Karmic Capitalist Conversations - businesses with purpose

"If going to a TGO gym can help unlock your potential not only for your life, but for your community, for your planet, that's the end game."Georgie Delaney MBE isn't short on a big vision. But critically - she's also not short on taking action.It was wonderful to talk to her about setting up and growing The Great Outdoor Gym Company (TGO). From a seed of inspiration seeing outdoor gyms in China after the Beijing Olympics, to high level backing in the London 2012 Olympics, to now having more than 2000 outdoor gyms globally. It's been a heck of a journey so far.Oh, and on the way, invites to exhibit at COP21 and COP22.And then there was the MBE...To be fair, a TGO gym is no ordinary gym. It generates power. It charges phones. It supports tree planting. It fosters community.And all while staying true to its mission and promoting inclusivity, unity and charity.This is quite a different episode. Of course, we talk about the specifics of the business journey Georgie's been on - the challenges and victories of going from startup to success and international scale.We talk about the role of luck, and how luck often has 2 bookends which are under your control. The first is continually taking action, which invariably creates more opportunities for luck to find you. And the second is what you do with the luck that's made its way to you.But we also talk about religion. Georgie is very much a Christian, and guided by Christian values which manifest in how she runs her business.Most visibly in love, and in community.Love sits at the heart of how she started and grew the Great Outdoor Gym Company. She founded it with people she loved, to serve a humanity she loves while serving a planet we all should love more.And that translates to community. The gyms often give opportunities for communities to form. She talks movingly about the interfaith community that's sprung up around one of her gyms in East London.Georgie's is a business with purpose and values very much at its heart. And it's a business that wears that heart on its sleeve.A deeper dive. And I think for both of us, a bit of therapy!Enjoy._______________I host a weekly workshopping conversation with CEOs of SMEs (10 to 100 employees approx) about scaling up, allowing them to step back and do more strategic work, and doing this all in line with their values. Maximum 6 per session so we can have a real conversation.If you'd like to join me for a conversation, find a date that works for you here.Only CEOs / MDs as above. Peer-level conversation!

So you're running an ethical agency. A criminal organisation posing as a listed company - let's call them Belgian Australian Tobacco - approaches you."We fund an 'anti-smoking education programme' along with some of our other friends. But the challenge is that it's not as easy to find us on the web as it is lung cancer charities. We need your help to rank better."The programme, as it says on the tin, is to educate people against smoking.Do you take the business? Critically, *how* do you decide?I paint it cynically, but there are many companies who are net detractors from society and environment, but who nonetheless undertake some positive initiatives.Would you work with them on their greenwashing / socialwashing projects which do deliver some good? Surely those anti-smoking charities are doing some good? Like the betting-control charities funded by the bookies?I thought it would be interesting to dive into the nuance in this detailed conversation of the Karmic Capitalist podcast with the founder of "Positive Digital Marketing Agency" Climbing Trees.Climbing Trees do NOT work with tobacco companies. In fact, they list the sectors they won't engage with.This was a really down to earth nuts-and-bolts chat with founder and CEO Alex Holliman. In his words, which I love, Climbing Trees is focussing on working with "companies that the world of tomorrow needs".And that's a virtuous cycle by definition if you do it well. You work in industries and with companies who you believe have a positive role to play in creating a better tomorrow. And if you're right, not only will they grow, but you'll play a part in that growth, and create more successful businesses that you can work with tomorrow.He's been on a journey of building purpose and values into the core of his agency, and that's surfaced a number of areas which they've explicitly tackled to continually make a better company. For their team, for their customers and for society and environment.It's a really interesting journey and discussion. We dive into intent and mechanics - how he's been addressing diversity, client selection, strategy. And the impact it's been having on culture as well as business model.And the ultimate question for client work..."Does it feel good?"Listen in - it's a great story, and Alex shares some very tangible learnings they've had along the way._______________I host a weekly workshopping conversation with CEOs of SMEs (10 to 100 employees approx) about scaling up, allowing them to step back and do more strategic work, and doing this all in line with their values. Maximum 6 per session so we can have a real conversation.If you'd like to join me for a conversation, find a date that works for you here.Only CEOs / MDs as above. Peer-level conversation!

