For Love & Money

Today's guest has roots in the coffee industry going back 20 years and has pioneered many businesses including coffee education, coffee farming and processing, cafe’s and roasting. Saxon Wright is the founder and owner of Pablo & Rusty’s Coffee Roasters, a B Corp certified roasting company based in Sydney, Australia.

He is also the co-founder and CEO of Huskee, also a B Corp certified company focused on eliminating single-use products from the coffee and broader hospitality industries. Huskee has developed a reusable cup that utilises waste from the farming of coffee, however more importantly has created a swap system so consumers can exchange the cup for a freshly cleaned one, removing the need for single-use disposables. 

Saxon is the recipient of the NSW Green Globe award, Australian Good Design Award and multiple sustainability and business awards. He also serves on the board of Greensquare, a tech platform connecting coffee roasters and traders. He is deeply committed to seeing business solve issues linked to our broader environmental crisis.

This interview covers Saxon’s background – the key experiences that led him to where he is today. He shares his inspiring approach to people development which, when applied to Pablo & Rusty’s, enabled him to create the head space for other opportunities, ultimately leading to building Huskee.

You’ll notice how much the theme of curiosity, design and innovation threads its way through our interview, all driven by Saxon’s commitment to using business to solve environmental issues and creating systems change. 

Discover how Saxon's companies are making a difference, from supporting farmers to reducing single-use plastics. Saxon also provides practical steps consumers can take to minimise their environmental footprint. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in sustainable business practices and making a positive impact on the world.

Super inspiring!

Connect with Saxon

Saxon on Linkedin

Pablo & Rusty's website

Huskee website

Welcome to the For Love and Money podcast, the show where business and social purpose meet to inspire a movement for positive change. 

In this episode, Carolyn introduces Lisa Erhart, author of Advanced Grant Writing for Female Founders. Lisa is a passionate funding specialist with over two decades of experience helping women entrepreneurs secure the funding they need to grow their businesses. With a remarkable personal journey in the funding sector, Lisa has secured millions in grants and assessed over $50 million in applications.

Lisa shares her insights on why more women need to apply for available funding and how they can improve the quality of their applications. She emphasises the importance of balancing love and profit in business, encouraging female founders to aim for financial sustainability and generational wealth.

Throughout the episode, Lisa and Carolyn discuss the power of partnerships, the necessity of data in building a compelling case for funding, and the transformative impact of securing grants. Lisa's stories of successful funding journeys, like those of Melanie Greblo and also the Maternity Consumer Network, serve as inspiration for female business owners to pursue funding opportunities confidently.

If you are a female business owner looking to grow your business and secure funding, this episode is a must-listen. Lisa's practical advice and passion for empowering women will leave you inspired and ready to take action.

Connect with Lisa

Buy Lisa's book "Advanced Grant Writing For Female Founders"

Lisa on Linkedin

Funding4growth website

Josh Kirkman, CEO of Surfers for Climate is our guest today.

Surfers for Climate is an Australian charity dedicated to turning the tide on climate change.

Since it was founded in October 2019, it has inspired the collective power of surfers through initiatives like the successful Fight for the Bight campaign in South Australia and more recently the Draw a line in the Sand campaign that successfully contributed the NSW Parliament unanimously passing amendments to legislation that will ban all offshore oil and gas in NSW waters for good.

Surfers for Climate continues to grow, with thousands of people from the surfing community across Australia coming together to take off on the party wave of climate action and become part of the solution to the climate crisis. 

Josh became CEO of the organisation in 2021. He has a history in climate communications in the Nordic Cleantech Investment space as well as a sporting history in competitive bodyboarding, earning multiple Australian Championship titles as well as being a highly-ranked competitor on the global stage.

He is passionate about affecting change in the diverse and growing surf community, focussed on leading this community towards greater political agency for people and planet.

You’re going to love this episode, from learning about Josh’s personal journey to understanding the many different and inclusive ways that Surfers for Climate are educating and supporting the surfing community to take meaningful climate action. And also representing the community to advocate for changes like the recent NSW legislation banning all offshore oil and gas drilling.

As Josh says – the reality is surfers could decide every election.

Interview Highlights:

• Josh's environmental awakening and career journey

Connect with Josh and Surfers for Climate:

Josh on Linkedin

Surfers for Climate website

Win-win-win…at scale.

That is the message behind Episode 63 of the For Love & Money podcast, featuring Geoff Wilson AO, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Wilson Asset Management and Founder of Future Generation and Caroline Gurney, Chief Executive Officer of Future Generation.

