For Love & Money

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

EP 20: MIKE SMITH, Used Pouch Salesman (& Founder), Zero Co On giving single-use plastic the flick

Mike Smith is an entrepreneur, adventurer and not-for-profit founder. Over the past fifteen years he’s founded three startups in the surfing, wine and sustainability arenas and built two schools in Myanmar.

He’s travelled to some of the most remote corners of the planet, including North Korea, Tajikistan and Nagorno-Karabakh to name just a few.

Mike Smith's most recent venture - Zero Co - aims to solve the global plastic problem through large scale ocean clean-ups and a closed-loop solution for personal-care and home-cleaning products.

Mike is infectiously passionate about having a positive impact on the planet and inspiring others to dare greatly. You can’t fail to feel this passion as he shares Zero Co’s story. Enjoy!

 

Here are some of the interview highlights:

 

• Zero Co’s origins started with a trip Mike and his girlfriend (now wife) took travelling to some of the most far-flung places in the world
• Mike shares “the mission-driven brief” of the business they set themselves, highlighting that he was agnostic about the industry they went into. 
• He talks about what he calls “mission-driven 2.0 businesses”, where the mission and the product are the same thing, not an afterthought
• He explains how Zero Co works – basically disrupting the household and personal care products category – and inviting the consumer to change their behaviour to become part of the solution
• While talking about the complexities of this business, Mike acknowledges that he frequently thinks about how crazy this idea is, but they are driven by their big mission: to scale the business model profitably and become such a pain in the ass for the big guys, that they have to copy them!
• Mike shares the experience of their latest equity crowdfunding campaign which has set the Australian record
• We talk about their brand and its lighthearted tone that came from the core values Zero Co was established on
• Their values are truly inspiring and you’ll really want to hear the stories that Mike shares that inspire those values (gave me goosebumps)!

 

Connect with Mike

 

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-smith-62aa383a/

Zero Co website https://www.zeroco.com.au

EP 19: David Laity CEO of Goodwill Wine on building a better world through wine

On the 9th of February 2009, our guest on this episode lost most of what he owned in the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria, Australia. Grateful to be alive and overwhelmed by the support he received, David Laity decided to begin a wine business that gave back. And so began Goodwill Wine, Australia's only certified social enterprise wine company. 

 

Since its inception, Goodwill Wine has donated close to half a million dollars to Australian charities by empowering its customers to choose which charity they would like to receive half of the profits from their case of wine.

 

In 2019 Goodwill Wine took on its first round of angel investment, allowing it to undergo a rebrand, extend its range of wine offerings and embark upon a substantial growth phase. Since then, the business has seen a 500 per cent increase in the amount it has been able to donate to charity.

 

In an intensely competitive market, David has managed to cut through all the noise simply by embedding purpose into the very heart of his business's DNA.

 

If you haven’t heard of Goodwill Wine yet, you’ll want to listen to this episode. There is everything to love about them. Their wines are fabulous. And they donate 50 per cent of their profits to charity. But at its essence, the story of Goodwill Wine is a story of David’s recovery from the trauma of the bushfires and his resulting PTSD. 

 

Here are just some of the highlights of this beautiful and personal interview with David:

 

• He shares his journey from filmmaker to wine merchant and how an idea about advertising on pool balls turned into Goodwill Wine
• The origin story of Goodwill Wine demonstrates the impact human kindness can have on people and what it can inspire them to create
• David shares his motivation in building Goodwill Wine was to reward the supporters of great causes, with quality wine they could enjoy
• If you assume these wines aren’t high quality because they’re not a “known label”, you’ll want to listen to how Goodwill Wine sources the wines 
• He talks about the extraordinary amount of love that customers have for the business: the love of the wine itself, the love of the charity they support and the love of an ethical business
• Handwritten notes from David to his customers are a feature of Goodwill Wine’s customer experience and David shares how he has clocked over 50,000 personalised notes!
• He also shares the incredible ‘why’ behind the handwritten notes. They were never a marketing strategy, but a way for him to connect with people as he recovered from PTSD 
• Learn about some of the tangible impacts Goodwill Wine customers have been able to create through over 300 charity partners
• Sharing his deep appreciation for the people around him, David talks about what he’s most proud of and his pride in leaving a legacy for his daughter

Connect with David and Goodwill Wine

 

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-laity-b652aa41/

Website https://goodwillwine.com.au

EP 18: PAUL DUNN, co-founder B1G1 on impactful business

Today’s guest is Paul Dunn, a 4-time TEDx speaker, master storyteller and one of the most well-read people I know!