This episode of the Karmic Capitalist tells the story of a company that stayed true to its mission while undergoing a substantial pivot, and a founder who left his own comfortable path in pursuit of his passion.For sanitation!Thomas Fudge was so incensed by our misuse and abuse of water that left his job in product design and marketing and went back to uni to complete a masters and doctorate in sustainability.He then combined his newfound expertise with his passion for engaging with the water crisis and founded Wase.Wase started life as a company tackling sanitisation challenges in the global South. They provided micro-sanitation facilities that could be distributed rather than depending on some massive centralised infrastructure.But along the way, they discovered that a better fit for the capabilities they'd built up would be to address waste issues for companies in the food and drink industry. These companies were tankering their waste to send off-site at huge financial and environmental cost.Wase now provides the capability to treat that waste on site, not only reducing the environmental impact of its transport, extracting valuable nutrients and allowing them to sell on the water, but also improving each company's energy resilience at the same time by turning the waste to fuel.In this episode, Thomas talks us through the journey so far, including the details of the investments they've secured; the importance of focus especially when you have a very multi-faceted solution; the pivot and the importance of maintaining alignment with purpose while doing it; and the future he sees for the company.Brilliant insight into a company tackling one of the world’s most pressing issues.Enjoy._______________I host a weekly workshopping conversation with CEOs of SMEs (10 to 100 employees approx) about scaling up, allowing them to step back and do more strategic work, and doing this all in line with their values. Maximum 6 per session so we can have a real conversation.If you'd like to join me for a conversation, find a date that works for you here.Only CEOs / MDs as above. Peer-level conversation!

From Chris Froome to wellness in your office.That's the journey that Phill Bell and Paul Smith undertook to co-founding ART Health, a company that helps employees and employers to improve workplace wellbeing using evidence-based techniques.It was fascinating to have Phill join me on this edition of the Karmic Capitalist podcast to share the story.Phill is a sports scientist. He earned his PhD in Exercise Physiology, and landed what would be a bit of a dream job working with international athletes the likes of Chris Froome, Jenson Button, and members of the national rugby team in the GSK Human Performance lab. (They also worked with extreme sportspeople - like the nutters who would do the marathon de sables. But that's another class of human entirely!)The lab conducted exploratory research on how to improve their performance (ethically - exercise and physiology, not drugs!), with probably all the kit that a sports-scientist could dream of.GSK eventually dropped that business, and Phill and Paul went on to co-found ART Health. Passionate about improving performance alongside health and happiness, they felt that workplace wellbeing  had become a bit of a tick-box exercise, and one that was more informed by fashionable trends rather than by fact and evidence.By capturing and injecting data from 4 areas - physical health such as activity and sleep; cognitive performance and brain health; mood information through surveys; and environmental data such as lighting, acoustics and air quality - the co-founders knew that they could make evidence and research-based recommendations and interventions scientifically proven to improve wellbeing.The company is evolving on a fairly well-worn path of going from primarily being consulting-based to one that is more heavily product-based. Phill talks candidly through what that's looked like, with investment along the way to allow them to develop product, rather than the bootstrapping involved in a consulting-based model.He also discusses his own route to CEO, which wasn't their original plan. Sadly, Phill's co-founder and close friend Paul was recently diagnosed with motor neurone disease, and Phill has transitioned into the CEO role. The way Paul has continued his dedication and stoicism has been an inspiration to Phill and the team - but it remains a tough succession when you're also coping with the emotions of having your friend and co-founder dealing with the challenges of the disease.ART Health is very values and mission based.  Their vision is of a happier, healthier, higher performing workforce. And they set about it in a scientific manner.This is a real warts-and-all story, and Phill's story is fascinating._______________I host a weekly workshopping conversation with CEOs of SMEs (10 to 100 employees approx) about scaling up, allowing them to step back and do more strategic work, and doing this all in line with their values. Maximum 6 per session so we can have a real conversation.If you'd like to join me for a conversation, find a date that works for you here.Only CEOs / MDs as above. Peer-level conversation!

