Fit for the Future: How two high-growth startups harnessed ‘the power of technology’ for good

In this episode of the Good Leaders podcast, hosted by Tim West, Devi Clark, managing director of Impact Hub London, shares the good and bad of running an impact-driven ‘umbrella organisation’: from the legal benefits of developing a new building to the struggle of attracting investors when your impact is “powerful, but often indirect”.

In this episode of the Good Leaders podcast, hosted by Tim West, Esther Foreman, founder and CEO of the SE100-listed Social Change Agency, and Social Change Nest, delves into navigating lockdown, new motherhood and multiple sclerosis alongside entrepreneurship, and says her social enterprises take care of administration and governance, the “two pillars of social change”, so that changemakers can get on with creating impact.

How do you build a high growth startup? In this episode of the Fit for the Future podcast, produced in partnership with Buzzacott accountants, we delve into how to take a startup to the next level at a fast pace, drawing from the journeys of two relatively young, high growth social enterprises. In this episode, co-hosts Tim West and Eddie Finch talk to Ariana Alexander-Sefre, founder and co-CEO of SE100 award-winning Spokeworld, and Joe Seddon, founder and CEO of Zero Gravity and winner of the SE100 Leadership award, about the steps required to build a high growth social business startup.

Rebecca White, CEO and founder of Your Own Place CIC, tells Tim West that she started the award-winning “targeted prevention homelessness” social enterprise after seeing that “something crucial was missing for people who didn’t have many of the advantages” that others had, and opens up about her biggest regret as a social entrepreneur.

It has survived the 2008 financial crisis and Covid-19 – but, for events industry trailblazer Connection Crew, “the social enterprise narrative” isn’t always helpful, says director Charlie Dorman, even if impact is embedded in the business model. In our Good Leaders podcast, founding editor Tim West grills some of those balancing purpose, profit and personal challenges, as they navigate the ups and downs of mission-driven business. This month: Charlie Dorman, director of award-winning social enterprise Connection Crew.

What makes a ’Social Business Champion’? In this Fit for the future podcast, produced in partnership with Buzzacott accountants, we explore the brilliant and blustery journey of Point and Sandwick Trust, a social enterprise based in the Outer Hebrides off the north-west coast of Scotland that built and operates the UK’s biggest community wind farm. Point and Sandwick – winner of this year’s NatWest SE100 Social Business Champion award – has been recognised as leading the way in community renewable energy. Not only does it generate power, but with the income this makes, it also provides significant support for projects and amenities within the local community. One such amenity is Bethesda Hospice, which must find more than £400,000 revenue to provide its crucial services to the islands each year, a significant part of which is provided by the wind farm. In the podcast, Pioneers Post’s Tim West and Eddie Finch from Buzzacott speak to Point and Sandwick director Calum MacDonald about how they have built, funded and sustained this award-winning successful social business through good times and bad – and they also hear from Bethesda Hospice general manager Carol Somerville and finance development officer Joanne Ferguson about the work of the hospice, and the importance that Point and Sandwick has to the local community.

Katie Buckingham started Altruist Enterprises aged just 19 following her own experience of mental ill health. She tells Tim West why she’s an optimist – and why outside support was crucial in taking her business to the next level.

‘Being on a journey of personal development is never ending’ Teaching young people the practical life skills they’ve not learned at school: such is the mission of SE100 winner 2-3 Degrees. Co-founder Azzees Minott speaks to Tim West about leaving politics, imposter syndrome, and her initial suspicions about social investment.

What does it take to lead a pioneering organisation in the new impact economy? In our Good Leaders podcast, founding editor Tim West grills some of those balancing purpose, profit and personal challenges, as they navigate the ups and downs of purpose-driven business. This month: the founder and CEO of On Purpose Tom Rippin talks to Tim West about helping 1,000 people switch to impact-first careers, why an outdated view of science is hindering systems change, and what good leadership is all about.

There are only a few days left before the Impact Shakers summit in Brussels – which its organisers describe as “Europe's first big startup event focusing on inclusive entrepreneurship and impact”. But what does “inclusive entrepreneurship and impact” actually mean? In this episode, Tim West speaks to Yonca Braeckman, CEO and co-founder of Impact Shakers, about what drove her to want to build an “impact ecosystem”. She also recounts her career path from a Belgian chip-shop to social entrepreneurship – which took her to the pre-2008 banking sector and virtual reality filmmaking in New York along the way. Being a good leader? “For me, it's all about being kind and caring,” says Braeckman. Being too caring can also prompt her to take on too much – although she admits she performs well under pressure: “It never felt like an option, to me, to not lead… I'm good in crisis situations… when big challenges arise, I go into some type of problem-solving mode, and move on.”