 

He is a Senior Fellow in one of the World’s Leading Think Tanks and consults to and mentors leading-edge businesses around the world.

 

He was honoured as a Social Innovation Fellow in his new home of Singapore; something he shares with film-star and philanthropist Jet Li and Walmart Chairman, Rob Walton.

 

He was one of the first 10 people in Hewlett Packard in Australia. He then created one of Australia’s first computer companies and then The Results Corporation where he helped develop and grow 23,000 small and medium scale business enterprises. 

 

His programs are used by an estimated 226,000 companies around the world and he continues to push the boundaries. He featured in Forbes Magazine alongside Sir Richard Branson in a global piece on ‘disrupters’ in business.

 

He is the co-founder of B1G1: Business for Good, the history-making Global Giving Initiative that’s already enabled businesses to create over 281 Million giving impacts globally.

 

• Paul shares an incredible story about something that happened involving him after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. It precipitated his meeting with Masami Sato that led to them co-founding B1G1, but it profoundly shifted his thinking on what he believed was the secret to success in business.
• He then tells the story of Masami Sato, who he was mentoring, sharing the idea that directly led to B1G1 starting, which has now led to a global movement that has created over 281 million impacts (as at May 2022).
• We talk about the idea of “possibilities” and Paul shares an insight from the book, Teeming, by Dr Woolley-Barker.  One of the major learning points is that we need to understand that nature does not solve problems. Nature always looks for potential. An idea that perhaps humans can learn from.
• He shares his thinking on the two types of companies that exist: standard companies and standout companies, through the lens of legacy
• Another book he references is Cult Status by Tim Duggan and the idea that of seven things leaders can work on to gain cult status, number 1 is to define the impact you want to have. And define it in terms of the number of lives that you will touch.
• Paul shares a rousing quote from Steve Jobs about how powerful the storyteller is. It’s a quote that makes you really think about the potency of storytelling for generations to come.
• For those who don’t know B1G1, Paul explains how it works and the profound impact it creates for everyone involved.

 

Get in touch with Paul...

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulb1g1/

https://b1g1.com

EP 17 : Anna Sheppard, founder and CEO Bambuddha Group on the power of kind leadership

Anna Sheppard, Founder and CEO of Bambuddha Group strongly believes the power of Kindness is world changing. With a deep commitment for creating equality based on her lived experience, Anna began Bambuddha Group to empower corporate leaders and their teams how to ‘work kinder’. The team at Bambuddha developed an evidence-informed kindness curriculum which minimises risk and improves outcomes across all organisational areas. Bambuddha Group is a multi-award winning social enterprise that provides leadership coaching and corporate kindness programs. 

Anna has added value to thousands of companies and inspirational leaders by showing them how to ‘work kinder’ and is also the founder of several other major initiatives, including The Corporate Kindness Awards, Working Kind Collective (the world’s first kind business centre), the Impact Studios and The Corporate Kindness Project, which is an Australian-based research study focusing on the business benefits of working kind. The first white paper was released in 2019 and is now an upbeat, honest and feel-good podcast show called ‘Project Good Boss.’

Anna Sheppard and Bambuddha Group have won multiple awards for work in this space, including being recognised as one of the ‘Top 10 Leadership Development Training and Coaching Companies 2021 in APAC’, ‘Top 50 leading light for APAC’, ‘Top 50 most impactful LinkedIn Influencers’, a 2021 NSW Business Awards finalist and currently, a finalist for 2022 Telstra Best of Business Awards.

Anna believes in a future where every leader and organisation is committed to creating a sustainable world of equality and opportunity for everyone.