There’s a moral case for your company to give equal opportunities for your team regardless of gender (or background, or sexual orientation, or ethnicity, etc). And there’s a business-performance one in terms of the improved decision-making that results from cognitive diversity.But although we are without a doubt making progress, it can feel slow.Recruiting women into senior roles is welcome. But we need to go much deeper if we're to systematically right the balance.For me, one of the key actions is to grow paths for women right from when they are young through into junior, mid and senior roles in business. So rather than recruiting at a senior level, companies create more opportunities for women to rise through the ranks, grow their own talent, and promote from within rather than having to look outside.My guest as we launch Series 3 of the Karmic Capitalist podcast is The Girls'​ Network founder, Charly Young MBE.Charly set up the Girls' Network because she saw how many talented girls were not seeing or given opportunities because of what she terms the "double disadvantage" of being girls and coming from less privileged backgrounds. The Girls' Network matches those girls with women mentors and organisations to give them support, guidance and critically, role models to grow their self-belief and open up their opportunities.Charly’s an engaging and passionate speaker and advocate, and it is insightful to see the entrepreneurial way she started the organisation (think MVP), the trajectory it’s been on, the impact it’s making and the opportunities to work with them.(Disclosure - I loved this so much, I've been asking many of the super-talented and successful women I know if they'd get involved. The first one, a CEO of a consultancy I work with, has just completed training, and her mentee will be in for a real treat!)Enjoy._______________I host a weekly workshopping conversation with CEOs of SMEs (10 to 100 employees approx) about scaling up, allowing them to step back and do more strategic work, and doing this all in line with their values. Maximum 6 per session so we can have a real conversation.If you'd like to join me for a conversation, find a date that works for you here.Only CEOs / MDs as above. Peer-level conversation!

Giving to charity is one of the easiest ways to do good. But have you ever wondered what impact your donation actually has?Enter my guest on the Karmic Capitalist podcast, Rachael Murray, founder of a company appropriately called Making Impact Matter (MiM).Making Impact Matter helps charities figure out how to measure impact. But doing the work has more outcomes than just measurement.Figuring out how to measure impact is essential to secure funding. So MiM's work helps charities get more funding.The process of working through how to measure impact itself can focus how the work is delivered. So MiM's work helps charities focus their efforts even harder - i.e. deliver more bang for the buck.There have been occasions when the measurement process itself has increased impact, such as when Rachel talks through the beautiful projects they've supported for kids who loved the engagement in the measurement cycle.And obviously, the measurement also allows charities to learn and continually improve their delivery.MiM also intentionally serves as a mechanism for analysts with a passion to engage with causes they care about. She and her network of associates engage with causes ranging from domestic violence to diversity to youth engagement to local communities.We talk through some of the work that MiM has done, and you can see Rachael's passion for making a difference through the company and with her life.Rachael’s actively evaluating next steps for the company, and we talk through some of the thinking for what that might look like. This is a fascinating insight into a very heart-driven business and its founder. And as a key enabler for charities to secure funding, Making Impact Matter is about as Karmic a business as you can get._______________I host a weekly workshopping conversation with CEOs of SMEs (10 to 100 employees approx) about scaling up, allowing them to step back and do more strategic work, and doing this all in line with their values. Maximum 6 per session so we can have a real conversation.If you'd like to join me for a conversation, find a date that works for you here.Only CEOs / MDs as above. Peer-level conversation!

When it comes to sustainability and human rights, Fashion has earned a terrible reputation. And mostly for very good reason.But there are some shining examples who are showing what good can look like in the industry.One of these is pre-owned luxury fashion retailer Sign of the times.The original Chelsea shop was founded to media buzz in the 1970s. Antonia Johnstone trained there before founding her own shop in Berkshire.And in a wonderfully circular story, some years later she went on to buy the Chelsea business and integrate the two together, keeping the feeling of high street chic while updating the business with a strong online presence.It’s wonderful to talk in this episode of the Karmic Capitalist to Antonia. There's a strong values basis to her business, which originated Antonia's own beliefs on how people should be treated, then extended to her intent to democratise high-end fashion, and as she dived deeper, also became increasingly about minimising environmental impact not just through the reuse of fashion, but also in Sign of The Times's own supply and demand chain.We discuss how her business has adopted a circular economy and human-centric approach to doing things. We also discuss where the values that drive the business come from, and how they surface in how Sign of the Times works.And, for the geeks amongst us, there’s also an insight into how machine learning is used to prove a fashion item’s authenticity! I didn't know that!Enjoy the episode. It's a wonderful journey that Antonia and Sign of the Times are on._______________I host a weekly workshopping conversation with CEOs of SMEs (10 to 100 employees approx) about scaling up, allowing them to step back and do more strategic work, and doing this all in line with their values. Maximum 6 per session so we can have a real conversation.If you'd like to join me for a conversation, find a date that works for you here.Only CEOs / MDs as above. Peer-level conversation!

