The B Better Podcast

#71 Marketing and branding as a B Corp with Elena Keith of Seven

As a little girl struggling with deafness, Elena Keith wanted to be a farmer's wife. Things didn't work out that way though and today she runs branding agency Seven, in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, alongside her husband Gideon, while raising their teenagers, Spike and Ivy.

In this episode of B Better, Tim and Elena get into an in-depth discussion about how the advertising sector is having to change because the world is changing. The conversation takes twists and turns, from the ghost chips ad to Aristotle’s writings on purpose and genius, how WWII changed the role of women, how Seven survived lockdown as a business, and so much more, including:

Check it out! And get inspired.

_______________________________

Ready to B Better?

If you want to learn more about B Corp and if it could be the right thing for you we also have:

➡️ Our free e-book "To B Or Not To B; The What, Why & How of B Corp" is the DEFINITIVE guide to B Corp - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorp-ebook/⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Connect with me on LinkedIn here - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/timjonesthegrowgoodguy⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Check out how we can work together to make some epic stuff happen here - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorpconsulting/⁠

Feeling like you’re ready to B Better and want to see if we can help?

➡️ Well then feel free to have a chat with us by booking a call here ⁠⁠⁠https://timgrowgoodco.pipedrive.com/scheduler/jYqm2LUl/30-minute-client-discovery-call⁠⁠⁠

Until next time, B Better!

#70 Raglan Food cofounder Latesha Randall is changing the world with coconut yogurt

Can you save the world with coconut yogurt? Founders of Raglan Food Co Tesh and Seb are giving it a solid go.

When her partner Seb decided it was time to go dairy-free due to allergies, Tesh started experimenting in her kitchen with making vegan coconut yoghurt. 

Suffice to say, things took off from there. Word of mouth spread quickly and demand grew. First, they partnered with a local community kitchen but then built their own factory, determined to keep jobs in their small town despite challenges of scale.

Already purpose-driven, going through the rigorous B Corp certification process opened Tesh's eyes to new impact areas across Raglan Food Co's operations. On recertification, their score increased from 96 to 111.

And now, after four years of groundwork, Raglan Food Co is launching in New York where they see demand for tastier dairy-free options. Registering in the US as a B Corp too, they hope to spread their ethos globally while growing jobs in Raglan through this major milestone.

Tesh talks...

Check it out! Loads of (dairy-free) food for thought.

_______________________________

Ready to B Better?

If you want to learn more about B Corp and if it could be the right thing for you we also have:

➡️ Our free e-book "To B Or Not To B; The What, Why & How of B Corp" is the DEFINITIVE guide to B Corp - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorp-ebook/⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Connect with me on LinkedIn here - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/timjonesthegrowgoodguy⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Check out how we can work together to make some epic stuff happen here - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorpconsulting/⁠

Feeling like you’re ready to B Better and want to see if we can help?

➡️ Well then feel free to have a chat with us by booking a call here ⁠⁠⁠https://timgrowgoodco.pipedrive.com/scheduler/jYqm2LUl/30-minute-client-discovery-call⁠⁠⁠

Until next time, B Better!

#69 Gemelli Consulting CEO James Stewart on being NZ's highest scoring B Corp

Ever wondered which company is New Zealand’s highest scoring B Corp? Wonder no more. The company that currently holds this title is Gemelli Consulting, a business owned by James Stewart.

What do they do? In a nutshell, it’s financial and commercial advisory services for organisations with social, environmental, and economic impact.

That means whether it's community trusts or faith-based groups or councils with an awesome idea that will change the world, Gemelli help them make sure the numbers stack up. So, would a bank or an investor jump on board with this? Will it lose money hand over fist once it's started? It's crystal ball financial modelling for purpose-driven organisations.

How did Gemelli take home the crown of highest scoring Kiwi B Corp? Well, find out all about it from the man himself. In this exclusive interview, we dive into James' passion for making a positive impact.

James talks about:

...and a whole lot more. Need to feel inspired and uplifted? Get a dose of James.

_______________________________

Ready to B Better?

If you want to learn more about B Corp and if it could be the right thing for you we also have:

➡️ Our free e-book "To B Or Not To B; The What, Why & How of B Corp" is the DEFINITIVE guide to B Corp - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorp-ebook/⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Connect with me on LinkedIn here - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/timjonesthegrowgoodguy⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Check out how we can work together to make some epic stuff happen here - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorpconsulting/⁠

Feeling like you’re ready to B Better and want to see if we can help?