Geoff has over 42 years’ direct experience in investment markets having held a variety of senior investment roles in Australia, the UK and the US. He founded Wilson Asset Management in 1997 and created Australia’s first listed philanthropic wealth creation vehicles, Future Generation Investment Company Limited and Future Generation Global Investment Company Limited

Caroline has more than 25 years’ experience in the financial services sector focused on marketing, corporate affairs and corporate social responsibility. She has held senior roles at UBS and Citibank and has worked in London, across Asia-Pacific and Australia during her career. She is a member of Ascham School Council and the Centennial Park and Moore Park Foundation, an ambassador for the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF), a director of Our Watch, an organisation focused on preventing violence against women and children and set up and was a director of the UBS Australia Foundation. Caroline has also previously served as a director of Future Generation Australia and as a Council Member of Chief Executive Women, and is currently an active member.

The Future Generation companies are Australia’s first listed investment companies to deliver investment and social returns. Shareholders pay zero management performance fees for access to leading pro bono Australian and global fund managers. This allows the Future Generation companies to donate 1% of assets each year to Australian not-for-profits.

Future Generation Australia (ASX: FGX) provides investors with diversified exposure to Australian equities while supporting children and youth at risk. Future Generation Global (ASX: FGG) provides investors with diversified international equities exposure while supporting not-for-profits promoting wellbeing and preventing mental ill-health in young Australians.

Geoff and Caroline share the story of the creation of Future Generation and how the model behind it works, delivering value for all stakeholders. They highlight the eye-watering scale of the impact that this model and organisation has created – $75.8 million donated so far, with a 2030 goal to increase their philanthropy to $130 million

The win-win-win?

❤️ Shareholders win, with exposure to leading fund managers without paying management or performance fees.

❤️ Social impact partners win, with a stream of annual investments.

❤️ Fund managers win, with a unique opportunity to make a positive difference to Australia’s future generations.

CONNECT WITH FUTURE GENERATION

Future Generation's Website

Caroline Gurney's LinkedIn

Future Generation Founder and Director, Geoff Wilson AO’s X/Twitter

Future Generation's Linkedin page

Tim Stubbs, founding Director of WolfPeak, a strategy and environment consultancy, joins us on this episode of "For Love & Money." Tim would much rather be surfing than working, but with bills to pay, he and co-founder Steve Fermio set up WolfPeak to grow a profitable company doing work they believe in. WolfPeak is committed to doing good.

With his training as an environmental engineer and being a people person, Tim naturally focuses on the intersection of environment, engineering, and people, exploring how these elements can come together to improve our world.

The theme of today’s episode is “Starting Point.” Tim challenges the traditional approach of prioritising business and economic growth, which often forces environmental and human considerations to fit around these priorities. Instead, he invites us to consider an alternate perspective: understanding the constraints of human beings and the environment as the natural starting points and then asking how business can fit into that. How would our behaviours and actions change if these were our starting points?

This conversation with Tim was thought-provoking, drawing on his diverse knowledge sources. My hope is that this interview might open new perspectives for you as it did for me.

In our discussion, Tim shares his views on the traditional business approach that prioritises economic growth at the expense of environmental and human needs. He argues for a perspective shift, suggesting we start by understanding the constraints of humans and the environment, and then figure out how business can fit within these limits.

He discusses the valuable lessons from Aboriginal culture, where contribution is valued over material wealth, and highlights how understanding interconnection is crucial for grasping the implications of our actions. Tim shares a personal project idea for his children’s school, illustrating the long history of Aboriginal occupation in Australia compared to European settlement, underscoring the depth of knowledge we could gain from Australia's First Nations people.

Tim talks about the risks of greenwashing and purpose-washing by businesses, advocating for thorough understanding of business impacts to build credibility and foster innovation. We discuss the growth of impact-driven startups as examples of how businesses can drive societal improvement.

Introducing WolfPeak, Tim describes their work with government and corporate clients, and their involvement in Aboriginal projects, such as the Eden Land Council’s Bundian Way walking track. He shares an inspiring story about an ancient hunting ritual involving collaboration with Killer Whales, emphasising the value of cultural learnings.

Throughout the interview, Tim reflects on cultural evolution, drawing insights from his Aboriginal friend Les and David Sloan Wilson’s book "This View of Life." He encourages an open mindset to let opportunities find you, rather than actively seeking your starting point.