You’ve just moved from one end of the planet to the other. You’re pregnant. And you want to be working. What do you do?It’s a sad indictment on how the workplace still treats pregnancy that for my guest on this #KarmicCapitalist podcast episode, starting a company seemed a more plausible route than finding employment.But start a company while pregnant is what Steph did. She started marketing agency, Hello Earth, and early on set about specialising on companies with a focus on purpose and sustainability. Hello Earth works with them to identify how digital marketing can impact their ESG goals, then sets about helping them make that happen.I found it wonderful that for such a relatively small company, they’d had the confidence to build this into their client qualification process. They’ve developed their own 7 pillar model that all prospects must pass before Hello Earth will work with them. It’s a structured approach, which also allows for direction of travel - meaning demonstrated serious intent to improve in ESG areas, as well as where the prospective client is at today.Lovely episode, and with a lot to take away in terms of what you can do even if you’re not yet (and never intend to be) the size of a WPP.I love the trajectory that Steph and Hello Earth are on. I suspect we’ll hear a lot more from them in the coming few years._______________I host a weekly workshopping conversation with CEOs of SMEs (10 to 100 employees approx) about scaling up, allowing them to step back and do more strategic work, and doing this all in line with their values. Maximum 6 per session so we can have a real conversation.If you'd like to join me for a conversation, find a date that works for you here.Only CEOs / MDs as above. Peer-level conversation!

"Create wealth like a Capitalist, distribute it like a Marxist." Here's what that looks like...Simon Biltcliffe believes that Capitalism is a great way to create wealth, but is terrible at distributing it. And Marxism can't create wealth for toffee, but has great principles for distributing it.Adjust for externalities, and there you have the principles on which Webmart was founded and operates. Webmart delivers marketing solutions. It competes not only on quality, but by identifying ways to be as efficient as it can be in creating customer value. Automation where possible, education for the team, methodologies, and so on.But...It also calculates the carbon footprint of its work and solutions. It adopts a circular economy approach to its offices. It has an innovative profit distribution model, clear and transparent to all. It ensures it doesn't engage in ruses to reduce tax - because to pay tax is to pay into the community that supports us all. It pays interest it earns to charity; it pays suppliers within 7 days.And it is very profitable.But probably the least expected part for me was that this marketing company owns a farm.A farm.Obviously! What marketing agency doesn't own a farm?!?!Well, the farm is a haven of peace that all employees are entitled to use. And in case you thought this would be a way to guilt-trip them into working on holiday, the farm has no internet access.(Which, by the way, is the ultimate digital-native challenge. Webmart will put you in the most beautiful spot, but make it hard for you to get your shots onto Instagram.)Add the farm into Webmart's sustainability strategy, and it makes the company carbon-negative.Simon isn't just an entrepreneur - he is an evangelist. That comes through loud and clear in this interview, and he generously offers to share any of their learnings with anyone interested enough to ask.This episode was packed full of little and big gems in what it can look like to run a Good company. The various initiatives, all aligned, and all of which build up to a company, a B Corp, which is hell bent on doing good with the way it does business._______________I host a weekly workshopping conversation with CEOs of SMEs (10 to 100 employees approx) about scaling up, allowing them to step back and do more strategic work, and doing this all in line with their values. Maximum 6 per session so we can have a real conversation.If you'd like to join me for a conversation, find a date that works for you here.Only CEOs / MDs as above. Peer-level conversation!