➡️ Well then feel free to have a chat with us by booking a call here ⁠⁠⁠https://timgrowgoodco.pipedrive.com/scheduler/jYqm2LUl/30-minute-client-discovery-call⁠⁠⁠

Until next time, B Better!

#68 - Inside Forensic Science, Royal Encounters, and Like-Minded's Success Blueprint

When it comes to unsung heroes quietly getting on with making the world a better place, you needn't look much further than cofounder of Like-Minded Learning Cathy Gillespie.

I'm proud to call Cathy a personal friend as well as an inspiration in business so it was great to finally get her as a guest on the B Better podcast because Cathy has been a long-time B Corp champion here in Aotearoa New Zealand. Oh and did I mention that she's got an amazing sense of humour?

Her company, Like-Minded, creates learning solutions that enhance business performance and support a healthy workplace.

Check it out! Loads of food for thought.

_______________________________

Ready to B Better?

If you want to learn more about B Corp and if it could be the right thing for you we also have:

➡️ Our free e-book "To B Or Not To B; The What, Why & How of B Corp" is the DEFINITIVE guide to B Corp - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorp-ebook/⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Connect with me on LinkedIn here - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/timjonesthegrowgoodguy⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Check out how we can work together to make some epic stuff happen here - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorpconsulting/⁠

Feeling like you’re ready to B Better and want to see if we can help?

➡️ Well then feel free to have a chat with us by booking a call here ⁠⁠⁠https://timgrowgoodco.pipedrive.com/scheduler/jYqm2LUl/30-minute-client-discovery-call⁠⁠⁠

Until next time, B Better!

#67 The ins and outs of medical devices with Ian Cooper of Tasman Trolleys and Medical Equipment

I got to take a little walk down memory lane during this chat with Ian Cooper of Tasman Trolleys and Medical Equipment.

That's because, before becoming That B Corp Bloke, I sold medical equipment... let's just say, it's an industry with some dark and murky corners.

Not over at Tasman Trolleys though, these guys are a force for good. As ⁠award-winning⁠ designers and manufacturers of medical trolleys, carts and medical equipment, TTME has been around for 65 years. Incredibly, they have staff who've been with the company 50 years and 40 years.

In our chat, Ian explains how the decision to go B Corp was made when managers sat down to discuss what they could use to validate the positive impact they were already having.

"That's when we decided that B Corp best represented what we wanted to achieve. We had discussions about others, like ISO, but we didn't feel they touched on the holistic component, like how B Corp deals with the social, the workers, the governance, and all those sorts of things. So we thought, 'yeah, this is something we should look at more closely.' As well, we looked at some of the other B Corp companies and they are aspirational brands.

It wasn't a hard decision when we started to break it down."

Ian talks about how B Corp provides a vehicle that enables them to tell their story and help customers and supply chain understand what they're trying to do.

"Again it gives you something that people can refer back to, it gives us structure around which we can go and tell a story. And someone else has validated what we're saying, which is a core component rather than us just saying, 'we're great, you just have to trust us on that'."

In our chat, we cover a range of topics including:

Check it out! Loads of food for thought.

_______________________________

Ready to B Better?

If you want to learn more about B Corp and if it could be the right thing for you we also have:

➡️ Our free e-book "To B Or Not To B; The What, Why & How of B Corp" is the DEFINITIVE guide to B Corp - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorp-ebook/⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Connect with me on LinkedIn here - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/timjonesthegrowgoodguy⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Check out how we can work together to make some epic stuff happen here - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorpconsulting/⁠

Feeling like you’re ready to B Better and want to see if we can help?

➡️ Well then feel free to have a chat with us by booking a call here ⁠⁠⁠https://timgrowgoodco.pipedrive.com/scheduler/jYqm2LUl/30-minute-client-discovery-call⁠⁠⁠

Until next time, B Better!

#66 Unilever ANZ proves you're never too big to B Corp

We've got a big player in the hot seat for this episode!

It was our pleasure to chat with Unilever New Zealand Managing Director Cameron Heath about the how and why of B Corp certification of Unilever Australia and New Zealand.

As one of the NZ's biggest company's to certify, Tim and Cameron discuss the misconception that B Corp certification is only for small businesses. The number of large corporates now seeking B Corp certification is at an all time high and other global units of Unilever are also looking at B Corp.

