For Love & Money

Ep 35 Luli Adeyemo on DEI and empowering change makers

Today’s guest is committed to empowering changemakers and shifting the technology landscape, ensuring a more diverse and inclusive space for all.

Luli Adeyemo is the Founder & Director of Sydney-based integrated marketing agency Best Case Scenario and has spent the last 30 years curating content for thought leadership conversations and campaigns in the technology sector.

In 2020, Luli was appointed the Director of not-for-profit foundation TechDiversity - an industry alliance committed to amplifying diversity awareness and achieving a culture of inclusion through conversation, collaboration, and action.

Luli’s personal purpose that has guided her career, is to break down barriers - including the language barriers synonymous with the tech world - to make it accessible to everyone. Her energy is absolutely infectious and I hope you love listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed recording it.

Luli’s impressive credentials also include:

Elected Council Member – Australian Information Industry

Active Member – WEConnect International

Activator - SheEO (now Coralus)

 

Themes we discuss in the interview include:

• The importance of loving yourself and self-care
• Luli’s career path, her experiences and realisations that inspired her to lead change, break down barriers and fight for equity and access within the tech industry
• Her move to Australia with Gartner and how the lack of support she experienced led her to start her agency, Best Case Scenario (BCS)
• Best Case Scenario’s journey from its origins to becoming a marketing agency and events company, to recognising their underlying purpose to “empower changemakers”
• The impact that clarifying and articulating their purpose has had on Best Case Scenario, including recognising when they should walk away from a client opportunity
• The dramatic cost of the pandemic to BCS and the wider events sector and how their purpose guided the team’s response to it, bucking the industry trend and taking them back to their roots; in the process, enabling them to rediscover their sizzle
• Luli discusses TechDiversity Awards and their mission to make diversity & inclusion the #1 business priority in Australia.
• She shares her pride in the creation of the TechDiversity Academy and we discuss the integration of Luli’s personal purpose, the purpose of Best Case Scenario and the purpose of TechDiversity
• The technology industry having an identity crisis and the perceptions that need to change so we can diversify the technology workforce
• The TechDiversity Awards Program and why they created the Tech for Good category
• The importance of equity and understanding that it’s not about equality for everyone, but instead understanding people’s differences, to provide the same opportunity and access to all
• TechDiversity’s vision for the industry, our wider workforce and society and what they’re doing to achieve it

Connect with Luli

bestcasescenario.com.au  

linkedin.com/in/luliadeyemo  

Ep 34 Abbey Pantano, Founder, Seed Impact Business Community

Few people would see a global pandemic as an opportunity to open a co-work and event space, but this is exactly what my guest today did in 2020. 

Abbey Pantano is Founder of Seed Impact Business Community.

As a retail marketing specialist of 12 years, and eco side hustle owner for two, it was a stream of devastating world events and climate anxiety that led to a new dream...

What if we brought together a community of mission-driven entrepreneurs, dedicated to using their businesses as a force for good?

The arrival of COVID created the platform Abbey needed to take the leap. Using a redundancy package, learnings from 12 years of big business marketing and a defunct purpose-built start up – Seed Spaces was born. 

Today the co-work and event space, based on the outskirts of Sydney’s CBD, has blossomed into an Australia-wide digital membership with 70+ social impact businesses in the mix (and growing!).

Since our interview, Abbey has moved her focus fully into the Seed Impact Business Community, embracing her passion for and expertise in community and collaboration; with a goal to seed ideas and help those who want to make business for good, good for business.

The power of community and collaboration runs deeply through this interview. Not surprising for such a purpose-led individual as Abbey – purpose inspires people to think ambitiously; ambition inspires collaboration. 