In this interview Anna shares how she is using Bambuddha to contribute to that future by building a movement of like minded people and leaders who prioritise kindness.

She shares with us her incredibly colourful background and how it inspired her passion for diversity and inclusion and her commitment to building a movement of kind leaders. The sense of belonging Anna talks about early in the interview weaves its way through the rest of the interview as a constant theme. The interview also includes a great discussion on the need for kind leadership today, more than ever.

(Excuse the couple of barks towards the end of the interview – introducing Monty our beautiful mini-Groodle. Oh the joys of working from home!)

Here are some of the highlights of this interview:

• Anna talks about her early years, including finding her “gang of others” and how it was able to give her a sense of belonging.
• She highlights how her travels around the world opened her eyes to the massive disparity of opportunity that some people get in life vs others – which she found difficult to understand and which spurred her to create Bambuddha.
• Anna shares with listeners how Bambuddha is empowering leaders with knowledge through a 12-month academy with masterclasses and support. She also shares some of the other ways that Bambuddha Group is delivering on their mission, including:
  • The Bambuddha pay-it-forward model which funds a Gamechanger Program – a scholarship program for diverse and under-represented business owners and leaders.
  • The world’s first kind business centre in Stanmore; a space where people can come together to collaborate
  • The 5 key pillars of a wholesome Kindness Curriculum that they have built
  • The Corporate Kindness Index that is in development to track how leaders are improving in each of those areas
  • The Corporate Kindness Annual Conference and Awards –showcasing leaders who are leading the way in kindness
• I ask Anna to share a leader who inspires her and why; and she highlights three very different people: Nelson Mandela, his prison guard Christo Brand and Pamela Bishop, the COO of Blooms The Chemist (and the recipient of the Corporate Kindness Awards – the Gamechanger Award, the highest honour of the annual awards).
• Why ‘kindness’ is so important and what it means to be a kind leader.
• We talk about the importance of empathy and how a leader might be able to operate with kindness even if there is a lack of capacity for empathy.
• Why the answer to more meaningful work doesn’t necessarily mean going to work for a non-profit organisation.
• The importance of support from others and building a community of like-minded people to support you on your leadership journey.
• She zeroes in on the results of kind leadership: brand trust, happy workforces, staff retention, community engagement, investment, well leaders and reconciliation.

 

Connect with Anna

https://www.linkedin.com/in/annasheppard2021/

https://www.bambuddhagroup.com

https://www.facebook.com/bambuddhagroup

EP 16: Nicky Sparshott CEO of Unilever Australia & New Zealand On Purposeful Leadership

My guest on this podcast says that the best advice she has ever been given was “when you are dancing on thin ice, you may as well tap dance” and that’s how she lives her life.

 

Nicky Sparshott is the CEO of Unilever Australia & New Zealand and former Global CEO of luxury retailer, T2 Tea. She has over 25 years of experience in developing & building brands, growing businesses and transforming infrastructure and culture. She has worked across a broad range of organisations including Unilever, The Coca-Cola Company, P&G and George Patterson Y&R.

 

Recognised for her depth and breadth of expertise across FMCG, Retail, Luxury and Ecommerce, Nicky also brings broader based category experience spanning food, beverages, health care and personal care.

 

Nicky holds a Masters in International Business, which has been supported by significant global management experience across Australia, New Zealand, UK, Europe, USA and the highly diverse markets of Asia. She recently completed an Executive MBA in Change, through INSEAD, graduating with Distinction and is also an HBDI certified practitioner.

 

Nicky is a Non-Executive Director on the boards of World Wildlife Fund Australia, Global Sisters and the Australian Food & Grocery Council and sits on the Australasian Advisory Board of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute and UTS Vice Chancellors Industry Advisory Board.  She is a National Member of the Champions of Change Coalition; a Founding Member of the B-Team Australasia and Climate Leaders Coalition and is a member of Chief Executive Women. She is a passionate advocate for businesses driving sustainable agendas that positively impact both people and the planet and in doing so be a true force for good.