He reveals that getting certified for Unilever ANZ was sometimes a bumpy road over two years and in the beginning there was not always full internal support for doing it. This hesitation, though, triggered important discussions, it allowed sense checking, and in the end resulted in greater commitment. He talks about some of the initiatives that have come out of the B Corp process including a four-day week and generous parental leave policies.

Cameron also talks about how to balance the tension between being a sustainable business while still driving profit. "We strive to prove that sustainability is not an either/or of business performance, it's an enabler of business performance... an enabler to stronger business performance."

And so much more... have a listen.

_______________________________

Ready to B Better?

If you want to learn more about B Corp and if it could be the right thing for you we also have:

➡️ Our free e-book "To B Or Not To B; The What, Why & How of B Corp" is the DEFINITIVE guide to B Corp - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorp-ebook/⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Connect with me on LinkedIn here - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/timjonesthegrowgoodguy⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Check out how we can work together to make some epic stuff happen here - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorpconsulting/⁠

Feeling like you’re ready to B Better and want to see if we can help?

➡️ Well then feel free to have a chat with us by booking a call here ⁠⁠⁠https://timgrowgoodco.pipedrive.com/scheduler/jYqm2LUl/30-minute-client-discovery-call⁠⁠⁠

Until next time, B Better!

#65 Oliver Hunt on Solving Sustainability In Healthcare

Oli and I first met waaay back in 2015.

He was still at Uni, and I had recently connected to this B Corp idea.

Fast forward to today, Oli is the CEO and Founder of a super cool NZ-based start-up Medsalv.

Medsalv helps reduce hospital landfill contributions and the cost of keeping people healthy in a way that creates jobs for people with barriers to employment, providing better value and more sustainable healthcare.

In our chat, we cover a range of topics including:

- Oliver's entrepreneurial journey and the businesses he let go on the way to Medsalv

- The importance of purpose in successful businesses

- The challenges of self-employment

- Our shared frustrations around the lack of ethics in the medical device world

- Medsalv's journey to B Corp Certification and how doing the right thing drives decision making across the organisation

Check it out! I reckon it's a belter.

_______________________________

Ready to B Better?

If you want to learn more about B Corp and if it could be the right thing for you we also have:

➡️ Our free e-book "To B Or Not To B; The What, Why & How of B Corp" is the DEFINITIVE guide to B Corp - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorp-ebook/⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Connect with me on LinkedIn here - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/timjonesthegrowgoodguy⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Check out how we can work together to make some epic stuff happen here - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorpconsulting/⁠

Feeling like you’re ready to B Better and want to see if we can help?

➡️ Well then feel free to have a chat with us by booking a call here ⁠⁠⁠https://timgrowgoodco.pipedrive.com/scheduler/jYqm2LUl/30-minute-client-discovery-call⁠⁠⁠

Until next time, B Better!

#64 AWWA Period Care co-founder Kylie Matthews is leading a planet-friendly, period empowerment revolution

Unpacking the stigma around periods and getting back to celebrating menstruation as a sacred initiation is all part of the ethos at AWWA Period Care, a sustainable period-proof underwear brand that certified as a B Corp in June 2022.

Rooted in te ao Māori, AWWA period underwear are an alternative to all other menstrual products, removing the need for single-use pads and tampons. Just wear, wash with normal clothes, and line dry.

In this interview, co-founder Kylie Matthews talks to Tim Jones about she went from working as a youth justice social worker, who often encountered period poverty amongst her clients, to successful sustainable entrepreneurship, and the alignment of B Corp and te ao Māori.

Launched in 2018 by friends Kylie Matthews and Michele Wilson, on the back of a Kickstarter campaign, the name AWWA is derived from the Māori word 'awa' meaning river or flow. Māori referred to their period as te awa atua - the divine river. The ikura (period) was celebrated as it meant you could continue your family lineage. This is the foundation of the AWWA brand, a world in which every woman and girl can feel divine and empowered during her period.

"As mothers to daughters, we wanted to advocate for, break down the barriers, and unpack the stigma around periods that we have all faced. To create a more empowering, more sustainable, and a more beautiful future." 

AWWA is not Kylie’s first sustainable business venture. On having her first child, the horrors of throw-away single-use pouches used in baby food motivated her to launch a reusable food storage bag business called Kai Carriers.