Here are some of the themes we discuss in this interview:

• Abbey’s entrepreneurial journey, from working in marketing and partnerships in a large organisation to her start-up tackling plastic pollution 
• Abbey’s realisation of the value of partnerships to grow and empower purpose-driven businesses
• The origins of Seed Spaces from the initial spark generated by the Covid pandemic to now
• The value of B Corp Certifications as a public framework for businesses to grow and improve, aspiring businesses to build like-minded communities. Link to the B Corp Assessment we discuss here
• A discussion about Seed Impact and focusing on the idea of making one’s vision deeper instead of bigger, helping each other achieve success
• Abbey’s take on the importance of finding common ground, and the benefits of coming together over a common goal to support one another’s vision for the future
• Abbey’s view of how the power of business should be used to reroute energy into the hands of those powerful enough to make wide-reaching, positive change
• We discuss the Sustainable Development Goals and the importance of mapping your impact to the Global Goals framework. Abbey mentions Elaine Hendrick’s Sustainable Development Goals Tool which you can link to here, as well as Kirrily Graham’s Dovetail Social Enterprise which matches charity partners to businesses wanting to make an impact.
• Abbey shares her view on the Voice to Parliament and the experiences she's had that have helped to shape it.

 

Connect With Abbey

linkedin.com/in/abbeypantano

https://seedspaces.com/ 

Ep 33 Melanie Greblo, CEO Scriibed and Banksia Academy on combining AI with a human touch

Today's guest Melanie Greblo’s driving purpose is to catalyse and lead positive impact. This has led her to become a founder and CEO of an innovative and highly impactful start-up, Scriibed and a not-for-profit organisation, Banksia Academy.

Scriibed combines the best in AI with a highly trained and skilled workforce delivering transcription-based services. Scriibed for HR offers automated meeting admin with a human touch.

They automatically capture, summarise and action important workplace meetings. Their highly trained and skilled human workforce ensures customer success whilst providing flexible and safe work opportunities to women survivors of domestic and family violence.

Scriibed and Banksia Academy share a Theory of Change to achieve long term financial independence for women victim survivors of domestic and family violence through full social and economic participation.

Melanie is an ideas synthesist and strategist with a proven record of achievement in business, social ventures, community engagement, and culture transformation with a deep commitment to diversity, inclusion, innovation and systemic social change. 

Her impressive career trajectory includes 

• 7 years with the team at Impact Asia Pacific, where she curated the annual Impact Investment Summit and the region’s first Gender Lens Investment Summit. 
• 10 years with The Coterie for Renewal, a global human development and learning community, which she founded in 2011

A number of prior roles leading social and not-for-profit organisations

The business model behind Scribed and Banksia Academy is one that I think listeners of this podcast will really appreciate because of the "Win-Win" outcomes it creates for multiple stakeholders.  Solving customer problems AND simultaneously serving societal needs by supporting vulnerable people, as well as supporting potential victims through workplaces. My hope is that this episode inspires listeners to continue to think differently and intelligently about what business can look like.

Themes we discuss include:

• The tragic event early in her life that led to Melanie’s impact-led career path and how it shaped her thinking
• Mel shares her career path through to the trigger that led her to starting Scriibed and Banksia Academy, including the shocking statistic on the percentage of single mothers who are victims of domestic and family violence and the number of barriers that women survivors face
• She explains how Scriibed works and the multi-layered value it offers organisations
• The Theory of Change behind Scriibed and Banksia Academy in breaking the cycle of women returning to violent relationships and leading to prevention of domestic violence
• Melanie talks about the “need-want” overlap that attracts clients to the Scriibed solution
• She outlines the two types of clients that Scriibed serves and the growing relevance of what they offer, given business needs around the ‘S’ of ESG and social procurement targets
• She shares the shared value opportunity that Scriibed offers – supporting women in their workplace more broadly
• We discuss the need for business solutions to be designed in a human centred way
• How we are rewriting how and why we do business

Connect with Melanie

Melanie's email

Scriibed website 

Linkedin 

Ep 32 Afdhel Aziz, Chief Purpose Officer of Conspiracy of Love on the power of purpose

Today’s guest is a leader of the global Purpose movement.

He’s also a best-selling Author. Visionary Founder. Inspiring Keynote Speaker.