 

Avid followers of purpose-led businesses will recognise Unilever as one of the global leaders of the corporate purpose movement, so much so that they’ve copped criticism from some investors for too much focus on “soft” issues like sustainability and social responsibility. So I was really excited to hear Nicky’s perspective on all things purpose and profit and what leadership looks like through the perspective of purpose in business. Nicky’s own leadership shines through powerfully in this interview. Not perhaps in the way you might expect of a traditional leader of a big corporation; rather a leader for our times. Australia, and indeed the world, would do well to have more leaders with Nicky’s outlook and beliefs. 

 

If you are looking for inspiration on courageous, strong and vulnerable leadership, you need to tune into this episode.

 

Here are some of the highlights of our interview:

 

• Nicky shares some of her views from the thesis she recently wrote as part of her Masters of Change, on Love and Fear; emotions that can unleash superpowers, which are so relevant to business during changing times.
• Despite not growing up with the ambition to be a CEO of a company like Unilever, Nicky highlights the two key characteristics that she believes has brought her to where she is today: an entrepreneurial spirit which she had from a young age and the activist within, coming from her sense of injustice and a desire to do something about it.
• Nicky shares with us her views on leadership, including what she believes her number one job is and how leadership needs to shift from the traditional hierarchical structure to creation of a steer co of equals, agnostic of function, age and hierarchy.
• The Great Resignation is reframed positively by Nicky as The Great Realisation and what this means to leaders who want to recruit and retain great talent.
• Nicky shares her views on the opportunity behind purposeful business. She challenges listeners to stop looking at the opportunity cost of “doing purpose”. Instead look at the opportunity cost of NOT doing it.
• Nicky highlights Unilever’s background and purpose; what it means for the business; and how Unilever’s purpose shows up in practical ways.
• She shares an overview of Unilever’s current Compass Strategy and highlights the integrated nature of the strategy, being good for business, as well as good for society and the planet.
• Unleashing people’s superpowers is a recurring theme through this podcast and I suspect something Nicky feels passionately about. She talks about this in the context of goal setting.
• Nicky’s beliefs on what the new corporate currency is: Care, Compassion and Courage.
• She speaks about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Not just as another box to be ticked, but in human terms and with a real understanding about what people really desire: an environment where they can belong and show up in their most authentic way.
• We discuss the balance between profit and purpose and what Unilever’s approach to this is.
• Nicky highlights her views on the role of play, purpose and potential to raise performance and to create sticky teams.

 

And we covered all of this (and more) in under 1 hour!

 

If you enjoy this episode, please rate it in your favourite podcast listening app.

EPISODE 15: James Grugeon, Founder of The Good Beer Co on Purposeful Partnerships

James started The Good Beer Co – Australia’s first social enterprise of its kind – to brew beer for good causes and inspire change by demonstrating what purpose-led businesses can achieve. In his 20+ year career, he’s been a change-maker, pioneering corporate social responsibility at a major banking group, helping build partnerships to lift one million UK homes out of energy poverty, helping grow a social enterprise that floated on the London Stock Exchange, negotiating ground-breaking, multi-million dollar partnerships to cut carbon emissions, creating a national Healthy Air Campaign as the CEO of a national environmental charity, and forming an alliance between a new green energy company and leading environmental organisations to generate over $3 million in funding. 

 

He’s also been named on Linkedin’s inaugural list of Top Green Voices in Australia and New Zealand, a curation of 15 must-follow thought leaders sharing their perspectives and passion for sustainability, climate change and protecting the environment. 

 

In this episode, James shares his background leading to where his focus now lies, through the lens of partnerships.

 

I think you’ll get so much value from listening to how James approaches product development and campaigns. I truly believe that any organisation leading with a higher purpose is compelled to think innovatively and to seek out strategic partnerships. It’s consistent with the ambitious nature of purposeful organisations to find collaborators that help them to build awareness and scale their impact. This interview is a masterclass in purposeful partnerships.