We have a bit of an employment paradox in the UK. As Matt Powell, the founder and CEO of Breaking Barriers, puts it "We have a government that is anti-immigration, and an economy that needs immigration to function at its capacity."That's the gap, the gap between refugees that have made it to the UK and the unfilled jobs in the UK, that Breaking Barriers helps to fill.Matt was always an entrepreneurial spirit. It was when that entrepreneurialism met his passion to help those at the receiving end of forced migration that he birthed the idea of Breaking Barriers.In this episode of the Karmic Capitalist podcast, Matt talks through the journey from idea to creation to fruition and to future plans.We talk through areas common to businesses, charities and frankly most organisations trying to get things done, and how Breaking Barriers addressed them. For instance:The differences between being entrepreneurially-minded and the reality of running an organisation.Shifting positioning to prospective clients (the prospective employees in this case) from "how can you help" to "this is how what we're doing helps your business". And identifying those wins (did you know for example that refugees tend to have a measurably higher retention rate when they find employment? How important is that especially in high churn industries?).Creating a genuine win-win for those involved (I hate that phrase it's so overused - but so accurate here).How creating a community of your customers helps them and you.Trialling before diving full in.The difference between companies (and leaders) who want to "do the right thing" because it helps profitability, and those for whom doing the right thing is a non-negotiable, and then making the business work accordingly.I love what Breaking Barriers is doing. This podcast episode with its founder and CEO Matt sheds light not just on their entrepreneurial journey to scale, but on a practical approach to address an issue of social injustice.And if you are looking to both help those who've come from challenging backgrounds, improve your diversity *and* fill vacancies in your company, get in touch with Breaking Barriers.Enjoy the episode!_______________I host a weekly workshopping conversation with CEOs of SMEs (10 to 100 employees approx) about scaling up, allowing them to step back and do more strategic work, and doing this all in line with their values. Maximum 6 per session so we can have a real conversation.If you'd like to join me for a conversation, find a date that works for you here.Only CEOs / MDs as above. Peer-level conversation!

What do you do if the prevailing business model is very clearly saying one thing, yet your values and what the world needs are in diametric opposition to this?That's the dilemma that faced my Karmic Capitalist guest on this week's podcast, Seán Wood CEO of Positive News."Bad news sells".We hear this mantra because it's commercially true.But as Seán says, we've reached peak negativity. And negativity can be disempowering. It leaves people feeling impotent, that it's too late, there's nothing you can do.Which is not only a shame, but patently untrue. There's a lot going on in the world addressing the issues that we face which doesn't get a look in.Enter Positive News. Founded by a 70 year old whirlwind of a lady from her kitchen table, who thought people should know about the good in the world, Positive News is now a high quality magazine with a significant online presence and a reach of over 2 1/2 million. It ’s led by my guest, CEO Seán Wood and is a case study of what you can do in a world where the prevailing business advice says you shouldn't be doing what you're doing, but the reality of what the world needs says the opposite.There's a vast amount of goodness in this episode. Aside from the key topic above, we discuss a wide variety of issues relating to growing and pivoting a business. Such as...Having your 1000 raving fans, but needing to pivot from how they've loved doing things in the past. And doing it while trying to keep as many of them engaged in your bigger purpose as you transition.And in that vein, the importance of consistency of purpose as the business evolves.Why the "and finally" segment that always used to grace the news with feelgood at the end was actually part of the problem.What if succeeding in your mission means you'd be out of business?The state of journalism, and the need for more solutions journalism. The shift away from a commercial model based on "hook them with a bad news headline, then sell them advertising".And obviously, the importance of reporting what works to inspire or prompt others to do the same. Music to my ears as that is what we're doing with Karmic Capitalist.This is one of my favourite episodes to date. Enjoy._______________I host a weekly workshopping conversation with CEOs of SMEs (10 to 100 employees approx) about scaling up, allowing them to step back and do more strategic work, and doing this all in line with their values. Maximum 6 per session so we can have a real conversation.If you'd like to join me for a conversation, find a date that works for you here.Only CEOs / MDs as above. Peer-level conversation!

Like probably most people who start a business, Derek Moore founded Coffee and TV because he believed that there might be a better way to do things than how it was being done in the industry.  Key for him was that there had to be a better model than pushing people to work harder for longer and for less.So Coffee and TV took an approach of doing business in a more human way. And as the reputation spread, they attracted more people into the team and grew. We discuss some key issues such as:- Maintaining culture as you grow;- Working on the friction between doing great work profitably while remaining human;- Managing the tensions between being highly creative, yet doing the routine needed to grow a business (and how this is similar to my disastrous attempts at kite surfing!)- How being highly creative is actually also similar to what's needed to run a business;- The role of continual improvement for employees and founders alike;- Involving the team in creating opportunities in the industry for people from relatively disadvantaged backgrounds.Coffee & TV also took on B Corp certification... prompted initially by their Chief Financial Officer - not where you'd normally expect it to come from. We discuss how this has helped them become more intentional about their impact on people and planet, and drive towards becoming carbon neutral.We also discuss the early days of remote working and digital file interchange. AKA aligning train times so you could arrive with the digital drive on one side of the platform at the same time as your colleague on the other side and handover the drive to hop back onto each other's trains and home again!The is a fascinating insight into the reality on the ground of growing an ethical and human-centred business._______________I host a weekly workshopping conversation with CEOs of SMEs (10 to 100 employees approx) about scaling up, allowing them to step back and do more strategic work, and doing this all in line with their values. Maximum 6 per session so we can have a real conversation.If you'd like to join me for a conversation, find a date that works for you here.Only CEOs / MDs as above. Peer-level conversation!