Afdhel Aziz is on a mission to solve one of the biggest problems facing individuals and companies in the 21st century: how to find purpose and meaning in their work and unlock the enormous power of business to do good in the world.

He is the Founder and Chief Purpose Officer at Conspiracy of Love, a global purpose consultancy that works with Fortune 500 companies to help them grow their businesses by doing more good in the world. Conspiracy of Love is a proud Minority-Owned Business and Certified B Corp.

 

He is also the Co-Founder of Good is the New Cool, a creative company and content incubator focused on creating positive stories that fill the Hope Gap. Good is the New Cool produces books, podcasts, TV shows and a global conference series called GoodCon that has taken place in Los Angeles, London, Sydney and New York.

 

Afdhel is the co-author of the best-selling books 'Good is the New Cool: Market Like You A Give a Damn', and the follow-up ‘The Principles of Purpose, as well as writing 'The Power Of Purpose' column in Forbes.

 

He is also an internationally renowned keynote speaker who has been featured at the Cannes Lions, YPO, SXSW, Forbes CMO Summit, Advertising Week, Conscious Capitalism, and the Fast Company Innovation Festival. He lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife and son.

 

I’m so excited to share this episode which explores some of the big questions around Purpose that listeners may have. I’ve been eager for this opportunity to get Afdhel to share his insights and experiences on Purpose globally and he doesn’t disappoint. I also seized the opportunity to exchange insights (where we discovered a lot of consistency) and to discuss some of the more critical challenges surrounding the purpose movement, particularly in Australia. The depth and breadth of Afdhel’s knowledge on this subject makes listening to every minute of this podcast worthy of your time.

 

Some of the themes we discussed included:

• The secret to becoming a loved business/employer/brand
• Afdhel highlights some of the work that Conspiracy of Love is doing with brands around the world
• We discuss the growth of the Purpose movement globally and what has caused it; Afdhel shares some insights he’s uncovered through research he’s undertaken for his third book on Purpose (this one covers personal purpose)
• We discuss Australia’s role in the Purpose movement and explore what is inhibiting big business in Australia from grasping the opportunity that purpose presents
• Afdhel shares his view on the 4 C’s holding Australian business back
• We discuss these 4C’s and other contributors, including 'fear'; and the role of boards. Link to an article Afdhel wrote on Five Mistakes Boards Make When Thinking About Purpose, for Forbes Magazine
• Afdhel shares some Australian stats from a recent Porter Novelli study on the relationship between Purpose and Reputation in the minds of Australians
• We exchange our (pretty consistent) thoughts on the different stages of Purpose
• We have a great discussion on the power of purpose and the growth opportunity that so many traditionally-minded businesses are missing out on
• We discuss the need for Purpose to start from the inside-out and why this is so important and Afdhel highlights Conspiracy of Love’s GPS to Purpose Methodology (Gifts, Passions, Service)
• Afdhel shares some pearls of wisdom – advice for people within organisations who see the opportunity that purpose presents but are not sure about what action to take

Connect with Afdhel

Linkedin 

Conspiracy Of Love website 

Good Is The New Cool website 

Good Is The New Cool on Instagram 

 

Ep 31 Emma Freivogel, Founder Radical Recruit on championing diverse and hidden talent

I was introduced to Emma Freivogel by a mutual friend and started following her Linkedin content. I was immediately drawn to her because of her unapologetic passion and conviction in revolutionising recruitment and her commitment to creating serious change. Emma is founder of Radical Recruit, a London-based not for profit recruitment consultancy that exists to excite, agitate and shake things up in the recruitment industry!

If you love this episode, you're going to want to follow Emma on Linkedin where she is active in exciting, agitating and shaking things up big-time! Her energy and authenticity is infectious.

Radical Recruit represents the UKs most diverse ‘hidden’ talent, helps employers do recruitment better and creates real and lasting social change.

Here are Emma’s own words on why she started Radical Recruit...

