For Love & Money

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

Ep 25: Carolyn Butler-Madden Chief Purpose Activist at The Cause Effect On “People Like Us”

Welcome to Episode 25 of the FLAM podcast.

 

For regular listeners of this podcast, you may remember an earlier episode (Episode 14) where I read a chapter from my book “FOR LOVE & MONEY How to profit with purpose and grow a business with love”

 

We had some great feedback on that episode so we thought we would do it again!

 

I’ve selected a chapter that covers a subject I speak a lot about. It is also the starting point for any work we do with clients when helping them uncover the higher purpose of their business.

 

We don’t start with WHY. Much as I love and respect the work of Simon Sinek and much as I value his approach to purpose using the golden circle… today, understanding your unique organisational identity is essential to finding your way to a meaningful why; a social purpose. This is why we start with WHO.  

 

Acknowledgement to Seth Godin whose phrase “People Like Us” I use to describe this part of the process.  It is such a perfect way to frame the part of our WHO that really matters when it comes to building a purpose-led business and brand.

 

Some of the themes we cover in this episode:

 

• Who are we but the stories we tell ourselves?
• “People like us” believe things like this
• Why it’s important to get clear on your “people like us”
• Defining your “people like us” – I share examples from some purpose-led businesses

 

I hope you enjoy the reading of this chapter. If you do and you’d like to buy the FOR LOVE & MONEY book,  it’s available at all the major online book stores and some retail book stores in Australia.

EP 24: Sally Hill, Founder of Purpose Conference On making the purpose sector the place that people want to be

The Purpose Conference was first staged in Sydney, Australia in 2015. Today, Purpose is a stand-alone company and community. After a 4-year hiatus, 2022 marks the fourth Purpose event, coming at a time when the movement for social purpose-led business is growing with intensity. It’s a movement driven by employees, customers, consumers, investors; people realising that we need to accelerate the pace of change and business is the means in which to do this most directly.

 

In this episode, our guest is Sally Hill, founder of Purpose and a long-time advocate of responsible and sustainable business. She is a a leader, thinker and doer in the world of purpose-driven business. 

 

Sally founded Wildwon, one of Australia's first B Corps and established the Purpose Conference in 2015. Sally curates the Purpose program and is the connector of Purpose’s partners, community and team.

 

Immediately prior to rebooting Purpose in 2022, Sally worked with Climate 200, bringing business on board to support the historic 2022 ‘climate election’ result.

 

You can get a taste of our interview here:

 

• Sally shares her journey from GetUp campaign co-ordinator, through various CSR and sustainability roles, to WWF, to launching her own experiential agency, Wildwon and launching Purpose Conference. Her journey continues taking her to a number of roles including NSW Circular and Climate 200, before returning to Purpose to where she is today.
• She shares some of her learnings from these various roles and how they have contributed to her thinking and approach today 
• Sally explains that while government is driving change, the pace is slow. This influences her belief that while business is the cause of many of society’s problems,  harnessing business and capitalism to solve the issues is the best opportunity we have to do it at an accelerated pace and at scale
• She shares some stats from recent BUPA research about Gen Z workers attitudes to businesses demonstrating strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments
• We talk about the lack of employee engagement in workplaces in Australia and New Zealand and the impact this is having on businesses, workplaces and the economy
• Sally highlights some of the speakers that will be at Purpose and the innovations they are creating in service of solving big societal issues
• She shares her hopes and aspirations for what the Purpose Conference can achieve 
• We talk about the link between the business world and government policy and the innovation opportunities this opens up

Ep 23: Jules Brooke, Founder of She’s the Boss on normalising the idea of women in powerful business positions

Only 2% of VC funding goes to women-owned businesses in Australia. 

Women over 50 feature in less than 4% of media globally. 

 

I’ll just let that sit with you for a moment before you dive into my interview with Jules Brook – founder of She’s The Boss and Handle Your Own PR.

 

Those two statistics, alongside others that should make you feel distinctly confused/uncomfortable/angry (pick your choice) is what inspired Jules to launch She’s The Boss at the start of the pandemic in 2020. Since then, it has grown into a thriving community. There are online zoom lunches and Learning Table events with female founders, real life networking events, two podcasts, She’s The Boss Chats and She’s The Boss Leaders. She’s The Boss also has a YouTube channel and all the media features interviews with wildly successful women in business from Australia and around the world.

 

Jules is also the founder of Handle Your Own PR, a DIY PR service for business owners. Using her online PR Accelerator program and PR SaaS platform, Jules’ students have been on TV, radio, magazines and newspapers nationally. Many have gone on to huge success in their business.

 

Jules is passionate about making female founders and women doing extraordinary things in business more visible. You’ll feel that passion right through this interview. IMHO Jules is one of those women doing extraordinary things, even if she doesn’t realise it herself!

 

To get a shot of Jules’ passion and energy that’s driving her purpose and her commitment to it, tune into this episode. I know you’ll enjoy it; not just for the love of Jules, but also for some of the rich insights that come out of our conversation.

