#impact | Social Impact, Social Entrepreneurship, Social Good

#impact | Social Impact, Social Entrepreneurship, Social Good

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#impact | Social Impact, Social Entrepreneurship, Social Good episodes

  • #12: Do you want to live a more meaningful life?

    Find show notes at www.hashtagimpact.com/podcast12 Recorded at Mettā. This is what you will be asked when you open the website of LocalMotion, a social enterprise based in Hong Kong: “Do you want to live a more meaningful life?” So what if you do? In this episode, we talk to Sarah Fowler and Belinda Poole, Co-Founders...

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    39 min
  • #12: Do you want to live a more meaningful life? - #impact Podcast
    Find show notes at www.hashtagimpact.com/podcast12 Recorded at Mettā.
    This is what you will be asked when you open the website of LocalMotion, a social enterprise based in Hong Kong: “Do you want to live a more meaningful life?” So what if you do? In this episode, we talk to Sarah Fowler and Belinda Poole, Co-Founders of LocalMotion, about the vision behind their matchmaking platform empowering Non-Profits & Social Enterprises through skills-based volunteering.
    They share how they made the transition into the Corporate Social Responsibility space and what led them to start LocalMotion. Currently, they are taking on stereotypes when it comes to working in the social sector with their #HeroinesofHK campaign celebrating women making a contribution in the social sector.
    “At the moment there is a belief that you have to sacrifice a good paycheque in order to work for an NGO or social enterprise, and that it’s NOT possible to make a big impact and earn money. Now, we are yet to prove our point. However, it seems like the default advice is to tell people that it can’t be done. We think that dissuading people from taking an entrepreneurial approach – before they have even started ! – doesn’t help create the social change that we’re looking for and need”, Sarah and Belinda say.
    Sarah explains how they introduce the community to the, for Hong Kong, still very new concept of skills-based volunteering. Belinda shares why it is important to celebrate, also the little milestones. You’ll also hear about that magic moment when they got their first client. Find out why they feel so inspired by the people that work for the organisations they support.
    Every founder out there knows these moments all too well: the difficult investor talks and the mixed messages. Sarah and Belinda let you in on their secret how they balance these challenges and stay focused growing their company as well as their impact.
    It has a lot to do with them vigorously testing their product and doing market research in the first place, going that extra mile to find out what their clients and partners need. Surrounding themselves with brilliant advisers did not harm either.
    No matter where you are in your social impact journey, you will take a lot of valuable action points from this interview.
    #MENTIONED in this episode

    * Here you can find out more about the inspirational book Belinda mentioned in this episode, showcasing the entrepreneurial journey of the Thankyou brand, a social enterprise, founded in 2008. Thankyou donates 100% of the profits to life-changing food, water and health and sanitation programs around the world.

    Belinda did not promise too much. You will not regret getting a sneak peak into their publication “You have the power to change stuff”, available here.
    * This is an article Belinda wrote on “Don’t follow your passion”. Read it here.
    * SAVE THE DATE for the upcoming first live podcast recording FASHION with #impact featuring Christina Dean, Founder of Redress on April 28th at 11.45 am – 2 pm at Eaton House, Central, Hong Kong.

    Find out more and RSVP here.

    #SPECIAL THANKS

    * To my friend Marlene Hofer, who co-hosted this episode.

    TAKE #ACTION
    Check out LocalMotion’s
    39 min
  • #11: Hong Kong’s first socially aligned coding bootcamp provider.

    “You have to be fast”, is what Lavine Hemlani, CEO and Founder of Accelerate, says about entrepreneurship. He is taking his advice to heart. He brought his idea for Accelerate to life in just nine weeks. Accelerate is Hong Kong’s first socially aligned immersive coding, data science/machine learning and UX Bootcamp provider. Find show notes...

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    32 min
  • #11: Hong Kong’s first socially aligned coding bootcamp provider. - #impact Podcast
    “You have to be fast”, is what Lavine Hemlani, CEO and Founder of Accelerate, says about entrepreneurship. He is taking his advice to heart. He brought his idea for Accelerate to life in just nine weeks. Accelerate is Hong Kong’s first socially aligned immersive coding, data science/machine learning and UX Bootcamp provider.
    Find show notes at www.hashtagimpact.com/podcast11 You can also listen on iTunes.