‘I began Radical because I believe it is time to boldly and unapologetically challenge the status quo. It is time to redress the imbalance of opportunity afforded to those labelled; ‘care leaver’, ‘disabled’, ‘gang member’, ‘black’, ‘uneducated’, ‘inexperienced’, ‘homeless’, ‘criminal’, or generally, just ‘not ‘good enough’. It is time to call out businesses who talk a big game when it comes to their commitment to equality but whose policies fail to translate into practice. I am RADICAL." 

Emma has brought together a community of likeminded people from disparate backgrounds, to champion the business and ethical case for change to the way businesses source, recruit, and develop hidden talent. Founded in October 2019, Radical has placed hundreds of Radicals into jobs that they love. During this time, they’ve also worked with hundreds of brands: helping them reimagine their traditional candidate attraction and engagement methods, run fairer more equitable recruitment processes, recruit Radical people, and support them to flourish in their chosen careers.

 

Here are some of the themes our interview covers:

• Emma shares her journey and the powerful origin story behind Radical Recruit
• She explains the benefits of a diverse workforce and some of the challenges in big business’ approach to diversity
• Emma’s view on the three key events that have changed attitudes to diversity in UK businesses
• She shares Radical Recruit’s role in the “Everybody In” campaign, funded by the GLA (Greater London Authority) and addressing homelessness during the pandemic
• Emma shares the broad value that her organisation offers across recruitment, social value, diversity, social responsibility and ESG
• The impact of the pandemic on ordinary people’s desire to help others who are in need of help
• The cost to taxpayers of homeless people and the benefits of providing them with support
• On setting up Radicals for success and the ultimate value to Radicals of the work they do 
• Radical Recruit’s move into advisory and consultancy, assessing the efficacy of an organisation’s attraction, engagement, recruitment, onboarding development processes; with a focus on capacity building
• Anti-bias and leadership the Radical way
• Her ultimate vision for Radical Recruit

 

Connect with Emma

Linkedin

Radical Recruit website

 

 

 

Ep 30 Cassandra Treadwell, Co-founder & CEO So They Can, on Ubuntu

My guest on this episode is Cassandra Treadwell, Co-founder and CEO, So They Can www.sotheycan.org and Co-founder, CEO, Essence of Humanity www.theessenceofhumanity.com

So They Can is a not for profit organisation committed to empowering children living in poverty through education.

Cassandra’s career background is medico legal, gaining her masters degree in medical law and ethics from King’s College, London University. While she has enjoyed living overseas, she chose to come back to Wanaka, New Zealand, to raise her 4 children in the same nurturing community she grew up in. She also loves living in New Zealand for the running, tramping, skiing and general outdoor lifestyle it enables.

Having spent a year in Argentina on a student exchange when she was 16, Cass spent time at an orphanage and was confronted for the first time with poverty in the developing world. The injustice affected her greatly, and sculpted her future career choices and charity involvement. As a new mother this empathy took her back to the communities of East Africa that she had become acquainted with while travelling, and a drive to improve the lives of some of the world’s most impoverished children whose families suffered deprivation and displacement due to political violence.

Working in Africa now Cass gains so much from the people she works with, as she describes in her Tedx talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3qCejfLqk8&t=102s. The community has taught her to be grateful for what she has got rather than focus on what she has not got, the children have helped her to live in the present and enjoy the simple pleasures of life, and the communities of Kenya and Tanzania have taught her the value of Ubuntu (I am because of you) and the importance of global balance.

Cass was honoured to be nominated for the 2015 New Zealander of the Year and to be one of the final 10 people that were considered for this prestigious award. In 2018 she was a finalist in the New Zealand Women of Influence Awards.

 

This is a conversation that I will carry with me for a long time. It’s not often I find myself brought to tears (of empathy, inspiration and hope) in an interview. Cass is more than an inspiration, I think she’s a role model for what an individual can do when they allow themselves to feel empathy for our fellow human beings.