Karl Farrow was awarded a medal by the Mexican authorities for his role as a volunteer overseeing the safe destruction of buildings in the immediate aftermath of the Mexico City earthquake of 2017.What's that got to do with the company he founded and runs?Plenty, I think.I dive into this episode in his life, one that gave him more fulfilment than almost anything else, not just because it was a wonderful thing to do, but because it provides real insight and parallels on what drives him as he leads CeraPhi, a company that is focussed on accelerating the transition to renewable energy.Starting with the word "mission". Which is peppered through the conversation in many different contexts, but which I think speak both to the direction and the source of Karl's drive. Whether in immediately responding to the earthquake, or moving the world to renewable energy.For instance, he quickly realised that his history in construction would be of real use - which drove him to volunteer, buying a hard hat and high viz clothing on his drive to the site. Similarly, he looked to his knowledge and experience in oil and gas and found the things that are of real use in creating a company to work on the transition to renewable energy - and doing it through making use of the existing infrastructure and know-how garnered through our decades with fossil fuels.He also recognised that if he was to be most useful in the earthquake, he needed to focus on skills and resources available, even as many people were volunteering who in reality could actually make the situation worse and not better.Likewise, his focus with CeraPhi is on the ultimate goal - transitioning to renewable energy - without the myriad distractions that often feel good, but aren't very effective at driving to the actual goal.We talk about the earthquake as a small, but I believe key, part of Karl's journey to co-founding and leading his rapidly growing geothermal company, and I learn a lot on the way about the potential of geothermal and how it can play a key role in a transition to renewable energy from oil and gas.Fantastic story from a very grounded individual. No flourishes, no airs and graces. Simply a down to earth "let's get it done" approach.Enjoy._______________I host a weekly workshopping conversation with CEOs of SMEs (10 to 100 employees approx) about scaling up, allowing them to step back and do more strategic work, and doing this all in line with their values. Maximum 6 per session so we can have a real conversation.If you'd like to join me for a conversation, find a date that works for you here.Only CEOs / MDs as above. Peer-level conversation!

This episode of the Karmic Capitalist podcast is a real testament to the role of innovation in cutting our environmental footprint while creating a more profitable and attractive solution.The film production industry has a shocking track record in terms of its environmental impact. In order to create a top end 30 second advert, vast sets are produced and used once only, huge production teams are flown to exotic locations, and the local environment is hacked to produce the artificial beauty demanded by the advertisers.Tom Henderson's career led him to be a part of that cycle.Until one particular production, which he recalls vividly, when he saw the insanity of it all.And he turned from poacher to game keeper.The company he founded, VECTAR Project, creates production sets with 93% less carbon emission than equivalent traditionally-built sets. The innovation that they created also addressed a very real need to produce sets more quickly and cost-effectively.I found this a fascinating insight into the film industry, and a wonderful story of how doing the right thing, and doing it with a better product will revolutionise that industry.Find this episode of the Karmic Capitalist wherever you get your podcasts._______________I host a weekly workshopping conversation with CEOs of SMEs (10 to 100 employees approx) about scaling up, allowing them to step back and do more strategic work, and doing this all in line with their values. Maximum 6 per session so we can have a real conversation.If you'd like to join me for a conversation, find a date that works for you here.Only CEOs / MDs as above. Peer-level conversation!

For business to be better, we (i.e. humans) need to be better.The way most companies have been doing business in the last few decades has been having a glaringly detrimental impact on society and the environment. If we're to pull it back, we need to do it quickly.Tom Rippin is a systems thinker. In his view, the most effective place to start is with people, i.e. us. And where that impact can be greatest is with executives.Tom founded On Purpose on the premise that the changemakers need to be fluent both in business, and in its social and environmental impact. And so On Purpose works with execs intent on using their careers for change, and helps them grow their fluency and ability to make a difference.In this episode of the Karmic Capitalist, we talk both about the change that needs to happen, and On Purpose's business model and how it is seeking to accelerate that change.Along the way, we learn a top tip that I loved for aspiring entrepreneurs from Tom's experience. If you talk about your idea to enough people, eventually it'll be too embarrassing not to start 😊.On Purpose has a fantastic model, and this episode is well worth listening to if you're serious about using business for positive change.[Please note that On Purpose is a social enterprise, and is unrelated to Beyond the Quarter's "Build on Purpose" OS for running SMEs for purpose through profit.]_______________I host a weekly workshopping conversation with CEOs of SMEs (10 to 100 employees approx) about scaling up, allowing them to step back and do more strategic work, and doing this all in line with their values. Maximum 6 per session so we can have a real conversation.If you'd like to join me for a conversation, find a date that works for you here.Only CEOs / MDs as above. Peer-level conversation!

