THE RETURNS BEYOND THE SPREADSHEET

What if ROI stood not only for return on investment, but also for the ripples of impact we set in motion? In this op-ed, Miren Oca, founder and CEO of B Corp–certified Ocaquatics Swim School, reimagines how we measure the true value a business creates.

TEDxOvertown 2026

More than 18 years ago, a young man named Miguel came to interview for a job at Ocaquatics. He struggled to answer my questions in English, but I saw a spark in him and decided to give him an opportunity.

Miguel began as a pool cleaner. He later became a lifeguard, swim instructor, supervisor, assistant manager, general manager, and eventually operations manager. Along the way, he took English classes and completed our Manager-in-Training program.

His growth extended beyond his career. 

Through the financial literacy education we offered our team, Miguel learned how to manage his money, began paying down years of debt, and saved enough for a down payment on a home. He continued saving and eventually invested in two rental properties.

Today, Miguel and his partner are semi-retired in Spain. He still works with us remotely, leading a department and mentoring others.

Traditional business metrics cannot fully capture a journey like Miguel’s. Yet his story reveals something essential about the health and purpose of a business and about the kind of return our decisions can create.

For decades, business leaders have been taught that three letters define success: ROI, or return on investment. We measure it, maximize it, and celebrate it. Revenue, profit margins, productivity, retention, and growth all matter. They help us understand whether a business is financially sustainable.

But after more than 32 years of building Ocaquatics, I have come to believe that traditional ROI tells only part of the story.

What if ROI also stood for Ripples of Impact?

I think of our choices as pebbles. Each hiring decision, investment in an employee, customer interaction, or act of generosity may appear small at first. But once a pebble reaches the water, its ripples continue expanding long after the initial moment has passed.

About 15 years ago, we decided to offer financial literacy education to our team. We wanted employees to understand their paychecks, reduce debt, and save for their futures. That decision helped people build confidence and skills they could use throughout their lives. It also strengthened loyalty, reduced turnover, and contributed to a culture people wanted to be part of.

Miguel’s journey was one ripple from that decision. There have been many others.

At Ocaquatics, we still pay close attention to our key performance indicators. Since 1994, we have delivered more than 3.2 million swimming lessons, built five indoor warm-water pools, and grown to 165 team members.

Those numbers matter, but they cannot tell us everything. They cannot capture the former team member who says our company changed the direction of their life. They cannot fully represent the child who fell into the water but knew how to remain safe until an adult arrived. They cannot explain why employees became leaders or continued carrying our values years after leaving the company.

So we began collecting these stories. Eventually, we recognized that they were more than inspiring anecdotes. They were evidence of the impact our business was creating. 

We began calling them Impact Indicators.

While traditional KPIs measure business performance, Impact Indicators reveal how a business affects people. Together, they offer a more complete picture of success.

This philosophy shaped one of the most consequential decisions of my career. 

In 2024, after 30 years in business, I chose not to sell Ocaquatics to private equity. Instead, I transferred 100 percent of the company to its employees through an Employee Ownership Trust.

For years, we had practiced open-book management, sharing our financial information with employees and teaching them how to understand it. They learned to identify opportunities, reduce costs, improve the customer experience, and make decisions like owners. Making them actual owners was the most sustainable way to protect the company’s future.

For me, that decision represented the ultimate Ripple of Impact. The value created over three decades could continue benefiting the people who helped build the company and the community it serves.

My hope is that you’ll begin paying attention not only to the numbers on your dashboard, but also to the lives your business is quietly changing every day. Those stories may become your most valuable measure of success.

Because profits build businesses. 

But Ripples of Impact build futures, communities, and legacies.