A few years later, the idea for AWWA was sparked by the research of her friend Michele Wilson, a Māori woman who had been studying natural Māori healing and how Māori managed their ikura (period) in pre-colonisation times.

The women raised funds for the business via Kickstarter and ended up with triple the amount they set out to raise.

As AWWA took off, Kylie sold Kai Carriers to focus fully on the period care brand. To date (end of FY23 financial year), the company estimates it has saved over 35 million single-use pads and tampons going to landfill.

https://awwaperiodcare.com/

_______________________________

Ready to B Better?

If you want to learn more about B Corp and if it could be the right thing for you we also have:

➡️ Our free e-book "To B Or Not To B; The What, Why & How of B Corp" is the DEFINITIVE guide to B Corp - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorp-ebook/⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Connect with me on LinkedIn here - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/timjonesthegrowgoodguy⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Check out how we can work together to make some epic stuff happen here - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorpconsulting/⁠

Feeling like you’re ready to B Better and want to see if we can help?

➡️ Well then feel free to have a chat with us by booking a call here ⁠⁠⁠https://timgrowgoodco.pipedrive.com/scheduler/jYqm2LUl/30-minute-client-discovery-call⁠⁠⁠

Until next time, B Better!

#63 Seeds Impact Conference — B Corp Certification 101: Why It Matters

Taking part in this Seeds Impact Conference with me today is Lauren Cain, the Certification and Growth Manager for B Lab AANZ.

Together, we're going to break down the basics – the ABCs – of B Corp Certification. No jargon, just the good stuff you need to know and why you might want to do it.

Plus, we're throwing in answers to some great audience questions.

So, tune in for an easygoing chat on this essential topic!

_______________________________

Ready to B Better?

If you want to learn more about B Corp and if it could be the right thing for you we also have:

➡️ Our free e-book "To B Or Not To B; The What, Why & How of B Corp" is the DEFINITIVE guide to B Corp - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorp-ebook/⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Connect with me on LinkedIn here - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/timjonesthegrowgoodguy⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Check out how we can work together to make some epic stuff happen here - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorpconsulting/⁠

Feeling like you’re ready to B Better and want to see if we can help?

➡️ Well then feel free to have a chat with us by booking a call here ⁠⁠⁠https://timgrowgoodco.pipedrive.com/scheduler/jYqm2LUl/30-minute-client-discovery-call⁠⁠⁠

Until next time, B Better!

#62 Oyster HR and the meteoric rise of global remote hiring

Traditionally, the best jobs are limited to people in a handful of the world's wealthiest cities. Yet brilliant people are everywhere. Closing this gap and making the best jobs available to anyone, anywhere, was the motivation behind launching the global employment platform Oyster HR.

Recently B Corp certified, Oyster HR uses software to make global hiring as easy as local hiring. Employers can hire compliantly without setting up a business entity and handle all employment functions from a single automated platform.

In this episode of the B Better podcast, B Better host Tim Jones talks to Oyster HR co-founders Tony Jamous and Jack Mardack about their mission to make the world more equal and freer by democratising access to job opportunities around the world.

"Today more than ever, with remote work, companies in the West can hire anyone anywhere and extend amazing job opportunities to people in emerging economies. And that's why we exist," says Tony.

"Our business model is totally aligned with our impact. The more we employ people around the world, the more we drag the world into more equality and freedom." 

Discussion points in this podcast include:

Check out the Oyster website here: ⁠https://www.oysterhr.com/⁠

And see their latest impact report here: ⁠https://www.oysterhr.com/annual-impact-report-2022⁠

_______________________________

Ready to B Better?

If you want to learn more about B Corp and if it could be the right thing for you, we also have:

➡️ Our free e-book "To B Or Not To B; The What, Why & How of B Corp" is the DEFINITIVE guide to B Corp - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorp-ebook/⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Connect with me on LinkedIn here - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/timjonesthegrowgoodguy⁠⁠⁠

➡️ Check out how we can work together to make some epic stuff happen here - ⁠⁠⁠https://growgood.co/bcorpconsulting/⁠

Feeling like you're ready to B Better and want to see if we can help?

➡️ Well then, feel free to have a chat with us by booking a call here ⁠⁠⁠https://timgrowgoodco.pipedrive.com/scheduler/jYqm2LUl/30-minute-client-discovery-call⁠⁠⁠

Until next time, B Better!