform family business succession planning. The resource allocation models that maximized limited aid dollars now help companies optimize operations.
The Vulnerability Paradox
Kirshbaum sees in businesses the same challenges he once found in aid programs: knowledge silos, lack of process documentation, and decision-making bottlenecks centered on one leader.
The consequences can be significant. In many cases, businesses sell because they have to, not because they want to—prompted by what he calls “the five Ds: death, divorce, disability, distress, and disagreement.”
This vulnerability represents not just a business challenge but a social one. When businesses fail due to structural weaknesses rather than market forces, communities lose jobs, families lose stability, and economies lose engines of growth, similar to the cascading effects that humanitarian workers strive to prevent in crisis situations.
Kirshbaum notes, “At the end of the day, that’s what we do at IVI. We apply everything I’ve learned—business acquisitions, strategic growth, automation, financial structuring, and impact-driven leadership—into a system that helps entrepreneurs build resilience.”
Drawing from On-the-Ground Experience
Kirshbaum’s consulting experience has shaped Impact Ventures International into a comprehensive business solutions ecosystem that differs from traditional consulting firms. Drawing from his work with FIFA, Coca-Cola, TEDx, and Fortune 500 companies across entertainment, nonprofit, and international relations sectors, Kirshbaum has developed a highly adaptable technique for business consulting.
This diverse background has allowed him to identify common structural challenges across seemingly unrelated industries, from film production to humanitarian aid, and develop flexible systems that address these vulnerabilities regardless of sector. Kirshbaum has integrated lessons from United Nations diplomatic initiatives alongside strategies from media production and corporate scaling.
IVI is the culmination of Kirshbaum’s multifaceted career, offering clients not just specialized expertise but an interconnected ecosystem of services spanning financial structuring, operational automation, exit planning, and mission-aligned growth. This integrated process enables clients to access strategy, technology, and execution capabilities in a streamlined way, reducing the inefficiencies of working with multiple specialized consultants.
The result is a consulting firm that not only solves isolated business problems but also helps transform entire business ecosystems. The firm assists owners in scaling smarter, transitioning successfully, and building enterprises designed for long-term stability, with or without their continued involvement.
The Technology of Resilience
The cornerstone of IVI’s approach is its VentureMax360 (VM360) program, which integrates AI-driven solutions and specialized growth strategies. Additionally, the firm’s IVSS Digital Office serves as its tech backbone, automating critical business functions, minimizing operational bottlenecks, and creating comprehensive documentation to preserve knowledge across the organization.
Kelly Grandmaison, IVI co-founder, demonstrates how their IVSS Digital Office system works, swiping through interfaces that track everything from client communications to financial forecasting. This represents a notable shift from personality-driven entrepreneurship to systems-based business building.
IVI focuses on creating businesses that can scale intelligently, respond to market changes effectively, and maintain operational excellence even during leadership transitions. This approach allows owners to step away with greater confidence, knowing their enterprise is structured to endure in their absence.
Building Resilient Businesses Forward
In a world facing unpredictable business challenges—from pandemic disruptions to climate-related supply chain issues and changing economic regulations—Kirshbaum’s consulting strategy with IVI presents an alternative to traditional models.
IVI anticipates substantial growth and could potentially double in size within a year. Yet, true to Kirshbaum’s philosophical outlook, this expansion is not measured solely in revenue or client numbers.
As he sees it, the methods he developed to sustain communities through crisis might also hold value in creating lasting businesses. And for the entrepreneur beginning this journey, that could offer the difference between a business that merely exists and one that thrives, with or without its founder present.
Disclaimer: The views and strategies presented in this article reflect the personal experiences and professional insights of Joshua Kirshbaum, co-founder of Impact Ventures International (IVI). The business approaches discussed are intended for informational purposes only and are not guaranteed to result in success. Readers are encouraged to seek professional business, financial, or legal advice tailored to their specific situation before making any business decisions or implementing any strategies. The application of humanitarian principles to business practices may vary depending on individual circumstances and industry needs.
Published by Joseph T.