Tim concludes by sharing a story about walking through the Argyll Cut with a group of natural resource scientists, highlighting the fascinating history that can be read in the rockface. He hopes listeners take the time to reflect and perhaps adjust their perspective a little.

Connect with Tim

Wolf Peak website

Tim Stubbs Linkedin profile

Paloma Rose Garcia is the owner of Paloma hair salon in Paddington.

I first heard about Paloma over a year ago, after reading a Guardian article on the workshops that she runs. In collaboration with climate experts, she trains hairdressers on how to have conversations about the facts on climate change, helping clients who want information on what meaningful climate action they can take.

Paloma has become known as Australian hairdressing’s climate influencer, using her voice and connection as a hairdresser; her power, to educate clients for change and supporting other hairdressers with the knowledge to do the same. “A Brush With Climate” is what the program is known as.

I think you’re going to love this episode (apart from the audio quality – I’m so sorry – rookie error I forgot my microphone). But please bear with it because this episode deserves to be heard all the way through.

If you don’t fall in love with Paloma at the end of this interview, I think I might have to check your heart for signs of life. She recognises her power and the power of her business to create important meaningful change. And she uses it, doing it in such a beautiful way.

During our interview Paloma elaborates on how her journey from awareness to action unfolded. She shares how they train hairdressers to find easy ways to introduce climate to the conversation. She identifies with clarity exactly who their target audience is for these conversations and she highlights the impact of this initiative on the business as well as her personal growth.

You'll hear how Paloma transformed her business into a platform for high quality hair makeovers AND heightened environmental consciousness and social change work.

Paloma speaks with strength and pride about the power that hairdressers have and the trust and confidence instilled in them by their clients. She treats that trust with respect, ensuring that the conversations her hairdressers have about climate action are only undertaken with clients who are interested in engaging.  Her passion for social issues beyond climate, bubble up during our conversation. Her orientation for action over talk makes her a natural leader.

Discussing the essence of businesses thriving with heart-driven choices, we discover the magnetic effect of such management on like-minded customers. Our conversation highlights how this approach builds robust patron loyalty and fosters an ever-expanding client base.

Delving deeper, we discuss the role businesses play in customers' lives outside the expected commercial transaction. Brands become an important part of clients' lives by playing a role on social issues that they care about. We also highlight the instrumental role businesses play in community events, promoting healthy discourse and societal changes.

She shares her hottest tip for taking climate action: understanding ethical banking and/or superannuation but being gentle on yourself and doing what you can do at this moment.

Join The Movement

Climate Checklist (Link At Bottom Of Page)

marketforces.org

Connect With Paloma

Paloma Website

On Instagram

Danielle Owen-Whitford founded start up Pioneera in 2018 to improve our mental health by tackling the crippling issue of workplace burnout and improving “positive” productivity. 

Pioneera's purpose is to unleash everyone's potential to be happier, healthier and more productive at work.

In this episode we explore the transformational role of artificial intelligence (AI) in preventing workplace burnout. Danielle narrates her inspiring journey, explaining how her personal experience with burnout led to the creation of Pioneera, a platform using AI to foster positive mental health and safe workplace atmospheres.

Their world-first solution uses artificial intelligence informed by evidence-based psychology, to identify signs of burnout and provide tech-assisted early intervention. Ahead of it’s time, Pioneera's award-winning solution is now the only product in the market that can provide real-time mental health data to meet new safety regulations and ESG reporting requirements and is gaining strong interest across both large and small Australian businesses. Pioneera's app won the social impact category of the 2022 Australian Good design awards and was recognised as a World Changing idea by Fast Company in 2021. 

Productivity in the modern workplace and the delicate balance between efficiency and wellness are explored in-depth in this interview, providing listeners with valuable insights on these critical issues.

Our conversation highlights the disturbing prevalence of 'toxic productivity' and the need for systemic changes in the way productivity is measured. We explore the corrosive effects of a relentless drive for efficiency on both work quality and employee mental health. Danielle provides a fresh perspective on combating workplace stress, focusing on the value of 'positive productivity' -- a productivity paradigm that prioritises mental clarity and wellness over sheer output.

Our discussion further examines the innovative role of Pioneera in promoting systemic change. By using data and AI, Pioneera not only detects signs of burnout but also encourages organisations to change outdated productivity measures and create healthier workplaces. Discover more about Indie, the groundbreaking app designed to provide real-time, data-driven feedback to individuals and teams. Tune into this insightful conversation to understand the necessity of reassessing productivity measures and embrace systemic change for the mental well-being of employees and society as a whole.