 

Cass speaks with such humility but there are some big truth bombs in this interview. Here are some of the things we explore in our conversation

 

• Cass introduces us to the African philosophy of “Ubuntu” (a Swahili word) – I am because of you; how our personal wellbeing is deeply connected to the wellbeing of others

• Cass shares the outcomes of the work of So They Can, supporting 33,000 children across 47 schools plus alongside some of their other programs, including microfinance for women, impacting 45,000 people overall

• Cass shares one story after another story, bringing to life lessons in Ubuntu, through the classroom of Africa

• She highlights the abundance of emotional wealth in these communities despite the lack of material wealth and what this teaches her

• She shares the compelling story of how So They Can started – after seeing a movie – Hotel Rwanda

• She takes us on a journey to the IDP (Internal Displaced Placement) camp she first visited, housing Kenyan refugees and how she responded to their request to her to set up a school

• She shares her back story and what took her to Africa in the first place, looking for a project to support 

• Cass shares the unique model behind So They Can, pairing an ex-pat with a local, taking the time to understand what is needed from both outsiders and the people on the ground to bring mutual understanding to the process

• Cass talks powerfully about her mission to change the definition of charity from the idea of the great white saviour to the truth that it is a reciprocal exchange and partnership of emotional and material wealth”

• Cass shares and invites listeners to get involved in So They Can’s latest campaign “One in a million” – asking ppl to give just $1 a month. 

• She highlights what success of this campaign will enable – moving from 47 schools – 33,000 children to 500 schools empowering 400,000 children

• She shares that Neil Finn from Crowded House, who is one of So They Can’s ambassadors – has written a song to launch one in a million

Connect with Cassandra and So They Can here:

email: cassandra@sotheycan.org

Website: http://www.sotheycan.org/

Join the 1 in a million campaign here https://1-in-a-million.raisely.com/

Ep 29 Simon Griffiths, Co-founder & CEO at Who Gives A Crap, on building an impactful brand that people love

Simon Griffiths is CEO and co-founder of Who Gives A Crap, the iconic Aussie B Corp that sells good looking, forest friendly toilet paper, paper towels and tissues direct-to-consumer. 

Who Gives A Crap donates 50 per cent of their profits to help build toilets for those in need. As much as Simon loves toilet paper, he helped start the business for its impact, with the company on a mission to improve access to hygiene, clean water and basic sanitation in developing countries. Since founding the company back in 2013, Who Gives A Crap has donated more than $10 million.

If there was ever a brand that is living proof that authentic human qualities can inspire L-O-V-E, Who Gives A Crap is that brand. If it's possible to achieve what this business has done with toilet paper - from both perspectives of impact and commercial success - can you imagine the untapped possibilities for other purpose-led businesses and brands?

There is so much depth to this brand and we cover a lot of ground in this wide-ranging interview. There's great value in this episode for anyone wanting to navigate their business and brand successfully on a purposeful path, as Simon generously shares the insights that Who Gives A Crap has gained through their business.

Here are some of the themes we get into in our conversation:

• Simon shares the devastating statistics of poor sanitation and the a-ha moment that propelled the formation of Who Gives A Crap 
• He explains the wider benefits of investment that reach beyond the direct value of sanitation 
• We discuss Who Gives A Crap’s distinctive and iconic brand personality and the thinking behind it
• Simon tells us about about the Christmas holiday edition of Who Gives A Crap 
• He talks about the brand’s huge mission – to ensure everyone has access to clean water and a toilet within our lifetime. He explains where they are now and what they are doing to realise their mission. 
• He introduces us to the wider product range including Good Time personal care products
• We talk about the people at Who Gives A Crap– 
  • The challenges of balancing caring about impact and working within the pressures of a startup
  • The organisation’s five values and what they mean to their people
  • The implications that being purposeful has on managing your people and their expectations
  • The role of storytelling within the organisation
• Simon shares how they work with their impact partners including the ‘investment portfolio’ style of approach they take with them
• International expansion and the impact that has had on their marketing strategy and team management
• Retail strategy including their national presence in Aldi in Australia 
• The inextricable relationship between balancing profit and purpose and the innovation it inspires; and why they chose to donate 50 per cent of their profits
• On inspiring other people to create social purpose-led business models like theirs 
• His advice to existing businesses on the shift of consumer sentiment and what it means for business in the near future