A fundamental principle if you want to do purpose well in your company is to look after your profit.Note that "look after" is not the same as "maximise".Ruth Hartnoll, co-founder and CEO of Matchstick Creative, has seen what that looks like up close! In this episode of the Karmic Capitalist podcast, she tells the (nearly) 5 year story of Matchstick Creative's journey from a business which was started because the founders believed  it would be a better way to do the kind of work they wanted to do, to where it is today as a highly focussed purpose and values-led agency.We talk about how that transition came about and the injection of belief that an agency could very much lead with its values and succeed (hello Greg Macoy!).We dive into leadership, and the importance of experience and exposure at an early age to smooth the trajectory to leading when you're working, and how Ruth is explicitly passing on the privilege she had through that exposure to girls that she's supporting define their own paths.We also discuss the sales/profit versus purpose conundrum, and how effective positioning and messaging helps to pre-qualify prospects for Matchstick.We get some very practical experience on how Matchstick have implemented purpose. I love how when looking at HR policy, Ruth asks her HR advisor 2 questions: "What's the compliant version? OK, so now what's the Matchstick version?". How in replying to tenders, Matchstick will often ask their prospective client up front to articulate the social impact that they believe the project is going to have.Ruth is remarkably open about the things she's learned along the way getting Matchstick moving - warts and all. Founder issues. Sales issues. Team issues. If you're growing a company and feeling somewhat out of your depth or as if you're having to find things out as you're doing them, Ruth's openness is both refreshing and reassuring.This is a wonderful episode from a company that, although 5 years old and going, looks to have a really positive future under her leadership._______________I host a weekly workshopping conversation with CEOs of SMEs (10 to 100 employees approx) about scaling up, allowing them to step back and do more strategic work, and doing this all in line with their values. Maximum 6 per session so we can have a real conversation.If you'd like to join me for a conversation, find a date that works for you here.Only CEOs / MDs as above. Peer-level conversation!

I have two firsts in this Karmic Capitalist episode.First, Harriet is the first CBE to deign to accept my humble invitation to be a guest on our podcast!Second, she is also the first guest who leads a charity to guest on this show.Why a charity on he Karmic Capitalist? What has that got to do with businesses?Simple. The challenges we're facing go cross all sectors of society. And the only way for us to address those challenges is for organisations of ALL types - companies, charities, government - to align and collaborate.Harriet's charity, Ashden, focuses on two areas to enable that to happen. First, they amplify the good work of organisations tackling the environmental crisis - regardless of which sector - to help promote best practice and innovation.Second, they act as a hub to facilitate collaboration across sectors to magnify impact.If you run an SME and are serious about playing a positive role in tackling climate change, Harriet charts a critical path to partnerships you should be looking at to magnify your impact.Harriet's personal journey, taking in leading Fairtrade International and a plethora of other roles at the coalface, means that she's seen first hand the tight coupling between issues of social justice and climate change. She generously shares what she's seen and heard - conversations with farmers in Tanzania to hairdressers, high tech startups and film production in the West. Her stories bring home the very direct impact we can choose to have if we engage.Listen in for an inspiring perspective._______________I host a weekly workshopping conversation with CEOs of SMEs (10 to 100 employees approx) about scaling up, allowing them to step back and do more strategic work, and doing this all in line with their values. Maximum 6 per session so we can have a real conversation.If you'd like to join me for a conversation, find a date that works for you here.Only CEOs / MDs as above. Peer-level conversation!