The conversation also sheds light on trust-building, risk-management, and fostering productive workplaces through technology. Gain valuable knowledge about organisational dynamics management, especially during challenging times. This episode is a must-listen for employers, leaders, and individuals interested in enhancing workplace safety and productivity. The inspiring journey of Pioneera, from a personal hardship story to a game-changer in workplace environments, leaves listeners with an impactful realisation about the immeasurable potential of AI in transforming workplace cultures.

GET A FREE HEALTH CHECK FOR YOUR ORGANISATION

Danielle is offering a free health check to assess where your organisation is and where you want it to be. To claim your free health check, email Danielle with Free Health Check in the subject line.

Connect with Danielle

On Linkedin

Pioneera website

Desmond Campbell is a proud Gurindji and Alawa-Ngalakan man from the Northern Territory and is the CEO of Welcome to Country with a background in consulting, social policy and Government services. Desmond joined Welcome to Country to continue to build a platform that is First Nations led and operated, contributing to economic independence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and by sharing the world's oldest continuous living cultures and languages by First Nations people on their terms and cultural integrity. 

Our yarn starts with Desmond sharing his own identity and the proud legacy of his family which flows through his blood. It weaves through to his role at Welcome to Country, why this organisation exists and how it serves its stakeholders. And it ends with a powerful and emotional vision for the future.

For those of us who believe we should be proud and fiercely protective of the oldest living civilisation in the world, through this interview, Desmond opens a door which he invites us to walk through.

Highlights:

• Desmond shares his family background including his legacies from both his mother’s and father’s side. He highlights on his father's side his relationship to Vincent Lingiari, his Great Grandfather, who Paul Kelly’s song “From Little Things Big Things Grow”  is about; and his mother's Uncle who was awarded a Member of the British Empire Medal for, amongst other things, diagnosing leprosy in Aboriginal people throughout the Northern Territory

Connect with Desmond and Welcome To Country

Desmond on Linkedin

Welcome To Country on Linkedin

Welcome To Country website

My guest is a woman after my own heart. Aga Bajer is obsessed with the opportunity to create thriving cultures by understanding what it is that people need to do their best work. 

Aga wears many hats as the driving force behind CultureBrained®, where she steers the ship as both founder and CEO. Beyond leading her company, Aga is an author and a captivating keynote speaker, known for sharing insights that resonate deeply with her audience. She's the voice and brain behind the CultureLab podcast, where she dives into the intricacies of organisational culture, and has built a vibrant community for culture leaders around these conversations. Her impactful contributions, books and thought leadership in her field have earned her a spot as one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices of 2024, marking her as a must-follow for those interested in the world of company culture and leadership.

I absolutely loved our conversation. Aga challenges some of the ‘truths’ that we as a society seem to have accepted with very little rigour. She shares the insights she has uncovered through her research as well as her own experience. For Aga, her work is personal and this shines through our interview. The need for people to feel a sense of belonging is the central theme of this episode and Aga also shares with us what it takes to help foster a sense of belonging in organisations.

Interview highlights:

• Aga shares and expands on her insights on the 3 things people need to do their best work – fun, meaning and belonging

• Codify culture

Connect with Aga and CultureBrained

The Culture Lab Insider Newsletter

Aga on Linkedin 

agabajer.com  

The CultureBrained community 

Can you imagine loving your bank?

Can you imagine your bank being a reflection of how you see yourself, in the same way we choose fashion brands to reflect parts of our identity?

Well, perhaps if your bank is Bank Australia, you might not have to imagine too hard. From today’s interview, this bank is one that I can easily imagine loving and identifying with.

My guest today is Georgia Windrum, Manager Climate Action Strategy, Bank Australia. Georgia leads Bank Australia’s work to reach their ambitious net zero by 2035 target. She has previously worked on climate strategy, policy and campaigns at Climateworks Centre, the Australian Conservation Foundation and the Australian Council of Trade Unions

Our conversation uncovers the unusual way that Bank Australia conducts it’s business, from being customer-owned, to not paying out bonuses or dividends and to serving their purpose – to inspire and empower our customers to use their money to create a world where people and the planet thrive.

There’s much we can learn from this Australian bank and one of their ambitions is that other financial institutions use and adopt their model. This collaborative mindset comes from the ambition they have to use business as a force for good.

Interview highlights:

• Georgia shares her background journey from growing up with a strong connection to nature to her role at Bank Australia today, managing their climate action strategy

Connect with Bank Australia and Georgia

Bank Australia website

Georgia on Linkedin