 

Contacts:

Who Gives A Crap website https://au.whogivesacrap.org/

Good Time website https://au.whogivesacrap.org/pages/goodtime

Simon Griffiths Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/simongriffiths-founder/

EP 28 Mick Hase founder of SEVENTEENx on inspiring business to support the Global Goals

My guest today is a champion for the UN Sustainable Development Goals aka The Global Goals or the world’s ‘to-do list’. If you aren’t aware of these goals, this episode will be a great introduction for you.

 

Mick Hase is the founder of SEVENTEENx , a movement designed to engage the business community with the Sustainable Development Goals. 

 

As an impact driven entrepreneur, Mick and his brand exist to connect companies together to use business to build solutions to the world's biggest challenges. SEVENTEENx uses "TEDx like" speaking events to showcase how leaders and founders are using their business as a force for good in the world and aligning with the Global Goals. 

 

SEVENTEENx Tours Australia each year with its events and is building a huge community of values aligned brands and people. Mick is also a dad of 2 boys, husband to a great wife Renee, and keen ocean lover and surfer. Mick is also public speaker and workshop facilitator. He is an energetic and engaging speaker with a real passion for connecting people to their impact, engaging humans through purpose and how to lead people with aligned values. 

 

Here are some of the key themes from our interview

• Mick shares his back story and the life events that led him to start thinking about reciprocity, doing good and how to use business to create purposeful outcomes

 

• For listeners who may not be familiar with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (aka the Global Goals), Mick explains what they are and how businesses are aligning to them to focus and scale their impact.

 

• We talk about Pledge 1% and B1G1 and how both these movements offer businesses of all sizes a great starting point for creating impact

 

• Mick shares the mission behind SEVENTEENx and what audiences can expect from these events. He talks about the community that is building around SEVENTEENx and some of his plans for engaging this community into the future

 

• We talk about the relationship between profit and purpose 

 

• Mick shares some of SEVENTEENx’s plans for 2023, including a pilot SEVENTEENx youth forum

Connect with Mick here https://www.linkedin.com/in/mhase/

Learn more about SEVENTEENx https://www.seventeensdg.com

Check out the upcoming tours here https://www.seventeensdg.com/tour22

Learn about the Global Goals here https://www.globalgoals.org

Ep 27 Yas, Founder and Chief Evangelist of Circonomy on being brave in being you

My guest today is Yas, Founder and Chief Evangelist of the award-winning circular economy enterprise, Circonomy.

An entrepreneur of impact and a circular economy pioneer in Australia, Yas recently closed a $4M equity capital raise to expand nationally, with Officeworks as a key investor and shareholder. 

Together, through expansion of re-use, repair, resource recovery and recommerce initiatives, Yas is thrilled to work with partners and investors to bring the next phase of growth, seeing her Circonomy vision come to life.

There are so many highlights in this interview that I think you’re going to love. Here’s just a taster of some of them:

• The role of love in business opened up a whole stream of amazing themes and ideas, including 
  • Her belief that love is the next disruptor in business. Yas talks about love as a value and explains why it should be brought into the workplace
  • She shares a beautiful family story about love languages and how it inspired her to take love languages to the boardroom and what happened as a result (ref: Gary Chapman’s Five Love Languages)
  • She also issues a challenge to listeners to understand your love languages and those you work with so you can build deeper professional relationships
  • From me-too to “be-too”; on loving yourself and the parts of yourself that are “too-much” – our strengths, superpowers, imperfections, faults and flaws; and finding yourself in the process
  • On building a movement around #Ilovemyself and the value of who you are vs what you do
  • Yas quotes author Dave Ramsey “We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like”
• Yas shares the origin story of Circonomy
  • How and why she started the World’s Biggest Garage Sale
  • Recognising the circular economy opportunity (a $4.5 trillion industry)
  • On partnering with Officeworks
  • On finding the energy of an idea in your “hut” (heart and gut)
  • On running the pilot event with Officeworks in March 2020
• On being BRAVE (being raw authentic vulnerable everyday)
  • Understanding that when we have pain, instead of running away from it, working through it is how we grow - “when we work through the pain that is when we have the most gain”
  • On being true to yourself and defining your own narrative and showing up as the whole human that you are – not wasting human potential
  • When you align values, you create value – the foundation of great organisations