 

Some of the highlights:

 

• Jules’ take on the importance of love in business: Not just loving what you do but loving the people you work with – your customers and teams
• The origin journey of She’s The Boss: from Ticker TV guest to show host; to what happened as a result of Covid, as Melbourne went through one of the world’s harshest lockdowns; She’s The Boss became a beacon of solidarity and support for female business founders in Jules’ community
• Jules shares her Big Hairy Audacious Goal, to start a TV network for women in business and what this looks like; and what it will take.
• Her absolute clarity on who her target audience are and why (a stunning example of what clear targeting looks like)
• Jules shares her view about the isolation and loneliness of women who have succeeded and got to the top of the corporate ladder; and the need to provide them with the support of other women
• She references a Forbes article: The Power of the Pack which talks about the need for women to support women in business and how important it is: men who succeed are supported by men; women generally only succeed if they are supported by other women
• We talk about the need for feminisation of business to balance the dominant masculine traits 
• Jules shares her mission – get ready for the sheer clarity of this one!
• I ask Jules her thoughts on the key characteristics of female purposeful leaders
• We have a great discussion on the money side of FOR LOVE & MONEY – Jules shares how she’s trying to monetise her venture, which opens up insights into the funding gap for female owned businesses and finally the statistics which galvanised Jules herself into action
• Finally, Jules shares some fabulous advice for women in business

Connect with Jules

Shesthebossgroup.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/julesbrooke/

EP 22: TOM DAWKINS, Co-founder Start Some Good on accelerating innovation for change

Our guest on this episode of the FOR LOVE & MONEY PODCAST works at the very heart of social impact and business. Tom Dawkins (he/him) is the Co-Founder and CEO of the social impact crowdfunding platform and innovation agency Start Some Good. Start Some Good began in 2010,  and aims to help emerging entrepreneurs to design, launch, and grow their prospective social impact projects. 

 

A leading advocate for social enterprise, Tom was previously the founder of youth non-profit Vibewire, the first Digital Communications Director for Ashoka in Washington DC, and co-founder of the Australian Changemakers Festival. Tom is also a founding Director of The Social Enterprise Council of NSW and the ACT, as well as currently operating as Non-Executive Director of the Centre for Social Impact since 2019.

 

On top of this, Tom has also received awards and fellowships from the World Summit Youth Awards, The International Youth Foundation, Nexus Summit, and the Social Enterprise Awards, while also being a global speaker on social innovation and entrepreneurship, teaching workshops, and speaking at events around the globe, from The Social Enterprise World Forum to The World Summit on the Information Society.

 

Start Some Good is a B Corp Certified Enterprise and, in addition to helping in the development of social impact projects, also runs the Good Hustle social enterprise design course, StartSomeGood.com crowdfunding platform, and impact accelerators and entrepreneur education programs for partners including Optus, ING, the United Nations Development Program and the City of Sydney.

 

Here are just some of the highlights from our conversation with Tom as he passionately shares his journey of accelerating innovation and helping social impact projects prosper:

 

• Tom shares his origins as a serial starter-upper and social activist to social entrepreneur
• Tom’s experiences overcoming challenges and learning from observing while on his journey to fund innovation projects and making a social changemaker world 
• Tom’s discussion on calculating social impact and the need for greater financial commitment in overcoming societal challenges through business
• Tom discusses the “Will it work?” lens versus the “Could it work?” lens that is impacting the deal flow of prospective social projects
• How Kickstarter and its role in helping creative entrepreneurs inspired the vision behind Start Some Good and its approach to angel financing
• Start Some Good’s evolution from a crowdfunding platform to an interconnected ecosystem using core principles of entrepreneurship to help entrepreneurs turn an idea into a business plan
• Capacity-building programs delivered through partnerships, such as the Good Hustle Social Enterprise Design Course, that focus on specific beneficiary communities
• Tom discussing Lend For Good, a crowdlending platform for growth-ready social enterprises directly designed in addressing “the missing middle”
• Tom’s advice on the core building blocks necessary before initiating your crowdfunding campaign
• Tom on what it takes to become “investable” and “launch ready” as a social impact entrepreneur
• How Tom’s personal mission to build a better democracy and create change together has inspired and shaped his crowdfunding journey
• Tom shares some examples of the social enterprises the SSG ecosystem has supported and helped to start on their road to scaleable impact

 

Connect with Tom

Linkedin linkedin.com/in/tomdawkins    

Website https://www.startsomegood.com/

EP 21: Dr Kyle Turner on using business to improve oral health around the globe

Dr Kyle Turner is our guest on this episode of the FOR LOVE & MONEY PODCAST. Kyle, a Wiradjuri man (he/him) from central New South Wales, is the CEO and Founder of Pearlii, a for-profit social enterprise using artificial intelligence to bring free dental check-ups and free oral health education to the world.  

 

Dr Turner holds a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Oxford and he has published widely on the burden of chronic diseases, with a heavy focus on prevention, together with a passion for improving health outcomes for First Nation Peoples.

 

Pearlii is an investor-backed, social enterprise which started in 2019. It’s such an interesting business model, designed to both prevent and treat oral health; an area of need that has such wide-ranging health impacts. I particularly love the way they’re leveraging technology to drive accessibility.

 

In our interview, Kyle shares his journey with Pearlii and his vision for the future. Some of the highlights of our conversation include:

 

• Kyle’s journey from epidemiologist to social enterprise techpreneur
• How growing up with bad teeth made him painfully aware of the impact that can have on someone’s confidence 
• We talk about the problem of poor oral hygiene and the impact that it has on general physical health, as well as mental health
• How he found investors who were attracted to Pearlii’s mission and learned to perfect his “pitch” in the process
• Kyle shares the 2 parts to the business model: prevention and treatment and how Pearlii targets both of these (Pearlii’s is a really interesting model tackling a problem that has wide-ranging impacts)
• The business that inspires him the most 
• His vision for the future and how it includes non-Dental practitioners helping with oral health
• Kyle shares some savvy advice for other social entrepreneurs starting their journey

Connect with Kyle

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-turner1111/

Website https://www.pearlii.com