How challenging has it been to get your company going?I think getting a new product to market has to be one of the more challenging businesses to get going. But what if...Your product is a new formulation and needs independent scientific validation for your customers to buy it?Or you need to experiment to find out how to manufacture it at all as it's not been made before?Or you need to be able to take that manufacturing process and scale it massively while retaining complete predictability and standardisation when your source material is entirely organic?Or if no supply chain exists for you to obtain your source material?What if, in short, you had to create a new type of supply chain, a new type of demand chain, a new manufacturing process all at once to get going?Well, ask George May. That's what bio-bean have been through to get to the stage where their coffee grind products are sourced from independent and chain cafes, manufactured in a process designed from the ground-up (pun intended!), and stocked by some of the supermarket majors.And while creating a circular economy company, bio-bean has twice won a "The Best For The World B Corps in Environment" award.This week's episode of the Karmic Capitalist is a great story of the challenges of getting a brand new sustainable product to market, and how this has been addressed successfully, if not easily, by bio-bean.#BCorp_______________I host a weekly workshopping conversation with CEOs of SMEs (10 to 100 employees approx) about scaling up, allowing them to step back and do more strategic work, and doing this all in line with their values. Maximum 6 per session so we can have a real conversation.If you'd like to join me for a conversation, find a date that works for you here.Only CEOs / MDs as above. Peer-level conversation!

Marketing has been responsible for sooo many of the ills we're suffering in today's world.Overconsumption is the biggie. Encapsulated in the perceptive statement that "we buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like".Personally, I think in many ways, marketing just amplifies what already exists in the human condition. And so it's amplified our innate need of "enough" to a ruinous "as much as possible".And that's why I loved this conversation with Johnny Pawlik. Because Johnny decided that what he wants to amplify (my words, not his) is the goodness that businesses are capable of doing and that they actually do.Johnny's path to founding and running Mantra Media wasn't linear. A challenging childhood and youth could so easily have ended up in a destructive way.But having seen where it led, he made the harder choice to go the other way and make a positive impact with his work.A parallel to the decision that any CEO or founder can make with regards to what impact their company has.And so Mantra Media was born from his decision to do good with his life, his skills in picking up social media skills when that meant being active in an online forum / creating MySpace pages, and his formal education in communication and in political philosophy.In this episode, we discuss the role that marketing has played and should play. We talk about growing an ethics first marketing agency. About how much money is to be made by being naughty. About never working with Nestle!Johnny's passion shines through strongly on building businesses a better way. And on the optimism of where we'll head as we witness a changing of the guard.Enjoy this episode of the Karmic Capitalist from a doer, a thinker and a grower of a successful ethical business._______________I host a weekly workshopping conversation with CEOs of SMEs (10 to 100 employees approx) about scaling up, allowing them to step back and do more strategic work, and doing this all in line with their values. Maximum 6 per session so we can have a real conversation.If you'd like to join me for a conversation, find a date that works for you here.Only CEOs / MDs as above. Peer-level conversation!

Trust - much aspired to within companies - starts at the top. The more you trust your team, the more of a trusting culture you will build.Henry Stewart, CEO of Happy Ltd, took that to a place very few would be willing to go.At pay review time for the company, he asked his team to decide what he should get.It's a logical conclusion if the whole ethos of your company is about building trust-based organisations. Which is what Happy is about.In this episode of the Karmic Capitalist, a natural pair with Richard Clarke's episode on building a company around happiness, we learn some complementary considerations.While Richard talked a lot about building psychological safety, Henry makes much of building trust. Neighbours. Or perhaps co-habitants!We talk a lot about devolving decisions (we're both fans of much in General Stanley McChrystal's "Team of Teams"), of stepping out of your team's way (also eloquently illustrated in David Marquet's "Turn the ship around") and of self-organising companies (as lived in Ricardo Semler's wonderful "Maverick").But this isn't a conversation about books or talk. It's a conversation about what Henry and Happy actually did, what their clients have actually done, and the practicality of creating a human and happy workplace.It's also a conversation about how that fuels company performance - in Happy's case, going from having lost 95% of their income when the pandemic kicked off, to recording the most profitable month in their 30+ year history.Finally, it's a conversation about passing up the opportunity to have bought happy.com as a domain when the internet was scarcely a thing! Ouch.Join us._______________I host a weekly workshopping conversation with CEOs of SMEs (10 to 100 employees approx) about scaling up, allowing them to step back and do more strategic work, and doing this all in line with their values. Maximum 6 per session so we can have a real conversation.If you'd like to join me for a conversation, find a date that works for you here.Only CEOs / MDs as above. Peer-level conversation!