    They are using a “zero tuition until you’re hired” model and focus on problem-based learning, immersion and real-world simulation. Coding is the most in demand global skill, you can read on Accelerate’s website. In this episode, you hear why learning to code can open a whole new range of career opportunities and how Accelerate sets out to empower underrepresented groups, no matter what age and background, to take ownership of their education.
    Their goal is ambitious: Enrolling 100.000 students within the next ten years. At their first Bootcamp they selected 16 promising developers representing 11 nationalities aged 20-56. “It does not matter who you are”, says Lavine.
    Accelerate is all about getting yourself into motion and keeping ahead of the curve. Hear all about Lavine’s mission of grooming an engaged community of learners that are taking charge of their education.
    He lets you in how they select their students and how he aims to scale his business. You will also find out what inspired Lavine to start Accelerate after working on a school project in Namibia. He also shares lessons learned when first setting up his Bootcamp.
    Have you also come across people that have that certain sparkle in their eyes when they talk about their work? Lavine is one of these people. His passion and drive are contagious. Hear for yourself.
    #Mentioned in this episode:

    * Lavine mentioned Elon Musk’s First Principles Thinking as one of his biggest inspirations. Here you can find an article on the CleanTechnica website to find out more about Elon Musk’s innovative approach.

    Find out more about Accelerate and their exciting journey on their Website, Facebook and Twitter
    32 min
  • #10: Turning trash into treasure.

    Meet Shawn Seipler, Founder and CEO of Clean the World, a social enterprise with headquarters in Orlando,  Florida. His idea to turn trash into treasure saves lives. Clean the World leads a Global Hygiene Revolution. They distribute recycled soap and hygiene products from more than 4,000+ hotel and resort partners to children and families in countries...

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    40 min
  • #10: Turning trash into treasure. - #impact Podcast
    Meet Shawn Seipler, Founder and CEO of Clean the World, a social enterprise with headquarters in Orlando,  Florida. His idea to turn trash into treasure saves lives. Clean the World leads a Global Hygiene Revolution. They distribute recycled soap and hygiene products from more than 4,000+ hotel and resort partners to children and families in countries with a high death rate due to acute respiratory infection (pneumonia) and diarrheal diseases (cholera) – which are two of the top killers of children under 5.
    Find show notes on www.hashtagimpact.com/podcast10 You can also listen on iTunes
    Clean the World’s humble beginnings go back to 2009 when they started out with cooking the first batches of soap in Shawn’s garage.  Since then, Clean the World has distributed more than 35 million bars of soap in 100 countries.
    Find out how Clean the World is scaling its operations globally. Shawn shares why educating people about the value of social entrepreneurship is so important and gives you insights into his company culture driven by a healthy dissatisfaction of the Status Quo.
    Shawn reflects on his career choices that did not always seem rational at the time, leaving attractive incentives and stock options behind to start out with his social enterprise back in 2008/09 in the midsts of a global economic crisis.
    He shares how they developed a sustainable financial model and how the business side drives the impact. We talk impact measured in volunteer hours spent and the effects of their programmes on the ground in the communities they support as well as their engagement when it comes to disaster relief. You will also hear how him being a father of five drives and motivates him in his daily work.
    There is another thing about Shawn. He was not only a brilliant, open-hearted guest, taking time for our talk in between the many meetings during his business trip to Hong Kong and Macao, he also has this wonderfully soothing voice.  But hear for yourself. 
    #Message from your host

    * You can listen to a recording with Gyneth Tan-Murphy, Managing Director at Clean the World Asia, here. The interview starts at minute 9. You will find out what drives Gyneth when it comes to her work with Clean the World. You will also get a deeper insight into the education programmes that Shawn mentioned during the interview.
    * I want to hear from YOU! Please let me know what topics you would love to see featured on #impact Podcast. Get in touch at [email protected]

    Follow Clean the World on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram and Tumblr.
     
    40 min
  • #9: An experience that drives change.

    “Everyone should do this”, is what Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, said after joining an impactful simulation programme organised by Crossroads Foundation to raise awareness for the hardships of the people they serve. In this episode, you will hear from the person behind this eye-opening simulation programme: Meet David (DJ) Begbie, Director of the Global Xperience...