 

Contact details:

Yas pages

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/yasgrigaliunas

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yasmingrigaliunas/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/yasgrigaliunas

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/yasgrigaliunas/

 

Circonomy pages:

Circonomy website: https://circonomy.com.au

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/circonomy

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/circonomyaustralia

Twitter: https://twitter.com/circonomyau

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/circonomyaus/

 

 

EP 26: Nik Robinson, Founder of Good Citizens Eyewear on

My guest for today’s episode of the FLAM Podcast has had many careers; radio broadcaster, creative director, donut maker and lecturer. 

 

Nik Robinson is passionate about using his creative skills to solve problems and make a positive difference, so in 2018, he set up his company, Good Citizens with his young kids to take on the world’s plastic issue.

 

It would take 752 days and thousands of failed attempts to finally launch Good Citizens Eyewear in April 2020. Good Citizens has one mission - to untrash the planet™ by turning trash into good. 

 

Good Citizens turns single-use plastic bottles into sunglasses frames. The frames are 100% recycled and made in Australia. Within just a few months of launching, Good Citizens was awarded two prestigious 2020 Good Design Awards and The Design Files Sustainable Idea of 2020 plus Selfridges in London gave the brand an entire window.

 

Nik has become a leader in working with recycled materials; designing and manufacturing in-demand, on-trend consumer products made from waste materials. He has spoken at the United Nations and he lectures at numerous Australian universities to inspire the next generation to think cleverly about using recycled materials.

 

This episode is such a human feel-good one, I can’t wait for you to listen to it.

 

Here are just some of the themes we touch on:

 

• How love of family and love of and care for the planet has driven the emotional energy that has inspired a business fighting against plastic waste
• We talk about the role of failure in building a purpose-led business; and how our failures become our stories
• Nik shares his belief in the need for businesses to show vulnerability. This opens a conversation around Greenwashing: businesses not being transparent (and vulnerable) and over-marketing their sustainability credentials  
• What “radical transparency” – one of Good Citizen’s first values – looks like for them  
• The origin story of the business (so much to love about this story), which included a

business plan with 4 principles that the family developed around the kitchen table

• The post-it note approach Nik used to working through starting a new business in a category where they had no experience and how much each phase cost
• How a bottle, a prototype and (another) post-it note formed the basis of Nik’s pitch to Selfridges in the UK which resulted in Good Citizens being given an amazing window display which you can see here
• We speak about Greenwashing and the impact it has on trust
• How Nik’s two young sons and his wife have inspired his tenacity to keep going in the face of multiple “failures”
• Repair – Nik shares the hilarious story of one Good Citizen who needed a new arm for a broken pair of sunnies (broken due to alcohol related beach ball antics) – and how Good Citizen’s approach to repair amplified the love that customer has for the brand
• On turning down investment opportunities and what ROI for Nik’s family looks like for them
• Good Citizen’s 8 billion people ambition
• On creating the world’s most beautiful eyewear (beauty = well made, great looking, that will last from generation to generation; and sustainable)
• The influence that Good Citizens are having on other businesses, inspiring solutions to the environmental crisis

 

If you’re enjoying the podcast please leave us a rating on your listening platform. It really helps us to get the podcast found by new listeners.

 

 

Contact

goodcitizens.com.au

goodcitizens_official

Code: FRIEND20 for $20 off