 

Here are some of the highlights:

• Listen out for James’ response to my question – what is the role of love in inspiring purpose-led business? It’s a powerful response.
• James shares his career progression and some of his achievements, from where he started in politics and media, through government, to corporate, to his activity today through The Good Beer Co
• He shares the start-up story Great Barrier Beer in partnership with Australian Marine Conservation Society; along with partnering with Dan Murphys and BWS to trial the first ever biodegradable 6-pack packaging
• We talk about the power of purpose to inspire richer, more meaningful conversations that build relationships that lead to purposeful partnerships
• James tells us about The Good Beer Co’s upcoming campaign in the UK for Thank Brew, a limited edition Pale Ale created by breweries across the UK in partnership with Big Drop Brewing Co, celebrating Thank You Day, for the Queen’s Jubilee Weekend, with all profits going to support good causes
• He also whets our appetite by sharing a little about a new local initiative in Australia in partnership with Sobah. due to launch later this year. A purpose-led business, Sobah exists to raise positive awareness and promote First Nations' culture, arts, language, and history. 

Connect with James

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesgrugeon/

Twitter:   JamesGrugeon  

Website: https://www.thegoodbeerco.co.uk

EP 14: Carolyn Butler- Madden on the Purpose of business

We decided to do something a little different for this podcast episode. Instead of interviewing a guest, I read a chapter from my book FOR LOVE & MONEY. How to profit with purpose and grow a business with love.

 

The chapter I selected is: The Purpose of Business Part II

 

What is the purpose of business? Surely by now, we can get beyond the idea that the purpose of business is to make money. The evidence is clear that trickle-down economics has not delivered what it promised. 

 

This chapter shares a picture of what business can be, when we unlock its full potential. When business serves a meaningful higher purpose, that is when it will capture the hearts and minds of people. That is when it will realise its true and full potential.

 

I share a story, a personal experience with a client, that demonstrates the potential that people can bring to a business when they’re emotionally invested in the outcomes that they’re trying to achieve. 

 

The other themes highlighted in this short episode include:

• Human endeavour and identity – the role our identity, our narrative plays in the choices we make and how we show up
• Emotions drive superpower – how when we care enough about something, that’s when we can realise our own full potential
• Changing the system – I share my thoughts on what we can change
• What are the needs we are solving as businesses? How vital are they?

 

I hope you enjoy this episode. If you do, you can get the book here. 

 

For every book sold we protect one square metre of rainforest through our partnership with B1G1 Business for Good and our impact partner, Rainforest Rescue.

 

If you’re enjoying this podcast, please take a moment to rate it on your favourite listening app.

CORRECTION:

The MS Act came into effect on 1st Jan 2019 rather than 2020.

EP 13: Carsten Primdal, co-founder of SCERTIFY on ESG Competent Boards

My guest on this episode is Carsten Primdal, a Sustainability, ESG and Modern Slavery Expert and co-founder of Scertify, an organisation merging tech and sustainability to drive impact, enabled by blockchain, AI and Machine Learning.

 

Carsten’s sustainability experience has been forged around the world, in Australia, Europe, China and Asia. He is the Author of two published books, “A Roadmap to Modern Slavery Compliance and a Sustainable Supply Chain” and  “Red Flag – Your Guide to Risk Management when Buying in China”, in which he shares his experience in sustainability risk mitigation.

 

Our interview covers his career and what led him to co-founding Scertify with two US-based business partners and launching the Competent Boards ESG Training Program.

 

Through this interview some of the topics we discuss are:

• What ESG actually means
• The relationship between ESG and Purpose
• What the ESG Competent Boards Designation Program is
• Who would get value from this program
• Why the program is so important; particularly now
• What participants can get out of the program

 

I think this is such good timing for a discussion about the role of Boards in ESG and Purpose. From my observation, many Boards appear to be on the back foot when it comes to these subjects. The simple fact is, Boards should be driving the Purpose and ESG agenda, rather than pondering how much of a priority it is given in the business’ strategy. 

 

The Competent Boards Program is such a valuable offering to business leaders today. Carsten has kindly offered a discount to listeners of this podcast. If you would like to take advantage of this discount, use the code FLAM when submitting your application online. You  can learn more about the program here https://scertify.co/cbeducation/esg-designation-program/

CONNECT WITH CARSTEN

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/carsten-primdal/

Scertify website https://scertify.co