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    52 min
  • #9: An experience that drives change. - #impact Podcast
    “Everyone should do this”, is what Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, said after joining an impactful simulation programme organised by Crossroads Foundation to raise awareness for the hardships of the people they serve. In this episode, you will hear from the person behind this eye-opening simulation programme: Meet David (DJ) Begbie, Director of the Global Xperience programme at Crossroads Foundation, a humanitarian aid and development organisation based in Hong Kong.
     
    His love for the theatrics and “the weirdness of who he was”, as DJ puts it, could be of very good use in these simulation programmes because they realised, communication alone does not result in behavioural change.
    For the past 10 years, Crossroads Foundation has been organising Refugee Runs at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The list of famous participants in this simulation programme is long, from Sir Richard Branson to Ban Ki-moon. “…there’s simply nothing I’ve done that’s carried such impact”, a participant tweeted.
     
    In this episode, DJ shares the beginnings of Crossroads Foundation when his family received a phone call about a flood in China. “We were just a family and in our free time we helped,” he says. Fast forward 20 years and they impacted the lives of 625 000 people in 2014/15 alone.
    The idea for Crossroads Foundation’s simulation programmes came by accident. It has a lot to do with Crossroads Foundation being a “crazy charity”, DJ explains. Hear why in this episode.
    You will also meet “young DJ” and hear about his mini-midlife crises and how he ended up flipping Big Macs at Mc Donalds close to Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
    He shares why he enjoys working with his parents, who founded Crossroads Foundation, and how he made his way to the organisation. He lets you in on his biggest challenges, who inspires him most, how to measure short- and long-term impact and what change should look like.
    #MENTIONED in this episode

    * The people running Crossroads Foundation are all volunteers. Their dedication is incredible and seeing them working around the collection points, the office, in the Fairtrade shop and café when I visited on this sunny spring day was a humbling experience.
    * Their partnership with the UN is very fruitful, they even built their business.un.org platform, that links corporates to UN programmes and was inspired by Crossroads Foundation’s in-house Global Hand matching platform. 
    * They run their simulation programmes not only at the World Economic Forum in Davos but also in Hong Kong and other places around the globe.
    * If you are based in Hong Kong make sure to stop by their gorgeous Fairtrade Shop. They offer gorgeous wooden toys for small kids and so much more. Don’t worry, if you are listening from outside of Hong Kong, they also run a Fairtrade online shop.
    * Their Fairtrade Café serves hands down the most delicious Chai Latte I had in my life.

    Follow Crossroads Foundation on Facebook, and make sure to check out their global experiences simulation menu.
    Do you want a look behind the scenes and want to find out what #impact Podcast’s guests are up to? 
    52 min
  • #8: Taking the B Corp road for growing a business with impact.

    In this episode you meet Xania Wong, founder of JOBDOH, a smart hiring booking platform helping temporary workers connect with and find the right jobs anytime, anywhere. Her business was inspired by a desire to solve business problems for the exhibition and hospitality industries and her mission to improve the ways jobs are distributed. Last year,...

    The post #8: Taking the B Corp road for growing a business with impact. appeared first on .

    22 min
  • #8: Taking the B Corp road for growing a business with impact. - #impact Podcast
    In this episode you meet Xania Wong, founder of JOBDOH, a smart hiring booking platform helping temporary workers connect with and find the right jobs anytime, anywhere. Her business was inspired by a desire to solve business problems for the exhibition and hospitality industries and her mission to improve the ways jobs are distributed. Last year, Lifestyle Asia named her one of the social entrepreneurs to watch.
    In our talk, she shares why she thinks it is important to differentiate between a social enterprise and a business with social impact. You will hear about Impact Investing, becoming a B corp and the entrepreneurial challenges along the way.
    Xania also shares lessons learned when it comes to relationships, why you need a good EQ and why having passion is not enough when starting a business. Xania for sure is one of the most driven young women I ever met and I learned a lot about the ups and downs of being a founder. But hear for yourself.
     
    #TOPICS mentioned in this episode 

    * According to Xania, B Corporations are the kind of businesses that need to emerge. If you want to find out more about going the B Corp road you can find loads of valuable information on the website of B Lab, a non-profit organisation dedicated to using the power of business as a force for good.

    Follow JOBDOH on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn  and their website
    Want to stay up to date on the making of this Podcast and get a peek behind the scenes? Subscribe. 
    22 min

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#impact invites you in to eavesdrop on intimate, raw and honest conversations on creating positive change in the world. Brought to you, with love, by Regina Larko, the voice that encourages you to get…